CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
The vital goal of teaching the English language as a second language is to make learners proficient in some or all of the basic language skills, including reading, speaking, listening, writing and understanding the language phrases and sentence structures (Hemabati Ngangbam, 2020). As second language learners gradually move towards deeper understanding and mastery of target language, they progress throughout the interlanguage (Abdulamir Alamin & Saswan Ahmed, 2012). According to Corder (2015), interlanguage occurs during the initial stage where learners do not achieve proficiency and emphasise what they know about the target language. Interference from the mother tongue is believed to be the major source of learning problem in the target language. Moreover, interference is a negative transfer or influence of a language to another language in the bilingual or multilingual situation. Therefore, learning problems or errors may have various types based on the interference degree of the native language.
As writing is a continuous complex process of expressions. It is not itself a simple process with its native language and rather even more a complicated process if the language is a foreign language. A number of studies conclude with the impact or interference with their first language during the process of writing in English. Studies done by Cedar (2014); Chen & Huang (2013); Benson (2012); Collins (2012), Seyyed ( 2012), Neda Ghabool et.al (2012) and Jarvis (2000), all supports this phenomena. Likewise, with any other learners of English as Foreign Language (EFL), the English in Nigeria was expected to have its impact with its Nigeria language interference. A text is determined by the language of syntax and the disagreements with the syntactic rules are called syntax error. This judgment can easily be detected by our knowledge of language but one purpose of a theory of syntax is to possess the structural sentence as acceptable or not.
Syntax complexity is one of the most difficult structural elements for ESL/EFL learners. Scott (20018), identified a number of issues in the study of expressive syntax. Among these were; Syntactic structures added and developed in this period occur less frequently in the ambient language. The number of discourse contexts for studying syntax increases, (eg. Written as well as spoken language, and informational in addition to narrative and conversational discourse).
For long years English learning and teaching has been an issue that attracted researcher's attention. Researchers have designed studies in order to understand the process of acquisition of a mother tongue and learning a second language so that they can offer learners a better education to fulfill the different demands. Currently, the world is embraced in a process of a globalization and it requires speaking universal language. Therefore; Sudan faces the need to be a part of this globalization.
Concerning training in teaching English demand reflection on issues that affects an optimal development of language competence as these regarding problems with interference of the mother tongue (L1) with the acquisition of the second language (L2) and which abstract the development. Thus, the present study emerged from the concerns related negative transfer of syntactic errors structures from L1 among some English Language learners whether using it in written or oral Production from L1 into L2. Some English language learners whether using in written or oral production.
Additionally, it intends to describe some factors that lead English language learners to make errors in determined syntactic categories. In this study, the researcher focuses on the syntactic transferred errors constructor made by English language learners. These syntactic errors categories include several aspects such as word order, ellipsis, pronoun, omission, pronoun addition, pronoun misuse, article omission, preposition, misuse of tense and comparative constructions. Furthermore; syntactic errors occurs because of lack of subject – verb agreement, fronting and postponing.
As a second language learner in Nigeria, writing (research project) in the English language is one of the toughest tasks to accomplish. Many English Second Language (ESL) learners have experienced the difficulty in producing a piece of writing in the English language. The errors occurred in ESL writing are significantly due to the interference and negative influence of learners' first language. Writing (research project) itself is not a simple process and it even becomes a more complicated process when it is learned as a foreign or second language (Hemabati Ngangbam, 2016), especially in Nigeria. Writing errors due to interference has attracted the interest of many researchers Cedar (2014), Chen & Huang (2013), Benson (2012), Collins (2002), Seyyed (2012), and Jarvis (2000). Learners of English as a second language in Nigeria were expected to experience the impact of first language interference in their ESL learning.
Error analysis is an applied linguistics approach used to identify the areas of difficulty for second language learners by applying a formal system to differentiate the distinction between the learners' first language and target language which is the L2 (Corder, 2007). An error analysis study also attempts to analyse errors committed by the learners in relation to the target language (Corder, 2011). In English language writing context, the written message is understood if the sentences are constructed according to the rules of syntax.
Therefore, any disagreement with the syntactic rules is called syntax errors. In writing, syntax complexity is defined as the ability to produce writings that present the ideas and the large chunks of information blended together with the use of subordinate and embedded subordinate clauses (Susana, 2007). Syntax complexity is one of the most difficult elements for ESL learners in writing. Atawneh (2014) furthermore explained that the degree of deviation in these areas depends on both amount of time spent in the United States and their educational level. Another similar study conducted by Zughoul (2012), had showed that noun phrase errors were second to verb phrase errors, and the most frequent noun phrase errors were in the use of articles, ordinals were used interchangeably, and quantifiers were confused as to their use with count / noncount nouns.
Meanwhile, Al-Khasawneh,(2010), in his studies, aimed at investigating the academic writing problems of the postgraduate students of the College of Business at Ghana University providing solutions to these problems. The findings of the study revealed that the students faced problems in relation to vocabulary register, an organization of ideas, grammar, spelling, and referencing.
