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Errors are a crucial aspect of learners’lives，which refer to incomplete learning in the language learning process（Corder，1974）．It is inevitable to make errors during second language acquisition（SLA）．Different scholars（Corder，1974；Ellis，1995；James，1998）categorized the types of errors from different perspectives，providing different methodology in the process of error analysis（EA）．Meanwhile，EA can be considered a fundamental tool in language teaching to reorganize teacher’s point of view and readdress his/her methodology for fixing and fulfilling the students’gaps（Vasquez，2007）．On the other hand，language learning unfolds in various forms related to a wide array of underlying causes（Darus，2009）．Historically，the causes were attributed to the concept of separation of language system in learners’minds（Iqbal，2019）．But Corder（1974）thought the partial knowledge of the language was attributed to the influence of the first language on the process and product of second language learning．Many scholars（Richards，1974；Darus，2009；Ellis，1995；He，2009）have identified different reasons for errors which include first language interference，overgeneralization，incomplete application of rules，ignorance of the rule of restrictions and false concept hypothesis，etc．，which belong to the concept of interlanguage（IL）．This dissertation，based on the above two theoretical frameworks:error analysis and interlanguage，investigates the patterns of writing patterns in Chinese L2 writing and explores the possible linguistic reasons for committing these errors．Meanwhile，some non-linguistic factors affecting students’writing errors are also examined through a questionnaire．The whole study adopted a mixed-method study with three methods to investigate the data．The findings of this research will not only enrich the understanding of theories of error analysis and interlanguage but also provide the pedagogical practice for teachers and learners in foreign language（FL）or second language（L2）．
Regarding the factors which influence L2 writing，Brown（1994）and Littlewood（1998）ever mentioned that “language learners’errors come from systematic and non-systematic sources”．Systematic sources mainly refer to interlingual errors of interference from the native language and intralingual errors within the target language，while non-systematic sources focus on the psycholinguistic cognitive strategies，sociolinguistic context of communication and countless affective variables（Littlewood，1998）．Therefore，a comprehensive understanding oflearners’motivation，writing attitudes，and language level through committing errors is crucial for second language learning（Takac＆ Berka，2014）．Chinese students in one university are equipped with a similar teaching environment and facilities，also with similar scores enrolled，but their English proficiency and application of English language vary from each other．With the development of globalization and the opening of China，the enhancement of English writing abilities has become a key objective for university students．
Learners commit errors whichever language they acquire or learning stages they are in，which is a necessary process in SLA．However，there is no agreement on the conception of “errors”，different scholars define the term with their own understanding．Therefore，in the field of SLA，there is no agreed definition on the term “errors”．The following part will discuss the conception of errors from different perspectives．
Corder（1967）believed that，according to their nature，errors could be divided into two types，in Chinese “错误” and “失误” while the English expression errors and mistakes ，in which mistake is an occasional and self correcting problem caused by fatigue，etc．，while the error is the opposite．Corder describes errors as the result of learners’insufficient mastery of language knowledge，and the problem of deviation from the use of native speakers．Errors are caused by learners’insufficient ability，which is difficult for learners to correct these errors by themselves．Corder also thought Error Analysis（EA）has two objectives:one is theoretical objective which concerns what and how learners learn a language，while the other is the practical one which is closely related to how to help learners learn a language by making use of the knowledge they have already had．Hence，he asserts that EA is very useful and he also proposed the five-stage process of EA：the collection of errors，the identification of errors，the description of errors，the explanation of errors and the evaluation of errors（Corder，1974 cited in Wu＆ Garza，2014）．Richards J．C（1971）believes that errors are aroused by the differences in foreign language learners’expressions（including vocabulary，structure，etc．）and the expressions in the native speakers or those who have grasped the target language．It is considered by Norrish（1983）as a systematic deviation which happens when a learner has not acquired something，and consistently gets it wrong．However，the attempts made to put the error into context have always gone hand in hand with either language learning and second-language acquisition process．In linguistics，an error is “the use of a word，speech act or grammatical items in such a way that it seems imperfect and significant of an incomplete learning”（Richard et al．，2002:184）．Carl James（2001）summarized the errors into a simple sentence，“the part of speech that failed to express”．Dulay，Burt and Krashen（1982）made the statement that the error analysis is the method to analyze errors made by EFL and ESL learners when they acquire a language．