Errors Made by Iraqi EFL College Students in using Adverbs of Frequency

Abstract

Frequency adverb is used to express approximately how many times a customary or habitual action or condition is repeated. It is one of the essential constructions in English grammar and a problematic area for the Iraqi EFL university learners. The study aims at investigating the performance of Iraqi EFL university students in using frequency adverbs by form and function and finding out the area of difficulty in this regard and suggesting remedial work for the alleviation of these difficulties. It is hypothesized that Iraqi EFL learners encounter difficulties in using adverbs of frequency. The study begins with the theoretical aspect encompassing definitions, types, and functions of frequency adverbs in English. Then, the practical aspect represented in a diagnostic test applied to a random sample of (50) students taken from the fourth level in the Department of English ,College of Education for human Sciences, University of Babylon. The findings of the test show that Iraqi EFL university students face difficulty in using frequency adverbs which, in turn, verifies the hypothesis of the study. In the light of the results of the test, some conclusions are drawn and a number of suggestions and remedial work are presented so that the learners can overcome the difficulty they encounter in using adverbs of frequency in English.

Keywords: frequency adverb, performance, Iraqi EFL learners, error analysis