Methodology of the
Research
Analyzing Students‟ interlanguage Chapter three 105
Chapter 3 Methodology of the Research
3.1 Introduction
In Chapter Two, the researcher has maintained the fact that language
learners, when writing or speaking a second language, will certainly commit
errors and that a ―systematic analysis of errors‖ can help understand the process
of language acquisition by breaking it into smaller parts. The ―systematic
analysis‖ approach has also proved to be of great benefit. As stated by Corder
(1973 as cited by Ellis, 1997), it allows feedback of techniques and teaching
materials, at the same time making known certain parts of the syllabi that have
been ineffectively taught and thus necessitate an in depth study. The errors
committed by foreign/ second language learners serve to give a sight at the
inner working pattern of the so-called ―built in syllabi‖ (Corder, 1971) of the
students. In addition, this information helps the language teachers understand
the level of the student‘s knowledge at any particular stage of learning or lack
of it, thereby allowing the teacher to devise student-generated syllabi instead of
teacher-generated syllabi. If the teacher becomes aware of certain errors, prone
to occur due to mother tongue interference or target language interference, the
teacher has the capability to bring these potential problem areas to the notice of
the student and subsequently correct them with the fundamental knowledge of
non-contrastive errors. This sort of knowledge is highly instrumental in
allowing the teachers to objectively select target materials for their students to
render the whole process of learning more beneficial and effective.
Analyzing Students‟ interlanguage Chapter three 106
It is necessary to understand the methods adopted by the researcher for
collection relevant data, which leads to findings, recommendations and
conclusion. The description of the methods used to collect and analyse the data
of the present study are enumerated in this chapter. The following topics are
addressed:
1. Restatement of the research questions
2. Description of the research population and participants
3. Description of the research approach
4. Description of data collection procedures
5. Description of the data analysis procedures
The procedures used in this study provide the answers to the following
research questions:
Q1- What kinds of errors do the University students commit in their writing?
Q2-What are the sources of errors committed by Yemeni students?
Q3-Are there any differences between the first and fourth levels interlanguage?
Q4- Is there any improvement in the language of level four?
The research examines the following hypothesis:
1. There are deferent types of errors committed by Yemeni learners.
2. There are many sources of errors committed by Yemeni learners.
3. There are differences between level one and level four interlanguage.
4. There is an improvement in the language of level four students.
Analyzing Students‟ interlanguage Chapter three 107
3.2 Population
The population of the study comprises the university students of the
academic year (2009/2010).
3.2.1 Hodeidah University, College of Education
Education college was established in the academic year 1987- 1988 as
an institution of Sana‘a University where it was the only one in the northern
part of ROY before unification of the two parts of the country on 22nd
May,
1990.
This college became one of the institutions of the Hodeidah University
in 1997. In this college, there are four departments. English department is one
of them. It began with two teachers, one Yemeni and one from Pakistan. Now
there are many Yemeni teachers and few Indian teachers holding BA, MA, and
Ph.D degrees, working in English department. The syllabi of English
department follow the syllabi of Sana‘a University with few changes in some
courses.
3.2.2 Education College, Hajjah, Amran University
This college was established in the academic year 1989- 1990 as an
institution of Sana‘a University. It began with few departments. The primary
objective of the English department is to prepare Yemeni English teachers for
schools. This department follows the same syllabus of Sana‘a University. In
2007, Amran University was established and this college became one its
Analyzing Students‟ interlanguage Chapter three 108
colleges. Only Yemenis teach in this department, one with PhD, two with MA
and the rest with BA degrees. This college suffers from a significant deficiency
of faculty members.
3.3 Participants
The participants for this study were selected from among the university
students of English majors. They were randomly drawn from levels one and
four from two public universities in Yemen. A total of 200 first and fourth
levels students were involved in the study. The following table shows the ratio
of male participants to female participants. The female participants were more
than male participants, as males could go to other colleges.
