Analysis of Grammatical Errors in Writingsof Saudi UndergraduateStudents

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze the grammatical errors in writing performance in English language among first year (Preparatory) students at Jazan University in Saudi Arabia. The study adopted the Descriptive Analytic Method of research. The data of the study are collected from two tests on writing and grammar for the students in addition to a questionnaire for the English language teachers. The tests were administered to a total sample of 250 students . The teachers’ questionnaire , on the other hand, aimed at assessing the ELT teachers’ views on the common grammatical errors made by Saudi students in their writing. It was administered to a total sample of 100 ELT teachers at the Saudi universities. The above mentioned tools satisfied the criteria of validity and reliability. As for the research problems, the study raised four questions about the common grammatical errors made by the students in their writing. Moreover, four hypotheses were formulated corresponding to these questions. In the light of the findings, the hypotheses were all confirmed except for the third one which was only partly confirmed. The findings revealed low abilities of the students in understanding and using syntactical rules properly which was reflected in the enormous number of grammatical errors made the respondents in the tests. The findings also revealed that negative transfer from the mother tongue language (Arabic) is one of the major causes of syntactical errors made by the students in their written production. In the light of the study findings it is recommended that more attention should be paid to grammatical errors particularly tenses errors using more effective ways stressing tenses in meaningful and interesting texts. It is also recommended that iv students should be guided to look critically and analytically at their written texts and try to find out by themselves the grammatical errors and correct them Finally, it was suggested further studies on errors made by learners before the tertiary level. It was also proposed that further research could be conducted to investigate the impact of colloquial Arabic on errors made by Arabic learners of English language in Saudi Arabia.