Error analysis of English essays written by Thai high school students in international schools and English Programs

Writing is one of the most significant skills in language learning; its significance considerably rises especially when it comes to the English language, which provides infinite access to global mediation of knowledge. This skill, regardless of advanced or beginner levels, is no doubt the most difficult skill. In order to be an effective EFL writer, one requires the integration of other essential aspects: cohesion, logic, clear structure, and interesting and proper organization with a wide range of vocabulary and mastery of conventions in mechanics Writing is an extremely challenging cognitive activity, requiring learners to possess mastery over various factors. This demanding skill is essential for all learners, in terms of both first or second language acquisition. Learners are sometimes conscious of this fact, but sometimes they are not as some features and significance of writing are too common to detect.This study employed an error analysis, and English written essays were used as the data collection instruments with 32 high school students in international schools and in English programs. This study was aimed at identifying the problems preventing Thai students in international schools and English programs from effectively writing an essay and the causes of these problems. This study is significant for both English teachers and students. For the former, they will be informed of useful information regarding students’ errors in writing English essays, so that they will be able to prepare contents as well as materials for their writing class. For the latter, feedback will be given to students to enable them to recognize their own grammatical errors which, in turn, will contribute to noticeable progress in writing essays.

写作是语言学习中最为核心的技能之一，其重要性在英语学习中尤为凸显——英语作为全球知识传播的核心媒介，为学习者搭建了近乎无限的知识获取渠道。无论学习者处于进阶还是入门阶段，写作无疑是语言学习中难度最高的技能。若想成为一名合格的英语作为外语（English as a Foreign Language, EFL）的写作者，学习者需整合多项核心要素：语篇衔接、逻辑架构、清晰的篇章结构、兼具趣味性与规范性的内容组织，同时需掌握丰富的词汇量与写作规范的行文惯例。
写作是一项极具挑战性的认知活动，要求学习者全面掌控诸多影响因素。这项高要求的技能，无论是对于第一语言还是第二语言的习得者而言，都至关重要。学习者有时能意识到写作的重要性，但有时却难以察觉——这是因为写作的部分特征与核心价值过于日常化，不易被刻意关注。
本研究采用错误分析法，以国际学校及英语课程体系内的32名高中生的英语写作文本作为研究数据样本。本研究旨在探究阻碍上述群体中泰国学生高效完成英语写作的各类问题，并剖析其成因。本研究对英语教师与学习者均具有重要实践价值：对于教师而言，本研究可提供学生英语写作中常见错误的详实数据，助力其针对性地设计写作课程的教学内容与配套素材；对于学习者而言，本研究可为其提供针对性反馈，帮助其自主识别写作中的语法错误，进而显著提升其英语写作能力。