errors are everything that mistakes are not: they are significance; they do reflect knowledge; they are not self-correctable; and only learners of an L2 make them.
7
Based on the definition above, it can be said that error is systematic deviance which is made by the learner intentionally; it reflect his knowledge since
it is not caused by performance failure, and it cannot be self-corrected by the learner. Meanwhile, mistake is not systematic deviance which is made by the
learner either intentionally or unintentionally; it is caused by performance failure, such as fatigue, memory lapses, etc., and it can be self-corrected by the learner.
3. Procedures in Error Analysis
There are many kinds of procedures in error analysis. One of them was proposed by Gass and Selinker in their book “Second Language Acquisition” that
consists of six steps: a. Collect data. Although this is typically done with written data, oral
data can also serve as a base. b. Identify errors. What is the error e.g., incorrect sequence of tenses,
wrong verb form, singular verb form with plural subject? c. Classify errors. Is it an error of agreement? Is it an error of irregular
verbs? d. Quantify errors. How many errors of agreement occur? How many
irregular verb form errors occur? e. Analyze source. The researcher analyzes the source of errors based on
the findings. Why the students made errors? f.
Remediate. Based on the kind and frequency of an error type, pedagogical intervention is carried out.
8
Another concept given by Carl James, there are five steps in analyzing learners’ error; they are:
a. Error Detection.
Detecting errors means that we are aware of their presence. We can spot them.
7
Ibid., pp. 78—79.
8
Gass and Selinker, op. cit. 2008, p. 103.
b. Error Location.
To locate an error is to identify it in some other way, such as by saying that it is in the middle part of a sentence or simply by pointing it out.
However, error location is not always straightforward. Not all errors are easily localizable in this way: some errors are diffused throughout the
sentence that contains them. These are what we are known as global errors. The sentence does not simply contain an error, but it is erroneous or
flawed as a sentence.
c. Error Description.
In describing learners’ errors, the system used must have two essential characteristics. First, the system must be well-developed and highly
elaborated, since many complex errors made not only by advance learners but also the beginner ones. The second characteristic is that the description
must be as simple and comprehensive as possible.
There are three main purposes of describing learners’ errors. The first is to make learners’ errors explicit. The next is that error description is the
prerequisite for counting errors. And the last purpose is to createcategories.
d. Error Classification.
Classifying errors means that we put the errors into categories. e.
Error Count. Counting errors is the last step to do in error analysis procedure. The
analyst count the errors made by the students.
9
4. Types of Error
The classification is given by Corder. He classifies the errors into four main categories; they are:
10
a. Omission
Error of omission is where some element is omitted which should be present. In other word, omission errors occur when learners omit necessary items from an
utterance.
9
James, op. cit., pp. 91—114.
10
S.P. Corder, Error Analysis and Interlanguage, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981, p. 36.