Table 3.1 Frequency and percentage of the participant according to their
gender
Gender
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Valid
Male 80 40% 40.0
Female 120 60% 60.0
Total 200 100.0 100.0
In addition to the above, the table shows the number of participants from
the two universities. In each university, the female participants were more than
males because girls prefer to study English more than other subjects like Maths
or Chemistry.
Analyzing Students‟ interlanguage Chapter three 109
Table 3.2 Frequency of the participants according to the university
University Gender Total
Male Female
Amran University 47 53 100
Hodeidah university 33 67 100
Total 80 120 200
Percentage 40% 60% 100%
Figure 3.1 Frequency of the participants
While the following table shows the background of the participants
according to their ages, most of the participants began learning English in their
preparatory stage, during which it is official and compulsory.
The age of the participants ranges from 18 to 25. Snow and Hoefnogel-
Hohle (1978), Krashen, Long and Scarcella (1979); Scarcella and Oxford
(1992), have found that older learners enjoyed an advantage in the rate of
Analyzing Students‟ interlanguage Chapter three 110
acquisition of syntax and morphology. However, fluency and pronunciation in
L2 were acquired better by children who started learning earlier. Adults were
better in the initial stages, but ultimately children surpassed adults. The
following table shows that most of the Yemeni learners began learning English
from grade seven. This is only in the public school where English has been
added to the curriculum by the Ministry of Education as a compulsory subject,
taught by Yemeni teachers.
Table 3.3 Distribution of the participant according to their stating learning
Starting Learning English
Total Percent before
school
primary school
(6 years)
preparatory
school (13years)
AGE
18 2 2 9 13 6.5%
19 1 3 25 29 14.5%
20 1 4 27 32 16.0%
21 1 6 16 23 11.5%
22 2 5 20 27 13.5%
23 2 4 21 27 13.5%
24 0 0 6 6 3.0%
25 2 2 4 8 4.0%
other 0 1 4 5 2.5%
no answer 2 7 21 30 15.0%
Total 13(6.5%) 34(17%) 153(76.5%) 200 100.0%
Analyzing Students‟ interlanguage Chapter three 111
Thirteen participants started learning English before joining primary
school which essentially means that they began in the lower kindergarten or
upper kindergarten. These stages are only available in private schools. Thirty
four participants began learning English in the primary stage but the majority
of the participants i.e., 153 (76.5%) began learning in the preparatory stage.
Because of the importance attached to English as an international
language, taught in all the countries as first or second or foreign language, the
Ministry of Education in ROY is planning to introduce teaching English from
grade four or five, to help Yemeni learners acquire it better. So that after
graduation from grade twelve, they can communicate with others easily.
Table 3.4 Distribution of the participants according to university
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Valid
Amran University 100 50% 50.0
Hodeidah university 100 50% 50.0
Total 200 100% 100.0
Table 3.5 Distribution of the participants according to their level
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Valid
Level One 100 50% 50.0
Level Four 100 50% 50.0
Total 200 100% 100.0
Analyzing Students‟ interlanguage Chapter three 112
Table 3.6 Distribution of the participants according to their age
Age Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Valid
18 13 6.5% 6.5
19 29 14.5% 14.5
20 32 16% 16.0
21 23 11.5% 11.5
22 27 13.5% 13.5
23 27 13.5% 13.5
24 6 3% 3.0
25 8 4% 4.0
Others 5 2.5% 2.5
No
answer 30 15% 15.0
Total 200 100% 100.0
The respondents were from two public universities comprising of 80
boys and 120 girls. In level one, there were a total of 100 participants
consisting of 42 boys and 58 girls. In the level four there were 38 boys and 62
girls. Most of the participants of level one and four had experience of
approximately six years of education through preparatory and secondary
schools education system. The participants of level four had experience of three
years of education through college education. Therefore, they had more
experience than those of level one. All the participants spoke Arabic as their
mother tongue.
