臺灣博碩士論文加值系統

錯 誤 分 析 與 作 文 教 學
指 導 教 授 : 吳 又 熙 博士 學 生 : 黃 小 玲
國 立 清 華 大 學 外 語 系 碩 士 班 外 語 教 學 組
中 文 摘 要
本研究主旨在探究臺灣清華大學外語系學生在英文寫作所犯的不同種類文法錯誤的本質及分類。其目的在於藉由錯誤分析，找出錯誤產生的原因，並進一步藉由研究結果探討作文教師如何有效減低學生錯誤的產生。
本研究對象包括清華大學外語系一年級學生15人、二年級學生15人、三年級學生16人，總共 46人。每位學生在上下學期各寫一篇作文，共收集到92篇作文，作者從其中找出錯誤，並計算出每年級錯誤類型數量及頻率進而相互比較。
全部學生共產生1,700個錯誤。各項錯誤類型經由其百分比及相對頻率比較，分析結果顯示學生在動詞、名詞、拼字遭遇到的難度最高。十三種類型錯誤之難度依序排列如下：(一) 動詞、(二) 名詞、(三) 拼字、(四) 冠詞、 (五) 介系詞、(六) 措詞、(七) 代名詞、(八) 多餘、(九) 形容詞、(十) 連接詞、(十一)副詞、(十二) 字序、(十三) 不清楚。整體來說學生平均錯誤率為每百字有4.62個錯誤。一年級錯誤率最高，三年級次之，二年級最低。各年級上下學期相比較，結果顯示三各年級錯誤率減少。
除此之外，學生的錯誤原因可歸納成六類。依照其百分比的高低排列如下：(一) 以偏概全、(二) 忽視規則限制、(三) 簡化、(四) 規則使用不全、(五) 母語干擾、(六) 粗心。其中前三項原因為錯誤產生的最大原因。本研究建議使用錯誤難度分級(The Hierarchy of Difficulty)，幫助教師決定哪些錯誤需要加強學習改正；並且藉由錯誤原因的分析找出因應之道。

