FROM URDU TO ENGLISH: A STUDY OF ERROR ANALYSIS IN THE WRITINGS OF PAKISTANI EFL LEARNERS

Abstract

The writings of the Pakistani EFL learners in English includes mistakes that could be traced to the first language, Urdu. It is possible to understand such mistakes to improve language teaching. This study seeks to establish the most common mistakes in the texts of EFL Pakistani learners and also explains the contribution of the Urdu language towards the occurrence of these mistakes. Descriptive qualitative study with the analysis of errors based on the Error Analysis model by Corder (1967) is used in this study. Short essays on the topic of The Role of Technology in Education are written by forty undergraduate students of the University of Gujrat. The errors are recognised, categorised into grammatical, lexical, syntactic and mechanical, and analysed as interlingual and intralingual. Grammatical errors are most common, then there are the lexical, syntactic and mechanical errors. Transfer of Urdu errors prevails in interlingual errors especially in sentence structure, articles use and the choice of words. Urdu has a great impact on the English writing of learners. Analysis of errors reveals information on pedagogical interventions to minimise L1 interference and improve accuracy of writing.