Analyzing Students‟ interlanguage Chapter three 113
3.4 Instrument
The main source of data used for finding answers to the research
questions, is the written essays of the 200 participants. The subjects were
chosen from first and fourth levels university students of two public
universities. 50 participants were chosen from each level. The following table
shows the number of the participants from each University according to their
levels.
Table 3.7 The frequency of the participant
University Level(1)
one
Level (4)
(1)four
Total
Hodeidah
University
50 50 100
Amran University 50 50 100
100 100 200
3.5 The reasons for choosing students of Level One and Four
The participants completed six years of learning English as a
compulsory subject in preparatory and secondary schools. In schools, English
is taught five times a week for 45 minutes each. Level one performance will
not be the same as performance of level four. Students of level one were fresh
in their first semester in the academic year 2009-2010, while level four students
had finished studying English for three years in the college.
3.6 Description of the Research Approach
This study is descriptive, in general terms and the problem is examined
with intense accuracy and is observed precisely for what the researcher is
Analyzing Students‟ interlanguage Chapter three 114
looking for. In specific terms, it is called a ―focused description‖. A focused
descriptive methodology or approach is concerned with studying the
observations, with close scrutiny of the data recorded by the researcher.
To answer the research questions in this study, the focused descriptive
approach has been employed. This was to narrow the scope of the study to
investigate a particular issue such as native language influence on second or
foreign language learning (Larsen-Freeman & Long, 1991). It is limited in
scope as all aspects of SLA are not explained. It is possible to employ number
of procedures in this type of research to collect linguistic production data. The
one that was used here for collecting data was guided by written compositions.
To carry out the analyses of the compositions, two techniques – CA and
EA were used in the light of Selinker‘s interlanguage. These techniques have
been chosen because of their practical application in identifying the errors in
learning a foreign language, written or spoken. The CA and EA techniques
have been discussed in literature pertaining to teaching a foreign language.
It would be a good idea to give, a brief account about these two
techniques and why they were used. It was thought that the foreign language
learner‘s difficulties can be predicted from the differences of the two language
structures (El-Sayed, 1982). From such a thought, CA appeared in the 40s of
the last century. CA was considered by its proponents that what are to be
learned are the differences between the native and foreign language systems.
Thus, CA tells something about the nature of the differences. For example,
Analyzing Students‟ interlanguage Chapter three 115
word order for a basic sentence in Arabic is different from the one in English;
for example:
1- Arabic basic sentence starts as :
Verb + Subject + Object / Predicate.
2- English basic sentence starts as :
Subject + Verb + Object / Predicate.
This is an example showing the differences between the Arabic and English
languages in basic sentence structure. Another example of word order between
Arabic and English is Adjective – Noun word order; for example:
1- Arabic basic Noun Phrase starts as :
Noun + adjective.
2- English basic Noun Phrase starts as :
Adjective + Noun
EA is a process by which the teacher of foreign language tries to analyze
a learner‘s written or spoken production while he/she is learning an FL/SL. It
identifies, classifies, and explains the errors committed by the learner of FL/SL.
This is done by comparison of the two languages in question.
From this brief account, one can see that there is no contradiction
between the two techniques, CA in its weak version and EA. For this reason,
both CA and EA techniques were used in this study; the former one in its weak
form has helped in providing a linguistic explanation for known errors. The EA
Analyzing Students‟ interlanguage Chapter three 116
has been the starting point for contrastive studies and not the method for
verifying hypothetical prediction (Wilkins, 1972).
3.7 Data Analysis Procedures
Only syntactic errors were analyzed for this study. The Syntactic errors,
in this study, refer to errors in the following grammatical categories: verb to be,
present progressive marker, definite and indefinite articles, modal verb, plural
marker, subject, negative, auxiliary verb, verb phrase, preposition, adverb, (all
these items are discussed under two types of errors i.e., addition and omission),
word order, fragment of sentence, structure of sentence, subject-verb
agreement, simplification, and selection of words (part of speech).
The data obtained from compositions written by the students were
examined to identify the syntactic interlingual or intralingual interference
errors in writing EFL. The Errors are defined as noticeable deviations from the
norm, which are considered as systematic and syntactically unacceptable
(Brown, 2007) .
