ANALYZING MORPHOLOGICAL ERRORS BY NON-NATIVE ESL LEARNERS IN ESSAY WRITING: IMPLICATIONS FOR ELT IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

This study undertakes a systematic analysis of morphological errors present in the essay writing of non-native ESL (English as a Second Language Learners) at the matriculation level in Pakistan, aiming to derive critical implications for contemporary English Language Teaching (ELT) practices. Using a descriptive qualitative research design, the study analyzed a corpus of forty essays written by male students enrolled in a public school setting. The theoretical foundation for the error analysis process was based on Pit Corder's theory, encompassing the stages of error identification, description and explanation, while classification of the identified errors was executed by using Dulay, Burt, and Krashen’s Surface Strategy Taxonomy (omission, addition, misformation, and misordering). Furthermore, to determine the underlying reasons for these linguistic deviations, the Interlanguage Theory (IL) was applied to pinpoint sources internal to the English language system itself. The systematic analysis yielded crucial findings: a high prevalence of morphological errors was observed, with the omission of plural markers (e.g., s/es) emerging as the single most frequent morphological error committed by the participants, significantly impacting the accuracy of their written production across nouns. Subsequent source analysis, guided by the Intralingual framework, definitively established that the overwhelming majority of these morphological inaccuracies originated from intralingual sources, indicating that the errors are primarily developmental—resulting from incomplete rule mastery, overgeneralization or the misapplication of English grammatical rules—rather than L1 interference. This identification of morphological issues, particularly the consistent failure to inflect for plurality, highlights a substantial pedagogical gap within the current ELT context in Pakistani public schools. Consequently, the study advocates for a focused revision of ELT methodology, recommending the integration of explicit, targeted instruction and contrastive practice aimed specifically at addressing and internalizing English inflectional morphology, thereby providing evidence-based recommendations for enhancing curriculum design and teacher training to improve the written proficiency of ESL learners in the region.