Implications of Argument Structure Error Patterns in Korean EFL Learners’ Writing

Assuming that errors in L2 learners production data indicate not only properties of interlanguage grammar but also those of the interlanguage lexicon, this paper show that the interlanguage lexicon of Korean learners of English is influenced by properties of L1 lexical entries with respect to argument structure mapping. Parametric differences between Korean and English in possibility of allowing null arguments also play a negative role, resulting in transitivity errors in the use of verbs. Errors are collected from writing samples of 100 Korean college students. A statistical analysis of the relative proportions of errors based on verb types and error types showed participants produced errors in the use of a verb when the given verb has a semantically matching Korean verb whose argument mapping mechanism is different from its English counterpart. Pedagogical implications are provided to help the learners overcome errors from argument structure mapping.