3. The Definition of Error Analysis
To know errors which are made by students, the teachers must do error analysis. Brown stated that
―Error analysis is a branch of applied linguistics where the teacher can observe, analyze and classify errors that students made
to reveal something of the system operating within the learner, led to a surge of study of learners’ errors.‖
9
Then, Ellis also argued that ―Error Analysis EA was one of the first
method used to investigate learner language. It achieved considerable popularity in the 1970s, replacing contrastive analysis.
‖
10
Based on the statements above, when a teacher wants t o know students’
error in language learning, he or she must do an analysis. This analysis can be useful for the teacher what errors which are made by students. By knowing
errors, the teachers can improve their teaching quality in order that the errors can be minimized.
4. The Steps of Error Analysis
When the teachers know some errors is made by their students, Error analysis should be realized to know what is a problem. Therefore, the teachers
should know some steps in error analysis. Based on Fisiak, he said that ―the steps of error analysis are collection of data, identification of errors,
classification into error types, statement of relative frequency of error types, identification of the areas of difficulty in the target language, therapy or
remedial.‖
11
Collection of data by students from examination answers which the teachers give the exercise. Then, identification of errors which is labeling with
varying degrees of precision depending on the linguistic sophistication brought to bear on the tasks by respecting to the exact nature of the deviation, dangling
preposition, sequencing of tenses.
9
H. Douglas Brown, Principles of Language Learning and Teaching, New York:Pearson Longman, 2007, p. 259.
10
Rod Ellis, The Study of Second Language Acquisition, New York:Oxford University Press, 1994, p. 68.
11
Fisiak, op. cit, p. 222.
After that, classification into error types. It belongs to article, verb forms etc. Moreover, statement of relative frequency of error types by
accounting them. In addition, the teachers should identify of the areas of difficulty in the target language. Finally, when the teachers have known some
errors are made by the students, they make theraphy or remedial drills for the students.
When the teachers want to know students’ error, they should do analysis error. Ellis introduces four steps of error analysis; they are identifying
errors, describing errors, explaining errors, and evaluating errors.
12
Here are the explanation about them.
a. Identifying errors
The first step that must be done is identifying errors. On this step, a writer identifies all errors which are made by students. An error can be
defined by four questions.
13
Firstly, there is the question regarding which variety of the target language should serve as the norm. Then, a second
question concerns the distinction between errors and mistakes. Third, a question concerns whether the error is overt or covert;
overt error is easy to identify because there is a clear deviation form, covert error is superficially well-formed but which do not mean what the
learner intended them to mean. Finally, a question concern whether the analysis should examine only deviations in correctness or also deviation in
appropratness. b.
Describing Errors After all errors have been identified, the teachers should do
describing errors of the students involves a comparison of the students’
idiosyncratic utterances with a reconstruction of those utterances in the target language. According Dulay, Burt and Krashen said that focus
describing errors is in observable, surface and explanation of errors.
14
Based on the statement above that when the the teachers observe the
12
Rod Ellis, Second Language Acquisition, New York:Oxford University Press, 2003, pp. 50
—63.
13
Ibid, pp. 50 —52.
14
Ibid, p. 54.
students’ errors, they should describe the surface errors are made by students.
c. Explaining Errors
On this step, a writer explains why students make errors. He finds our sources of error based on error types which are found. According
Abbot, He said that the aim of any EA Error of Analysis is to provide a psychological explanation.Here is the picture of psycholinguistic sources
of errors.
15
Chart 2.1 Psycholinguistic sources of errors
Transfer Competence
Intralingual overgeneralization errors
Unique Errors
Performance Processing problems
Mistake Communication strategies
d. Evaluating Errors
After knowing the sources the students error, the teachers should do evalua
tion. According to Ellis that ―error evaluation onvolves a consideration of the affect that errors
have on the persons addressed.‖
16
The purpose of the error analysis is to help the students learn L2. There is a need to evaluate global errors to minimize errors which are made by the
students. Burt define
d that ―global errors as errors that affect overall sentence organization. Examples are wrong word order, missing or
wrongly placed sentence connectors, an d syntactic overgeneralization.‖
17
15
Ibid, p. 58.
16
Ibid, p. 63.
17
Ibid, p. 64.
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