Nowadays, English is becoming more and more important and necessary in all fields of social life. Especially in the international integration trend, English has become more necessary for everybody than ever before. At upper secondary schools in the whole country, English is now a compulsory subject for all students. Due to its importance, English has received a lot of attention from students. Many students find English very interesting while many others say that this subject is very difficult. One of the most difficult things for them to master is English grammar. English grammar is considered as a very important part in learning English because of some reasons. First, grammar is a part included in each unit of the textbooks so students are required to master one or two grammar points after learning each unit. If they are not good at grammar, they will find it very difficult to do grammar exercises at the end of each unit in their textbooks and those in reference books. Consequently, it is hard for them to get good marks for tests because questions on grammar are always found in tests. Second, having good knowledge in grammar makes it easier for students to practise such skills as listening, speaking, reading and writing. Therefore, learning English grammar plays a very important role in learning English at upper secondary schools.
As we all know, English grammar consists of so many items, one of which is adverbs of manner, which often causes difficulties to students. Adverbs of manner are used very often in discourse. They are usually found in tests for students. However, how to use them correctly is not easy for many students. It is confusing to distinguish between adjectives and adverbs. Formation of adverbs from equivalent adjective consists of so many exceptions. Some uses of adverbs of manner are not familiar to students. In my experience in teaching English at Lê Hồng Phong specialised secondary school in Namdinh city, students often make common errors in using these adverbs and causes of these errors have not been found yet.
The analysis of students’ errors is significant in English language teaching. It helps teachers identify students’ strategies of language learning and their level of proficiency so that teachers can find out suitable ways to improve current situations.
For the reasons mentioned above, I have decided to carry out a small study on English adverbs of manner and common errors made by the students at Lê Hồng Phong specialised secondary school.