I read book yesterday. [from Yajuan]

Type of error: Missing definite or indefinite article.

Student data: Korean student, high beginner, age unknown, oral error (male?)

What student did correctly: Correct syntax: SVO + adverb.

Inter-language system: Probably L1 transfer is at least partly responsible, since I don’t believe Korean has articles before nouns.

Corrected error: I read the book yesterday OR I read a book yesterday.

Ways to help avoid or overcome errors of this type

First they need to be made aware of our use of articles in the first place. Whenever you intro a noun, always have it with an article. Also have Ss listen, practice & produce to start to understand the cadence (suprasentential level). Then get to the distinction between definite and indefinite, like with Elka’s exercise with the draw a tree. But this one will take lots of repeating in different modes. Some Ss will want cloze (maybe with lyrics) and some will want to know the rule about first and subsequent references.

Mandisa like a good clothes and a nice place like London. [from Hilary]

Type of error: Singular article for plural noun.

Student data: South African teenaged female

What student did correctly: She knows that “a” often collocates with (and before) a noun.

Inter-language system: I don’t know if there’s L1 transfer since I don’t know Zulu. They may not use articles, or they may not have singular- and plural-marked articles. Either way, her inter-language involves overgeneralizing. She remembers that English requires an article before a noun, and that the article is often “a.” It could be just a mistake that she knows is incorrect.

Corrected error: Mandisa likes good clothes…

Ways to help avoid or overcome errors of this type

First determine what other articles she knows. Is it an issue with singular versus plural only? Does she also know the difference between a and an? A(n) and the? I would step back to the original source of the error and build from there. Do we have to go back to the very idea of articles or, at the other end of the spectrum, is she able to self-correct? Perhaps it was just a mistake.