An expert in English Language, and practitioner and researcher in Teaching English as a Foreign Language and Teaching English as a Second Language (TEFL/TESL), Prof. Bolanle Akeredolu-Ale, has identified common mistakes people make while communicating in English.
The University don, who is also the chairperson, Committee of Deans and Directors (CODAD), as well as the Dean, College of Agricultural Management and Rural Development (COLAMRUD), Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), made this observation while delivering the 12th English Language Clinic Lecture of the Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan, with the theme: “Differentiating Formal and Informal English in Writing.”
She decried a development whereby students are fond of applying the informal style while making academic presentations. Emphasising the importance of the English Language Clinic Lecture, Prof. Akeredolu-Ale said, it was aimed at examining some of the common errors students often make during formal and informal usage of English language.
Highlighting the common errors to be avoided when adopting the formal writing style, Akeredolu-Ale said they included the use of slang, Internet and texting of substandard languages, abbreviations, colloquial words or phrases, contradictions, first person pronouns, clichés, short and simple sentences and the use of imprecision, as she made case for a policy that would ensure that students in tertiary institutions are properly assessed based on the structure, tenses, lexis and grammar of their articles, rather than the contents.
