2. CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS, ERROR
ANALYSIS, AND
INTERLANGUAGE
The strong version of the contrastive analysis hypothesis is
associated with Charles Fries and Robert Lado. It predicts
that second language learners will have difficulty with
aspects (structures, or vocabulary) which differ from their first
language, and conversely no problems with aspects which
are similar in their first language.
This approach, which developed during the 1970s, became
known as “error analysis” and involved detailed description
and analysis of the kinds of errors second language learners
make.
3. CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS, ERROR
ANALYSIS, AND
INTERLANGUAGE
Fahrettin ŞANAL in his paper mention that:
a. Identification of errors
There are those so-called “errors” or “mistakes” that are more correctly
described as lapses. A mistake refers to a performance error, it is a
failure to make use of a known system. Everybody makes mistakes in
both native and second language situations. Normally native speakers
are able to recognize and correct such “lapses” or “mistakes” which
are not the result of a deficiency in
competence, but the result of imperfection in the process of producing
speech(Brown 1987).
Errors are deviances that are due to deficient competence (i-e
“knowledge” of the language, which may or may not be conscious). As
they are due to deficient competence they tend to be systematic and
not self correctable. Whereas “mistakes” or “lapses” that are due to
performance deficiencies and arise from lack of attention, slips of
memory, anxiety possibly caused by pressure of time etc. They are not
4. CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS, ERROR
ANALYSIS, AND
INTERLANGUAGE
b. Description of errors
As we know error analysis is a comparative process. So, in order to
describe the errors, in a way, we use a special case of contrastive
analysis, and we compare synonymous utterances in the learner‟s
dialect and the target language, in other words we compare
“erroneous utterance” and “reconstructed utterance”.(Corder 1973)
According to Corder‟s model (1973) any sentence uttered by the
subsequently transcribed can be analyzed for idiosyncrasies. A major
distinction is made between “overt” and “covert” errors.(Brown 1987).
c. Explanation of errors (Tracing errors to their sources)
In order to arrive at effective remedial measures the analyst must
understand fully the mechanism that triggers each type of error.(Şanal
2007).
The source of an error could be Interlanguage or
Intralanguage.(Richards 1971)
5. CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS, ERROR
ANALYSIS, AND
INTERLANGUAGE
1. Errors caused by negative transfer
If the learner of a foreign language makes some mistakes in the
target language by the effect of his mother tongue, that is called
as Interlanguage errors. For example, any Turkish speaker
learning English may say, “Ahmet Fatma ile evlendi.” in his
mother tongue, and he may transfer his old habit to the target
language.(Altunkaya 1985) The result would be “Ahmet married
with Fatma.” Which is not acceptable in English.
2. Errors caused by the target language
Learners may make mistakes in the target language, since they
don‟t know
the target language very well, they have difficulties in using it .For
example, they
may say “mans” instead of saying “men” as the plural form of
“man”. In that
way the learner overgeneralize the use of plural suffixes
6. INTERLAGUAGE: A learner´s developing
second language knwoledge. It may have
characteristics of the learner´s first language,
characteristics of the second language, and
some characteristics that seem to be very
general and tend to occur in all or most
interlanguage systemss. Internlanguage are
systematic, but they are slado dynamic. They
change as learners receive more input and
revise theyri hypothesis abotu the second
language.
CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS, ERROR
ANALYSIS, AND
INTERLANGUAGE
7. CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS, ERROR
ANALYSIS, AND
INTERLANGUAGE
Richards (19719 focuses on intralanguage/developmental
errors and distinguishes four types of developmental errors.
Overgeneralization
Ignorance of rule restriction
Incomplete application of rule
False concepts hypothesized.
The problem with this classification is that it‟s difficult to
distinguish between these types.
8. DEVELOPMENTAL
SEQUENCES
Acquisition of Grammatical Morphemes : Order and
Sequence
Much of the early research focussed on the order of
acquisition while subsequent research has
increasingly paid attention to sequence of stages
evident in the acquisition of a single feature as well as
order.
Morphemes are the smallest meaningful units of a
language. Eg: developmental = develop + ment + al
Early studies of the acquisition of grammatical
morphemes such as plural –s and articles produced
mixed results.
The morpheme order acquisition is not the same in L1
and L2 acquisition.
Dulay and Burt (1974), studied the acquisition of 10
grammatical morphemes by children learning English
as a second language .
9. The Acquisition of Grammatical Morphemes : Order and Sequence
Using the „Bilingual Syntax Measure‟ they counted morpheme use in
obligatory contexts, that is, a context where the item was obligatory
incorrect native speaker speech.
They compared the acquisition order they obtained with the acquisition
order for the same morphemes obtained in both longitudinal studies and
cross-sectional of L1 English.
They found that the orders were different.
