ERROR ANALYSIS: A STUDY OF PAKISTANI SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNERS’ WRITTEN COMPOSITIONS

Fasih Ahmed; Rooh Ul Amin; Abdul Waheed Qureshi

Fasih Ahmed Department of Humanities, COMSATS Institute of IT, Islamabad, Pakistan
Rooh Ul Amin Department of English, Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan
Abdul Waheed Qureshi Department of English, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, Pakistan

Keywords: Error Analysis, Second Language Learner, Written Composition

Abstract

This study investigates grammatical errors via analyzing second language learners’ written compositions. 522 written compositions have been reviewed and the errors have been identified via the frequency of occurrence in the selected writing samples. Results show that agreement-based errors have the highest frequency followed by spelling errors, sentence structure, and word choice. The study concludes that a greater part of these errors is related to interlingual competency that is learners’ first language is the primary cause for such errors.