A Comparison of Linguistic Errors of Iranian EFL Learners at Two Different Levels of Proficiency

Abstract

This descriptive case study aimed to analyze syntactical, morphological and lexical errors produced by Iranian EFL learners at two different levels of basic and elementary. The proposed hypothesis predicted that there exist considerable differences between the errors produced by the participants with respect to their origin (interlingual, intralingual or developmental errors) as well as the type of error (lexical or grammatical). To this end, four Iranian EFL learners at basic level and four at elementary level, attending English language classes at Iran Language Institute were chosen using purposeful sampling. A test of proficiency was administered to ensure the participants in each group are homogenous regarding the level of proficiency. The participants’ performance in both oral and written activities as well as planned and unplanned ways were meticulously observed and recorded by the researcher in a six-month period. In addition to observation, data were also obtained through interviews and tests given at intervals of every two months to investigate any potential change. The qualitative data were coded, categorized and interpreted cyclically. It was concluded that learners at higher levels of proficiency produced more developmental and intralingual errors than learners at basic levels. Also learners at basic levels produced more interlingual errors. In addition learners at basic levels produced more grammatical errors than learners at elementary levels. On the other hand, learners at elementary level produced more lexical errors.