Advanced NNS Teachers" Different Error Patterns on English Articles Depending on a Task Type

Advanced NNS Teachers" Different Error Patterns on English Articles Depending on a Task Type

  Even high advanced language users make English article mistakes for various reasons. In this study, English article usage of thirteen non-native-speaking EFL teachers in the online forums of two graduate courses was examined in order to identify their patterns of recurring article errors. Based on their error patterns in the online forums, a cloze test was specially developed and administered. Most non-native-speaking participants showed similar levels of performance in the online forums and on the cloze test but demonstrated different error patterns depending on a task type. suggesting multiple patterns of article usage errors among advanced learners. The participants made the most errors misusing the zero article where either the indefinite article or the definite was obligatory in the online forums. On the other hand, the error percentages in zero-for-the or zero-for-a contexts were increased on the cloze test and the participants tended to overuse the definite article instead of the indefinite article or the zero article. Analyses of the syntactic environments of the article errors were provided to explain the differences depending on the task types and pedagogical implications for advanced learners on the basis of the analyses are also provided.