PARTS OF SPEECH IN GERMAN AND RELATED MISTAKES MADE BY STUDENTS OF GERMAN AT VNU UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

Abstract

In the process of teaching German, we realize that students of German at VNU University of Languages and International Studies (VNU-ULIS) often make mistakes related to the parts of speech of this language, especially the parts of speech which are inflected. To have an insight into the mistakes involved and their frequencies, we carried out an analysis, classification and statistic inventory of the mistakes that appeared in 16 exam papers of students at level B1. The research results show that the mistake rate in adjectives is quite high, chiefly because adjectives were not inflected  properly when used as attributes for nouns. Regarding verbs and nouns, mistakes in Number top the list, and mistakes relating to Person are not low, either. In regard to pronouns, articles and nouns, the category Case also causes many difficulties to students. These results definitely help raise the awareness of teachers of German and hopefully, they will develop appropriate methods to help students avoid similar mistakes.