Common Errors in English Language Learning and Use – the Philippine Context

For half a decade, I have spent significant time working with and analyse side as Second speech (ESL) learners in some(prenominal) place settings online, corporate, and academic. In the course of interfacing with these different types of scholars, several interesting features arise in the content of the learners quarrel, most peculiarly errors in writing. In this article, I will engender a brief background of the errors of the learners. I will as well depict to encapsulate some of my observations and experiences in dealing with address errors and probably signify ways on how to appropriately address them.Hopefully, this will be an oculus opener to a lot of English language teachers and practitioners that errors atomic number 18 weighty in both learning and teaching ESL. The Context The influence of plentitude media, which use English as a medium for communication has greatly contributed in the development of the English language in the Philippines. Several broadshe ets and magazines, FM radio shows and late night cuttingscasts in English ar ripe a few manifestations that the language is indeed alive in the topical anaesthetic media scene.Furthermore, the prevalence of business process outsourcing (BPO) industries is also a validation that the untaught is home to thousands of bilingual customer service representatives who deliver whole tone customer service to English-speaking clients. Philippine education, however, does not have the same story. through the years, teachers and check administrators have tried different strategies to improve the English language proficiency of their students.But based on observation and research, there is incongruence among the strategies and the language practices in Philippine schools for instance, most colleges and universities claim that their medium of bid (MOI) is English but there is often no explicit school policy articulating this (Bernardo and Gaerlan, 200621). This, in return, results in t he decline of English proficiency, leaving educators and teachers with exposed problems regarding standard policies and procedures in using the English language in the academe.On Errors and the Learners Language (Interlanguage) Errors are considered significant features in acquiring, learning, and teaching a back language. It has been customary for students and teachers to talk about errors in the language classroom, most especially in writing classes. Teaching professionals often feel frustrated with the quality of the language of their students essays. , For some, errors are signs of failure while separates believe that they are indications of and opportunities to visualize the very complex process of learning to communicate in a blink of an eye language.One methodology in studying the learners error is by doing Error Analysis (EA) or the process of find the incidence, nature, causes and consequences of unsuccessful language (James, 19981). Brown (2000218) states that errors may result from several sources, 2 of which are interlingual errors of interference from the inwrought language and intralingual errors within the target language, context of learning and communication strategies. To simply put it, the first kind refers to the molybdenum language errors that reflect native language structure while the second one, results in faulty structures that do not follow the standards of the target language. It is also a essential to ac experience the kind of language that learners produce in order to come up with a holistic study of the learners errors. Larry Selinker labels this as lingua franca or the separateness of a second language learners system, a system that has a structurally intermediate status between the native and target languages (1972 in Richards, 197431).With this, it will be easier for teachers to understand where learners are approaching from and also for them to come up with possible solutions to address these errors. The Classroom discover In the English classroom, where nominal learning takes place, I have encountered several unique experiences in dealing with errors in academic writing. Filipino college students are very innovative in constructing English sentences that often result in several interlingual and intralingual errors. Take for instance the following excerpt from a students composition Me in my friend was stranded at the opening 3 of fort Bonifacio because the jeepney cannot pass over because of the heavy flood that if we evaluate is in a shank and in some place in a neckline. Me and my friend was honest stay in the jeepney hoping and waiting that the rainwater would stop for us to go home. It is quite obvious that the student has affiliated several intralingual errors such as a. Misused pronoun (Me and my friend My friend and I) b. incorrect capitalization (fort Bonifacio Fort Bonifacio) c. Wrong conjunction (Me in my friend and) . ill-advised verb tense (was just stay stayed) e. Lack of punctuation (Me and my friend was just stay in the jeepney (,) hoping and waiting that the rain would stop(,) for us to go home. f. Inventing new vocabulary and usage (pass over which destines to pass through waistline which should be waist deep) The student also used her knowledge of the first language (in this case Tagalog) to write in English. For example, the compound receptive Me and my friend is a direct translation of the Filipino phrase Ako at ang kaibigan ko.This is a concrete example of an interlingual error. It is really tedious to marking essays that contain numerous errors but these things must be pointed out in order to improve the language abilities of students. Moreover, by studying these kinds of errors, it will be easier to diagnose certain areas that need reinforcement. Some Possible Solutions As a teacher and researcher, I have realized that it is imperative to put last-place importance to the errors that ESL students commit in academic writing. Study ing these errors may mean finding probable solutions to address them.The following are some suggestions that other teachers can do in their own classrooms 1. Analyze and rectify the errors put together in the learners compositions by following specific linguistic criteria or the formal features of a language (James, 1998206). With this on hand, a basis for assessing and correcting the errors of students will be available. 2. After abstract, provide supplementary materials that will help reinforce language proficiency. This can be done by addressing specific areas of concern same grammar, lexis, usage, and mechanics.This will be helpful most especially to struggling students that are having difficulties in understanding the complex rules of the target language. 3. It is also a must to recognize individual differences inside and outside the classroom. Finding time to touch base with students will also help in understanding the nuances of the languages that they use. Knowing how th ey interact and being able to cope with their interests will give the teachers several insights as regards the learners language. . Finally, continuous research and error analysis can lead to a development of a standard material based on confirmable data. This will help address the most frequent errors that learners commit in specific linguistic areas. References Bernardo, A. & Gaerlan, M. J. (2006). Teaching in English in Philippine higher education The case of De La Salle University-Manila. Hong Kong University. Brown, H. (2000). Principles of language learning and teaching. England Longman. James, C. (1998).Errors in language learning and use. London Addison Wesley Longman Limited. Selinker, L. (1972). Interlanguage in error analysis Perspectives in second language acquisition. Jack C. Richards, (Ed. ). London Longman Group Limited. pens Profile Mark Arthur Payumo Abalos teaches college English, writing (expository, research and technical), oral communication, and lit at the Fa r Eastern University East Asia College and De La Salle College of St. Benilde in Manila, Philippines.He also works as an English language program facilitator at John Robert Powers International and an IELTS consultant at the PALMS Australian Immigration Services. He used to be a full-time Educational Consultant for the Language and Literacy Programs of Scholastic Publishing. He obtained his bachelors degree in English Studies Language from the University of the Philippines Diliman. His masters research focuses on the significance of interlanguage grammar and error analysis in developing ELT materials. You can reach him at emailprotected com.