Title:
EXPLORING PRONOUN USAGE ERRORS IN ENGLISH WRITING: A CASE STUDY OF THAI UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Authors:
Nisanad Ingadapa and Knavoot Jiamwattanapong, Thailand

Abstract:
This research examines the errors in the use of personal pronouns in English writing by third and fourth- year students from the Faculty of Engineering, Rajamangala University of Technology Rattanakosin. The study focuses on 85 students who registered for the English Writing course in the second semester of the 2022 academic year. The objectives of the research are to identify the errors in pronoun usage among the students and provide recommendations for improving their English writing skills based on grammatical principles. The research findings reveal three main types of errors. The most common type of error is "misformation" which refers to cases when students construct incorrect pronoun patterns. This type of error accounts for 66.66% of the total errors and ranks first among all types. The second most prevalent error is "omission," which involves instances in which students skip or omit pronouns. This type of error occurs 25% of the errors and ranks second in frequency. The third type of error is "addition," which occurs when students add unnecessary pronouns. This type of error represents 6.94% of the errors and ranks third. The analysis of pronoun errors in the English writing of Thai students provides valuable insights into common issues in pronoun usage and offers suggestions for enhancing their writing skills.