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Common English errors in China
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From: "Olivia Robinson" <livinchina@p...>
To: <teflchina@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Mon Jan 14, 2002 3:41 am
Subject: Common Chinese Errors
I have been teaching in Qingdao now since September and since I finished teaching the semester yesterday (not over yet though: papers to mark next week!) I have started to evaluate what I have achieved and what I have yet to accomplish.
I keep a book (and am now putting them on the computer) in which I write oral and written English mistakes which are common to students across my classes. I teach 1st and 2nd year university students conversation, writing and video classes and at first took on the role of an observer, by listening to and reading mistakes. I am now keen to use this data more pro-actively and am currently gathering more info from outside teaching classes (IELTS & LCCIEB).
My suggestion is this. If everyone were to write down 5 common errors they find in their students' speech or writing, we could all share them and use the information for the benefit of our students next semester. A similar 'brainstorm' was proposed some time ago on the subject of 'successful classes' and I thought perhaps this might be of use to the list too.
These are my contributions but maybe others could include pronunciation errors, grammatical structure errors etc...
1. 'Definitely, I'll call you tomorrow' instead of 'I'll definitely call you tomorrow'
2. 'It's really a beautiful city' instead of 'It's a really beautiful city'
3. 'He should make efforts' instead of 'He should make an effort'
4. 'Because he felt ill, so he went to the doctor' instead of 'Because he felt ill, he went to the doctor'
5. 'How to say...' instead of another gap filler, eg. 'How can I put it/What's the word' etc...
I don't want to spark a debate on the validity of people's ideas of 'correct' or 'incorrect' phrases, but I think most native speakers would agree that while certain 'Chinglish' phrases would be comprehensible to most native speakers, a lot of them could be better expressed: This is my aim. I hope this might be useful for you all too.
Olivia Robinson
Qingdao University
Qingdao, Shandong Province
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From: "Ria Smit" <itsria@n...>
To: <teflchina@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Mon Jan 14, 2002 11:38 pm
Subject: Re: Common Chinese Errors
Please reply to 'fromhome41@h...'. Olivia wrote:
: 5. 'How to say...' instead of another gap filler, eg. 'How can I put
: it/What's the word' etc...
Olivia,
The last one of your points is Chinese. This is not English but direct Chinese translation.
I have found a way to correct it like this. "There is no English sentence which begins with 'How to ....'. Book titles, etc. may, but in spoken English there isn't one." You need to let the student know that. Replace with, Can you tell me how to say .... or How do I say .... .
After that answer the question that is being asked.
How do I say that? ---- With your mouth!
How do you think about it? ---- With my brain! etc.
This wakes the students up to the fact that they have asked the wrong question and it is the best way to get them to correct it. I do not give the correct answer until I get the correct question. It really works.
Here's some points off the top of my head, after seven years in China.
1. I went to the park to PLAY with my friends.
2. I was absent because I sent my friend to the hospital, instead of,...took my friend to the hospital.
3. We have done it last lesson. ---- We did it last lesson, or, We have done it.
4. I will go a week later. ---- I will go in a week.
5. Have you ever been to Beijing before. ---- Have you ever been to Beijing.
Each one of these points is actually a clear usage of Chinese grammar. Incorrect word usage because it is a very common word in Chinese adding the extra word because in speaking Chinese it is important to remember to add the words that we are always telling our students not to say in English. It takes practice, practice and more practice.
Ria.
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From: "lewis" <chinalewis@y...>
To: <teflchina@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Mon Jan 14, 2002 10:22 am
Subject: Re: Common Chinese Errors
There is an excellent book called "Common Spoken Errors of the Chinese" by Joseph and Linda Boyle pub Longman 1993, 183 pages, paperback. Example of Contents: In a Restaurant, Telephone Manners, Job Interviews, Banking, Good
Health etc..
Lewis Beijing
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From: english expert <englishexpert@m...>
To: <teflchina@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Mon Jan 14, 2002 10:30 pm
Subject: Re: Common Chinese Errors
Dear Olivia,
While I was working at the Foreign Language University here in Guangdong, I did the same thing and eventually filtered the most common error into one book. The book which is entitled "88 Ways to Instantly Improve Your English" has been selling well in Hong Kong and now Longman and myself are working together with Beijing Commercial Press, preparing for a big Mainland Launch in April.
Basically I took the most common 88 mistakes that I heard on a daily basis and organized them with plenty of examples and practice questions and it has proved to be very successful. I am now very interested to hear that you are undertaking a second project. All I can say is that great minds think alike. ;-) Perhaps we could get together and pool our ideas to collaborate on a new publication. I am sure that Longman would be interested in an 88 part two. I f you are interested let me know and I can send you more details about the current book.