It can not only help reveal the strategies adopted by learners to learn a language，but also it can assist teachers to know what difficulties learners encounter during the process to improve their teaching．Another scholar Hinnon（2014）also confirms that EA is beneficial after her long period of study of literature related to error analysis．She states that EA can help teachers prepare accurate and precise teachings that are suitable for their students．Crystal（1999）defines Error Analysis（EA）as the study of language learners’language forms，and those forms deviate from those of the target language．Rod Ellis（1995）believed that the error not only refers to the content different from the target language expression，but also includes using the correct expression in an inappropriate language environment．Hendrickson（1987:357）mentioned that errors are “signals” that indicate an actual learning process taking place and that the learner has not yet mastered or shown a well-structured linguistic competence in the target language．According to James（1998:77）an error may arise “only when there was no intention to commit one”．Errors are systematic，consistent deviance which is characteristic of the learning produced by learners’linguistics system at given stage of learning．Errors are typically made by learners who do not yet fully control the systematic rules of the target language；they arise due to the imperfect competence in the target language．In China，some scholars usually posed their own ideas on the conception of “errors” or “mistakes”．Dai and Shu（1994）defined the error as a result of the use deviation caused by the lack of understanding of language rules．They thought compared with the errors caused by language rules，deviations or errors caused by cultural reasons are difficult to change．Another Chinese scholar Gui（2005）describes what learners have committed in English writing as speech errors．He believes that speech errors should be viewed from two perspectives，one is “mistakes”，mainly manifesting in two aspects．On the one hand，it is due to the failure of language processing，that is，sudden memory blurring，staged errors，etc．On the other hand，mistakes are caused by inadequate communication skills，that is，the inability to use the target language well to express what you want to explain．The above two kinds of mistakes can be corrected by themselves after being instructed by others or discovered by oneself．The other is errors，which reveals that language learners do not have relevant language knowledge or ability and cannot correct themselves．He proposed that it is difficult to distinguish different types of errors or mistakes，so they generally call them “errors”，including “mistakes” and “errors”．
Experts and scholars at home and abroad have different interpretations of the concept and characteristics of “errors”．It is not difficult to see from the explanations of the above scholars that although there are differences in the content of language expression，the understanding of its essence is basically the same，that is，errors are objective and inevitable in language learning．But the error is not completely negative，the correction of which has a positive effect on language learning，so the study of errors can make better use of the positive aspects of errors．
All the definitions seem to stress either on the systematic deviations triggered in the language learning process，or its indications of the actual situation of the language learner themselves，which will later help to monitor，or help particularly the language teacher to solve the problem，respecting one of the approaches argued in the Error Analysis（Anefnaf，2017）．The occurrence of errors doesn’t only indicate that the learner has not learned something yet，but also it gives the educators the idea of whether the teaching method applied was effective or it needs to be changed．
But one thing should be noticed is that we should make a clear difference between mistakes and errors，they are usually confused as one conception．According to Brown（1994），“it is crucial to make a different definition between mistakes and errors，technically two very different phenomena．A mistake refers to a performance error that is either a random guess or a‘slip’，in that it is a failure to utilize a known system correctly．On the other hand，an error refers to idiosyncrasies in the interlanguage of the learner that is operating at the time in the second language speech”（p.205）．There is difference between making mistakes and making errors（e.g．，a mistake is accidental and known to the author；an error is made deliberately without understanding it is wrong）．However，it would be difficult to distinguish the difference between mistakes and errors in learners’writing subjectively．
According to James（Corder，1967），he stated that “mistakes are of no significance to the process of language learning”．However，the problem of determining what is a learner’s mistake and what a learner’s error is one of some difficulties and involves a much more sophisticated study and analysis of errors than is usually accorded them．Richard et al．（2002）ever stated that people may have the competence to produce an infinitely long sentence but when they actually attempt to use this knowledge（to “perform”），there are many reasons why they restrict the number of adjectives，adverbs，and clauses in any one sentence（2002）．But Brown（1994）ever stated that sometimes，distinctions between error and mistake may be not obvious enough as “their expressions are too short and not typical enough，while the differences can be found when learners convey adequate information．Furthermore，the inevitability of errors makes it possible to observe，analyze，and classify errors in order to make clear the process of learners’application of language”（p.206）．