The document presents a study examining grammatical errors of non-native English writers in first-year composition courses, focusing on portfolios from ESL students. The analysis identifies the top five errors—word choice, missing commas, articles, tense shifts, and prepositions—highlighting differences between this study and prior research by Lunsford & Lunsford. It underscores the importance of understanding these errors for composition instructors and suggests a potential correlation between mistake frequency and revision efforts.

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?