Chris
GZ
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From: "fshdt" <fshdt@u...>
To: <teflchina@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Tue Jan 15, 2002 4:19 am
Subject: Re: Common Chinese Errors
In teflchina@y..., "Olivia Robinson"
> 4. 'Because he felt ill, so he went to the doctor' instead of 'Because
> he felt ill, he went to the doctor'
Because ... so and Although .... but are common errors caused by an overemphasis on translation.
> 5. 'How to say...' instead of another gap filler, eg. 'How can I put
> it/What's the word' etc...
How to say? and How to spell? have both become entrenched. Students often know it's not standard but it's hard to change. I do much the same as Ria.
Some more:
Heavy overuse of connectives - therefore, moreover, furthermore, nevertheless etc. These are used some 80 times as frequently as native speakers writing academic English essays. I'm teaching students to make more use of referential pronouns, synonyms and other devices for cohesion and also to use the topic and content for cohesion rather than throwing connectives in at the beginning of sentences and paragraphs. I should say that they use the connectives (apart from "on the other hand") with a correct meaning, it's just that the overuse of these marked forms makes their work harder to read.
Misuse of referential pronoun "It" in:
Some travellers catch diseases. It is because they do not take precautions.
I teach that in these sort of cases, Statement followed by explicit reason/explanation, it's a good rule of thumb that initial "It" refers forward, initial "This" refers back.
False passives with certain verbs:
It was happened yesterday. He was arrived yesterday.
Again an error caused by over reliance on translation. These are all common errors with Cantonese speakers, by the way. I don't know how relevant they are for Chinese with Putonghua as their first language.
Like Ria I notice an extension of the verb "play" to cover an area much wider than its common use in English. This also happens with the use of school to cover tertiary education, but I think that US English accepts this more than British so I don't worry too much except when I'm trying to get a more adult approach to education.
Another:
"This is base on ...."
I think the passive is hard for Chinese students because they only know the form, not the use so it's hard to recognise and fit it in.
Dick
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From: "dk" <davkees@y...>
To: <teflchina@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Tue Jan 15, 2002 6:46 am
Subject: Re: Common Chinese Errors
Good idea Olivia. Here's my contribution:
1) "How about..." -We use this as a follow-up question but Chinese often start a question like this. For example, our conversation may go like:
A: "What ice-cream do you like?"
B: "I love chocolate ice-cream!"
A: "How about strawberry?"
B: "I love strawberry ice-cream, too!"
But my students often say, "How about what ice-cream do you like?"
2) "the coin has two sides" idiom is beaten to death. When I was doing IELTS examinations we'd see this one constantly. There must be a text book out there somewhere teaching all the students that this is a great one.
3) "knowledge" - "We get a lot of knowledge in the university." Many students don't know how to use "learn" as in: "I learned a lot in university."
4) "My city is a beautiful city." OK, well this is not a grammar problem. It's more of a cultural difference. All of my students want to say this about their cities but I seldom hear it said among Westerners. (I sure could never say my city, Detroit, is a beautiful city.) I usually explain to my students how Westerners would and would not describe their cities. This is related to the following,
5) Another cultural point- Me: "I really like China!" Student: "Thank you!" Well, we're not trying to change their culture but they do need to know how Westerners think about these things to help their communications be more effective. If people visit and like the USA I feel I had very little to do with their positive experience and can take little personal credit for it.
6) Cantonese have problems pronouncing "th".
Prepositions and articles are always tough to learn. But to complicate things some are different between various Englishes. For example, if my student says, "I go to hospital everyday." My knee jerk reaction is to tell him "THE hospital". But our dear British colleagues are going to tell us that what our student said is perfectly acceptable. So I think it is a good idea to make this a 'project' that all of us on the list can colaborate on.
