Study and practice the correct way to improve your English

Study and practice the correct way to improve your English

By: 

-Alejandra María García Gómez--20191000825

-Victor Omar Mendoza Paz--20191002965 

-Lucy Roxana González Nolasco--20191001012

Introduction

Error analysis is a process of analyzing errors made by language learners to identify patterns of errors and reasons for making them. It is a common practice in second language acquisition research and is used to gain insight into how language learners acquire a new language.

There are different types of errors in language learning that can be very common for example: Grammatical errors: when mistakes are made in the grammatical structure of a sentence, e.g., using the wrong form of noun, verb, omitting prepositions, articles, pronouns, etc. Pronunciation errors: when a word or sound is pronounced incorrectly, which can hinder comprehension. Vocabulary errors: when an incorrect or inappropriate word is used, or the meaning of two similar words is confused. Spelling errors: When a word is spelled incorrectly, which can make it difficult to read and understand. It is important to know that when we acquire a second language it is normal to have mistakes, but it is important to correct them.

Pronunciation errors are those in which a person does not correctly pronounce a word or sound in a language. These errors can make it difficult for the person speaking to understand, as mispronunciation can change the meaning of a word or make it difficult to understand, for example: Not pronouncing final consonants, such as the "s" in "dogs". Mispronouncing vowels, such as saying "weird" instead of "wired."

Teachers can develop materials and language teaching strategies that focus on the specific areas in which students are having difficulty, correcting errors in a good way motivates students to want to keep practicing and improving. In general, error analysis is a useful tool for language teachers to obtain specific information about the most common student errors in second language acquisition and to develop more effective teaching strategies to help students improve their language proficiency.

                         Error #1- Falling Intonation

Explanation of the error: English speakers use a wide pitch range and high falling tones are very common, but Spanish uses more rising tones so they don’t use to do it because in Spanish intonation is only used for emotion commonly:

For example, It’s very ↘good.

Exercise #1 

Remark where the low intonation would go.

1. Write your name ↘here.

2. Show me what you’ve written.

3. Leave it on the desk.

4. Take that picture down.

5. Throw that out.

6. Put your books on the table.

7. Take your hands out of your pockets.

8. This is Korean, isn’t it?

9. It’s raining

10. It’s a dog

Exercise #2

Watch the next video of a little chapter of “Friends”, enlist ten of the falling intonation sentences, and remark where the falling intonation is.

1. Turkey should be crispy on the outside 

                                     Error #2- Aspiration

Explanation of the error:In English, the plosive sounds /p,t,k/ are normally aspirated (a big explosion of air), but they never are in Spanish:

For example, Park the car in town

Exercise #1 

Clap your hands when you find an explosive sound.

1. The bus stops here.

2. Her cat is friendly.

3. Today I’m so lucky. 

4. I love chicken with potatoes.

5. His mother is a hippy.

6. I kill a cockroach.

7. I spill the tea on the table.

8. She is still in school at five o’clock 

9. My dog has a lot of skills. 

10. She has to take pills every day.

Exercise #2

In pairs practice the next tong twisters with aspiration sounds.

1. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked.

2. Betty Butter bought some butter. But she said the butter’s bitter, “If I put it in my batter. It will make my batter bitter, But a bit of better butter. - that would make my batter better.

3. A cupcake cook in a cupcake cook’s cap cooks cupcakes.

4. The two Tibble twins tied tiny twine.

5.  Kiss her quickly! Kiss her quicker! Kiss her quickest!

6. Keenly cleaning copper kettles. Keenly cleaning copper kettles. Keenly cleaning copper kettles.

7. Through three cheese trees three free fleas flew.

8. That’s what made these three free fleas sneeze

9. The free throws.

10. Peddle pickles to produce a pretty profit.

 Error #3- The sound of “p” and “b” in English. 

Explanation of the error: The main difference between /b/ and /p/ is that /b/ is a voiced sound, whereas /p/ is just produced by the puff of air. Also, /b/ is pronounced with less air released than /p/, and this can sometimes be a more useful distinction as it is difficult to feel the vocal cords vibrating when making the /b/ sound. 

Exercise #1 

Practice the voiced B sound by saying these words. Hold a piece of paper or your hand in front of your mouth to make sure you are voicing the consonant and not using a puff of air. 
 

• band—panned         

• base—pace  

• bat—pat  

• bear—pear  

• beer—pier  

• belt—pelt  

• berry—perry  

• bit—pit  

• blade—played  

• bland—planned  

• blank—plank  

• blaze—plays  

• bored—pawed  

• braise—prays  

• bride—pride  

• bull—pull  

• but—putt  

• butte—putter  

• lib—lip  

• pub—pup  

• robe—rope  

• tab—tap  

 

 

 

Exercise #2

Now say these sentences out loud. 

 
/p/ 

• The children are playing. 

• Mary is in the park. 

• I saw a spider. 

• Don’t press that button. 

• Her favorite color is pink. 

• Paul likes drinking wine. 

/b/ 

• Can you bring me some water? 

• Do you have that book? 

• What is your phone number? 

• Do not disturb him. 

• Do you want to go for a beer? 

• 
  

 

Error #4- Short and long vowel sounds often sound the same 

Explanation of the error: If Spanish is your mother tongue, you may have difficulties with vowel sounds. This is because there are around twenty distinct vowel sounds in English, whereas in Spanish there are only five. As a result, Spanish speakers tend to stretch out the vowel sound too much to overcompensate, or merge it with the closest sound in Spanish. 

