When you submit the form, the value is presented with debug_dump(), so strings are quoted and array values listed.
<?php
$field = new form_field_telephone($form, 'Telephone');
$field->format_error_set('Your telephone number does not appear to be correct.');
$field->required_error_set('Your telephone number is required.');
$field->max_length_set('Your telephone number cannot be longer than XXX characters.', 200);
?>