towards an analysis of errors made by university students ... - DSpace

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length of.the
ngps might function as a factor which would make
students aware of the incorrection of their translations; that
is to say, the longer the ngps, the less probability of wbt
error occurrence. However, the statistical test applied has
shown that there is a dependence relationship between the number
of words forming a ngp and the number of errors, though that
cannot be said to be a cause-and-effect relationship. The problems
posed by long ngps, formed by five or six. ..words, mi gh t have
better evaluated if the incidence of long ngps had been
been
significant
in the texts translated. Nevertheless, our aim has been to present
the difficulties encountered by our EL I students in pieces of
written English taken as authentic materials. Any changes in the
formation of ngps, or the
inclusion of longer ngps in texts to
be studied by EL I students should be made not only by an
expert
in the subject-matter
presented in each text but also by one who
mastered the English language. These alterations
have not been
our main concern, because we have been interested in viewing the
problems faced by EL I students in texts as they are actually laid
down for
them.
The students' knowledge of the subject is one aspect
which we have taktn for granted; however, the facts have shown
that
errors have been made not only in ngps related to specific
fields
of study but also in ngps which are not restricted to their
fields of
study.
As EL I students are usually required to consult ,
specific literature in English during their undergraduation
courses, and in view of some lines of thought about the reading
and comprehending process which we have mentioned in chapter 3,
it is impossible to believe that they will make sufficient