Get It Right How to Apply Error Analysis to Your Language Learning

Get It Right How to Apply Error Analysis to Your Language Learning Get It Right: How to Apply Error Analysis to Your Language Learning Today, we’re going to learn how  to turn errors into lessons.We’ll turn bad into good  and wrong into right.Nope, it’s not going to require any magic. It’s going to tap into a  branch of applied linguistics called Error Analysis.But  what does this have to do with you, the language learner?Everything! Whats Error Analysis?Error Analysis  (EA) is simply the systematic study of language mistakes. This analysis is  done  so that  the identified errors can be systematically learned from and weeded out.Stephen Pit Corder is credited with  revolutionizing the field of applied linguistics in the 1960s, pointing out the utility of errors in language learning. Yes, language learners have always sought to learn from their mistakes, but Corder bolstered the effort of identifying and evaluating errors. In short, he made it less chancy and haphazard.The steps of Error Analysis, as suggested by Corder, are:a. collection of samplesb. identification of errorsc. description of errorsd. expl anation of errorse. evaluation of errorsLinguists basically comb through materials that have been produced by language learners, such as written tests, composed paragraphs and recorded audio. They then identify errors in the content and see if there are patterns that emerge. With the errors displayed in the light of day, explanations for them  are  posited and some prescriptions for course correction can  be given.Perhaps you arent a professional linguist, it’s true, but as a language learner you can actually use Error Analysis to inform  your learning.What linguists do for a class of Middle Eastern students learning English, you can do for  yourself. Youre both the linguist and the subject at the same time.Granted, you wont necessarily use the rigor of statistics to assess your errors like linguists might, but casually following the above steps can still yield a ton of great information.Even then, it’s no walk in the park, that’s for sure. This will  involve the brutal honest y to admit both your strengths and weaknesses. It’ll require some metacognition on your partâ€"an awareness and understanding of your own thought processes. But the fruits of your labor will be worth it.Want a little taste of those juicy fruits? Here are some of the benefits of applying Error Analysis to your personal language learning experiences.Get It Right: How to Apply Error Analysis to Your Language LearningYou Can Identify Your  WeaknessesThe most obvious value of Error Analysis is that it unequivocally points out your weaknesses. By looking through your mistakes, you can say to yourself, “Ah, this is where I need work.” For example, if you notice plenty of errors in verb conjugation, then you can decide to focus your effort more on that. If the verb conjugation errors are mainly  related to  certain tenses, then you can plan to hone in on those.You Can  Identify Your StrengthsPerforming your own casual Error Analysis  double-checks your knowledge of the target language , giving you a good sense of what you’re already good at. You can always review the topics youre better at, but you wont end up devoting an excess of time to these topics anymore. In short, Error Analysis guides the focus of your study, saving you valuable time and effort.You Get an Honest Look at Your ProgressError Analysis provides you with added insights that arent easily obtained from other learning approaches. With Error Analysis, you dive deeper. By following the steps of Error Analysis laid out earlier, you can seek overarching patterns. Instead of cursorily looking at overall exercise scores, youll carefully look at each one of your  slip-ups, then figure out if theyre at all connected, getting a better understanding of your current problem areas.For example, doing this might  help you realize if  the grammatical rules of your first language are negatively influencing your acquisition of the  target language. By looking at all your errors in a series of exercises, you migh t discover that a pattern of errors emerges: You’re still applying first language rules of syntax to your target language.You Gain  a Deeper Understanding of the Language Youre LearningFinally, Error Analysis increases your ability to recognize nuances in the target language. Noticing, thinking about and studying your errors  allows you to split hairsâ€"which can be an excellent thing in language learning. Youll find yourself thinking things like, “Why is this word appropriate in this context and not in that one?” or  â€œWhy is this case an exception to the rule?”As you can see from the above benefits, theres much to be gained here. With  Error Analysis, you can really make significant leaps in learning and avoid making the same mistakes over and over. Hopefully this will result in you  becoming fluent in your target