Blair, Collins, 2000. Besides, as students of the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University who belong to Faculty of Teachers
Training and Education, they are prepared and expected to be teachers. They have to have good knowledge of English grammar so that they are able to give correct
explanation to their students later on.
B. Problem Limitation
This study focuses on the mastery and the errors of reported speech of the fourth semester students of the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata
Dharma University. The fourth semester students were chosen as the respondents in this study since they had just learnt reported speech in Structure IV. Even though
they had learnt reported speech in the second semester, they still found reported speech difficult to master and still made many errors in their tests. Therefore, this
research was conducted to find out how far the students had mastered reported speech, what types of errors the students made in reported speech, and what possible
causes of students’ errors were. The limitation of this study was on the written form of reported speech as this study analysed the students’ mastery, the students’ errors,
and the possible causes of students’ errors from the reported speech test given.
C. Problem Formulation
There are three questions formulated in this study: 1. How far have the fourth semester students of the English Language Education
Study Program of Sanata Dharma University mastered reported speech? 2. What types of errors do the students make in reported speech?
3. What are the possible causes of students’ errors in reported speech? 4
D. Objectives
The objectives of this study are stated as follows: 1. This study would like to find out how far the fourth semester students of the
English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University had mastered reported speech.
2. This study would like to find out what types of errors that students made in reported speech.
3. This study would like to figure out the possible causes of students’ errors in reported speech.
E. Benefits
This study is expected to give benefits for: 1. The students
Hopefully, this study will help the fourth semester students of the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University, the students of
the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University in general, and the other students majoring in English Education to enrich their
knowledge of reported speech since this study provides enough space for the discussion on reported speech. Students can pay more attention to the difficult parts
of reported speech they have and learn more those difficult parts so that they will improve their mastery of reported speech.
2. The lecturers This study can help the lecturers of the English Language Education Study
Program of Sanata Dharma University, especially the lecturers of Structure IV to 5
understand what difficulties the students have in mastering reported speech. The lecturers will give more attention in finding out the best way to explain reported
speech to help students master it easily. 3. The readers
By reading this paper, hopefully the readers will have deeper understanding of reported speech and of errors which may occur in reported speech. Besides, this
study gives additional information to the readers why reported speech is crucial to be researched.
F. Definition of Terms
In this thesis, some terms are clarified to avoid misunderstandings that might occur due to different definition of terms used in this paper.
1. Reported Speech Reported speech refers to using a noun clause to report what someone has said
Azar, 1989. In reported speech, the exact meaning of speech is given without necessarily using the speaker’s exact words Thomson Martinet, 1980. Reported
speech chosen as the topic in this study is one of the materials of Structure IV, which students of the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma
University have to take in semester IV. Thomson and Martinet 1980 and Celce-Murcia and Larsen-Freeman 1983 say
that indirect speech also refers to reported speech. In addition to support their idea, Swan 1995 gives his argument as follows:
We can make a speaker’s words or thoughts part of our own sentence, using conjunctions e.g. that, and changing pronouns, tenses and other words where
necessary. This kind of structure is called ‘indirect speech,’ or reported speech. 6
There is no problem whether to use the term ‘indirect speech’ or ‘reported speech’ since they are the same. This study, however, uses the term ‘reported speech’ instead
of indirect speech to make it constant. 2. Direct Speech
It is necessary to clarify direct speech in this part as reported speech and direct speech are tied together. Direct speech refers to using the original speaker’s exact
words more or less to report what he or she has said or to report what he or she thought Swan, 1995. In direct speech, there are no changes of the first speaker’s
original sentence. 3. Mastery
Fries 1945 states that a person has learned a foreign language when he or she has thus, first, within a limited vocabulary mastered the sound system that is, when
he or she can understand the stream of speech and achieve an understandable production of it and has, second, made the structural devices that is, the basic
arrangements of utterances matters of automatic habit. This study pays more attention to the mastery of structural devices. Since reported speech is part of
structural devices in which it has its own form, rule and meaning, therefore, one is considered to have mastered reported speech if he or she 1 understands the forms
and the rules of reported speech, 2 understands how to convert direct speech into reported speech correctly and appropriately, 3 understands the meaning of reported
speech, and 4 understands how to use reported speech correctly. 4. Errors
Error is a noticeable deviation from the adult grammar of a native speaker, reflecting the interlanguage competence of the learner Brown, 1967. Errors also
7 PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
