Error Analysis on the Written English of Students in Grade 8 at Orr's Hill Vivekananda College, Trincomalee, Sri Lanka

Abstract

This study attempts to identify and analyze “The errors in the written sentences produced by the students in grade 8 of Orr’s Hill Vivekananda School, Trincomalee”. The study begins with a systematic review of the concepts and theories concerning Error Analysis, which sets the platform for the theoretical base. Subsequently, the Error Analysis focuses on finding the syntactical errors under the selected grammatical categories while searching for the possible reasons causing errors. Eventually, the researcher suggests some of the complications involved in language learning and language teaching process. Understanding grammatical rules and applying them in sentences without making mistakes is what the teachers expect from the students in the school. However, it does not happen in the way it is expected. In other words, making grammatical errors can be assumed to be part and parcel of the language learning process. There are many linguistic aspects governing this learning process. Therefore, this research examines the type of errors the students make and why they make such errors in their writing. This dissertation is an eye-opener for teachers, with as they should understand the root causes of errors while attempting to find treatment for them. It is paramount that with teachers approach error corrections based on the student’s linguistic competence and their affective factors embedded with different socio-ethnic backgrounds. This error analysis has been undertaken with to with raise awareness among the teaching staff and help students produce better writing with fewer or no grammatical mistakes.