THE ERROR ANALYSIS OF ESSAYS WRITTEN IN ENGLISH

Abstract

In this paper we investigate the errors made by students who wrote essays in English. Sixteen essays written by two consecutive generations of students were analyzed. At the time when the research was conducted the students were at the B1 level. The paper shows the frequency of all errors (for each essay individually, as well as between the two different generations). The most representative errors were listed and analyzed (an attempt was made to explain why they occurred). The conclusion is that there were two main reasons that could be used to explain the occurrence of the errors: negative transfer (the influence that the rules of the students– mother tongue have on acquiring a foreign language) and overgeneralization of the previously learned rules.