Overcoming error fossilization in academic writing: strategies for Saudi EFL learners to move beyond the plateau

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

Hasbún (2007) reported that while some errors occur more frequently at different levels in an unpredictable manner, mistakes involving subject omission, subject-verb agreement, and negative forms are more prevalent among beginners.

“They match with Hasbún (2007) who reported that while some errors occur more frequently at different levels in an unpredictable manner, mistakes involving subject omission, subject-verb agreement, and negative forms are more prevalent among beginners.”

• cites Hasbún (2007) sourceSupported

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

Subject-verb agreement is a crucial part of English grammar and is essential for clear communication.

“To start with the first fossilized error, subject-verb agreement is a crucial part of English grammar and is essential for clear communication (Jäger et al., 2020).”

• cites Jäger et al., 2020 sourcePartly supported

  The Introduction treats subject–verb agreement as a grammatical dependency and distinguishes grammatical from ungrammatical examples. It does not say that agreement is essential for clear communication; the paper examines sentence-processing mechanisms rather than that broader claim. (LLM, conf=0.82)

  Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

Teachers play a crucial role in guiding learners to overcome these challenges and develop proficiency in using idiomatic language appropriately.

“Hamzah (2012) suggests that teachers play a crucial role in guiding learners to overcome these challenges and develop proficiency in using idiomatic language appropriately.”

• cites Hamzah (2012) sourcePartly supported

  The Introduction describes teacher-led error analysis and focused correction as ways to improve students’ grammatical competence. The concluding passage also recommends that teachers address recurring errors. Neither passage addresses proficiency in idiomatic language specifically; the paper’s focus is errors in English writing. (LLM, conf=0.87)

  Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

Previous studies have identified various types of errors made by Arabic EFL learners, including grammatical, lexical, and word combination errors.

“Moreover, previous studies by Albelihi(2022), Barcroft (2007), and Salem (2007) have identified various types of errors made by Arabic EFL learners, including grammatical, lexical, and word combination errors.”

• cites Albelihi(2022) sourcePartly supported

  The Results (page not available) describe teachers’ corrective comments on Saudi EFL learners’ grammar and vocabulary, supporting the grammatical and lexical parts of the claim. The paper does not identify word-combination errors as a category; its focus is on types of written corrective feedback rather than a taxonomy of learner errors. (LLM, conf=0.85)

  Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
• cites Barcroft (2007) sourceNot checked — no full text of the source
• cites Salem (2007) sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

May combine two claims.

Negative marker, preposition, and word formation errors decreased over the study period.

“Similarly, negative markers, preposition errors, and word formation errors decreased from 11, 46, and 19 occurrences in phase 1-5, 17, and 2 occurrences, respectively.”

May combine two claims.

Among the nine categorized errors observed in students' writing, idiomatic language usage, verb-related errors, and subject-verb agreement are prone to fossilization.

“According to previous studies in error analysis (Han, 2004(Han, , 2009;;Selinker & Han, 1996), idiomatic language usage, verb-related errors, and subject-verb agreement constitute the three specific types of errors identified as being prone to fossilization among the nine categorized errors observed in students' writing.”

• cites Han, 2004 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source
• cites Han, 2009Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

• cites Selinker & Han, 1996Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

• AssumptionRests on an assumption: Errors that persist over the twelve-week study period are fossilized.

May combine two claims.

In the academic writing of Saudi EFL undergraduates, verb agreement, verb usage, and idiomatic errors appeared to be fossilized, while other error types decreased over time.

“The results showed that certain errors, such as idiomatic language usage and subject-verb agreement, appear to be fossilized, while others diminish over time.”

• Also stated in: § Results and discussion · hedged

  “Verb agreement, verb usage, and idiomatic errors appeared to be fossilized, while the occurrence of other error types decreased over time.”

• AssumptionRests on an assumption: Errors that persist over the twelve-week study period are fossilized.

May combine two claims.

Most learners are not conscious of the differences in article use between English and Arabic and tend to apply Arabic grammar rules to English articles.

“Group discussions taken up later revealed that most learners are not conscious of the differences in article use between English and Arabic and tend to apply the Arabic grammar rule in English articles.”

