Error analysis learning articles and prepositions among secondary

ijcrb.webs.com APRIL 2011
INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS VOL 2, N O 12

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Error Analysis: Learning Articles and Prepositions among Secondary
School Students in Pakistan

Nasir Ahmad Ph.D (Scholar).
Ph.D Scholar, Foundation University Islamabad

COPY RIGHT © 2011 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 385


Dr.Maqsud Alam Bukhari
Principal Foundation University Islamabad
Shafqat Hussain
Ph.D Scholar, Foundation University Islamabad
Abstract
The present study was conducted to investigate the errors of Pakistani school students in
prepositions and articles. The main focus of the study was to analyse the errors of students in
articles and prepositions. The sample of the study was comprised of 100 randomly selected
students from government secondary schools of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa. The instrument used in
the study was the essays written by 8th class students in their annual examination. The annual
examination papers in the subject of English of the sample population were collected from the
school record. The errors committed by the students in the use of preposition and articles were
identified and counted in frequencies while writing essays on different topics. The main findings
of the study were; Secondary school students faced more difficulties in learning prepositions as

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compare to articles; Secondary school students faced more difficulties in learning prepositions of

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time; Secondary school students were confused while using preposition in their writings;
Secondary school students faced more difficulties in learning indefinite articles and omit articles

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in their writings.
Key words: Error Analysis, Articles, Prepositions er
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INTRODUCTION
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Learning a second is a challenging experience for learners. In the process of learning a
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second learning students makes errors or mistakes. Hendrickson (1980) observed that it is
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virtually impossible to avoid errors when learning any new skills, particularly when leaning a
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foreign language. It means errors are natural for learners and it is important for second language
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learners as cadling (2001) claims that learner s errors are potentially important for understanding
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of how the second language is acquired. Olasehide (2002) also maintains that learner s errors are
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unavoidable and necessary for learning. So errors are not bad but it is a proof that learning is
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taking place as Broughton (1994) argued that the errors he make are to be seen as a sign that
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learning is taking place.
Error analysis is significant for learners and teachers as Hasyin (2002) observed that
errors are advantageous for both learners and teachers. It provides information to the teachers
on student s errors. This helps the teachers in three ways, firstly to correct their errors, secondly
to improve their teaching and thirdly to focus on those area that need reinforcement. Coder
(1967) described that analysis of learner s errors provide insight into the innate nature of
learner s learning system and process of language teaching.
___________________________________________________________
*The authors are a PhD scholar (Education) at Foundation University Islamabad
**The writer is Dean/Chairman, Foundation University Islamabad

English is a popular language in Pakistan and a gateway to success and better career
option. It is the second compulsory language in Pakistan and it is taught as a compulsory subject
from class 1 to graduate level. Teaching English as a second language is a difficult task as
Wilkins (1972) pointed out that teaching English to the students from different background are
almost universally difficult for learners.



The students in Pakistan commit errors while learning English. As Rahman (1999)
pointed that Pakistan is perhaps the most backward country of south Asia in the field of
linguistics. Hence there is a need to analyse the errors of students to provide help to those who
learn and teach English as second language.
This study was designed to investigate the errors of Pakistani school students in
prepositions and articles. This will provide an insight and means to second language teachers and
learners to recognize the importance of error analysis in English as a second language.
METHOD
The sample of the study was comprised of 100 randomly selected students from
government secondary schools of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa. The instrument used in the study was
the essays written by 8th class students in their annual examination. The annual examination
papers in the subject of English of the sample population were collected from the school record.
The errors committed by the students in the use of preposition and articles were identified and
counted in frequencies while writing essays on different topics.
RESULTS

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Table 1

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Total number and percentage (%) of errors among secondary school students on the measure of

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prepositions and articles

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Variables No. of Errors percentage (%)
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Prepositions 201 56.94
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Articles 153 43.06
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Total 353 100
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Table 1 show that the total no. of errors made by secondary school students was 353. Out of
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which (201) 56.94 % was observed in prepositions and (152) 43.06 % was observed in articles.
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This shows that secondary school students faced more difficulties in learning prepositions as
compare to articles.

Table 2 Percentage (%) of errors among secondary school students on the measure of
prepositions

Types of prepositions No. of Errors percentage (%)



Prepositions of time 115 57.21

Prepositions of place 41 20.39

Prepositions of direction 45 22.39

Total 201 100

Table 2 shows that the total no. of errors made by secondary school students on the measure of
prepositions was 201. Out of which (115) 57.21 % was observed in preposition of time, (41)
20.39% was observed in preposition of place and (45) 22.39 % was observed in preposition of
direction. This shows that secondary school students faced more difficulties in learning
prepositions of time.

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Table 3: Percentage (%) of types of errors among secondary school students on the measure of
prepositions

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Types of errors No. of Errors er percentage (%)
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Omission 43 21.39
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Insertion 17 8.46
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Confusion 141 71.15
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Total 201 100
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prepositions was 201. It was observed that (43) 21.39 % was omission errors, (17) 8.46 % was
insertion errors and (141) 71.15 % was confusion errors. This shows that secondary school
students were confused while using preposition in their writings.

Table 4: Percentage (%) of errors among secondary school students on the measure of articles

Types of articles No. of Errors percentage (%)



Indefinite articles 127 83.56

Definite articles 25 16.44

Total 152 100

articles was 152. Out of which (127) 83.56 % was observes in indefinite articles and (25) 16.44
% was observed in definite articles. This shows that secondary school students faced more
difficulties in learning indefinite articles.

