Error Analysis in a Saudi Context

Abstract

This is a case study in which the researchers attempt to reveal reasons behind the writing problems of three Saudi EFL university students by conducting error analysis on samples of their writings. Norrish (1987) defines an error as “…a systematic deviation, when a learner has not learnt something and consistently gets it wrong” Moreover, error analysis is a branch of applied linguistics concerned with second and foreign language learning. The researchers spent a good time identifying and categorizing the participants’ interlingual and intralingual errors. It is worth noting that, the three participants of the study are government school graduates; so the study has several implications for the educational system of government schools. Additionally, the learners’ native language is Arabic, and they have very limited exposure to the target language. The study, also, provides worthwhile implications and recommendations to alleviate future problems of writing English essays among learners whose native language is Arabic.