• AssumptionRests on an assumption: Arabic does not have an equivalent article to the English indefinite article 'a'.
• AssumptionRests on an assumption: Arabic follows nunation, adding 'un' to the end of the noun to indicate indefiniteness.

May combine two claims.

Retrospective self-correction was effective in helping participants check fossilized errors, with wrong article use dropping from 138 occurrences in the first sample to 34 in the fourth sample.

“In this study, retrospective self-correction proved effective in helping the participants check the fossilized errors with wrong use of articles dropping to 34 occurrences in the fourth sample from 138 in the first sample.”

• AssumptionRests on an assumption: Arabic does not have an equivalent article to the English indefinite article 'a'.
• AssumptionRests on an assumption: Arabic follows nunation, adding 'un' to the end of the noun to indicate indefiniteness.

May combine two claims.

Participants were most comfortable with generalizing the rule for past tense formation in English, and their teachers, sharing the same mother tongue, seldom pointed out the error because they understood the intended meaning.

“When the researchers had follow-up discussions with the participants, he learned that they were most comfortable with generalizing the rule for past tense formation in English and most of the times, since their teachers (sharing the same MT) fully understood the intended meaning, they seldom pointed out the error as one.”

Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

Participants conceded that if they had been shown differences in article use between English and Arabic when first introduced to English grammar, they might not have applied the generalized L1 grammar rule in L2.

“conceded during the group discussion sessions that had they been shown the differences in article use between English and Arabic as soon as they were introduced to English grammar, they may not have applied the specific generalized L1 grammar rule in L2.”

May combine two claims.

In all 128 writing samples, only 11 occurrences of errors were found in the earliest samples, and this number came down to 5 in the last sample.

“It is not surprising that in all the 128 writing samples, only 11 occurrences of errors were found in the earliest samples, and this number came down to 5 in the last sample.”

May combine two claims.

With margin notes by the researchers on the usage of the most common English prepositions (of, on, at, for, with, in, about), the output showed improvement, with error occurrence coming down to 17 from 46 in the first sample.

“However, with some margin notes by the researchers on the usage of the most common English prepositions (of, on, at, for, with, in, about), the output showed some improvement, with the error occurrence coming down to 17 from 46 in the first sample.”

May combine two claims.

At least nine participants pointed out that their study materials were unduly 'easy' and 'unchallenging', which caused them to lose interest in experimenting with language use.

“Further, at least nine of the participants pointed out that the books that comprised their study materials were unduly 'easy' and 'unchallenging' , which caused them to lose interest in experimenting with language use.”

May combine two claims.

Certain errors, such as idiomatic language usage and subject-verb agreement, appear to be fossilized, while others decrease over time.

“Firstly, we examined whether errors in their academic writing can be linked to fossilization, revealing that certain errors, such as idiomatic language usage and subject-verb agreement, appear to be fossilized, while others decrease over time.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

Participants opined that English plurals were rather 'easy' for them (except irregular forms) because their mother tongue follows more complicated plural formation rules with the addition of the dual case.

“Participants opined the English plural were rather 'easy' for them (except for the irregular forms) as their MT follows more complicated plural formation rules with the addition of the dual case.”

• AssumptionRests on an assumption: Arabic plural formation follows more complicated rules with the addition of the dual case.

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

Idiomatic language errors did not decrease across the four samples (19, 23, 18, 21).

“| Il | Idiomatic language * | 19 | 23 | 18 | 21 |”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

Verb errors remained around 17-19 across the four samples (17, 19, 16, 17).

“| V | Verb * | 17 | 19 | 16 | 17 |”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). The quote only partly states this claim.

Subject-verb agreement errors remained high across the four samples (73, 77, 71, 69).

“| Sv | Subject verb agreement* | 73 | 77 | 71 | 69 |”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

Le (2023) found that the top three most common error types are wrong verb forms, fragment sentences, and subject-verb agreement.

“Moreover, Le (2023) revealed that at the top 3 most common types are wrong verb forms, fragment sentences, and subject-verb agreement.”

• cites Le (2023)Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

Yusuf et al. (2021) found that verb-agreement errors constituted 61.04% of all error.

“For example, Yusuf et al. (2021) found that verb-agreement errors constituted 61.04% of all error.”

