Analyzing English Errors of Industrial Technology Students as a Basis for an Intervention Plan

Abstract

Writing is one of the most complex skills, requiring significant effort and dedication to achieve proficiency. As students strive to improve their writing, errors inevitably emerge. This study investigates the English writing errors of third-year Industrial Technology students at Cagayan State Univeristy-Aparri, focusing on their writing's morphological, syntactic, lexical, and mechanical aspects. The findings reveal that syntactic errors, particularly sentence fragments, were the most common, with 107 occurrences. Mechanical errors followed closely, with capitalization errors being the most prevalent (106 occurrences). Lexical errors were also significant, totaling 70 occurrences, with frequent word choice or form issues. Morphological errors were the least frequent, with 47 occurrences primarily related to subject-verb agreement. Furthermore, mechanical errors show a moderate and significant negative correlation (r = -0.390, p = 0.007), and lexical errors exhibit a moderate and highly significant negative correlation (r = -0.424, p = 0.003). The data indicates a higher incidence of mechanical and lexical errors among College of Industrial Technology students. Notably, a significant positive correlation was found between students' religious affiliations and lexical errors, suggesting that religious language practices may influence lexical choices in non-religious writing contexts. The observed influence of religious language on lexical choices underscores the importance of understanding how cultural and linguistic backgrounds shape writing proficiency. It can guide educators, curriculum developers, and language instructors in designing more effective writing programs tailored to diverse student’s needs.