Content area
Full text
This study is an analysis of compositions written by Saudi university-level EFL students. It aims at identifying the types of errors they make in the use of the definite/indefinite articles. To achieve this aim, the researcher employed two methods; contrastive analysis and error analysis in identifying, classifying, analyzing and explaining students' errors. Six types of error were identified, and their frequency computed and then compared across the four levels of the study subjects. These types are: (1) omission of the indefinite article (a, an), (2) writing the indefinite article (a) as part of the noun/adjective following it, (3) substitution of the indefinite (a, an) for the definite article (the), (4) substitution of the definite (the) for the indefinite article (a, an) or Ø, (5) use of the indefinite article (a, an) with unmarked plurals, and (6) use of the indefinite article (a, an) with uncountable nouns. Native language transfer was found to play a role in some of students' errors. The analysis revealed that all errors, except two types, were independent of the students' native language (Arabic). The two types of error which could be traced back to the influence of Arabic, among other sources, were: (1) the omission of the indefinite article (a, an) and (2) the substitution of the definite article (the) for the indefinite article (a, an) or Ø. Developmental factors and common learning strategies like simplification and overgeneralization were found to account for the majority of students' errors. The use of these strategies was evident among the students of the four levels who were found to do well on certain items and to have difficulty with others.
Keywords: Error, Definite, Indefinite, Teaching, Learning.
Introduction
Second /foreign language learners often have consistent difficulty and thus make errors when using the language. For many years, errors were considered as a problem that should be eradicated as soon as possible (Corder, 1967). Recently, however, errors are looked on as a device that can assist in language learning process. They give us better insights into the process of learning. Due to this, errors are now regarded as a very important tool for diagnostic purposes in language teaching (AbiSamra, 2003).Thus, analysing errors as an indication of difficulties in language learning has become a popular topic...