Presented at The University of Akron, April 2013. Awarded "Best Oral Presentation" Research conducted on the grammatical errors of non-native English speakers in First-Year Composition portfolios.

1. Lost in Translation:
Grammatical Errors of Non-Native English
Writers in First-Year Composition
Kristina Floyd
Dawn Lombardi
Tabitha Martin
University of Akron Student Innovation Symposium
April 11, 2013

2. The Students’ Writing
6 portfolios:
Students from English as a Second Language (ESL)
English Composition I classes
All had the same instructor
4-5 essays in each portfolio
1-5 pages each
Total of 28 essays; 67 pages

3. Students
Student A – China
Student B – Korea
Student C – China
Student D – ? ?
Student E – China
Student F – Saudi Arabia
We were able to glean nationality information from the content of the papers;
all identities were protected.

4. Methodology
Replicated a study done by Lunsford & Lunsford:
“‘Mistakes are a Fact of Life’: A National Comparative Study”
Examine one essay from each portfolio (the reflective
essay) closely
Mark all errors
Top 5 errors from sample set and apply to the remainder of
essays

5. Reflective Essays
Misplaced modifier
Word Order
Run-on
Unclear Antecedent
Comma Splice
Capitalization
Unnecessary Comma
Mechanical
Missing Word
Unnecessary Word
Wrong Word
Noun Agreement
Preposition
Article problems
Missing Comma
Word Choice
Wrong Tense
1
2
2
3
6
6
8
9
9
12
14
15
19
21
23
31
42
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45

6. Top Five Errors
106
13%
206
26%
Word Choice
Tense
Missing Comma
108
14%
Article
Prepositions
179
23%
185
24%
784
“Top-Five” Errors
In 67 pages

7. Verb Tenses
# 2 {of the Top 5} in our study (24%)
“Shift in tense”: #12 in Lunsford study (3.8% of total errors)
*…one’s professor will understands that.
Differs from Lunsford study
"Shift in tense" (often more of a function of lack of proofreading)
Particular problem of ESL students
Especially if L1 doesn't change verb for tense

8. Missing Commas
# 3 in our study (23% of Top 5 errors)
#2, #11, #13 in Lunsford study
Lunsford study broke out separate categories for different reasons:
Introductory element (2: 9.6% of total)
Non-restrictive element (11: 3.8% of total)
Compound sentence (13: 3.6% of total)
Our examples correspond closely with the Lunsford study
Indicates this is a common (larger than ESL) problem with FYC writers

9. Articles
# 4 in our study (14% of Top 5 errors)
Didn’t make the top 20 in Lunsford study
*…Chinese is __ hardest language in the world...
Generally not an issue for native speakers
2 “a/an” errors in 50-page sample of Lunsford study
Problematic for ESL students
Especially if L1 doesn't use articles (Chinese, Korean, etc.)

10. Prepositions
# 5 in our study (13% of Top 5 errors)
Didn’t make the top 20 in Lunsford study
*Respecting society’s elders is a prime example in how Americans...
If there were these kinds of errors in Lunsford, they were not
significant enough to be mentioned.
Not many other languages have as elaborate a preposition system as
English
Difficult for many students to “internalize” them

11. "Word Choice"
# 1 in our study
Not included as such in Lunsford study
*…the capability to get a higher education…
Lunsford study attributed many "wrong word" errors to computer
spell-check and/or thesaurus use + lack of proofreading
Some of ours could likely be thesaurus use
Often, we found just awkward phrasing
"Faulty sentence structure": students trying to write complex ideas
Similar problems in our study
But a number were surely a product of L2 issues

12. Comparison
of the two studies
Our study
Lunsford study
1. Word Choice
None, as such:
“faulty sentence structure” is #10
2. Verb Tense
“Unnecessary shift in verb tense”: #12
3. Missing Comma
Various breakdowns: #2 - #11 - #13
4. Article problems
(missing, unnecessary, or wrong one
n/a
5. Prepositions
(missing, unnecessary, or wrong one)
n/a

13. Implications for Composition
The number of non-native English speakers is increasing in
American colleges/universities
Many students are strong enough in English to be
"mainstreamed“
It can be useful for comp instructors to know what kinds of
errors tend to be L2-based
Versus what errors students across the board make

14. Revision Correlation?
We are exploring a possible correlation between frequency of
mistakes and probable revision attempts
This would support the idea that multiple drafts give students
the chance to overcome/identify usage errors
Time to focus on idea construction, before language editing
Important for all students, not just ESL

15. Thank you
Questions?