Regards,
Dave Kees
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From: "Pete Marchetto" <p_marchetto@y...>
To: <teflchina@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Tue Jan 15, 2002 9:04 am
Subject: Re: Common Chinese Errors
More than five. My apologies for some of the more obvious ones...particularly
the first, but someone has to mention it:
i), He/she, his/her confusions.
ii), Excessive use of the word 'very'. (Playing the game 'Just a Minute' with
the students is a very, very good way of illustrating this very irritating problem; by the end of the game you will find the students begin to get very, very irritated with themselves for it as well).
iii), Excessive use of 'superlative' words such as 'delicious' and 'beautiful'.
iv), Cultural considerations in the use of such words as 'Motherland' and
'propaganda'.
v), The tendency to use too many adjectives to add colour to written work rather than varying verb and noun usage which tends to be more effective in English composition.
vi), In contrast to v), the desire with a burgeoning vocabulary to actually DO something with it and thus to overuse literary synonyms in spoken English.
vii), Closure of any and every speech or statement with the words 'That's all'.
viii), The premature use of idioms, ie., the tendency to do so before they slip trippingly from the tongue and instead to deliver them as if in expectation of a round of applause.
ix), Unnecessary objects - 'The children were playing A GAME'; 'John is reading A BOOK'; 'She was singing A SONG'.
x), The bizarre belief held by some students that American English is worthy of attention.
Pete Marchetto
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From: "Janet Elfring" <jianailin@y...>
To: <teflchina@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Tue Jan 15, 2002 8:57 pm
Subject: Re: Common Chinese Errors
I appreciate this discussion of common errors and will use it in class. I particularly appreciate the "How to.." Examples. This mistake is so common I have not been correcting it. Below are some I have worked on to little avail. Most errors seem to be translation from Chinese.
"When to." Similar to "How to." When to use this word? or "How to do" in place of "what to do". "I didn't know how to do."
"I very like." "He very regret". "He was very regret." I tell them to leave out "very" altogether much of the time but if it's important use "I really like." Or "I liked Titanic very much." I also point out that regret should have an object, "I really regret skipping class last week."
Misuse of "ever". Mao Zedong ever said... I ever went there. I tell them "Never, ever, use "ever" in answers, only questions. Did you ever eat dog meat? No I never ate dog meat. Yes, I often eat dog meat. Yes, I ate dog meat once. Not: Yes, I ever eat dog meat. Sometimes I tell them they could say, I haven't ever eaten dog meat. But I advice against that form. I point out that "Mao Zedong ever said." is ambiguous. I don't know if Mao said it once or frequently.
Leaving out the verb "to be". I hungry. When I tired. It more important. Etc. etc. etc.
Misuse of "most" and "more" "Most happiest." "Most prettiest." "More pretty" instead of "prettier." However they also form unpronounceable words with "er" "disgusteder" "regularer" rather than "more regular".
"Boring" for "bored" or "exciting" for "excited". "I was boring." "I feel boring." I tell them that means they make other people feel bored which they understand when I explain it, but the usage doesn't change.
Using "likes to" as a comparison. "Her singing likes to a bird."
"Healthy" as a noun for "health". "Protect your healthy."
Knowledges, informations, etc.
Randomly using he or she, him or her, his or hers with no real connection to the gender of the person involved, often switching genders in the same sentence when speaking of one person and using the incorrect form. "She read him book." Even the English teachers do this regularly although they seem to catch themselves and correct the sentence after saying it incorrectly
Janet Elfring in Beijing
jianailin@y...
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From: "bruce clark" <artbruce@h...>
To: <teflchina@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Tue Jan 15, 2002 9:21 pm
Subject: Re: Common Chinese Errors
Personally, I'd like to get my hands on the person who first suggested the use of "and so on" to my students!
I do think that we need to differentiate between common Chinese errors and common Chinese usage. Just as we accept (perhaps unwillingly, Dave?) "go to hospital" and "go to the hospital" as English or N. American usage, so we have come to accept Australian English (Strine), Indian English, Irish English and so on (Aaargh!). With a population as large as China's, I think it inevitable that some Chinese usage will eventually creep into the World English. I don't think that English will, any longer, belong to native English speakers. (I remember the horror with which Australian teachers greeted the arrival of "yeah" and "okay", etc.)
Definitely, the use of false verbs and other examples of incorrect English should be pointed out, and the correct usage taught. I support Dick wholeheartedly in this. And clumsy, awkward and repetitive phrases discouraged. (That, for example, is incorrect English, yet we all understand my meaning and would not find the sentence construction objectionable.) Similarly, "How to spell?" is easily understood and is not something to which I would object. Think, Ria, of the following: "I want to make something." "What's the problem?" "How to do it?" An English sentence that does begin with "How to .." Perhaps this may be a Chinese contribution to the evolution of the English language. As with their delightful expansion of meaning for the word "play". Certainly no worse than "Hanging out"! With enormous Chinese cultural pressure, the English language as we know it is bound to be somewhat distorted, as it has been already over the years by other cultures. (Think of the Yiddish influence.) Personally, I enjoy this linguistic melange ... it makes the language, I feel, more flexible and exciting. And it also ameliorates the Americanisation of other cultures. Welcome to Chinglish!
