Analyzing Grammatical Errors in ESL Learners’ Narrative Writing: A Case Study

Abstract

Errors are the most frequent possibility during the ESL learning process, and as long people are learning second or foreign languages, study into error analysis will continue. This study aims to identify the different types of grammatical errors in ESL learners’ narrative writing. The aims of this study are: (1) To investigate the grammatical errors committed by the ESL learners, (2) to discuss the factors affecting ESL learners to commit errors in their narrative writing. This research used a mixed-method design integrating qualitative and quantitative approaches. For this research the researcher used a purposive sampling technique. A study has composed of 115 short stories written by the students of BS English department. This study has selected the participants from three sections. The students have given a task to compose short stories on six different topics. This study investigated the 13 types of grammatical errors proposed by Erel and Bulut (2007) in short stories. This study used the coding scheme to give codes of each error and also used Erel & Bulut model to analyze the learner’s errors. After analyzing the errors percentage and frequency through tests the SPSS statistics 27 version tool used for the results. It implies that even though students may be aware of the rules of the target language, their inability to perform adequately is caused by a lack of practice. Error analysis is beneficial for students. Finding the errors plays a crucial role in discovering the problems which are faced by learners at any level. Students can learn from their mistakes and develop their mathematical thinking skills through the unique learning possibilities offered by error analysis. Enhancing teacher-student, student-student, and student-content exchanges also help to improve the calibre of classroom interaction.