Your browser does not support the PubReader view.
Go to this page to see a list of supporting browsers.
The Korean Association for the Study of English Language and Linguistics
[ Article ]
Korea Journal of English Language and Linguistics - Vol. 21, No. 0, pp.1145-1161
ISSN: 1598-1398 (Print) 2586-7474 (Online)
Print publication date 31 Jan 2021
Received 28 Sep 2021 Revised 10 Nov 2021 Accepted 27 Nov 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15738/kjell.21..202111.1145

Thai EFL Senior High School Students’ Errors in Paragraph Writing

Watinee Suntara
Assistant Professor, Sciences and Arts Dept., Mahidol University, Amnat Charoen Campus 259 M. 13 T. Nonngamtang A. Muang Amnat Charoen, 37000, Thailand watinee.sun@mahidol.ac.th


© 2021 KASELL All rights reserved
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

The present study aims to analyze errors occurred in the process of paragraph writing of Thai EFL secondary students in Amnat Charoen province in Thailand. Amnat Charoen is a small province situated in central northeastern Thailand. Most researchers have explored error analysis (EA) focusing particularly on undergraduate students, few studies have been done at a secondary level. The written paragraphs were collected at 7 major secondary schools in 7 districts in Anmat Charoen province, taking extracts of 210 written paragraphs. The writing errors were collected, labeled and categorized into elements of syntax, grammar, mechanics and etc. The findings illustrated that the following errors occurred, percentage indicating the level of occurrence capitalization (82%), punctuation (57%), contraction (43%), fragments (43%), run-ons (39%), subject-verb agreement (22%), spelling (20%), conjunctions (20%), tenses (18%) and comma splices (12%). The results of error analysis could be useful as pedagogical implications for teachers who design and select t eaching materials, involved with paragraph writing suitable for the learners’ needs.

Keywords:

error analysis, writing difficulties, paragraph writing, high school students, Thai EFL

References

  • Abderraouf, A. 2016. Investigating EFL Students’ Writing Difficulties and Common Errors in Writing a Case Study of Third Year LMD Students of English at the University of Bejaia. Unpublished master’s thesis, University of Bejaia, Algeria.
  • Al-Khasawneh, F. M. 2014. Error analysis of written English paragraphs by Jordanian undergraduate students: A case study. International Journal of English Language, Literature, and Humanities 2(8), 85-100.
  • Bahri, S. and B. Sugeng. 2010. Difficulties in writing in vocabulary and grammar of the second year students of SMPN I Selong East Lombrok West Tenggara in the school year 2008/2009. Journal of Education Research in the Theory and Practice Education 2(1), 1-16.
  • Bancha, W. 2013. What causes spelling errors of the Thai EFL students? ARECLS. 10, 107-129. Retrieved from http://research.ncl.ac.uk/ARECLS/volume_10/bancha_vol10.pdf.
  • Dulay, H., M. Burt and S. Krashen. 1982. Language Two. New York: Oxford University.
  • Ellis, R. 1994. The Study of Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University.
  • Harmer, J. 2001. The Practice of English Language Teaching (3rd ed.). Harlow: Longman.
  • Hinkel, E. 2004. Teaching Academic ESL Writing: Practical Techniques in Vocabulary and Grammar. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. [https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410609427]
  • James, C. 2013. Errors in Language Learning and Use: Exploring Error Analysis. London: Routledge.
  • Jiménez, A., C. Esmeralda, B. Mira, D. Cecilia and S. G. Rodríguez. 2013. An Analysis of the Writing Skill Difficulties of the English Composition I Students at the Foreign Language Department of the University of El Salvador. Unpublished bachelor’s thesis, Universidad de El Salvador.
  • Llosa, L., S. W. Beck and C. G. Zhao. 2011. An investigation of academic writing in secondary schools to inform the development of diagnostic classroom assessments. Assessing Writing 16(4), 256-273. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asw.2011.07.001]
  • Nair, P. K. and P. Krish. 2021 Mother tongue interference in English writing among Tamil School students. GEMA Online® Journal of Language Studies 21(1), 110-123. [https://doi.org/10.17576/gema-2021-2101-07]
  • Nunan, D. 1989. Designing Tasks for the Communicative Classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Oshima, A. and A. Hogue. 2017. Longman Academic Writing Series, 3: Paragraph to Essays. White Plains, New York: Pearson Education.
  • Raimes, A. 1983. Techniques in Teaching Writing. New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Sawalmeh, M. S. M. 2013. Error analysis of written English essays: The case of students of the preparatory year program in Saudi Arabia. English for Specific Purposes World 14(40), 1-17. Retrieved from http://www.esp-world.info/Articles_40/Sawalmeh.pdf
  • Schoonen, R., P. Snellings, M. Stevenson and A. van Gelderen. 2009. Towards a blueprint of the foreign language writer: The linguistic and cognitive demands of foreign language writing. In R. M. Manchón, ed., Learning, Teaching, and Researching Writing in Foreign Language Contexts, 77-101. US: Multilingual Matters. [https://doi.org/10.21832/9781847691859-007]
  • Seitova, M. 2016. Error analysis of written production: The case of 6th grade students of Kazakhstani school. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 232, 287-293. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.10.022]
  • Sermsook, K., J. Liamnimitr and R. Pochakorn. 2017. An analysis of errors in written English sentences: A case study of Thai EFL students. English Language Teaching 10(3), 101-110. [https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v10n3p101]
  • Shangarfan, N. and M. Mamipour. 2011. The Impact of teaching critical thinking on intermediate EFL learners’ writing skill. American Journal of Scientific Research 40, 119-125.
  • Singleton-Jackson. 2003. Writing Proficiency among Graduate Students in Higher Education Programs. North Texas.
  • Xie, Q. 2019. Error analysis and diagnosis of ESL linguistic accuracy: Construct specification and empirical validation. Assessing Writing 41, 47-62. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asw.2019.05.002]