Grammatical Problems in Essay Writing: A Case in Vietnamese University, Vietnam

Abstract

happens in the intermediate level of the second language acquisition. This causes developmental errors. Finally, cultural interference plays an important role in linguistic errors and inappropriateness in the context. Error analysis contributes significantly to foreign language teaching. Errors tell the teachers what the students has acquired and what the students need to learn (Corder, 1987). According to Erdoğan (2005), “Errors are a means of feedback for the teacher reflecting how effective he is in his teaching style and what changes he has to make to get higher performance from his students”. Error analysis gives supportive data to syllabus designers because they decide what items need to be added or which items need to be removed from the syllabus (Erdoğan, 2005).Hasyim (2004) had similar view and stated that error analysis illustrates which aspect in grammar is difficult for the students and how effective is in English teaching progress. Abstract: Errors play a significant role in second and foreign language acquisition. Analyzing the errors in the students’ essays helps the students themselves as well as the teachers and curriculum designers. This study conducted with seventy-four English majored students in TraVinh University, Vietnam. Their essays were examined and the grammatical errors in the essay were figured out and analyzed. The findings showed that verb tense, noun, subject-verb agreement and article are the most common types of errors which were found in students’ essays. This also revealed that conditional, model verb and phrasal verb are the grammatical elements which the students rarely used unsuitably. The findings may have useful implications for the students and teachers’ development.