To distinguish between an error and mistake，Ellis（1997）suggested two ways．The first one is to check the consistency of learner’s performance．If he sometimes uses the correct form and sometimes the wrong one，it is a mistake．However，if he always uses it incorrectly，it is then an error．The second way is to ask learner to try to correct his own deviant utterance．Where he is unable to，the deviations are errors；where he is successful，they are mistakes．But Corder（1967）introduced the distinction between mistakes and errors．He pointed out that there are two kinds of errors，one is unsystematic errors and the other is systematic errors．Corder calls these mistakes unsystematic errors which occur in one’s native language while he keeps the terms “errors” for the systematic ones，which occur in a second language．In this study，we just examined the writing errors of second language learners，so all the problems occur in their writing will be categorized in the scope of errors．
This study also adopts Gui’s view（2003）on the definition of error，but whether it is “mistake” or “error”，it is collectively referred to as “error”．That is，as long as errors occur in L2 writing，no matter what reasons，maybe learners do not have relevant language knowledge or ability，or they are caused by learners’insufficient language processing and communication processing，they will be collectively referred to as “errors” in this study．This defining is very important for later experiment in error analysis of L2 writing．
When one acquires the second language or foreign language，it comes as a surprise to find how the authors deal with the question of learners’errors and their correction．However，during the language acquisition，it seems not particular importance，even sometimes it becomes annoying，distracting and inevitable byproducts of the learning a language．Of course，with the application of linguistic and psychological theory into error research，people believed that they had a quite scientific method to explain these errors．These errors are mainly caused by the interference in the SLA from the habits of the first language．The linguist contributes himself to language teaching is that in the intensive contrastive study of the systems of the second language and the mother tongue of the learner．However，teachers do not always regard linguist’s contribution as great thing for their practical experience which has usually shown them where these difficulties lie and they don’t think the contribution of the linguist provides them any newly significant information．They take the example that many of errors they encounter in their teaching were not mentioned or discussed by the linguist．Teachers and educators are concerned more with how to deal with these errors and effective ways to solve such problems．
In the field of methodology，there have been two schools of thought in respect of learners’errors（Corder，1967）．The first school mainly supposed that if we were to achieve a perfect teaching method，the errors would never be committed in the first place．Therefore，the occurrence of errors is merely a sign of the insufficient teaching techniques．While the second school holds the philosophy that we live in an imperfect world，and errors will always occur despite of our best efforts．Our attention should be paid on techniques to deal with errors after they have occurred．
These two points of view are compatible with the same theoretical standpoint about language and language learning，psychologically behaviorist and linguistically taxonomic（Corder，1967）．Audiolingual and fundamental skills are the two kinds of language teaching applications based on such points of view．
In the previous section，Corder（1967）pointed out that there are two kinds of errors，one is unsystematic errors and the other is systematic errors．The use of the term systematic in this context implies that there might be errors which are random，or we call it non-systematic．The opposition between systematic and non-systematic errors is important．We are all aware that we native speakers continuously commit errors of one sort or another．These errors are usually caused by memory lapses，physical states，such as fatigue and psychological conditions such as strong emotion．We are normally immediately aware of them when they occur and can correct them with more or less complete assurance．However，it would be quite unreasonable to expect a L2 learner not to show such slips of the tongue（or pen）．We should make a distinction between the two errors we just mentioned．One type is closely related with the chance circumstances，and the other reveals the underlying knowledge of the language to，or we call it transitional competence．The errors of performance will characteristically be unsystematic and the errors of competence，systematic．As Miller（1966）puts it，“it would be meaningless to state rules for making mistakes”．Corder（1967）thought errors of performance as mistakes，while the term error refers to the systematic errors of the learners．However，mistakes are of no significance to the process of language learning．The problem of determining what is a learner’s mistake and what a learner’s error is one of some difficulties and involves a much more sophisticated study．
