Education and Language: Errors in English Language and their Remedies

Abstract

Problem Statement: The current study tries to investigate the nature and typology of errors that primary school pupils in Nembure Division, Embu County, Kenya make in the acquisition of English as a second language. Primary school learners of English as a second language are prone to making numerous errors. This is worrying because good performance Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, Vol.7, No.2, October 2011 88 in English in Kenya and the world enhances a learner’s choice of prestigious careers especially those that strictly consider English as a special requirement. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate the nature and typology of errors made by second language learners of English in Nembure Division and to suggest remedies to these errors. Methods: A written task in the form of a composition was administered to collect data from 182 class seven pupils. Findings and Results: The results revealed that learners make many errors in the area of spelling and phonetics. Conclusion and Recommendations: Learners make many errors in the process of acquiring English as a second language. The study recommends that English language teachers isolate errors from the learners’ work and give individualized attention to those learners’ with unique problems; that English language teachers categorize the errors that learners make and address them from that perspective; that teachers give spelling exercises to the learners frequently, and that the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) should consider starting an oral examination for pupils in primary schools. This will encourage the pupils to improve their spoken and consequently their written language.