PDF《TITLE PAGE》

1 1.2 Statement of the Problem

3 1.3 Objectives of the Study

3 1.4 Significance of the Study

4 Chapter Two: Literature Review 2.1 English as a Second Language in Nigeria-5 2.2 The Concept of Error in Second Language Teaching and Learning -

6 2.3 Approaches to Error Analysis

9 2.4 Classification of Errors

13 2.5 Sources of Errors

18 2.6 Errors and Written English of Nigerian Learners/Users - - -

24 2.7 Summary of Literature Review

27 Chapter Three: Research Methodology 3.1 Preamble

30 viii 3.2 Population Sample

30 3.3 Method of Data Collection

31 3.4 Method of Data Analysis

31 Chapter Four: Analysis and Interpretation of Data 4.1 Classification of the Errors Discovered

41 4.2 Errors as committed by the Students of the Five Department Used in the Study-38 4.3 Spelling Errors

38 4.4 Tense/Aspect Errors

40 4.5 Use of Wrong Word Errors

42 4.6 Capitalization Errors

43 4.7 Punctuation Errors

45 4.8 Sentence Structure Errors

46 4.9 Errors of Abbreviation and Contraction

48 4.10 Omission Errors

49 4.11 Prepositional Errors

50 4.12 Article Errors

51 4.13 Concord Errors

52 4.14 Collocation Errors

53 4.15 Paragraph Errors

54 4.16 Use of Strange Words/Expressions

54 4.17 Stylistic Errors

55 ix Chapter Five: Discussion Findings, Recommendations and Conclusion 5.1 Discussion of Findings

57 5.2 Errors of Lexicon

58 5.3 Mechanical Errors

60 5.4 Grammatical Errors

61 5.5 Wrong use of Abbreviation and Contraction - - - -

62 5.6 Paragraphing Errors

62 5.7 Stylistic Errors

63 5.8 General Observation on the Outcome of the Study - - -

63 5.9 Implication of the Study

63 5.9.1 Implication of the Study for the Students and their English Usage -

64 5.9.2 Implication of the Study for the G.S English Coordinators and Lecturers

64 5.10 Recommendations

65 5.11 Suggestion for further studies

66 5.12 Conclusion

66 Works Cited

68 1 Chapter One: Introduction 1.1 Background to the Study The English language is used and studied as a second language in Nigeria. This implies that it is neither the mother tongue nor the first language of any of the over four hundred and fifty ethnic groups in Nigeria. According to Uzoezie (102), the English language is indigenous to Britain and the first contact by Nigerians with the English language dates back to the coming of the British to the West African coast in the 18th century as traders. The Europeans discovered that their main purpose of coming which was mainly for the commercial exploitation of the region was made a little difficult because of the absence of a language of communication with the natives. This was because they considered the indigenous languages as primitive and had no interest in learning any of them. Baldeh (I) records that they taught the coastal middle men the type of English related to buying and selling. The language progressed with the Europeans coming as colonial masters and making Lagos a colony of Britain in 1862. English later assumed an important position in Nigeria as the official language and the language of wider communication. In the absence of a national language, the English language was accepted as the language of government, education, commerce, mass media and, above all, a language for international interaction and communication. Other aspects of the relevance of English such as the language for national development, educational advancement, social mobility, technological acquisition, etc, have also been highlighted by many writers.

2 The study of English becomes more important as its roles and relevance expand. In the language, efforts have been made to improve the students'