According to Corder（1981），a learner’s errors can provide evidence of the system of the language that he is using at a particular point in the course．They are significant in three different ways．Firstly，it is meaningful for teachers because when the teacher undertakes a systematic analysis，he will know how far towards the goal the learner has progressed and，consequently，what remains for him to learn．Secondly，it is significant for researchers because they can prove how language is learned or acquired，and what strategies or procedures the learner employs in his discovery of the language．Thirdly and most importantly，they are indispensable to the learner himself，because making errors can be regarded as a device the learner uses in order to learn．It is a way for learners to test their hypotheses about the nature of the language he is learning．The making of errors is a strategy adopted by children to acquire their mother tongue and those who are learning a second language．
The following dialogue is quoted from Corder（1981），which was recorded during the study of child language acquisition．The recording bears unmistakable similarities to dialogues which are a daily experience in the second language teaching classroom：
Mother：Did Billy have his egg cut up for him at breakfast？
Child：Yes，I showeds him．
Mother：You what？
Child：I showed him．
Mother：You showed him？
Child：I seed him．
Mother：Ah，you saw him．
Child：Yes，I saw him．
The dialogue describes a child within a short exchange．Corder claimed that this dialogue has tested three hypotheses：
“One relating to the concord of subject and verb in a past tense，the second one about the meaning of show and see and a third about the form of the irregular past tense of see ．It only remains to be pointed out that if the child had answered/ saw him immediately，we would have no means of knowing whether he had merely repeated a model sentence or had already learnt the three rules just mentioned．Only a longitudinal study of the child’s development could answer such a question．It is also interesting to observe the techniques used by the mother to‘correct’the child．Only in the case of one error did she provide the correct form herself：You saw him．In both other cases，it was sufficient for her to query the child’s utterance in such a form as： You what ？or You showed him ？Simple provision of the correct form may not always be the only，or indeed the most effective，form of correction since it bars the way to the learner testing alternative hypotheses．Making a learner try to discover the right form could often be more instructive to both learner and teacher．This is the import of Carroll’s proposal already referred to．”
Of course，the expression of a correct form cannot prove the learner has acquired the language system which would generate that form in a native speaker．He might just repeat a heard utterance，which case is just behaviour，not a language．Spolsky（1966）calls it “language-like behavior”．On the other hand，we cannot overlook the fact that the utterance which is superficially non-deviant is not the evidence of the learning of the language systems．Because the utterance is semantically related to the situational context．For example，in the sentence “I want to know the English”，it might express an unexceptionable sentiment，and it is more likely that he expressed his wish to know the English language．Therefore，when we examine errors in the language，the situation context should be taken into account．
Although some references and literature suggested that the strategies of learning a first and second language may be the same，the distinction between them is still to be noted．It may suppose that the first language learner has an unlimited number of hypotheses about the nature of the language（Corder，1981），while the second language learner has a quite simple task，that is，“Are the systems of the new language the same or different from those of the language I know？And if different，what is their nature？”The evidence shows that most of his errors are related to his mother tongue．
The above section talks about the significance of the errors that is very crucial for teachers and learners in the Chinese context．For a long time，errors and mistakes mean a failure in the acquisition of the foreign language，so teachers and students regard such writing as not a good one if errors can be checked from the text．This chapter can clear some puzzles and confusions on this aspect，which provides the information that the error itself has the significance in language learning．With those errors，teachers and students can reflect what they should do to the following learning．After reading the the comments and quotations from Corder，the attitude toward errors might change in Chinese teachers and students，which will play a very important role in language learning．
In this chapter，we talked about the definition of errors，the differences between errors and mistakes，and the significance of errors to teachers and learners．Through the introduction of the first chapter，readers can have a general idea on the term errors in SLA．More importantly，learners can have a clear distinction of errors and mistakes that are confused by lots of teachers and researchers．The significance of errors provides an overview of the positive aspects of the negative information in language learning．I believe，through the above three aspects，the readers will have a preliminary cognitive knowledge on learners’errors．For the next chapter，we will continue to explain the theories behind the errors in L2 learning，provide the development process of error analysis，and the relationship between error analysis and L2 writing in SLA．
When categorizing errors，the categorization is quite different because of different criteria in methods of categorizing，research participants，research directions，and so on．Therefore，in the past decades，many scholars show their different classifications of errors according to their own findings in this aspect．However，one thing should be noted that the following error types are categorized from a micro perspective，not a macro one，so it just obtained a generality．