In order to analyze the data collected, the following procedures were
applied: identifying errors; classifying the syntactic errors into linguistic
categories such as, addition, omission, fragment, simplification, structure,
selection, word order and subject-verb agreement and finally explanation of
these errors according to their source, interlingual or intralingual interference.
A total of 831 erroneous sentences were identified, sorted out using SPSS to
Analyzing Students‟ interlanguage Chapter three 117
see the frequency of each type of error. Only syntactic errors were sorted out
and analyzed.
3.8 The source of Data
To conduct this study properly, two main sources of data collection were
utilized.
1- The questionnaire;
In order to elicit certain biographical and interlanguage
information from the subject, a nine item questionnaire was constructed.
The initial five items dealt with specific profiles of each student while
the last four items explored various linguistic backgrounds of each
student including the desire of studying English and the difficulties they
faced during learning.
2- The student‘s performance in English
The subjects in this study were asked to write free compositions
on any one of the topics they were provided.
3.9 Classification of Errors
Syntactic errors were found in all 831 erroneous compositions and
classified into the grammatical categories they violated. These were classified
into categories and subcategories. This classification is presented in the
following table.
Analyzing Students‟ interlanguage Chapter three 118
Table 3.8 The classification of errors
No Type of Error Error
Freq. Subtypes Examples
1 Omission 262
linking verb English necessary to learn .
to I like plan for future.
indefinite article I will work as teacher.
subject The first time study english in city.
do/did I not study English..
ing form I want to complete study English.
main verb I couldn't any words.
pluarl marker My parent support me to study this
language.
to/ing I love study English.
ly I will communicate with the world easy.
definite article English is first language in the world.
of The importance English is an international
language.
2 Structure of
sentence 193 I plan in the future become teacher.
3 Subject-verb
agreement 110
Number agreement There is a lot of difficulties.
Person agreement It need hardworking.
4 Addition 104
Linking verb I will be go to college.
To I will to study English.
ing form I want to learning Arabic.
past marker He did not studied English.
indefinite article They will be a good speakers.
definite article The English is easy.
modal verb We must are learning this language.
plural marker I want to meet a lot of peoples
double negative I have not never studied english before.
Subject My father and mother they are very glad.
this/the I like this the language.
Does He does can speak english.
5 selection of
word 63 I want to learn English to students.
6 Simplification 45 I start learning English when I was 15.
7 word order 43 English is language important.
8 Fragment 11 When I knew meaning of Arabic.
Total 831
Analyzing Students‟ interlanguage Chapter three 119
3.10 Explanation of Errors
The syntactic errors identified in this study were then explained in terms
of their sources interlingual or intralingual interference. Interlingual errors are
those which are caused by mother tongue (MT) interference, Arabic in this
study. Syntactic errors described and explained in this section are: omission of
linking verb, omission of indefinite article, omission of subject and word order
(adjective-noun order).
Intralingual (developmental) errors are those errors which are caused by
the following sources: overgeneralizations, simplification, lack of knowledge
of the target language rules. Errors of this type include the following
categories:
1) addition of linking verb, addition of indefinite and definite articles,
addition of present progressive marker ‗ing‘ addition of past marker ‗-ed‘,
plural marker and addition of ‗to‘ between modal verb and main verb.
2) omission of ‗to‘ between two verbs, auxiliary verbs, subject–verb
agreement (number and person agreements) and selection of appropriate words.
3.11 The Benefit of Analysis of Errors
The main areas of benefit of the analysis of errors are as follows:
1. The study of errors provides the researcher with evidence of how
language learning or acquisition takes place as well as the strategies and
techniques used by the individual to acquire the language.
Analyzing Students‟ interlanguage Chapter three 120
2. The study reports the errors in the preparation of educational materials.
They can design appropriate educational materials for speakers of each
language in the light of their errors.
