Grammatical Errors in French Writing among Beginner Students at the University of Dhaka

Abstract

Despite the expansion of French-language teaching in Bangladesh, error-analysis research on Bangladeshi learners remains underexplored. This mixed-methods study investigates this area by identifying common grammatical errors among 47 Bengali-speaking French beginners at the University of Dhaka. A written corpus of 53 essays, comprising 425 sentences, was analyzed using Corder’s (1974) Error Analysis framework and Dulay et al.’s (1982) Surface Strategy Taxonomy, with focus group discussions involving 25 participants. Results revealed 136 grammatical errors (averaging 32 errors per 100 sentences), with noun-related errors the most frequent (36.76%), closely followed by verb-related errors (33.82%). Misinformation and omissions dominated, and participants reported negative transfer from English (L2), overgeneralization, and simplification strategies as reasons for errors. The study showed how a cross-linguistic background shapes interlanguage, indicating that teaching should include contrastive, form-focused instruction to reduce errors.