Gotta go ... class to teach!
Bruce.
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From: "fshdt" <fshdt@u...>
To: <teflchina@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Wed Jan 16, 2002 12:42 am
Subject: Re: Common Chinese Errors
> Prepositions and articles are always tough to learn. But to
> complicate things some are different between various Englishes.
> For example, if my student says, "I go to hospital everyday." My
> knee jerk reaction is to tell him "THE hospital". But our dear
> British colleagues are going to tell us that what our student
> said is perfectly acceptable. So I think it is a good idea to
> make this a 'project' that all of us on the list can colaborate
> on.
> Regards,
> Dave Kees
British English only omits the article for hospital when the person going in is going for treatment.
She went into hospital and she had it all taken away.
It tends to be left in when you're going to visit, for occupational purposes or just to collect medicine. I think going to the hospital every day implies one of those reasons so in this case we brits will leave the article in. How does US English stand on 'going to church/school'?
or about going home?
dick
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From: "Tony Gilbert" <webdev@b...>
To: <teflchina@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Wed Jan 16, 2002 6:45 pm
Subject: Re: Common Chinese Errors
The issue of misuse of "how about..." seems to have been overlooked in this discussion, yet it is probably one of the most widespread misuses of English (ESL) I have encountered. It seems to be mainly the Chinese who do this, although I have recently encountered it with Koreans as well. Does anyone know why they think this use of "how about" is correct (see below)?
Tony Gilbert
-----Original Message-----From: dk [mailto:davkees@y...]
1) "How about..." -We use this as a follow-up question but Chinese often start a question like this. For example, our conversation may go like:
A: "What ice-cream do you like?"
B: "I love chocolate ice-cream!"
A: "How about strawberry?"
B: "I love strawberry ice-cream, too!"
But my students often say, "How about what ice-cream do you like?"
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From: english expert <englishexpert@m...>
To: <teflchina@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Wed Jan 16, 2002 10:43 pm
Subject: Re: Common Chinese Errors
>Dear Chris,
> Where can I get this book["88 Ways to Instantly Improve Your English"]?
Dear Marilyn,
Only in HK until April [2002] when it is launched here on the mainland. Even so I would be happy to send you an English version in word format if you contact me off list. In fact I'll be happy to send anybody on the list a copy but please keep it to yourselves as book piracy is a big problem here and i do not want to shoot myself in the foot even before the book is released. And of course, if you can help me promote the Chinese version to your students, that would be a big help too. ;-)
Chris
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From: "fshdt" <fshdt@u...>
To: <teflchina@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Thu Jan 17, 2002 9:47 pm
Subject: Re: Common Chinese Errors
In teflchina@y..., "Tony Gilbert"
>The issue of misuse of "how about..." seems to have been overlooked
>in this discussion, yet it is probably one of the most widespread misuses of
>English (ESL) I have encountered.
"How about..." seems to be used as a general question and I never know what answer is expected. Another similar type of question is the one you get when you ask students to make a questionnaire:
Questionnnaire: "What do you think about Macau?"
Respondent: "How on earth can I answer this in one line? What in **** were you trying to find out?
My guess is that in Chinese these questions are common but are used as part of a restricted code where participants know what areas are under consideration and what answers are expected.
This restricted code problem usually surfaces the other way round. Chinese learners can't use a restricted code in the appropriate situation because they don't have the shared background and assumptions so things have to be spelled out. It can make their conversational English stilted and pedantic. This ties in with what Felicity and Jennifer have been saying about language learning and identity.
Dick
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From: "Ria Smit" <itsria@n...>
To: <teflchina@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Fri Jan 18, 2002 2:00 am
Subject: Re: Common Chinese Errors
Tony wrote:
: The issue of misuse of "how about..." seems to have been overlooked in this
: discussion, yet it is probably one of the most widespread misuses of
: English (ESL) I have encountered. It seems to be mainly the Chinese who do : this,
Tony, it is a direct translation of Chinese which uses the same word for "What about" and "how about". Maybe in their lessons they learn "how about
first and thus it sticks. I am not sure.
Ria.
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From: "Wayne" <berryw@s...>
To: <teflchina@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 22:30:21 -0500
Subject: Overcoming Chinese-English Colloquial Habits in Writing
A paper, entitled "Overcoming Chinese-English Colloquial Habits in Writing" (written by Ted Knoy of National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan) may be of interest to some list members. Please consult it at the following URL:
http://www.cc.nctu.edu.tw/~tedknoy/html/Jp-news2.htm
Wayne Berry
Toronto, Canada
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