3. The study of errors helps in the development of appropriate curricula for
students both in terms of setting goals or choosing the content or
teaching methods or methods of evaluation.
4. The study of errors opens the door to other studies which explore the
reasons for the poor performance of students in second language
education programs and suggest appropriate remedies.
Studying the errors of students in writing assignments is called
dimensional analysis/studying because of its concentrating on what happened
and not what we expect to happen.
3.12 Background information
3.12.1 Difficulties Yemeni learners encounter
Arab EFL and Yemeni learners encounter many problems in English
language learning. These problems include the four language skills, i.e.,
listening, speaking, reading and writing. Furthermore, they keep committing
errors in syntax, semantics, morphology, pronunciation, and spelling. The
reasons that lie behind these problems are many such as: English is not their
mother tongue of the Arab EFL learners, they use Arabic as their formal
language of communication, and the lack of the target language exposure as
spoken by its native speakers, the EFL learners‘ preference towards using
Analyzing Students‟ interlanguage Chapter three 121
Arabic in EFL classrooms rather than English, the lack and weakness of the
input in their language teaching context, the lack of the Arab EFL learners‘
personal motivation, the inappropriateness and weakness of the English
language curricula adopted by some academic institutions. The following table
shows the difficulties Yemeni EFL learners encounter.
Table 3.9 The difficulties Yemeni University students face during learning
English
No the difficulty frequency
1 the teacher / the way of teaching 68
2 Grammar 51
3 Pronunciation 33
4 spoken 26
5 Vocabulary 17
6 writing is different from spoken 14
7 Poverty 13
8 unqualified teacher at school 12
9 references not enough 12
10 English is not used between students 10
11 Listening 10
12 lack of teachers 7
13 mother tongue interference 7
14 Reading 7
15 sound of English is different from the alphabets/ 7
16 literature of English 6
17 no confidence during writing 6
18 no teaching aids 6
19 Reading 6
20 uneducated family 6
21 crowded of the classes 5
22 no lab for learning listening 5
23 no practice of English 5
24 shortage of books at schools 5
25 the behavior of teachers toward us 5
26 the crowded of the classes at schools 5
27 there is no motivation 5
28 spelling of English is different from writing 4
29 shortage of vocabulary 3
Analyzing Students‟ interlanguage Chapter three 122
30 Family 2
31 Society 2
3.12.2 The reasons behind choosing learning a foreign language (English)
There are so many great reasons for learning a foreign language. New
research by the UK Subject Centre for Languages has identified more than 700
reasons to study languages. It concludes that the strongest of these reasons are
the personal benefits and enjoyment that people gain from learning a language
(Gallagher-Brett, n.d).
Yemeni students gave a variety of reasons for selecting the languages they
studied. The following table shows the overall frequency of each response, for
all the students surveyed. From the table we can notice that the desire to learn
English was the highest followed by choosing English for communication and
the third one is to be a teacher of English.
Table 3.10 The reasons behind YUS choose English department
The reasons behind choosing English
department
their
frequency
1 my desire to learn English 65
2 for communication 60
3 to be a teacher 44
4 to get a job 31
5 to know the culture of foreign countries 23
6 it is an international language 22
7 English is the language of the world 37
8 to speak English 15
9 for travelling 13
10 the language of computer 13
11 to talk about Islam and my country 13
12 the first language in the world 11
13 to be a good speaker of this language 6
Analyzing Students‟ interlanguage Chapter three 123
14 to help people speak English 6
15 enjoying learning this language 5
16 to get more information 5
17 my family's desire 4
18 the language of the future 4
19 simple and easy language 4
20 books written in it 3
21 my favorite school subject 3
22 the important language 3
23 to be a guide for the tourist 3
24 attractive language 2
25 to be a good translator 2
26 modern language 1
27 to teach my family 1
In this chapter, a detailed description of the problem of the study
selection of subjects, universities etc., method of data elicitation were
discussed. A brief summary of the difficulties Yemeni University students face
during learning English is also presented.