Identification of Common EFL Errors in Writings of Kosovar Freshmen

Abstract

This descriptive study aims to identify the most common English language errors committed by EFL freshmen of the second largest university in Kosova. In particular, it focuses on identifying morphological and syntactic deviations in student writing to provide practical insights for teaching without examining the causes of deviation. Data was collected from a corpus of hand-written essays from 210 freshmen in English Language and Literature Department at University of Prizren during the winter semester of 2016/2017 academic year. Participants produced one-paragraph essays on student motivation within 60 minutes, and the resulting errors were classified using a linguistic category scheme. Data was analyzed using frequency count and percentage distribution. Findings of the study revealed that faulty use of prepositions and present simple tense made up almost half of the total number of errors committed. Out of 406 identified errors, prepositions and present simple tense each accounted for 21%, followed by singular and plural nouns at 17%. These results suggest that language pedagogy should pay specific attention to the most frequent error types through purposeful classroom input.