An Analysis of Grammatical Errors in Chinese EFL Learners' Oral English

Research Article
Open access

An Analysis of Grammatical Errors in Chinese EFL Learners' Oral English

Jiayi Liu 1* , Chengrui Wu 2
  • 1 Tianjin University of Finance and Economics    
  • 2 Shandong Normal University    
  • *corresponding author Liujiayi@stu.tjufe.edu.cn
Published on 26 October 2023 | https://doi.org/10.54254/2753-7048/14/20230983
LNEP Vol.14
ISSN (Print): 2753-7056
ISSN (Online): 2753-7048
ISBN (Print): 978-1-83558-053-0
ISBN (Online): 978-1-83558-054-7

Abstract

Compared with reading, writing, listening, Chinese English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ oral English ability is usually far weaker and ignored in classroom language teaching. In terms of oral English teaching and practicing, most of the emphasis is on pronunciation, vocabulary, intonation, while little attention has been given to the grammatical errors in the oral English. The present research focuses on analyzing grammatical errors in Chinese EFL learners’ oral English. In order to identify the most prevalent grammatical error types and determine the relationship between grammatical errors and oral English proficiency levels, the study collects recordings of subjects discussing a particular topic and transcribing them for error recognition, classification, frequency analysis, and correlation analysis. It is found that Chines EFL learners commit preposition and article errors most frequently; no obvious correlation between error numbers and English-speaking levels is shown, while two error types “omission auxiliary ‘be’” and “noun for adjective” have significant positive correlation with learners’ English-speaking scores as indicators of their oral English levels. Based on that, it is concluded that differences between the mother tongue and English, as well as the complexity of some grammatical rules are main causes for errors, and teachers should be aware that students are likely to commit some certain types of errors more as they make progress and try to use more complicated grammatical patterns.

Keywords:

grammatical errors, Chinese EFL learners, oral English, frequency analysis, correlation analysis

Liu,J.;Wu,C. (2023). An Analysis of Grammatical Errors in Chinese EFL Learners' Oral English. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media,14,201-212.
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References

[1]. Chen. Y. (2011). A Case Study of Grammatical Errors in Chinese University English Teacher Speech (M.A.). Shanghai Normal University. https://kns.cnki.net/KCMS/detail/detail.aspx?dbname=CMFD2011&filename=1011160734.nh

[2]. Xie. J. (2016). An Error Analysis on Grammar in Senior High School Students’ English Writing (M.A.). Hebei Normal University. https://kns.cnki.net/KCMS/detail/detail.aspx?dbname=CMFD201602&filename=1016060701.nh

[3]. Wu. R. H. (2017). Analysis of Mongolian English Majors’ Interlingual Grammatical Errors in Spoken English (M.A.). Inner Mongolia Normal University. https://kns.cnki.net/KCMS/detail/detail.aspx?dbname=CMFD201801&filename=1017083686.nh

[4]. Ting, S. H., Mahadhir, M., & Siew-Lee, C. (2010). Grammatical errors in spoken English of university students in oral communication course. GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies, 10(1).

[5]. Safrida, S., & Kasim, U. (2016). Grammatical errors: An analysis in speaking produced by EFL undergraduate students. Research in English and Education Journal, 1(1), 71-80.

[6]. Majer, H. (1987). H. Dulay, M. Burt, S. Krashen / Language Two. Oxford 1982.

[7]. Chuang, F. Y., & Nesi, H. (2006). An analysis of formal errors in a corpus of L2 English produced by Chinese students. Corpora, 1(2), 251-271.

[8]. Mana, M. (2007). “Informative Assessment”: Investigations of Teachers’ Written Feedback with Middle School English Language Learners. Los Angeles: ProQuest.

[9]. Erwin, W. M. (2004). A short reference grammar of Iraqi Arabic. Georgetown University Press.

[10]. Swan, M. Smith, B. (2001). Learner English: A Teacher’s Guide to Interference and other Problems, Volume 1. The United States of America: Cambridge University Press.

[11]. Brown, H.D. (1980) Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc.

Cite this article

Liu,J.;Wu,C. (2023). An Analysis of Grammatical Errors in Chinese EFL Learners' Oral English. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media,14,201-212.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

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About volume

Volume title: Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Educational Innovation and Philosophical Inquiries

ISBN：978-1-83558-053-0(Print) / 978-1-83558-054-7(Online)
Editor：Javier Cifuentes-Faura, Enrique Mallen
Conference website: https://www.iceipi.org/
Conference date: 7 August 2023
Series: Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media
Volume number: Vol.14
ISSN：2753-7048(Print) / 2753-7056(Online)

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References

[1]. Chen. Y. (2011). A Case Study of Grammatical Errors in Chinese University English Teacher Speech (M.A.). Shanghai Normal University. https://kns.cnki.net/KCMS/detail/detail.aspx?dbname=CMFD2011&filename=1011160734.nh

[2]. Xie. J. (2016). An Error Analysis on Grammar in Senior High School Students’ English Writing (M.A.). Hebei Normal University. https://kns.cnki.net/KCMS/detail/detail.aspx?dbname=CMFD201602&filename=1016060701.nh

[3]. Wu. R. H. (2017). Analysis of Mongolian English Majors’ Interlingual Grammatical Errors in Spoken English (M.A.). Inner Mongolia Normal University. https://kns.cnki.net/KCMS/detail/detail.aspx?dbname=CMFD201801&filename=1017083686.nh

[4]. Ting, S. H., Mahadhir, M., & Siew-Lee, C. (2010). Grammatical errors in spoken English of university students in oral communication course. GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies, 10(1).

[5]. Safrida, S., & Kasim, U. (2016). Grammatical errors: An analysis in speaking produced by EFL undergraduate students. Research in English and Education Journal, 1(1), 71-80.

[6]. Majer, H. (1987). H. Dulay, M. Burt, S. Krashen / Language Two. Oxford 1982.

[7]. Chuang, F. Y., & Nesi, H. (2006). An analysis of formal errors in a corpus of L2 English produced by Chinese students. Corpora, 1(2), 251-271.

[8]. Mana, M. (2007). “Informative Assessment”: Investigations of Teachers’ Written Feedback with Middle School English Language Learners. Los Angeles: ProQuest.

[9]. Erwin, W. M. (2004). A short reference grammar of Iraqi Arabic. Georgetown University Press.

[10]. Swan, M. Smith, B. (2001). Learner English: A Teacher’s Guide to Interference and other Problems, Volume 1. The United States of America: Cambridge University Press.

[11]. Brown, H.D. (1980) Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc.

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