Verb Errors in Advanced Spoken English

As an experienced teacher of advanced learners of English I am deeply aware of recurrent problems which these learners experience as regards grammatical accuracy. In this paper, I focus on researching inaccuracies in the use of verbal categories. I draw the data from a spoken learner corpus LINDSEI_CZ and analyze the performance of 50 advanced (C1–C2) learners of English whose mother tongue is Czech. The main method used is Computer-aided Error Analysis within the larger framework of Learner Corpus Research. The results reveal that the key area of difficulty is the use of tenses and tense agreements, and especially the use of the present perfect. Other error-prone aspects are also described. The study also identifies a number of triggers which may lie at the root of the problems. The identification of these triggers reveals deficiencies in the teaching of grammar, mainly too much focus on decontextualized practice, use of potentially confusing rules, and the lack of attempt to deal with broader notions such as continuity and perfectiveness. Whilst the study is useful for the teachers of advanced learners, its pedagogical implications stretch to lower levels of proficiency as well.

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