The Professional Communication Training of Pre-Service English Language Teachers: Analyzing Common Grammatical Errors

Abstract

At present, there is a growing interest in the professional communicative training of pre-service language teachers. However, the question that deals with language errors that non-native pre-service English teachers are prone to make within the field of classroom discourse still remains open. Thus, the main aim of the article is to examine, single out, and categorize the most frequent grammatical errors made by pre-service English language teachers in written pedagogical discourse. As far as materials and methods are concerned, a quantitative and qualitative analysis of 78 works written by 3rd -year students of Lomonosov Moscow State University and Herzen State Pedagogical university was conducted. The research findings showed that students made approximately 450 grammatical errors in their contributions. It was found that the most frequent errors dealt with syntax, articles, and incorrect tense usage. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that it was proven that more efforts should be concentrated on developing professionally oriented grammatical competence of pre-service language teachers. The practical significance lies in the possibility of using the results described in the article to design educational materials aimed at grammar work for remedial purposes.