THE ANALYSIS OF ERRORS WHEN LEARNING SERBIAN LANGUAGE AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE ON THE EXAMPLE OF A GROUP OF GERMAN STUDENTS

Abstract

This paper analyzes errors in the final written papers of German students who attended an intensive Serbian language course lasting 15 days / 34 lessons in February 2023. Errors were systematized according to groups formed based on the level of initial knowledge of the Serbian language (A0 and A1‒A2), and then according to types of errors, i.e. according to the linguistic levels at which they arise ‒ phonological/orthographic, morphological/morphosyntactic and syntactic. In both examined groups, first of all, errors concerning graphemes specific to the Serbian language were observed. In group A1‒A2, there were also errors that can be explained by language transfer: writing the grapheme з instead of ц (e.g. полизе, канзеларија) as well as с instead of з in the initial position in the word (e.g. сграда). In the analyzed material, in both observed groups, a number of various errors in the forming and the use of verbs can be observed, which is a consequence of several reasons: the complexity of the Serbian verb system, the lack of time to devote to a systematic approach to verb types during the course, voice changes in the formation of verb forms etc. Errors in the use of cases were also observed, most often with prepositions that can be used with two case forms, but in different meanings (e.g. на, у ‒ with accusative and locative). In the group A1‒A2, with which the comparison of adjectives was also covered in the course, mistakes were also observed in this process, which mainly concern the process of voice changes. The recorded errors at the syntactic level were not particularly numerous in the analyzed corpus, both due to the limited corpus and the fact that complex syntactic constructions are not taught at the initial levels of learning the Serbian language, so there were fewer opportunities for mistakes. The recorded examples concern unacceptable word order and, in one case, an inadequate conjunction, which can be interpreted as a consequence of the transfer from German, the native language of the course participants. The analysis of language errors during learning a foreign language is current in linguomethodical research mainly because of its practical importance ‒ by looking at errors, their causes are determined, and ways to prevent or correct them are found. This research was conceived precisely as a contribution to that goal and, in general, to the improvement of the teaching of the Serbian language for students whose mother tongue is German, but also for foreigners in general.