Taking Advantage of L2 Errors in EFL Learners' Written Language Production

Abstract

This qualitative study investigates the errors committed by Turkish EFL learners and the rate of spelling mistakes to grammar errors in learners' paragraphs. In order to examine these issues, 19 participants studying at a private high school in Turkey took part in this study. The qualitative data were collected through students' paragraphs written in English. A content and a descriptive analysis were employed to analyze the data. The grammar errors were categorized as errors of omission, addition, misformation, and double types throughout the scrutiny. The errors were related to various grammatical elements such as verbs, articles, verb inflections, noun inflections, and prepositions. The most frequent error category was omission, and the grammar elements the students errored most were prepositions. The results also showed that the students' grammar errors were approximately two times more than their spelling mistakes. Given the results of this study, some suggestions for future studies and pedagogical implications were provided. © 2023 Asociacion Mexicana de Maestros de Ingles MEXTESOL A.C. All rights reserved.