Confusions Between English Nominal and Adjectival Forms Among Students at the Dar es Salaam University College of Education: Are they Predictable?
Journal of Education, Humanities & Science (JEHS),
Vol. 11 No. 2 (2022)
Abstract
This paper examines confusions between English nominal and adjectival forms among
students at the Dar es Salaam University College of Education (DUCE). In particular, it
establishes consistencies and inconsistencies in the use of English nominal and adjectival
forms; and informs pedagogical interventions that can be adopted to redress the situation.
Data was collected from a review of selected students’ examination scripts, and then
subjected to error analysis in relation to the identified themes. The findings show that
students vary greatly in the way they use nominal and adjectival forms such that some errors
are consistently predictable, while others are intricately inconsistent and unpredictable. To
address the problem, this paper recommends a case-by-case critical analysis of the problems;
instead of the general conclusions that students experience problems in language use.
Specifically, the paper suggests the need to study the nature, distribution and consistency of
the committed errors and/or mistakes so as to come up with effective interventions.
Keywords
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- Abdala, J. 2010. Errors Made in Forming wh-Questions in English: The Case of Tanzania Secondary School
- Students. MA dissertation, University of Dar es Salaam.
- Al-Jarf, R. 2010. Spelling Error Corpora in EFL. Sino-Us English Teaching, 7(1): 6–15.
- Chomsky, N. 1975. Reflections on Language. New York: Pantheon.
- Chomsky, N. 1988): Language and Problems of Knowledge. Cambridge, MA and London, England: MIT Press.
- English Language Centre (n.d.). Parts of Speech Confusion, Hong Kong Polytechnic University,
- Accessed 20 September 2012. http: //elc.polyu.edu.hk/fyp/html/speech.htm.
- Gass, S. & L. Selinker. 1994. Second Language Acquisition: An Introductory Course. Hillsdale, NJ:
- Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
- Gass, S. & L. Selinker. 2008. Second Language Acquisition: an Introductory Course (3rd Ed.). New York:
- Routledge.
- Hijjo, N. F. M. 2013. A Morpho-Syntactic Analysis on Malaysian Secondary School Students’ Essay
- Writing in English Class. International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 3(11): 286–291.
- Hussain, Z., M. Hanif, S. I. Asif, & A. U. Rehman. 2013. An Error Analysis of L2 Writing at Higher
- Secondary Level in Multan, Pakistan. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business,
- (11): 828–844.
- Ilonga, E. E. 2015. Treatment of Spoken Errors in Secondary Schools: Reactions of English Language
- Teachers and Students. Unpublished M.A Dissertation: University of Dar es Salaam. Dar es Salaam.
- Kasmani, M. B. & P. Rahmani. 2013. Analysis of Kurdish and Persian. Asian Journal of Management
- Sciences and Education, 2(2): 68–73.
- Khansir, A. A. 2012. Error Analysis and Second Language Acquisition. Theory and Practice in Language
- Studies, 2(5): 1027–1032.
- Komba, S.C. & D. John. 2015. Investigation of Pupils’ English Language Abilities in Tanzania: The
- Case of English Medium Primary Schools. World Journal of English Language, 5 (1): 56–64.
- Krashen, S. 2002. The Comprehension Hypothesis and Its Rivals. In: Selected Papers from The
- Eleventh International Symposium on English Teaching/Fourth Pan-Asian Conference (Pp. 395–404).
- English Teachers Association/Roc.
- Mapunda, G. & S. T. A. Mafu. 2014. Corpus-Based Analysis of Academic Writing Errors By First Year
- Tanzanian University Students: Cases from UDSM, SUA and TUICO. Journal of Linguistics and
- Language in Education, 8(2): 46–65.
- Mlay, N. 2010. The Influence of the Language of Instruction on Students' Academic Performance in
- Secondary Schools: A Comparative Study of Urban and Rural Schools in Arusha-Tanzania.
- Unpublished Master Thesis. University of Oslo.
- Mohamed, S. A. 2015. English Phonological Errors By Makunduchi Speaking EFL Learners in Zanzibar. MA
- dissertation, University of Dar es Salaam.
- Mosha, M.A. 2019. The Use of English as a Language and Medium of Instruction in Higher Learning
- Institutions: A Case of One Private University in Tanzania. International Journal of Research and
- Innovation in Social Science, 3(3): 404–415.