ABSTRACT
This study aimed to investigate the nature and distribution of different kinds of grammatical errors made in English compositions written by students of Foreign Languages and Literature Department in National Tsing-Hua University, Taiwan. Its purposes were to find specific errors made more or less by a certain grade of students, to discover common errors made by students by calculating frequencies of error types, and to find out possible explanations for students’ grammatical errors, and provide teachers implications of how to reduce learners’ errors in English composition teaching.
15 freshmen, 15 sophomores, and 16 juniors participated in this study. Each of them wrote two compositions─the first one written in the first semester, and the second in the second semester. Numbers and frequencies of written errors were identified, calculated, and compared in terms of error types and the error types of each grade. A total 1700 written errors was found and categorized into 3 classes, and the subcategorized 13 error types.
The hierarchy of difficulty of error types, in descending order, is listed as follows: (1) Verb, (2) Noun, (3) Spelling, (4) Article, (5) Preposition, (6) Word choice, (7) Pronoun, (8) Redundancy, (9) Adjective, (10) Conjunction, (11) Adverb, (12) Word order, and (13) Unclear. The average of errors made per 100 words is 4.62%. Freshmen committed errors most, and juniors were second higher than sophomores. By comparing the first semester to the second semester of each grade, it showed that all three levels made progress in the view of their error percentages.
Besides, there were six major causes of errors made by students. The causes identified in this study, in descending order, were (1) overgeneralization, (2) ignorance of rule restrictions, (3) simplification, (4) incomplete application of rules, (5) L1 transfer, and (6) carelessness. The author found that interference from Chinese is not the major factor in the way students construct sentences and use the language. Rather, overgeneralization, ignorance of rule restrictions, and simplification comprised the largest part of error causes.
This study suggests that composition teachers make use of the hierarchy of difficulty of error types to help them decide what should be taught and learned with more emphasis. Besides, the causes of errors can be identified as the aids to help teachers design the remedial work.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
CHINESE ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………i
ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………………………iv
LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………………v
LIST OF FIGURES…………………………………………………………vi
CHAPTERS
I. INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………1
1.1 Background…………………………………………………………1
1.2 Terminology…………………………………………………………2
1.2.1 Error…………………………………………………………3
1.2.2 Contrastive Analysis……………………………………3
1.2.3 Error Analysis……………………………………………4
1.2.4 Error Frequency……………………………………………4
1.2.5 Hierarchy of Difficulty…………………………………5
1.3 Purpose of the Study……………………………………………5
1.4 Research Questions………………………………………………6
1.5 Limitations of the Study………………………………………6
1.6 Organization of the Study………………………………………8
II. LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………………………………9
2.1 Contrastive Analysis and Error Analysis……………………9
2.2 Perceptions of Errors…………………………………………11
2.3 What Causes Errors………………………………………………12
2.4 Views on Error Correction……………………………………15
2.5 Related Studies on Error Analysis…………………………16
III. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY………………………………20
3.1 Subjects……………………………………………………………20
3.2 Procedures…………………………………………………………21
3.3 Data Analysis Procedure………………………………………22
3.3.1 Identification of Errors………………………………22
3.3.2 Classification of Error Types………………………25
3.4 Frequencies and Statistics of Errors………………………27
IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION……………………………………………28
4.1 Introduction……………………………………………………28
4.2 An Overall Description………………………………………29
4.3 A Statistics of Error Categorization……………………30
4.4 Hierarchy of Difficulty……………………………………30
4.5 Results of Research Questions……………………………33
4.5.1 Q1: What are the most common errors in each
grade? That is,which types of errors rank
high among the three grades…………………33
4.5.2 Q2: Do errors decrease in higher grades after
a semester?………………………………………34
4.5.3 Q3: Which types of errors of each grade
decreases most after a semester?……………36
4.5.4 Q4: Which types of errors of each grade
increases most after a semester?……………36
4.5.5 Q5: Are there errors that decrease or increase
in higher grades by comparing their
first compositions with their second
compositions?……………………………37
4.5.6 Q6: What are errors of each grade that do not
decrease or increase after a semester?……37
4.5.7 Q7: Do all student of three grades reduce
their grammatical errors of their
compositions the second semester compared
with their compositions in the first
semester?…………………………………………37
4.6 Discussion……………………………………………………39
4.6.1 Verb Errors……………………………………………40
4.6.1.1 Misuse of Verb……………………………40
4.6.1.1.1 Infinitive………………………41
4.6.1.1.2 Participle………………………42
4.6.1.1.3 Gerund……………………………43
4.6.1.1.4 Others……………………………44
4.6.1.2 Subject-Verb Agreement…………………47
4.6.1.3 Tense………………………………………48
4.6.1.4 Auxiliary…………………………………51
4.6.1.5 Voice & Mood………………………………52
4.6.2 Noun Errors…………………………………………53
4.6.2.1 Number………………………………………53
4.6.2.2 Misuse of Noun……………………………56
4.6.3 Article Errors……………………………………56
4.6.4 Preposition Errors………………………………58
4.6.5 Pronoun Errors……………………………………59
4.6.6 Adjective Errors…………………………………61
4.6.7 Conjunction Errors………………………………62
4.6.8 Adverb Errors………………………………………62
4.6.9 Diction Errors……………………………………63
4.6.9.1 Spelling…………………………………63
4.6.9.2 Word Choice………………………………66
4.6.10 Other Errors………………………………………66
4.6.10.1 Redundancy………………………………67
4.6.10.2 Word Order………………………………68
4.6.10.3 Unclear…………………………………69
4.6.11 Causes of Errors…………………………………69
V. CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………71
5.1 Introduction……………………………………………………71
5.2 Summary of Our Findings……………………………………71
5.3 Pedagogical Implications……………………………………72
5.4 Suggestions for Further Studies…………………………77
REFERENCES………………………………………………………………79

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