AN ANALYSIS OF TENSE ERRORS BY JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

• Main Authors: Mei-hua Chiou, 邱美樺
• Other Authors: Ching-chi Chen
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/04334651739341438591

碩士 === 國立高雄師範大學 === 英語學系 === 97 === Abstract The primary goal of this study is to examine the major types of tense errors committed by the junior high school students in Taiwan. In addition, the study probes if there are any significant differences in tense errors in different sexes and different proficiency levels. The subjects were 135 ninth-grade junior high school students from Ren-he Junior High School in Taoyuan. They were from four classes and had learned English since they were fifth-grade in elementary. The researcher administered the Chinese-English translation test and the multiple-choice questions of tense judgment. The total 135 sets of data were collected. According to the scores of the Chinese-English translation test, the whole students were divided into two groups--boy and girl students. There were 65 boy students and 70 girl students. Additionally, all the students were divided into three groups with different proficiency levels. They were high-level group (9HLG), middle-level group (9MLG) and lower-level group (9LLG). Each group included 45 students. The major findings of this study were summarized as follows: 1. The performance of the multiple-choice questions was better than the performance of the translation test. That means the subjects could judge correct tenses but failed to write down the correct usages, forms, or spellings. 2. The present continuous was the simplest tense for the subjects in this study to detect and the present perfect (Be Verb) was the most difficult tense to judge. 3. The present continuous was the easiest tense and the past simple (Be Verb) was the most difficult tense in the translation test for the subjects to write down. 4. The top three major error types were misuses of tenses, incorrect forms of tenses, and incomplete forms of tenses. 5. The differences between the boy and girl students on each tense didn’t reach the significant level whether the data were in the multiple-choice questions or in the translation test except the present simple (Be verb) in the translation test. 6. The boy students’ ratings of empty answers in the translation test were higher than the girl students’. 7. The top three error types by the boy students were misuses of tenses, verb number errors and aux substitutions. On the other hand, the top three error types by the girl students were aux substitutions, incomplete forms of tenses and misuses of tenses. The boy and girl students’ common major errors were misuses of tenses and aux substitutions. 8. The middle-level group committed more error types than the high-level group and the lower-level group. 9. The first top error type was misuses of tenses which were mainly committed by the high-level group and the middle-level group. 10. The second top error type was incorrect forms of tenses which were chiefly made by the middle-level group and the lower-level group. The results revealed not only the tense definitions and tense correct forms should be given clearer explanation and illustration, but also more listening, speaking, reading and writing exercises can be offered for students to deepen their concepts and familiarities about tense.