A Corpus-Based Analysis of although Errors in Chinese EFL Learners’ Written Output

The subordinating conjunction “although” is frequently used in English and is considered easy for students to master by many Chinese English teachers. However, errors are often found in Chinese EFL learners’ “although” output during pedagogical practice. This paper aims to explore and analyze common errors of “although” in Chinese EFL learners’ writing. The study is a corpus-based analysis launched under the computer-aided error analysis framework which is a new practice developed from the error analysis hypothesis. Errors of “although” found in texts from the Chinese Learner English Corpus (CLEC) are extracted and analyzed. Qualitative and quantitative analyses are conducted in the study. According to the findings, there are four major types of “although” errors found in Chinese EFL learners’ writing—but/yet addition, punctuation errors, “although” misuse, and omissions and blends. Factors such as interlingual difference between English and Mandarin Chinese, intralingual interference within the English language system, pedagogical neglect in English classrooms and different cognitive styles are potential causes of Chinese EFL learners’ “although” errors.