It can be concluded that certain difficulties were peculiar to second language learners. It can be seen that second language learners tend to overuse coordinate clauses, at the same time, learners also have difficulties in tenses, verb formation, articles, concord, prepositions, language use (grammar) and punctuation, vocabulary register, and organisation of ideas, spelling, and referencing lexical errors and semantic errors.
Thus, this study intends to examine analysis of syntactic errors in selected projects of students in department of English, College of Education, Lagos State.
Statement of the Problem
It is a great concern to stakeholders in education to see how students displayed lack of mastery of syntactic error in their write ups, most especially among final year students in the course of writing their research project works. They rate of syntax errors committed is alarming. It seems they lack the grip of the errors or they are just negligence of it. Actually, poor foundation in syntax mastery could necessitate it. There is no gainsay in the fact that a research work brilliantly done but lithered with syntax errors and so on, may not be accepted by academician.
When acquiring a second language, L2 speakers are required to master the four skills constituting any language; speaking, writing, reading and listening. One of the most significant skills is writing (Huy, 2013), which is deemed indispensable requirement for L2 learning. L2 learners, who wish to express themselves well, convey their messages properly and translate into L2 with an organized manner, should not write poorly.
During the course of teaching English it was noticed that many Nigerian English Foreign Language (EFL) learners performed poorly in writing, Al-Khresheh (2010). This established the facts Nigerian students study English for a long period, extending for twelve years at school, they keep committing errors in their writing. Some other researchers (Rababah, 2011, 2013; Zughoul, 2011, 2013) argue that Nigerian EFL learners lack the knowledge in all language skills, and writing constitutes the greatest learning difficulty for those learners.
Sharing the same view, Tahaineh (2010) points out that despite the many attempts to tackle writing difficulties encountered by Nigerian EFL learners, writing is still a problem impedes acquiring the target language. It is fitting to say that most previous studies, did not examine the two language categories (syntax and semantics) together, but separately. The present study bridges a gap in literature by placing adequate emphasis on both syntactic and semantic aspects of language. By so doing, through understanding of the nature of errors can be achieved and in turn a better explanation of learners’ errors is presented. Thereby, this study provides detailed explanation of all errors types together with illustrative examples.
Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study is analysis of syntactic errors in selected projects of students in department of English, College of Education, Ikere. The specific objectives include,
1. to find out the syntactic errors that the students commit when they write research project.
2. to classify the syntactic errors frequently occur in research project.
3. to find out the causes of these syntactic errors.
4. to determine the problems that learners tend to experience in writing research project.
Research Questions
The following research questions were formulated to guide this study;
1. What are the syntactic errors that the students commit when they write research project?
2. What types of syntactic errors frequently occur in the research projects?
3. What are the causes of these syntactic errors?
4. What are the problems that learners tend to experience in writing write research project?
Significance of the Study
The study will be of high significance in that it will help the following categories of people in the following ways; lecturers, parent, students and school administrators to know the syntactic errors committed by students in their various final year research projects. This study will serve as an eye opener to the lecturers in knowing the syntactic errors in selected projects of students. This research work will serve as information to the lecturers on existing forms of syntactic errors committed by students as well as ways of helping them out of it. Some project supervisors are no longer taking note of syntax errors committed in students’ research work. This study will call their attention to the various errors. The school authorities will benefit immensely from this study, as it will help keep them informed on the recent techniques could be employed to reduce analysis of syntactic errors in selected projects of students.
Government would not be left out in the list of the beneficiaries of this study. The research work will help the government to see reasons why trained and qualified lecturers should be recruited into our tertiary institutions, why seminars and workshops should be organized by the government for the lecturers to enable update their knowledge syntax errors. This study will in no small measure assist parents and the society at large in knowing what their children and wards do in school and thus, see ways of assisting them to learn and concentrate more on their studies.
Students will derive benefits from this study. It will help them to know the way out of various syntax errors committed by them. Equally, it will guide them step up their reading culture in order to come out in flying colour in their research project work. From the methods and approaches designed by researchers that the English language learners will be able to avoid error production. It is expected that this study will proffer salient information that would assist the society at large to rise up and standard education in our tertiary institutions. The would-be researchers in the related topic of this study will find this study as a point of reference to substantiate their facts and figures. It will serve as a foundational premise to fall back upon in carrying out their researches in the shortest possible time.
Scope of the Study
This study is limited to College of Education, Ikere, Ekiti state. It covers the syntactic errors in selected projects of students in the department of English. The kernel of this study is centered on phonology that is a branch of linguistics. The following will also be focus of the study; difficulties in tenses, verb formation, articles, concord, prepositions, language use (grammar) and punctuation, vocabulary register, and organisation of ideas, spelling, and referencing lexical errors and semantic errors.
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