SPECIFICITY AND GENERALITY IN ENGLISH ARTICLE USE: EVIDENCE FROM PAKISTANI ESL LEARNERS’ WRITING

Abstract

This paper analyzes the errors that Pakistani students make in using English articles using the Error Analysis Model of Corder (1967). Though the learners in Pakistan have been exposed to the English language over the years in the academic setting, there is still a significant challenge in the usage of articles, and this has mainly been attributed to the fact that no such system exists in Urdu and the other regional languages of Pakistan. The research uses mixed method research design and finds and categorises the errors in terms of omissions, unneeded insertions, substitutions, and misuse of the zero article based in the essays written by 60 intermediate and undergraduate students. It has been revealed that omission errors are the most frequent, and nearly two-thirds of all article-related errors fall into omission, substitution, and insertion errors. Qualitative analysis also demonstrates that these errors are instigated by both interlingual and intralingual influences, while quantitative techniques are used in the measurement of the frequency of every type of error. The research identifies semantic distinctions, i.e., definiteness and specificity in the use of the article. Pedagogical implication implies that contextualised teaching of grammar must be taught, the learner must be exposed to as much authentic text as possible, and that special teaching and learning interventions should be given to the learner with emphasis on the kind of common errors. The findings of the research contribute to the research in the area of applied linguistics since they offer empirical findings in a South Asian multilingual setting and point out the persistence of issues with article acquisition in the second language.