Richards（1971）categorized error types according to the methods of language effects:interlingual errors，intralingual errors and developmental errors．Interlingual errors are caused by the linguistic and cultural differences between mother language and target language，while intralingual errors and developmental errors are aroused by the misunderstanding and misuse during the process of language learning because of the differences between mother language and target language．The differences between intralingual and developmental errors lie in that the former is unavoidable in using language while the latter is caused by the hypothesis of learners with unclear expression ways．
In 1967，Corder explained the concept and classification of errors，and then in 1974，Corder and Allen worked together to improve and supplement the classification of errors．According to the different stages of language systematism，Corder divides errors into the following three types：Pre-systematic errors:learners have a certain language foundation and have the ability to use target language．However，due to the limited mastery of the target language，learners can only learn as much as possible from their own language system to look for ways to express their ideas．At this stage，learners’response to language errors mainly includes two aspects:first，learners’free expression is strong and difficult to explain；the second is that learners lack ability to correct themselves，even if they are pointed out the mistakes，it is hard to correct them．Systematic errors：Learners have mastered the target language systematically and have certain expressive ability．However，due to learners’incomplete understanding of the expression of the target language，errors will occur in the expression．At this stage，when pointing out errors，learners can make reasonable explanations for the errors，but it is difficult to correct them without guidance．Post-systematic errors：Learners have a good understanding of the grammatical concepts of the target language，but in the absence of language practice，the expression of ways has not reached the stage of unconscious behavior，so in application，inexperience causes mistakes．At this stage，learners can make reasonable explanations for errors and also correct themselves．
In 1973，Dulay and Burt investigated the errors of language learners and collected a large amount of error information．Based on the concept of psycholinguistics，four categories can be classified:interference errors，development errors，uncertainty errors，and special errors．Among them，interference error refers to the error caused by L1 structure interference，and development error refers to the error similar to the process of L1 learning．The uncertainty errors may be caused by both interference and development．Special errors are other kinds of errors except the above error types．
Later，in 1982，Dulay，Burt and Krashen worked together to sum up four classification methods：
（1）Classify according to language categories，such as pronunciation，vocabulary，morphology，syntax，etc．
（2）Classify according to the surface strategy taxonomy．Dulay and Kiparsky（1972）classified the errors from the perspective of construction strategy，omissions，additions，misformations and misorderings．
（3）Classify through comparison．To classify errors in this way is to compare mistakes made in the process by foreign language learners and native language learners．For example，when classifying learning errors of a certain group of people in China，the errors made by native speakers in learning English should be collected first，and then we can find out the differences by comparing the two languages．After classification and comparison，errors can be divided into six categories：omission of grammatical morphemes，double marking of semantic features，use of irregular rules，use of wrong word forms，alternating use of two or more forms，and misordering．In order to classify all errors effectively into various types，Dulay et al．（1982）proposed creatively the conception of other errors that are called storage boxes．All errors that do not belong to the first three types can be put into this scope．No clear classification can include all types of errors，but it can ensure that all errors can be classified into their own types completely．
（4）Classify according to the impact of errors on communication．In language communication，wrong language use will affect communication．Therefore，there are two classifications based on this．One is global errors，that is，the listener can’t understand the speaker at all or listeners misunderstand a completely different meaning；The other is local errors，which means speakers associate the meaning of the speaker from his words．
In the late 1990s，James（1998）proposed five categories of errors which include grammatical errors（adjectives，adverbs，articles，nouns，possession，pronouns，prepositions and verbs），substance errors（capitalization，punctuation and spelling），lexical errors（word formation and word selection），syntactic errors（coordination/subordination，sentence structure and ordering），and semantic errors（ambiguous communication and miscommunication）．This kind of classification consists of five main categories and 18 sub-categories，which can meet the needs of teachers and researchers in their error-checking and study．Particularly，this kind of classification fits to the grammar teaching in Chinese context，for in the middle school，Chinese students have the similar grammar structure with the above one．This is also the reason why the author chooses this classification as the framework in the later practice part．
