Differences in the Written Production of Young Spanish and German Learners: Evidence from Lexical Errors in a Composition

María del Pilar Agustín Llach ^[1] ; Almudena Fernández Fontecha ^[1] ; Soraya Moreno Espinosa ^[1]
1. [1] Universidad de La Rioja
  
  Universidad de La Rioja
  
  Logroño, España
Localización: BELLS: Barcelona english language and literature studies, ISSN 1139-8213, Nº 14, 2005, pág. 5
Idioma: inglés
Enlaces
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Resumen
- This study investigates quantitative and qualitative differences in the production of lexical errors in the English written performance by young Spanish and German learners of English. The essays produced by the subjects were analysed and lexical errors identified, classified, and quantified. A t-test was performed on the data. Results revealed that Spanish learners commit significantly fewer lexical errors than their German counterparts, t = 2.94 at a significance level p <.01. Despite quantitative differences, both language groups obtained similar results regarding the lexical error types. Our findings suggest that lexical transfer is an important lexical error source in German, as well as in Spanish informants.