• cites Yusuf et al. (2021)Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

Omission errors were the most frequent type of error made by EFL students (Yusuf et al., 2021; Ramzan et al., 2023).

“Our findings align with those of Yusuf et al. (2021) and Ramzan et al. (2023), who found that omission errors were the most frequent type of error made by EFL students.”

• cites Yusuf et al. (2021)Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

• cites Ramzan et al. (2023)Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

The researchers ensured that participants were not conscious of their writing being evaluated.

“The researchers ensured that the participants were not conscious of their writing being evaluated.”

May combine two claims.

The idiomatic errors indicate a lack of proficiency in understanding and applying idiomatic language in English, resulting in fossilized error trends persisting throughout the study samples.

“This phenomenon indicates a lack of proficiency in understanding and applying idiomatic language in English, resulting in fossilized error trends persisting throughout the study samples.”

• AssumptionRests on an assumption: Every language possesses its own set of idiomatic expressions and attempting to apply them without a deep understanding of their cultural and linguistic context can prove difficult for learners who are not yet proficient in the target language.

May combine two claims. The quote only partly states this claim.

Some learners may directly translate English prepositions like 'in' or 'on' into Arabic equivalents, which can lead to confusion when selecting the appropriate preposition in idiomatic expressions like 'on the other hand', contributing to errors.

“some learners may directly translate English prepositions like 'in' or 'on' into Arabic equivalents”

• AssumptionRests on an assumption: Every language possesses its own set of idiomatic expressions and attempting to apply them without a deep understanding of their cultural and linguistic context can prove difficult for learners who are not yet proficient in the target language.

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

Salem (2007) categorized errors made by advanced Arab EFL learners as either grammatical or lexical.

“Salem (2007) specifically categorized errors made by advanced Arab EFL learners as either grammatical or lexical.”

• cites Salem (2007) sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

Mukattash (1986) believed that grammar is considered a complex area for second language learners, especially for Arabic speakers learning English.

“Further, Mukattash (1986) believed that grammar is considered a complex area for second language learners, especially for Arabic speakers learning English.”

• cites Mukattash (1986) sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

Sawalmeh (2013) identifies ten common errors made by Saudi Arabic speakers in English essays, including double negatives.

“These results are in agreement with those obtained from Sawalmeh (2013) who identifies ten common errors made by Saudi Arabic speakers in English essays, including double negatives.”

• cites Sawalmeh (2013)Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

May combine two claims.

Lack of sufficient teaching materials, outdated curriculum, unsatisfactory teacher training, and demotivation are associated with students' poor grasp of subject-verb agreement and are another possible reason that led to fossilization.

“A lack of sufficient teaching materials, outdated curriculum, unsatisfactory teacher training, and demotivation, among other considerations, are associated with students' poor grasp of subject-verb agreement is another possible reason that led to fossilization.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based). May combine two claims.

Cognitive maturity, working memory capacity, and processing speed could influence how effectively learners grasp and apply grammatical rules.

“Factors such as cognitive maturity, working memory capacity, and processing speed could influence how effectively learners grasp and apply grammatical rules.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).

These possible sources of error could have been affected by the semantic relations of these prepositions.

“These possible sources of error could have affected by the semantic relations of these prepositions.”

May combine two claims.

The lack of change in error trends in sentence formation cannot be attributed to mother-tongue transference because Arabic has a more complex and varied word order with colloquial Arabic varieties preferring SVO and Standard Arabic more commonly following VSO.

“This was a surprising finding and can certainly not be attributed to MT transference as Arabic has a more complex and varied word order with colloquial Arabic varieties preferring SVO and Standard Arabic more commonly following VSO.”

• AssumptionRests on an assumption: Arabic has a more complex and varied word order with colloquial Arabic varieties preferring SVO and Standard Arabic more commonly following VSO.

May combine two claims.

The other two fossilized errors (verb and verb agreement) are attributed to the different syntax in Standard Arabic and English, as participants did not exhibit a change in error trends in sentence formation in English.

“For the other two fossilized errors occurrence (verb & verb agreement), is attributed to the different syntax in Standard Arabic and English: the participants did not exhibit a change in error trends in sentence formation in English.”

