Discusses two types of student writing problems: error characteristics (spelling, pronoun usage, subject-verb agreement, run-on sentences, and capitalization) and nonerror characteristics (density of ideas, variety of referents, and variety of expression). Suggests ways to diagnose and correct them. (HTH)

A common error in children's attempts to solve verbal analogies is to respond with a word strongly associated with the third term in the analogy. This is known as associative response. A study was conducted to investigate the cognitive processes underlying this response. Subjects, 112 fifth grade students, were administered a battery of tests…

Areas of contradiction and controversy over error analysis are discussed, and an interference error analysis project is described, giving a detailed definition of interference error. Several practical approaches to teaching out interference errors are outlined. (MSE)

Designed to analyze systematically the relative effects of different types of oral reading errors on comprehension, this instrument consists of a basic set (each with an easy and a hard version) of six stories. Every story is transformed so that it contains simulated errors of a particular type: (1) correct, (2) semantically related visually…

Repetitions in children's oral reading are typically thought of as disruptive, signalling the kind of careless reading symptomatic of random eye movement or inattention to context. This perspective, however, runs contrary to clinical experiences, which have revealed that many repetitions are deliberate and benefit the reader by serving at least…

This guide to ERRATA, a set of HyperCard-based tools for response analysis and error diagnosis in language testing, is intended as a user manual and general reference and designed to be used with the software (not included here). It has three parts. The first is a brief survey of computational techniques available for dealing with student test…

Considers "unpacking" or "deconstructing" sentences (the reverse of sentence combining) an effective teaching technique that helps students to develop clear predication and eliminate their tendency to use vague, confusing nominalized verbs. (RL)

The study evaluated the usefulness of acoustic tracking as a supplement to perceptual judgments during remediation of articulation errors with a 10-year-old. Analysis of temporal and spectral characteristics of recorded imitations of sentence stimuli were compared with perceptual judgments of articulatory change over a 70-day remediation period…

Examines the nature of interlanguage as it affects second-language learning and teaching, focusing on the language transfer phenomenon, fossilization, how error analysis and error correction can be improved through understanding of interlanguage, native speaker norms, international varieties of English, and the contribution of interlanguage to…

This study examined the criterion-related validity of oral reading fluency (ORF), number of words read correctly per minute, with 64 regular, remedial, and special education elementary-level students. Comparison with two miscue-based assessment measures did not support modification of traditional ORF but did suggest practical value of selected…

A checklist is provided for assessing common errors in speech and language arts. Columns list matched sets of target skills and possible problem behaviors for educational diagnosis and intervention. Skills are divided into sections on language, articulation, voice, fluency and nonverbal communication including prosody, kinesics, and proxemics. (PB)

A table is presented to facilitate error analysis for students experiencing spelling difficulties. Common error patterns are listed along with possible sources of errors and sample words illustrating both stimulus and response according to the erroneous pattern or habit. The three most common error patterns are identified. (PB)

A checklist is presented to help structure systematic observation and diagnosis of students' handwriting. A breakdown of handwriting skills is accompanied by possible problem behaviors and related factors (such as grasp of writing instrument and motor skills) to consider in error analysis. The most common elements diminishing legibility are…

The purpose of this study was to: (1) describe differences in performance by non-native learners of English, when writing in different genres; (2) determine communicative value of grammatical errors as judged by a panel of native speakers; and (3) demonstrate inconsistencies in native speaker judgment of error gravity. Subjects were 20…

English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students in general, and Chinese speakers in particular, often omit or misuse English prepositions in speaking or writing. A study traced the history and structure of the English preposition, using contrastive analysis and error analysis to find sources of Chinese error. To determine if Chinese speakers exceed…