Exercise #1

In the blank box you must place if you think it is a short or long vowel sound while you pronounce each word. 

https://www.liveworksheets.com/tp569926kp 

Exercise #2

 Watch the following video and do the exercises to differentiate between long and short vowel sounds. 

https://youtu.be/QWpyFifs-pM

Reflection

In conclusion, error analysis is an important process for understanding the errors made by language learners and identifying the underlying causes of these errors. By analyzing language learners' errors, we can gain insights into the patterns and trends of errors and use this information to develop more effective language teaching materials and strategies.

For me, error identification is a very important process in teaching because it helps us to correct any errors in pronunciation, language, etc. Errors can arise for a variety of reasons, such as a lack of understanding, lack of ability to apply knowledge, or simply carelessness. Errors can arise for a variety of reasons, such as a lack of understanding of grammar or concepts to help us improve and correct errors, a lack of ability to apply knowledge, or simply a lack of commitment to improve.

As a student I would like to be able to acquire each of the strategies to improve my English and correct my pronunciation errors and as a future teacher I would create a methodology where all students can interact and practice the language a lot, making it part of their daily lives so that their pronunciation improves. When looking for the exercises it is a little easier because there are many pages that provide exercises that we can all understand in an easy way, and finally each of the points of this project is important because it contributes to improve my knowledge

Alejandra Maria Garcia Gomez

My reflection is that error analysis can also greatly help teachers understand the challenges that students from different linguistic backgrounds may face when learning a new language. By focusing on these specific challenges, teachers can design instruction that better suits the needs of their students. For example, if a student is learning English and has difficulty with pronunciation, the teacher can create learning strategies for the student to improve.

Identifying errors can be difficult, but with good teachers and a good method we can have fewer pronunciation errors and in terms of teaching error correction, it is important to keep in mind that people have different learning styles and also that some errors when learning English may be the result of an inadequate teaching methodology. Therefore, a personalized approach to teaching can help prevent and correct errors.

Victor Omar Mendoza Paz

In my opinion, I think that error analysis is a valuable tool for language teachers and all those who wish to improve language teaching and better understand the process of second language acquisition. By focusing on the errors that learners make, we can develop more effective language teaching strategies and help learners achieve greater language proficiency.

The teaching and correction of errors is important because it is a process that should be constructive, mainly of the person who wants to learn a language. It is important to keep in mind that we must practice a lot and strive to improve. We can provide clear and specific feedback to help us understand the error and learn how to correct it in the future. Feedback should also be provided in a timely manner, so that the learner has the opportunity to learn and improve quickly.

 The mistakes of Spanish speakers when they start to learn a new language are many since they develop the new language with the same grammatical structureas their mother tongue and this does not allow them to learn the language correctly, therefore it is gratifying to be able to help many people with these exercises to correct some of the mistakes that are made in the English language.

Lucy Roxana Gonzales Nolasco

References

• *English Club. (s. f.). Minimal Pair /b/ and /p/. Recuperado 1 de abril de 2023, de
• https://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/minimal-pairs-b-p.php 

*engoo. (s. f.). Consonants: /p/ & /b/. Recuperado 1 de abril de 2023, de https://engoo.com/app/lessons/consonants-p-b/u9J9jis4EeeznM9rOjqWjg  

*B. (2020, 11 noviembre). 6 Pronunciation Mistakes Spanish Speakers Make in English (And How To Fix Them). -exfordhouse. Recuperado 1 de abril de 2023, de https://oxfordhousebcn.com/en/6-pronunciation-mistakes-spanish-speakers-make-in-english-and-how-to-fix-them/ 

*Guggi, V. G. (s. f.). Short vowel sound or long vowel sound. LIVEWORKSHEETS. Recuperado 1 de abril de 2023, de https://www.liveworksheets.com/worksheets/en/English_as_a_Second_Language_(ESL)/Vowel_sounds/Short_vowel_sound_or_long_vowel_sound_tp569926kp 

*Billie English. (2022, 9 septiembre). Long & Short Vowel Sound Exercise - Better Pronunciation | Phonology. Recuperado 1 de abril de 2023, de https://youtu.be/QWpyFifs-pM 

*Study.com. (2016, 25 mayo). Long & Short Vowels: Sounds & Word Examples. Recuperado 1 de abril de 2023, de https://study.com/academy/lesson/long-short-vowels-sounds-word-examples.html 

*Hudson, J. (2018, March 12). Spanish Speakers’ English Pronunciation Errors. Pronunciation Studio. https://pronunciationstudio.com/spanish-speakers-english-pronunciation-errors/

*Cabal, C. (2022a, October 13). Aspirated /P,K,T/ and Some Fun Activities to Practise | Blog de Cristina.

https://www.cristinacabal.com/?p=15231

*TBS. (2020, 10 enero). Friends: Monica’s Thanksgiving Dinner is Ruined (Season 1 Clip). Recuperado 1 de abril de 2023, de https://youtu.be/oFKbvpXJ83w

*eoutlet. (s. f.). Listen and Repeat Thai Words Said in Falling Tone. Recuperado 1 de abril de 2023, de https://eoutlet.2023shoponline.com/content?c=falling%20tone&id=1 

 

*ResearchGate. (s. f.). Figure 6 - available via license: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International. Recuperado 1 de abril de 2023, de https://www.researchgate.net/figure/How-to-pronounce-aspirated-and-non-aspirated-sounds_fig3_353927456