A syntactic error analysis of written work of students at Vista University : implications for remediation

M.A. (Applied Linguistics)This dissertation explores the phenomenon of errors in the writing of second language learners. The concepts of language error and standard language are discussed briefly. The Contrastive Analysis and Error Analysis hypotheses are presented and the notions of interlanguage and fossilization explored. The limitations and strengths of the Error Analysis hypothesis are pointed out. Research on error correction and remediation is reviewed. Questions such as whether errors should be corrected, when, how and by whom, as well as which errors should be attended to, are considered. An error analysis of the written work of a group of English second language students is undertaken. Errors of a mainly syntactic nature are identified and classified and the possible causes of some are pointed out. The dissertation considers the implications of these errors for language teaching and concludes by making recommendations with 'special reference to the distance teaching situation