• AssumptionRests on an assumption: Arabic has a more complex and varied word order with colloquial Arabic varieties preferring SVO and Standard Arabic more commonly following VSO.

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).

The intriguing finding could be due to cultural norms and values playing a role in shaping language use.

“This rather intriguing finding could be due to cultural norms and values may also play a role in shaping language use.”

• AssumptionRests on an assumption: In some cultures, linguistic features such as double negatives may be considered acceptable or even preferred for certain rhetorical or expressive purposes.

May combine two claims.

Recording individual errors helped participants work on their English plurals, and the errors in the early samples were not attributed to fossilization.

“Thus, even recording their individual errors helped the participants work on their English plurals and the errors in the early samples were not attributed to fossilization.”

May combine two claims.

The negative marker error is not a result of fossilization but of choice, as these young learners want to 'sound' like native speakers whose language they come across on the media.

“This error can be surmised from this that it is not a result of fossilization, but choice, as these young learners, considerably want to 'sound' like native speakers whose language they come across on the media.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

'at' can be used in as many as 18 places and others with lesser but equally challenging functions.

“For instance, 'at' can be used in as many as 18 places and others with lesser but equally challenging functions.”

• cites British CouncilNot matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

With a small sample size, caution must be applied, as the findings might not be consistent with different samples in distinct contexts.

“However, with a small sample size, caution must be applied, as the findings might not be consistent with different samples in distinct contexts (i.e., samples from different”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

The choice of the preposition in English is sometimes a matter of phrasal use, i.e., some prepositions need to be learned as a phrase rather than in isolation.

“Secondly, the choice of the preposition in English is sometimes a matter of phrasal use, i.e., some prepositions need to be learned as a phrase rather than in isolation.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

Khatter (2019) identified interlingual and intralingual transfer as the primary sources of the most common errors.

“They also agree with Khatter (2019) that identified that interlingual and intralingual transfer as the primary sources of the most common errors.”

• cites Khatter (2019) sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

Writing samples were randomly selected from more than eleven writing activities assigned during the semester.

“This was done by randomly selecting the samples out of the more than eleven writing activities they were assigned during the semester.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based). May combine two claims.

Inadequate teaching materials, outdated curriculum, insufficient teacher training, and demotivation could contribute to students' poor grasp of subject-verb agreement.

“Moreover, inadequate teaching materials, outdated curriculum, insufficient teacher training, and demotivation could contribute to students' poor grasp of subject-verb agreement.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

English prepositions can be a problem for learners as the language has several prepositions with more than one function.

“As per the British Council, English prepositions can be a problem for learners as the language has several prepositions with more than one function.”

• cites British CouncilNot matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

May combine two claims.

These errors are attributed to various factors, including linguistic differences between Arabic and English, limited exposure to authentic language materials, and cultural influences.

“These errors are attributed to various factors, including linguistic differences between Arabic and English, limited exposure to authentic language materials, and cultural influences.”

• AssumptionRests on an assumption: Arabic does not have an equivalent article to the English indefinite article 'a'.
• AssumptionRests on an assumption: Arabic has a more complex and varied word order with colloquial Arabic varieties preferring SVO and Standard Arabic more commonly following VSO.
• AssumptionRests on an assumption: Arabic does not have all forms of the continuous tense and in some forms only adds a time modifier to indicate the time of the action.
• AssumptionRests on an assumption: Arabic plural formation follows more complicated rules with the addition of the dual case.
• AssumptionRests on an assumption: In some cultures, linguistic features such as double negatives may be considered acceptable or even preferred for certain rhetorical or expressive purposes.
• AssumptionRests on an assumption: Every language possesses its own set of idiomatic expressions and attempting to apply them without a deep understanding of their cultural and linguistic context can prove difficult for learners who are not yet proficient in the target language.

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).

An additional uncontrolled factor is the possibility of variation in participants' language proficiency.

“An additional uncontrolled factor is the possibility of variation in participants' language proficiency.”

Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

Errors with asterisk indicate fossilization.

“Errors with asterisk indicates fossilization”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).

Studying error fossilization is more meaningful with cross-sectional data than using a longitudinal method.

“The most important limitation lies in the fact that studying error fossilization is more meaningful with cross-sectional data than using a longitudinal method.”