| Abstract [eng] |
Error analysis of the interlanguage of non-native students of a foreign language is proving to be a very dynamic branch of applied linguistics. The basis of this current trend is a positive consideration of error as a proof that when a learner makes a mistake, he is really learning. This idea differs from the negative consideration typical to the behavioural characteristic of the mentality that dominated during the 50s (Contrastive Analysis) and inspired a methodology based on the comparison of native and foreign languages to avoid committing mistakes. At that time, it was thought that the main source of errors was the interference. But teaching experience showed that errors were still being committed, and in 1967 Corder proposed to change the attitude of teachers towards the error: rather than anticipate and prevent it, to analyze it after committing in order to be able to draw theoretical and practical conclusions. Thus, the concept of interlanguage arose – the unique linguistic system that forms in the learner which interacts with the rules and vocabulary of L1, other spoken or studied L2, and communication strategies used to cover the lack of linguistic competence. This theoretical concept served as a basis for numerous Memoirs of Masters and doctoral theses that are dedicated to a detailed analysis of errors committed by non-native students of Spanish. These analyses are based on empirical corpus of students’ texts. The errors were identified, classified, and explained; the severity of the errors is evaluated and a way to use the errors in subsequent teaching is proposed. Different criteria are used to distinguish errors: there are systematic errors, transient and the fossilized, individual and collective errors. Errors are classified primarily based on linguistic criteria (phonetic, graphic, morphological, syntactic, lexical, discursive and pragmatic errors). The causes of errors are due to communication strategies that are activated by students speaking foreign language. This analysis is based on the evaluation of the 76 tests of students who are studying Spanish as a free election subject. The tests were performed at the end of the second and third semesters. The students had to write short texts about various topics. The use of GUSTAR is recurrent there. Since sentences with this verb include many elements, it is normal to make frequent mistakes (lack of agreement with the verb, omission of the article, incorrect use of unstressed pronoun, etc.). A statistical study of the frequency of error and the correct use has shown that the latter is more frequent than the former and is common in a certain kind of phrases. |
