Revisiting Error analysis: Exploring errors in the case of English for Specific Purposes

Abstract

Although largely abandoned and criticized in Second Language Acquisition research, Error Analysis is still widely employed in the field of English Language Teaching. The aim of this paper is to re investigate the potentials and limitations of the Error Analysis approach half a century after its establishment. The analysis presented in this paper is placed in the specific context of English for Specific Purposes, aimed to analyze errors in engineering students' translations. Unlike the majority of Error Analyses, this study investigates not only grammatical but also vocabulary errors. The main focus is placed on the explanation of errors, i.e. determining the sources of learners' errors, followed by further analysis of the main causes of both inter lingual and intralingual errors, including over generalization, ignorance of rule restrictions, over extension of analogy, etc. Based on the results and implications of the presented analysis, it is concluded that Error Analysis, despite its shortcomings and limitations, provides valuable insight into the strategies learners employ as well as the obstacles they encounter in the process of foreign language production, which can be used as a resource to improve or supplement the existing teaching methodologies and adapt them to the specific needs of students.

Keywords

• error analysis
• interlingual errors
• intralingual errors
• english for specific purposes
• translation