OVERGENERALIZATION: A CORPUS-BASED ANALYSIS OF L2 LEANERS’ ESSAYS IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

Emitting errors in writing process is unavoidable. Immense errors of second language learners have always been identified in learning process. Concern of present study is to identify and analyze the errors caused by overgeneralization within target language particularly. Qualitative method was applied to collect the data based on composition of written essays of forty-two female English foreign language learners. The data analysis was made quantitatively through Gass &Slinker’s (2008) model of error analysis and later on a classification of errors was quantified into different grammatical categories. The results were presented quantitatively into frequency and percentage. Overgeneralization of the English language rules was quite evident in the essays of higher secondary level students of English.  The study suggests that English foreign language learners should be offered such syllabus which could help them in avoiding overgeneralization of rules within the target language.