‘He is a criminal in series’: A foray into errors by Romanian learners of English. [articol]

Abstract

The paper contains a qualitative and quantitative analysis of errors resulting from the interference between the learners’ mother tongue (Romanian) and English as a foreign language. The errors have been identified in a sample corpus of argumentative essays (cca 15,000 words) written on general topics, by native Romanian students learning English as a foreign language, at university level; the essays belong to the Romanian corpus of learner English assembled by Mădălina Chitez. They are classified, the type of L1-L2 transfer involved in their production is explained and their interpretation is complemented by quantitative considerations. The aim of the research is clearly pedagogical.