In another study，Hengwichitkul（2006）analyzed errors at the sentential level．All the errors were classified as subject-verb agreement，tenses，parts of speech，participial phrases，relative clauses，passive voice，parallel structure，punctuation，run-ons and fragments．Compared with the classification of James（1998），this categorization tends to analyze errors less at single grammatical level，but analyzes more at the sentence structure level．This kind of classification just mentions several aspects of language errors，which might not meet the needs of teachers and researchers，because the classification just focuses on part of the language phenomenon．
There are some other classifications．According to the differences between native language grammar and target language grammar，Chomsky（1965）divided the relationship between the two languages into strong and weak．If the grammatical structures of the target language and the mother tongue are basically the same，but other aspects are different，then the two languages belong to the weak equal relation．If the grammatical structure and meaning expression are basically the same，then the two languages belong to strong equality．However，the simple expression of the relationship as strong equal and weak equal has a certain one-sided nature，but on this basis we can expand the relations of strong inequality and weak inequality，in which strong inequality refers to errors caused by completely different grammatical results and meaning expressions that is also called explicit error．Meanwhile，weak inequality refers to errors that are basically consistent in grammatical form and have certain meaningful relevance which are known as overt errors．To sum up，explicit errors refer to learners’linguistic expressions and meanings expressed in the target language，which is a significant difference between them．Implicit errors refer to that learners use expressions which are similar to the target language and think that they have conveyed what they want to express．But in fact，the form and meaning of expression are biased．For example，learners express One man is walking along the road ，where “one man” means someone，not “one person”．
Lennon（1991）believed that two aspects should be considered when classifying errors，domain and extent．Domain refers to the fact that when making a wrong interpretation，and it is necessary to analyze the language from the perspective of context for a better explanation．All layers of grammar or words used in speech expression should be considered．Extent refers to that when correcting syntactic errors，all the layers of the sentences should be modified by means of deletion，supplement and change．
According to Lado（1957），the main function of contrastive analysis is to examine the challenging aspects of any L1 in L2 learning by comparing their structures and cultures．Therefore，the more similarities between the two languages，the easier it becomes to learn the target language，and vice versa．Although CA suggests that errors committed in L2 are caused by the interference of L1，EA studies indicate that learners of different L1 made particular errors in L2．In fact，intralingual and interlingual factors could form major sources of errors（Lennon，2008）．The next section will explain in detail about CA and EA with the critique of them．
In the middle of the twentieth century，CA emerged as a new language discipline，when Fries（1945）emphasized that CA plays a very important role in SLA．According to Fisiak（1981），great efforts and massive funds were spared to establish effective teaching methods in the US during the Second World War．These efforts resulted in the recognition of CA as an essential method of learning an L2．The term CA is defined by Pietro（1968）as “the process of showing how each language interprets universally shared features 33 as unique surface forms”（p.68）．Several educators（e.g．，Benathy，Trager＆ Waddle，1966；Fries，1945；Jakobvits，1970；Lado，1957）defined CA as a description and comparison between one’s native language and the target language including the similarities and differences between them．Fries（1945）was the first linguist to highlight the importance of CA in L2 teaching．He stated that：“The most effective materials are those that are based upon a scientific description of the language to be learned，carefully compared with a parallel description of the native language of the learner”．（p.9）
Another definition was proposed by Fisiak（1981）．He viewed CA as a discipline of linguistics that focuses on comparing and contrasting two linguistic systems of two languages for the purpose of deciding their similarities and differences．This definition was based on the hypothesis that the challenges in acquiring a new language emerge from the interference of the L1 features．CA is able to predict those challenges，and the curriculum could make use of CA to minimize the effect of such interference．Furthermore，Selinker（1989）stated that CA provides the most important ways to investigate language transfer by gathering data from participants and analyzing them．Nickel（1971），pointed out that “Both teacher and the author require a knowledge of contrastive grammar in order to predict，explain，correct and eliminate errors due to interference between source and target language”（p.15）．Although CA was regarded as an important aspect of SLA，it was criticized by several educators who raised questions about its theoretical and empirical validity．According to Gradman（1971），CA is not a robust approach since it does not predict all possible errors that the participants made．Gradman also pointed out that the challenges in L2 learning should not be limited to interference，and curriculum and poor teaching methodology should also be taken into account．