A contrastive rhetoric analysis of English essays among bilingual learners

Abstract

The current study identified and categorized most commonly committed errors among bilingual learners using their English essays. It attempted to give the reasons why they committed such errors, and explained how the learners' first language (L1), Hiligaynon, affected their writing. This data-driven study focused on selected essays of 20 high school students of a non-sectarian private school in Iloilo City for the school year 2009-2010. Using qualitative-quantitative approach, the researcher identified and categorized errors in their written productions. These were inter-rated to ensure validity of the categorization. A focused grouped discussion (FGD) was conducted among the participants and their English and Writing facilitators in support of the analysis. The results of the study showed that mechanical errors ranked first among the errors committed, followed by grammatical errors; then syntactic errors ranked third while lexical and semantic errors ranked fourth. Learners explained that they committed errors due to carelessness, time pressure, confusion, lack of study, and the use of the forms of spoken language is known, they have the tendency to literally translate Hiligaynon expression into English terms placed inside quotation marks that gave the nearest meaning to the thought as a substitute expression. In addition, they committed in their English essays. They carried over forms that are acceptable in their L1 into their construction in the target language (TL), thinking in L1 and directly translating thoughts into TL, and having difficulty in properly using English constructions that do not exists in Hiligaynon.