Dr. Anwar Mohammed Abdou Mourssi
To learn English Language as a second or a foreign language, one should realize that language is not an abstract construction of the learned, or of dictionary-makers, but is something arising out of the students' work. Many people all over the world strive to learn the English language as a second language or a foreign language, because it has become one of the most famous international languages in the world. But the question is how? The author believes that to predict or to analyze the learners’ errors may provide the teachers, researchers and the learners with valuable information in the areas of difficulties that learners may encounter. An empirical study was conducted on 37 Arab Learners of English (ALEs) which lasted four months. A detailed analysis was made of the errors/mistakes of the simple past tense forms in 111 written texts produced by ALEs. Written texts were collected from each subject at three stages in the experiment (after two weeks, after two months and after four months). Quantitative and qualitative analyses show the effectiveness of error analysis on second/foreign language learners’ written accuracy.
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