Articles, copula and auxiliary „be‟ were acquired earlier by L2 learners
while irregular past tense was acquired later.
The process by which individual morphemes are acquired displays both
similarities and differences.
For example: both L1 and L2 learners omit pronouns and they both
overgeneralize individual pronouns.
In general , the morpheme acquisition order studies appear to show
strong evidence of a natural sequence, but there is also evidence that
DEVELOPMENTAL
SEQUENCES
10. Acquisition of Tense and Aspect
• The morpheme studies belong to an early period in SLA (the 1970s
and 1980s),however, tense and aspect, both of which involve the
acquisition of morphological features, have been studied intensively in
SLA in more recent years.
Studies of the acquisition of tense and aspect lend strong support to
the existence of developmental patterns in L2 acquisition.
Learners of different L2s manifest similar patterns of development
when acquiring tense and aspect.
Klein (1995), identified the following order of acquisition of English
tense-aspect morphological forms in a longitudinal study of an Italian
learner:
Third person – s and present tense copula; Irregular past tense forms
and verb-ing
Present perfect forms; Regular past tense forms; Future with „shall‟ or
„will ‟;
DEVELOPMENTAL
SEQUENCES
12. DEVELOPMENTAL
SEQUENCES
Acquisition of Syntactic Structures – Negatives
• A number of studies which examined the acquisition of
negatives in English and German provide evidence of a
clear sequence of development.
• The acquisition of negation shows clear transitional
structures which involves a series of forms which learners
use en route to mastering the target language form.
• EXAMPLES OF ENGLISH:
no swim (at the beginning of the utterance) – external
negation
I no can swim (the negative article comes inside the
utterance) internal negation
I can‟t swim (negative is attached to modal verbs)
• These forms are indicative of the developmental stages that
learners pass through on the way to TL competence.
Examples of negatives : no, not, don‟t, doesn‟t, didn‟t won‟t,
can‟t
13. DEVELOPMENTAL
SEQUENCES
Acquisition of Syntactic Structures - Relative
Clauses
• Studies on the acquisition of relative clauses
also provide evidence of an order of acquisition.
• There is evidence that learners solve it
piecemeal by learning to modify noun phrases
before the verb, and then noun phrases that
follow the verb.
Examples :„A beautiful girl who lives next
door.‟ „I got a friend who speaks fluent
English.‟
• Also, learners acquire the functions that relative
pronouns can perform in a fairly well-defined
order.
14. DEVELOPMENTAL
SEQUENCES
The Acquisition of Syntactic Structures
The ZISA project and research based on Pienamann‟s
Processibility Theory have provided impressive evidence to
show that learners acquire a range of features in a predictable
order.
STAGE L2 PROCESS MORPHOLOGY / SYNTAX
6 Main and subordinate
clauses
Embedded questions: „I
wonder why he sold the car‟
5 Subject-verb agreement 3rd person-s: „This man owns a
dog
4 Inversion Yes/no inversion: „Has he seen
you?‟
3 Noun phrase agreement Plural: „He own many dogs‟
Adverb: „He sleeps always.‟
2 Plural/possessive pronoun Canonical order (Subject- verb-
object: „He buy car.‟
1 Invariant forms Single constituent
15. The Acquisition of Vocabulary
• Two broad approaches to the study of developmental patterns in the
acquisition of vocabulary can be identified:1) Longitudinal studies of
L2 learners productive vocabulary2) Experimental studies of
learners‟ acquisition of individual words
• L2 acquisition, like the acquisition of grammar, is a slow and gradual
process.
• Learners gradually extend their lexicons while simultaneously
accumulating knowledge of lexical forms and meanings.
• However, there is little evidence of any order or sequence.
• There is some evidence that early acquisition is characterized by
nouns and adjectives, with verbs only appearing later.
• But there does not seem to be any clear hierarchy in learners‟
acquisition of the properties of individual words.
• It is important to note that vocabulary constitutes an open system
that is not subject to „rules‟ in the same way as grammar or
phonology
• The acquisition of vocabulary is seen as involving item rather than
DEVELOPMENTAL SEQUENCES
16. Acquisition of Phonology
• Similarities are also evident in the acquisition of phonology,
despite the fact that L2 learners are known to transfer
features from their L1.
• Abrahamson (2003), claimed that closed syllable structure
is essentially the same for L1 and L2 learners.
• When faced with articulating a closed syllable such as „sad‟
learners are likely to either omit the final consonant (i.e.
Say „sa‟), add a vowel (i.e. Say „sadi‟), or devoice the /d/
(i.e. Say „sat‟)
• Thus, learners‟ acquisition of closed syllable structure
shows a staged progression from consonant deletion to
epenthesis to feature substitution to target form.
Taken from http://www.slideshare.net/Xfsams/developmental-sequences-in-
learner-language
DEVELOPMENTAL
SEQUENCES
