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Behaviorist teachings
During the period of the 1940s, the field of error analysis was highly influenced by the behaviorist learning theory of language, and the learner’s errors were considered the result of the existence and interference of the rules of the first language. -
Contrastive analysis
In the 1950s, American linguist Robert Lado began to study errors systematically and developed theories
about errors—contrastive analysis. Contrastive analysis hypothesis claimed that the principal barrier to second
language acquisition is the interference of the first language system with the second language system and that a
scientific, structural comparison of the two languages in question would enable people to predict and describe
which are problems and which are not. -
Universal grammar
Chomsky’s nativist theory gave the new direction to the study of error analysis and language learning. According to that theory, language learning is not simply the process of habit formation rather there is a universal grammar, and learners have the capacity of learning any language rules. -
Interlanguage and its feature
What is interlanguage? It is a term that Selinker (1972) adopted from “interlingual”. It refers to the
separateness of a second language learners’ system that has a structurally intermediate status between the native and target language learners. -
Language learner's language
The most important feature of interlanguage is that it has its own legitimate system where learners are no longer looked on as producers of malformed, imperfect language replete with mistakes, but as intelligent and creative beings proceeding through logical, systematic stages of acquisition creatively acting upon their linguistic environment. -
Error analysis and the procedures
A “mistake” refers to a performance error in that it is a failure to utilize a known system correctly. While an “error” is a noticeable deviation from the adult grammar of a native speaker, reflecting the interlanguage competence of the learner.