- Msuya, E. A. 2013. Descriptive Study of University of Dar es Salaam EFL Students’ Errors. Utafiti,
- (1): 90–110.
- Mtallo, G.R. 2017. The Determinants of Students’ Performance in English as an Academic Subject in
- Tanzania Community Based Secondary Schools In: J. N. Mojekwu, G. Nani, L. Atepor, R.A. Oppong,
- M. O. Adetunji, L. Ogunsumi, U.S. Tetteh, E. Awere, S.P. Ocran & E. Bamfo-Agyei (Eds.). Procs 6th
- Applied Research Conference in Africa. (ARCA) Conference, 17–19th August 2017.
- Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS). 2018. Annual Report.
- Oyedokun-Alli & W. Ademola. 2014. An Error Analysis of the Use of English Modifiers Among Yoruba
- Bilinguals. British Journal of English Linguistics, 2(3): 1–15.
- Özkayran, A. & E. Y?lmaz. 2020. Analysis of Higher Education Students’ Errors in English Writing
- Tasks. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 11(2).
- Pangani, F. 2008. Inquiry Into the Role of English Medium Nursery Schools. Master of Arts dissertation,
- University of Dar es Salaam.
- Salebi, M. Y. 2004. Saudi College Students’ Perception of Their Errors in Written English. Scientific
- Journal of King Faisal, 5: 209–228.
- Confusions Between English Nominal and Adjectival Forms Among Students
- JHSS, Volume 11 Number 2, 2022
- Shigini, P. G. 2020. An Analysis of Errors Made By Tanzanian Advanced Level Learners of English in
- Their Academic Writing. East African Journal of Social and Applied Sciences [EAJ-SAS], 2: (1).
- Tettamanti, M. & D. Perani. 2012. The Neurobiology of Structure-Dependency in Natural
- Language Grammar. In M. Faust (Ed.), The Handbook of the Neurobiology of Language. Chichester:
- Blackwell, 229–251. Vol. 1.
- Upor, R. A. 2009. The Acquisition of Tense-Aspect Morphology Among Tanzanian EFL Learners. PhD
- dissertation, University of Georgia, Athens.
- Valdes, G. & R. Figueroa. 1994. Bilingualism and Testing: A Special Case of Bias. Norwood, NJ: Ablex
- Publishing Corporation.
- Ward-Cox, M. W. 2012. A Critical Review of Language Errors in the Writing of Distance Education
- Students. MA dissertation in TESOL, University of South Africa.
- Wilson, B. & S.C. Komba. 2012. The Link Between English Language Proficiency and Academic
- Performance: A Pedagogical Perspective in Tanzanian Secondary Schools. World Journal of English
- Language, 2(4): 1–10
References
Abdala, J. 2010. Errors Made in Forming wh-Questions in English: The Case of Tanzania Secondary School
Students. MA dissertation, University of Dar es Salaam.
Al-Jarf, R. 2010. Spelling Error Corpora in EFL. Sino-Us English Teaching, 7(1): 6–15.
Chomsky, N. 1975. Reflections on Language. New York: Pantheon.
Chomsky, N. 1988): Language and Problems of Knowledge. Cambridge, MA and London, England: MIT Press.
English Language Centre (n.d.). Parts of Speech Confusion, Hong Kong Polytechnic University,
Accessed 20 September 2012. http: //elc.polyu.edu.hk/fyp/html/speech.htm.
Gass, S. & L. Selinker. 1994. Second Language Acquisition: An Introductory Course. Hillsdale, NJ:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Gass, S. & L. Selinker. 2008. Second Language Acquisition: an Introductory Course (3rd Ed.). New York:
Routledge.
Hijjo, N. F. M. 2013. A Morpho-Syntactic Analysis on Malaysian Secondary School Students’ Essay
Writing in English Class. International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 3(11): 286–291.
Hussain, Z., M. Hanif, S. I. Asif, & A. U. Rehman. 2013. An Error Analysis of L2 Writing at Higher
Secondary Level in Multan, Pakistan. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business,
(11): 828–844.
Ilonga, E. E. 2015. Treatment of Spoken Errors in Secondary Schools: Reactions of English Language
Teachers and Students. Unpublished M.A Dissertation: University of Dar es Salaam. Dar es Salaam.
