Ecuadorian public high school students’ errors in EFL writing skill

Abstract

This study focuses on Ecuadorian public high school students’ errors in EFL writing skills. It seeks to provide an overview of the most common errors made by EFL students in the following areas: form of language, content, and mechanics. In addition, this study describes, analyzes, and interprets the results of errors made by EFL students in their English classes, as well as explaining the pertinent perceptions of the teachers and students regarding this topic. For the purpose of this study, both quantitative and qualitative methods have been employed. The quantitative method was used to determine the frequency of errors found in written samples and the qualitative method was used to analyze the perceptions of students and teachers about the reasons errors in writing have been made. The main instruments were questionnaires and worksheets for written samples, provided to eighty-one students and five teachers. The results obtained demonstrate that patterns of error are consistently found in the writing of EFL students and that there is a lack of writing practice in their pertinent English classes.