3 moreover for a language teacher, in this case an English teacher. She is expected
to communicate well in English. To communicate well and correctly, it needs rules. Grammar provides rules to produce communicative and effective utterances.
Therefore, as teacher candidates, it is important for them to be proficient in using grammar, especially the tenses. It is needed, for example in teaching learning
processes, when the teacher explains the lesson in the past, present, or future time. Based on the writer
‟s experience, the students of the English Language Education Study Program still have difficulties in mastering English tenses.
Considering that English tenses are essential, measuring the students‟ ability on
tenses is important. The study is conducted to find out the students‟ mastery of the
tenses of ELESP students. This study is conducted to the third semester students of the English Language Education Study Program students in the academic year
of 20082009. The third semester students are considered to have enough knowledge about tenses during the learning processes for one semester at the first
semester in the English Language Education Study Program. In addition to finding out the students‟ mastery, the writer also tries to find out the students‟
errors on tenses. Since their errors are recognized in the early stage of the study program, the lecturer will be able to do remedial actions.
B. Problem Formulation
The questions of the research are formulated as follows. 1. What are the errors that the students of the English Language Education Study
Program of Sanata Dharma University Yogyakarta make in using the tenses? PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
4 2. What is the mastery of tenses of the students of the English Language
Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University Yogyakarta?
C. Problem Limitation
The study aims to find out the ELESP students ‟ errors and mastery in using
tenses. The subjects of the study are the third semester students of the English Language Education Study Program in the academic year of 20082009. The
reason why the writer chooses the third semester students is because they have enough knowledge about tenses during the learning processes at the first semester
in the English Language Education Study Program. In the study, the writer limits the discussion on the mastery of the ten
tenses. It is based on the consideration of the syllabus used in the English Language Education Study Program. The ten tenses that are taught in the first
semester are simple present tense, present progressive tense, simple past tense, past progressive tense, present perfect tense, present perfect progressive tense,
past perfect tense, past perfect progressive tense, simple future tense, and future progressive tense. The study focuses on the use of each tense in relevance to its
functions. To find out the students errors and mastery, the writer administers a test to
the third semester students of the English Language Education Study Program in the academic year of 20082009. The study emphasizes on the ability of the
students in using the tenses. It focuses on the use of each tense in relevance to its functions. In other words, it emphasizes on the functions rather than the form of
5 each tense. However, forms or patterns of each tense are included in the error
analysis.
D. Objectives of the Study