Another criticism was proposed by Sciarone（1970），who stated that “the idea that difficulties of a foreign language can be predicted implies the supposition that corresponding structures are easy，and structures that differ，difficult．This supposition should be rejected on the ground of being too simplistic”（p.117）．Furthermore，Dulay and Burt（1974）claimed that a great number of errors of L2 students were attributed to developmental issues．They concluded that only 4.7 percent of the total number of students’errors identified in their empirical study was caused by L1 interference．Further，Dulay，Burt and Krashen（1982）stated that they only observed a minor effect of L1 interference in learning a new language．It is noteworthy here to distinguish an error and a mistake before experimenting error analysis．According to James（1998），a mistake could be identified and corrected by the learner whereas an error is likely to occur without being identified by the learner．Moreover，Gass and Selinker（1994）stated that the repetition of the same mistake is considered an error and needs to be treated．
The emergence of EA as a new approach aims to respond to the claim that CA is able to predict the challenges and mistakes in L2 learning process and to attribute them to interference between L1 and L2．Corder（1967）was one of the first educators to address the value of EA．He stated that the learning strategies utilized in L1 could be used in L2．In fact，he believes they are the same and are likely to transfer from L1 to L2 when learning a new language．Richards（1971）defined EA as “The field of error analysis may be defined as dealing with the differences between the way people learning a language speak，and the way adult native speakers of the language use the language”（p.12）．Another definition for EA was suggested by Brown（1994），who viewed it as “the significance of errors in learners’interlanguage system”（p.204）．Richards（1971）suggested that EA to be categorized into two types：Interlingual errors which are caused by the interference of L1 and intralingual or developmental errors which are resulted from lack of knowledge of the L2 structural system．In fact，a review of the literature on EA indicates that the majority of previous studies have classified the errors that L2 learners make into interlingual and intralingual errors（Azzouz，2013）．
According to Corder（1974a），the importance of errors in learning a language stems from the fact that it could be “evidence that the learner is in the process of acquiring language”（p.93）．More importantly，Coder argues that EA is important for teachers，researchers and learners．It is also noteworthy that Corder（1967/1974）proposed a three-stage model of EA：Data collection，Description，and Explanation．The model was then expanded by several researchers such as Brown（1994）and Ellis（1995）．
According to Gass and Selinker（1994），there are several procedures to follow when conducting EA，which are “collecting data，identifying errors，classifying errors，quantifying errors，analyzing source of error，and remediating for errors”（p.67）．Although the use of the EA was a significant element in SLA，several aspects were criticized by researchers such as Chau（1975），Dulay，Burt and Krashen（1982）Ellis（1985）and Larsen-Freeman and Long（1991）．The criticism mainly revolved around the confusion between the description and explanation of errors and the limited understanding of the definitions and categorizations of errors．
In addition，EA was limited to the final product of written and spoken languages，and it was observed that EA did not adequately classify andjustify the sources of errors．To conclude，regardless of the weaknesses of EA，it was a useful approach in SLA as it has enabled educators and curriculum designers to better understand the psycho-linguistic processes involved in SLA．This has helped to produce a better syllabus and to improve the L2 teaching methods．This has eventually facilitated the effective acquisition of the L2（Senders＆Moray，1991）．
EA was established by Stephen Corder in the 1970s and has become one of the popular approaches in analyzing errors in second language learning．As one of the most critical theories of L2 acquisition，EA deals with the problems in analyzing the errors which are made by L2 learners through comparing the learners’acquired knowledge with the target language，and explaining the identified errors（James，1998）．In addition，error analysis is the process of determining the incidence，nature，causes，and consequences of unsuccessful language（James，1998）．Prominent scholars in second language teaching and learning have several definitions of error analysis．Taylor（1997）states that “error analysis is the study and evaluation of uncertainty in measurement”（p.3）．It implies that error has a positive role in language learning since it is the sign that a language learner does not learn the rules of the target language effectively．According to Crystal（1999），EA is “the study of the unacceptable forms produced by someone learning a language，especially a foreign language”（p.108）．Meanwhile，James（2001）defines EA as the study of linguistic ignorance，the investigation of what people do not know and how they attempt to cope with their ignorance（p.62）．Erdogan（2005）also emphasizes that “error analysis deals with the learners” performance in terms of the cognitive processes they make use of recognizing or coding the input they receive from the target language．Therefore，a primary focus of error analysis is on the evidence that learners’errors provide with an understanding of the underlying process of second language acquisition（p.263）．From the definitions above，it can be clarified that error analysis is an activity to identify，classify and describe the errors made by learners in speaking or in writing and it is carried out to obtain information on common difficulties faced by someone in speaking or writing English sentences．