language  faster.So, now that you know about the objectives and benefits of trying Error Analysis out, here are some tips on how to use it all on your own.5  Ho t Tips for  Using Error Analysis to Improve Your  Language Learning1. Complete  Plenty of Tests, Drills and ExercisesIf you’re going to make the most out of Error Analysis, youd better give yourself plenty of data to work with.The only way you can get  sufficient results  is  to give yourself a  significant amount of material from which to draw conclusions.A 10-item exercise on prepositions where you get 7/10  items correct doesn’t necessarily mean youre 70% of the way home. You might need to do much moreâ€"or much lessâ€"work to really master prepositions. Go through  as many exercises as possible on each topic so that you can get a clearer benchmark. Dont stop until youre scoring 10/10 consistently.Written material is the type that best lends itself to  Error Analysis, because youll actually have a record of the errors and mistakes. Audio recordings comes second, but theyre harder to keep track of and assess accurately.The good thing is that you can find plenty of exercises an d drills onlineâ€"just like this one for French learners. This resource  is certainly not the spiffiest of sites, but what it lacks in finesse it more than makes up for with the great number of tests and exercises you can take. You can easily rack up a solid number of completed French exercises on this site. Another advantage is that it shows you all the questions at the same time, not following the usual one-question-at-a-time format thats so common on similar sites. There’s also the easy print feature which could come in handy for keeping records and reviewing later. Find a site like this for your target language, and get going!2. Group Your Errors for Easy IdentificationWhats an “error” in the first place? Is it the same thing as a “mistake”?Linguists have differentiated the two.  Do you know the difference?A mistake is a slip-up, a one-off. Its situation-specific and can be easily corrected. Even native speakers commit them. A native English speaker could unintentional ly blurt out “I drinks the juice, even though he definitely knows the correct form. Maybe he was just sleepy or distracted. He just made a one-time mistake, and  hell probably  never make the  exact same mistake again.An error is more serious. It signifies a level of incompetence and cant  be corrected quite as easily. The error is part of a  pattern and not a one-time event. The person  may have intentionally chosen to use  that language, thinking its perfectly correct.  For example, if someone says, “I ate the juice,” “I ate wine and I eat milk every day, theyre consistently confusing two verbs, to eat and to drink. They still need to study these two verbs and how to use them when differentiating between imbibing liquids and masticating solids.So, now you know what an error is. Thats what youll need to be looking out for. Once you find them,  what do you do with yours?Group them  up!There are tons of potential errors that a language learner could make in any given language . You need to create a system of categorizing your errors that makes sense to you. Coming up with a logical grouping will help you understand where youre making most of your errors. Seeing the connections between your errors will allow you to  keep your focus on a few key areas.You can group the errors in any manner you like, as long as the groups make sense to you. Maybe you can group similar incidences. Is an error vocabulary-related, or is it grammar-related? If its grammar-related, then perhaps you can jot it down next to other errors made with the same part of speech. For example, you can  note down all your verb problems together. You can  note down all your conjugation problems together. You can  note down all your gender-agreement problems together. If one group is getting large, you can even start to create smaller sub-groups.As you can see, there are many ways to group errors. Youre free to build your own nomenclature. It just has to be personal and meaningful to youâ€"aft er all, youll be the only one to use it.3. Keep a Visual Record of Your Thought ProcessesNow we’re really getting into the deeper levels of Error Analysis here. This will require a certain level of self-awareness on your part. Like I said earlier, Error Analysis requires metacognition, an understanding of your own thought processes. Why do you tend to make the same errors? What was your thinking behind these errors?Heres how to go about keeping track of errors and the thought processes behind them.For example, when youre speaking and you suddenly take a long  pauseâ€"not for effect or for thoughtful reasons, but because youre unsure of what to sayâ€"that could be a sign of lacking knowledge or confidence in your language. You’re probably drawing a blank. What word are you unsure about? What caused the pause? What were you just thinking about?Indicate this moment