Kasmani, M. B. & P. Rahmani. 2013. Analysis of Kurdish and Persian. Asian Journal of Management
Sciences and Education, 2(2): 68–73.
Khansir, A. A. 2012. Error Analysis and Second Language Acquisition. Theory and Practice in Language
Studies, 2(5): 1027–1032.
Komba, S.C. & D. John. 2015. Investigation of Pupils’ English Language Abilities in Tanzania: The
Case of English Medium Primary Schools. World Journal of English Language, 5 (1): 56–64.
Krashen, S. 2002. The Comprehension Hypothesis and Its Rivals. In: Selected Papers from The
Eleventh International Symposium on English Teaching/Fourth Pan-Asian Conference (Pp. 395–404).
English Teachers Association/Roc.
Mapunda, G. & S. T. A. Mafu. 2014. Corpus-Based Analysis of Academic Writing Errors By First Year
Tanzanian University Students: Cases from UDSM, SUA and TUICO. Journal of Linguistics and
Language in Education, 8(2): 46–65.
Mlay, N. 2010. The Influence of the Language of Instruction on Students' Academic Performance in
Secondary Schools: A Comparative Study of Urban and Rural Schools in Arusha-Tanzania.
Unpublished Master Thesis. University of Oslo.
Mohamed, S. A. 2015. English Phonological Errors By Makunduchi Speaking EFL Learners in Zanzibar. MA
dissertation, University of Dar es Salaam.
Mosha, M.A. 2019. The Use of English as a Language and Medium of Instruction in Higher Learning
Institutions: A Case of One Private University in Tanzania. International Journal of Research and
Innovation in Social Science, 3(3): 404–415.
Msuya, E. A. 2013. Descriptive Study of University of Dar es Salaam EFL Students’ Errors. Utafiti,
(1): 90–110.
Mtallo, G.R. 2017. The Determinants of Students’ Performance in English as an Academic Subject in
Tanzania Community Based Secondary Schools In: J. N. Mojekwu, G. Nani, L. Atepor, R.A. Oppong,
M. O. Adetunji, L. Ogunsumi, U.S. Tetteh, E. Awere, S.P. Ocran & E. Bamfo-Agyei (Eds.). Procs 6th
Applied Research Conference in Africa. (ARCA) Conference, 17–19th August 2017.
Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS). 2018. Annual Report.
Oyedokun-Alli & W. Ademola. 2014. An Error Analysis of the Use of English Modifiers Among Yoruba
Bilinguals. British Journal of English Linguistics, 2(3): 1–15.
Özkayran, A. & E. Y?lmaz. 2020. Analysis of Higher Education Students’ Errors in English Writing
Tasks. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 11(2).
Pangani, F. 2008. Inquiry Into the Role of English Medium Nursery Schools. Master of Arts dissertation,
University of Dar es Salaam.
Salebi, M. Y. 2004. Saudi College Students’ Perception of Their Errors in Written English. Scientific
Journal of King Faisal, 5: 209–228.
Confusions Between English Nominal and Adjectival Forms Among Students
JHSS, Volume 11 Number 2, 2022
Shigini, P. G. 2020. An Analysis of Errors Made By Tanzanian Advanced Level Learners of English in
Their Academic Writing. East African Journal of Social and Applied Sciences [EAJ-SAS], 2: (1).
Tettamanti, M. & D. Perani. 2012. The Neurobiology of Structure-Dependency in Natural
Language Grammar. In M. Faust (Ed.), The Handbook of the Neurobiology of Language. Chichester:
Blackwell, 229–251. Vol. 1.
Upor, R. A. 2009. The Acquisition of Tense-Aspect Morphology Among Tanzanian EFL Learners. PhD
dissertation, University of Georgia, Athens.
Valdes, G. & R. Figueroa. 1994. Bilingualism and Testing: A Special Case of Bias. Norwood, NJ: Ablex
Publishing Corporation.
Ward-Cox, M. W. 2012. A Critical Review of Language Errors in the Writing of Distance Education
Students. MA dissertation in TESOL, University of South Africa.
Wilson, B. & S.C. Komba. 2012. The Link Between English Language Proficiency and Academic
Performance: A Pedagogical Perspective in Tanzanian Secondary Schools. World Journal of English
Language, 2(4): 1–10