EA is developed after contrastive analysis，which is also different from contrastive analysis．The theory of error analysis is developed on the basis of contrastive analysis theory．In the theory of contrastive analysis，all errors are caused by the differences of mother tongue and the target language．However，according to the error analysis theory，the differences between the mother tongue and the target language cannot cause all language errors．Some errors are not related to the influence of mother tongue．In other words，contrastive analysis only explains the causes of some errors，and there was no reasonable explanation for the causes of other errors．Therefore，when scholars found the drawbacks of the contrastive analysis theory，they started to study the deeper causes of errors，and error analysis theory came out．
The data study shows that error analysis is more predictive and explanatory than contrastive analysis．Linguists found that，first of all，there are some differences and similarities between mother tongue and target language in terms of language structure，which are different in the research process．For learners，the probability of making mistakes is much smaller，but it is easier to make errors in the same or similar aspects of the language．However，similar errors predicted by contrastive analysis are not obvious in this respect．This has aroused the concern of linguists，through analysis and research，it is shown that the theoretical methods of error analysis can solve the limitations of contrastive analysis．Besides，error analysis can also provide more scientific learning methods on the basis of analyzing the causes of errors．Of course，it is inevitable to make errors in the learning process，but error analysis describes objectively the logical relationship between the mother tongue and the target language．
In order to consolidate further the theoretical foundation，and at the same time，to explore the practical application of error analysis，researchers have studied the errors made in the learning process and explored the reasons and properties of the cross language behaviors of the mother tongue and the target language，which hopes to reduce the probability of making errors．
The famous scholar Corder（1967）ever pointed out that the error itself is of great significance，and it cannot be simply regarded as a bad phenomenon that should be destroyed．By studying the causes and inherent nature of errors，it can help teachers effectively understand students’learning，help researchers explore language learning strategies，help students correct the rooted causes of the problem，and judge the correctness of the hypothesis of the target language．Therefore，it is of great significance to make a thorough and detailed study of learners’linguistic problems and errors in the learning process．
At the same time，Corder（1974）divided error analysis into the following five steps:first，select the target language，and choose the object of study and relevant language materials．In a certain stage and period，basic information of learners in the process of foreign language can be collected and sorted out purposefully and methodically．Second，through collecting and sorting the basic information，we can judge whether learners are up to the standard through intonation，grammar，context，communication methods and other aspects．Error analysis is used to classify the types and conceptions of errors．In this regard，Corder（1981）divided errors into two categories:systematic errors and non-systematic errors．Systematic errors are caused by insufficient knowledge reserved and learning methods．They are not caused by learners’own abilities in the learning process．While non-systematic errors can be realized obviously through their own capabilities，which is often caused by the physical，emotional，mental and other factors that have nothing to do with learning ability．Third，different error types should be distinguished．There are many kinds of errors for learners in the learning process．James（2001）thinks that these errors are very simple．It is better to analyze with the other levels of errors．But Dulay and Krashen（1982）divided such errors into global and local ones through data evaluation．However，Corder（1967）divided these errors into obvious and potential errors．Fourth，In this regard，Richard（2000）studied the causes of errors in depth and divided the errors into three aspects:interlingual errors，intralingual errors and developmental errors．First of all，interlingual errors，as the name suggests，mean that the learners unconsciously added the original language and culture into the second language learning．It is also called the transfer error．Second，the intralingual error refers to learners’wrong understanding of the wrong rule division in the process of learning the second language．This is the root cause of errors．Finally，compared with the first two errors，the third type，developmental error，is caused by mental fatigue，amnesia or emotional fluctuation during the learning process．Fifth，it is of great significance to evaluate errors in error analysis．First of all，when evaluating errors，we should consider them comprehensively，and combine errors with non-errors together，we should not just study error analysis．The second reason for this is that it is difficult for analysts to determine where and at what stage did these problems occur in the learning process．Of course，error analysis is not comprehensive．In particular，when such phenomena as “error avoidance” occur，we can not give a good explanation，but overemphasize errors，because this is not objective and comprehensive enough．