on a sheet of paper, using your very own words. You could write something like:forgot the past tense of the word cut. didn’t know what the word for sleep is in Chinese.got tongue-tied trying to pronounce the rr sound in a Spanish word.When youre answering the questions in a multiple choice exercise and youre alternating between the choices, this indecision betrays a knowledge gap. It means you still havent gotten  a good handle on the subject matter in question. Mark down those numbers with a star or a question mark  so that when you review you can remind yourself that you had difficulty with that particular itemâ€"even if  it turns out that you got the correct answer.It’s these little marks on a sheet of paper that give you a visual of your thought  process, heretofore unseen. It’s a record of the areas that are challenging to you and a great way to discover patches of weakness.4. Evaluate Your Errors by Asking Yourself These 3 QuestionsWhen you do personal Error Analysis, you dont have a team of linguists positing explanations of why you made this or  that error. You only have yourself to i nvestigate and yourself to do the investigation.You need to ask yourself these questions as you evaluate the error.a. What rule or principle did I miss?Asking this question forces you to think about the grammar rules that exist in your target language. It checks if youve been the wiser this time and are now aware why an error exists. If you cant  answer this question, then you cant  be sure that the error wont  haunt you some other time.Note: When considering rules and principles, you should also consider their exceptions.b. Why did I think my initial answer was correct?This is another important question to ask when you evaluate the error because it looks into your incomplete understanding of the target language. When you completed  the exercise, you did it using your present and personal understanding of the language. Comparing your original reasons to the correct answers hones more of this understanding, eliminating faulty impressions and replacing them with accurate ones.Note: If you answer this question with, “I only guessed,” then it counts as an even bigger knowledge gap.c. What should I do so I won’t make the same mistake?This is the proactive part of the evaluation process. Not only are you now aware and wary of your  errors, youll be taking active steps to weed out your  weaknesses. Think of this part as the “New Year’s resolution” of the process.Your answers to this question could be something like:Create flashcards  for the rules of this verb conjugation.Memorize five new words a day. Review them before going to sleep.Use my language learning app every day, for at least 10 minutes.Listen to an audio course or podcast  on my daily commute.Most important of all, have the nerve  to follow through with your plan. There’s no point in making a resolution and an action plan if you’re not going to resolve to act on it.5. Enlist the Help of a Native SpeakerYouve probably had the experience of listening to an English beginner, right?The mistak es and errors are evident to you, and they poke you like a string out of tune. As a native or fluent speaker, youll have a sharp ear for language mistakes in English.If you’re looking for someone to spot the mistakes and errors you make in your target language, a native speaker will do a great job. Even  minor grammatical errors will  ring loud bells in their heads.A native speaker can guide you towards mastering the  nuances of your  target language. There may be instances when a certain word you’re using is grammatically sound, but to a native speaker itll sound a bit offâ€"a little less than natural. They can point out things like this and give you a more appropriate lexicon.A native speaker can also highlight some of the exceptions to grammatical or syntactical rules that go beyond what can be offered in any textbook. And if you want to learn the most contemporary way of speaking the target language, youll certainly want a native speaker to keep you updated.Luckily, native s peakers in any major language are readily available on any language exchange site. A language exchange site is a place where you can trade your innate knowledge of your native language  for another persons native knowledge of your target language. For example, lets say youre an English speaker who wants to learn Spanish. You can find a native Spanish speaker who wants to learn how to speak Englishâ€"thus, an “exchange” takes place. Youre helping another as that person is helping you.If that sounds great, youll definitely want to  check out the best online  language exchange sites to find your learning partner!So, there you have it!Don’t be too hard on yourself and always remember that linguistic errors are never fatal. Nor are they permanent. Theyre but signs of an incomplete understanding and can be remedied with a little study.You’re now ready to face the music and tango with your  own  linguistic errors.