Error analysis of English language compositions of JHS 2 students in the Effutu Municipality

Abstract

This study examined errors in English language compositions of Junior High School (JHS) 2 students in the Effutu Municipality and explored teachers’ perspectives on the causes and solutions to these errors. A mixed-methods approach was employed, involving quantitative analysis of student essays and qualitative interviews with teachers of English. Using a multistage sampling technique, 210 students and six English teachers were selected. Errors in student essays were categorised into mechanical, grammatical, and lexical types, and analysed using frequency counts and percentages. Thematic analysis of teacher interviews provided deeper insights into the perceived causes of errors and suggested interventions. Findings revealed that mechanical errors were most prevalent, accounting for 67.1% of all errors, with spelling (25.3%), capitalization (21.1%), and punctuation (20.7%) being the most common. Grammatical errors represented 25.1%, particularly tense (13.6%) and subject–verb agreement errors, while lexical errors were least frequent (7.8%). Female students (54.7%) made more severe errors than males (45.3%), especially in tense, spelling, and punctuation. Age was also a factor: students aged 12–15 (56%) produced more moderate to severe errors compared with those aged 16 and above (30%) and those aged 9–11 (14%). Teachers attributed these errors to interlanguage and intralanguage interference, limited reading exposure, and variations in parental educational background. Suggested solutions included peer modelling, peer tutoring, guided writing, and the use of interactive teaching and learning resources. The study recommends integrating peer review and guided writing strategies, alongside improved resource provision, to reduce writing errors and strengthen students’ English proficiency in the Effutu Municipality.