Errors and Characteristics of Chinese Preposition “Zai” Acquisition by Thai Learners

Abstract

“Zai” is one of the most commonly used prepositions in Chinese, but it has high error rate and complicated error types. The study on the errors in Thai learners’ Chinese preposition “Zai” acquisition can help Thai learners overcome the learning difficulties and provide reference for teaching. The purpose of this study is to collect examples of errors in Thai learners’ acquisition of Chinese prepositions “Zai” from a Chinese interlanguage corpus, to describe the characteristics of errors in Thai learners’ acquisition of Chinese prepositions “Zai” , to investigate the factors affecting the generalization of target language rules, negative transfer of mother tongue and teaching materials, so as to explore the causes of errors. Finally, based on the research results and analysis, the author puts forward some suggestions on teaching Chinese prepositions “Zai” for Thai learners, hoping to provide reference for teaching and relevant research.