2. Description of errors in students’ English writing “An error can be defined as a deviation from the norms of the target language”. It takes place as a result of lack of knowledge. It represents a lack of linguistic competence .A mistakes occurs when learners fail to perform their competence.
Shaiya gold3. Problems involved in students’ writing 3.1 Improper choices of words In writing, quite a number of students fail to choose and use the correct and appropriate English words. They could not discriminate the synonyms. The following examples are taken from students’ writings:
fly for fun gold(1) In area, China is the third largest state in the world.(2) The program has won the support of the whole land.(3) China is my native nation.(4) The company is of country-owned enterprise.(5) They lived in a little town.(6) I can never forget the small town where I spent my happy childhood.The above sentences are unacceptable. Students mingle the meaning of words. Country, nation, state and land have more or less the same denotation and may all be translated into guojia in Chinese, but their connotations are quite different. Country refers to an area of land and its population and government, nation emphasizes the people of a country, state refers to the government or political organization of country, and land is less precise but more literary and emotive than country. Small and little are often interchangeable, but there is some difference in emotional coloring between them. Small is objective, while little may imply a feeling of fondness. Therefore, the above sentences could be revised as the following
1) In area, China is the third largest country in the world.(2) The program has won the support of the whole nation.(3) China is my native land.(4) The company is of state-owned enterprises.(5) They lived in a small town.(6) I can never forget the little town where I spent my happy childhood.
EVE ISK3.2 Problems involved in collocation of words Wrongly collocating words is very common in English writing. Students have little awareness of the collocation of words. Just look at the following examples selected from students’ writings
1) Nowadays, the traffic in big cities is getting more and more crowed.In this sentence, heavy should replace the word traffic. In English, crowed could not be used to modify “traffic”, although we may guess the meaning, it is wrong to English-speaking people.(2) For some students, the tuition feesare so expensive that they cannot afford them.
age of Conan goldIn English speaking country, they used to say high or fees rather than expensive or cheap fees. So expensive should be replaced by high.(3) Some university graduates find that the opportunities to get a good job are becoming smaller and smaller. Opportunity usually used along with the word such as rare, scanty, and poor. The word smaller should be replaced by poorer.
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06-08-2008, 12:06 AM
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Description of errors in students’ English writing
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