Table 5: Percentage (%) of types of errors among secondary school students on the measure of
articles

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Types of errors No. of Errors percentage (%)

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Omission 80 52.63

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Insertion 29 er 19.08
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Confusion 43 28.29
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Total 152 100
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articles was 152. It was observed that (80) 52.63 % was omission errors, (29) 19.08 % was
insertion errors and (43) 28.29 % was confusion errors. This shows that secondary school
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students omit articles in their writings.
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DISCUSSION
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This study was designed to investigate the errors of Pakistani school students in prepositions and
articles. The main findings of the study were; the secondary school students faced more
difficulties in learning prepositions as compare to articles, the secondary school students faced
more difficulties in learning prepositions of time and were confused while using preposition in
their writings. The secondary school students faced more difficulties in learning indefinite articles
and they omit articles in their writings.
The findings of the study that the secondary school students faced more difficulties in learning
prepositions and the secondary school students faced more difficulties in learning prepositions of
time and were confused while using preposition in their writings. This shows that prepositions
were not properly taught when they were first introduced and there are no rules to govern their
usage. These finding was supported by Cele-Murcia (2001). She observed that non native
speakers of English tend to have three types of errors with prepositions: choosing the wrong
preposition, omitting a needed preposition and using an extra preposition where one is not
needed. However, onike(2007) observed that The overall students performance in the use of
preposition was rated good and this indicates students good knowledge of prepositional rules.



The finding of the study that secondary school students faced difficulties in learning
articles because their native language lacks the system of articles. This finding was supported by
Kimizuka (1967). He observed that article usage is one of the greatest problems for the Japanese
learner is vividly revealed in the high frequency of mistakes, the highest of all the structural items.
RECOMMENDATIONS
In the light of the findings of the study the following recommendation were made:
i. All the three types of preposition should be taught systematically.
ii. The articles should also be taught systematically.
iii. The teacher should improve their teaching technique by preparing systematic material.
iv. The learning of prepositions and articles should be sufficiently re-inforced.

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REFERENCES
Broughton, Geoffrey. Christopher Brumfit., Roger Flavell., Peter Hill., & Anita Pincas. (1994).
Teaching English as foreign language. New York. Routledge Kegan Paul limited.

Cadling, R.B. (2001). Vocabulary and Language Teaching. New York. Longman Inc.

Corder, S. P. 1967. "The significance of learners errors . International Review of Applied
Linguistics 5(4) 161-169

Hasyim, sunardi (2002). Error Analysis in the teaching of English. A Biannual Publication on the
Study of Language and Literature (4)1, 62-74. Retrieved from
http://puslit2.petra.ac.id/ejournal/index.php/ing/article/view/15485

Kimizuka, S.(1967).Teaching English to Japanese. Los Angles: Anchor Enterprises.

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Onike, Rahaman..(2007). Analysis of Errors of Preposition In the Learners Use of English In

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Second Language Situation. Retrieved from http://searchwarp.com/swa129884.htm

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Olasehinde M.O. (2002): Error Analysis and Remedial Pedagogy in Babatunde S.T. and D.S
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Adeyanju (eds) Language, Meaning and Society: Ilorin, Itaytee Press and Publishing Co.
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(Nigeria)
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Wilkins, D.A.(1972). Linguistics in Linguage Teaching. The MIT press. Massachusetts.
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Rehman, Tariq.(2002). Language, Ideology and power: Language learning among the Muslims
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of Pakistan and north India. Karachi. Oxford university press.
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Consumer Brand Choice in a No-brand Awareness situation of low
involvement Products

Mohammad Ismail Soomro
Assistant Professor
Department of Business Administration, Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur, Pakistan

Muhammad Masihullah Jatoi
Assistant Professor
(Corresponding author)

Dr. Rahman Gul Gilal

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Assistant Professor

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Abstract
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The purpose of this paper was to examine and ranking the dominating factors influencing
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consumers purchasing decision in an un-awareness situation to buy a low involvement product.
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204 undergraduate students or subjects were selected by convenient sampling procedure; those
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participated in experiment on two categories of products (pen, and sun-block) to identify the
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dominant reason to buy any selected brand. Non-parametric tests of Friedman and Kendall.W s
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rank tests were applied. The frequency tables and mean ranks of each variable showing the
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percentage of the respondents who rank the variable as first, second, and third reason to purchase
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a brand. The model identified that among from all of the six variables; the quality of a brand is
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the first and dominant factor to choose a brand, while price and packaging are considered as
second and third reasons to make choice for a brand respectively.
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Key words: Low Involvement, Un-Awareness, Buying Decision, Quality, Price, and Packaging.

1. INTRODUCTION
There are numerous reasons to buy a brand in a given situation, but our objective is only to study
the behavior of the consumer regarding his or her purchasing attitude by examining the
significant and dominant reasons of buying a particular product in a given situation.
A lot of controversies are arising while looking into the literature regarding the consumer choice
decision , whether the decisions are based on some attributes of the product like quality, price,
brand credibility, or on the basis of consumer attitude and intention, advertising, group
influences, innovations, and brand loyalty, or the decisions are made on the ground of brand
awareness.


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