Data Presentation of the English Verb Phrase Errors

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CHAPTER IV RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

In this chapter the researcher is going to present and discuss the research findings. The chapter itself consists of three sections based on the research questions formulated in the first chapter, namely the errors in English verb phrases that the students made, the causes of those errors, and the suggestions for coping with the production of the errors.

A. The Errors in English Verb Phrases

1. Data Presentation of the English Verb Phrase Errors

The data which the researcher collected were in the form of speech contained in the video recordings. Therefore, to be able to analyze the data, the researcher watched the videos and transcribed them. She watched all of the recordings and made the list of all utterances in which verb phrase errors occurred. The utterances containing verb phrase errors which were enlisted and analyzed were only those made by the participants who were practicing teaching in front of their Microteaching fellows. When the researcher analyzed the verb phrase errors, she did not include the same errors which were repeated by the same participant. In addition, she excluded the errors which were not related to English verb phrases, such as those related to the use of English articles or prepositions. The errors were classified PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI i e s m o w c 2. er om into omissio errors, globa The sentence con more than occurred. In well as the content anal Fig . Disc Base rrors that th mission, ad on, addition al errors, and researcher f ntained at le that of the n Appendix percentage ysis are brie gure 4.1 The ussion ed on the da he students dition, mior 100 200 300 n, misorderi d other error found 316 u east two kin utterances. B the resear of each kin efly shown. Frequency o ata found, th made could rdering, mi ing, misform s. utterances co nds of errors There wer rcher presen nd of errors of the Verb P he researche d be catego sformation, mation, inte ontaining ve s, so the num re 708 verb nts the error s. In Figure Phrase Error er discovere orized into a interlingual erlingual er erb phrase er mber of erro b phrase err rs and the ex 4.1 the res r Occurrence d that, first all categorie l errors, lo 33 rrors, local rrors. Each ors was far rors which xamples as ults of the es of all, the es, namely ocal errors, PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 34 global errors, and other errors. The data showed that most of the errors they made were local errors, that is, those which did not hinder communication significantly. That means it is true that other people may still understand what someone says although he does not speak really accurately. However, for a teacher, no doubt speaking not accurately can cause problems, as explained in Chapter I. There were 286 errors, or as many as 40.4 , which could be categorized as local errors. One category which falls under local errors is the lack of auxiliary verbs. The example of this subcategory is [1.a] All of you got the paper? The sentence lacks the auxiliary “have”, whereas the sentence should have been [1.b] Have all of you got the paper? The absence of the auxiliary verb here does not change the meaning of the sentence. Another subcategory is the lack of linking verbs, e.g. [2.a] You still sleepy, right? The correction for this will be [2.b] You are still sleepy, right? since “sleepy”, an adjective, needs a linking verb. The next is the use of an infinitive Verb 1 or a past tense verb Verb 2 instead of a past participle Verb 3, e.g. [3.a] For example, this morning I have drink a glass of milk. The participant failed to put the past participle verb “drunk” after the auxiliary verb. The correct sentence will be [3.b] For example, this morning I have drunk a glass of milk because the auxiliary “have” precedes a past participle. The lack or incorrect addition of the verb suffixes “-s” and “-ing” is the next that falls under local errors. The example of this sort of errors is [4.a] And the one who know how to make it tell everyone else in the group so all the members know how to make the shape. The participant did not add the verb suffix “-s” as a PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 35 simple present marker to the verbs “know” and “tell”, while the utterance should have been [4.b] And the one who knows how to make it tells everyone else in the group so all the members know how to make the shape. Another subcategory is misordered questions, which occurred many times in the speech of most of the participants. The example is [5.a] What we have learned today, Class? In the sentence, they should have put the auxiliary “have” right after the interrogative pronoun “what”. It should have been [5.b] What have we learned today, Class ? Incorrect Subject and Verb Agreement is the next. The example is [6.a] Because the first she have to finish his report at 7 or 9. In simple present tense, the plural verb “have” does not agree with the singular subject “she”. Therefore, the correct one will be [6.b] Because the first she has to finish his report at 7 or 9. The last subcategory is the lack or incorrect addition of relative pronouns, e.g. [7.a] How many types of invitation letter that we have? In the sentence, the relative pronoun “that” is unnecessary and the sentence needs an auxiliary so it should have been [7.b] How many types of invitation letter do we have? There is barely a meaning change in this kind of errors. As many as 30 errors or 4.2 of all the errors belonged to global errors. This kind of errors does hinder communication significantly because there is a meaning change that occurs. The first that falls under this is an inappropriate simple present or past tense use. In the sample sentence [8.a]. If you found something in the newspaper, it’s usually important the use of the past tense verb “found” changes the meaning of the utterance; the meaning becomes unreal in the present for the PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 36 sentence is an if-clause case. The correct sentence is [8.b] If you find something in the newspaper, it’s usually important. The second subcategory of global errors is the use of nouns N instead of verbs V. In sentence [9.a] And for the second session of this listening, I would like you to listening to the recording and decision whether the statement is True or False the noun “decision” makes decision whether the statement is True or False no longer an instruction, but merely a statement. The correction will be discussed later. Another subcategory is the lack of main verbs, as in the example [10.a] Is it anything to do with the director? The sentence lacks the main verb “have”, which has changed the meaning of the sentence, and also contains an inappropriate linking verb “is”. It should have been [10.b] Does it have anything to do with the director? The lack of or incorrect linking verbs can also cause a meaning shift, as in example [11.a] below. [11.a] How many rooms there? The lack of “are” makes the meaning of the word “there” ambiguous. When “are” is used in the sentence, the meaning of [11.b] How many rooms are there? becomes clear. Long phrases without any verbs can also cause unclear meaning as in the example [12.a] The most important that you should emphasize when you want to say about uncertainty, to express about uncertainty. The meaning can be grasped when a verb, in this case the linking verb “is”, is put in the sentence; [12.b] The PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 37 most important is that you should emphasize when you want to say about uncertainty, to express about uncertainty. The use of the active instead of passive also falls under global errors since the use of one to mean to say the other will cause a meaning change. [13.a] It calls as letter head is different in meaning than [13.b] It is called as letter head. The last is the lack of infinitive marker “to” in the case [14.a] I wish you all understand what we have learned today. This sentence can be said to be a subjunctive and is to express a wish, something unreal, while [14.b] I wish you all to understand what we have learned today is to express hope. Another category with a high number of errors is omission. The researcher found 161 22.7 errors which belonged to this type of errors. The researcher discovered that auxiliary verbs do, does, did, am, is, are, and have were the most frequently-omitted items. Of all the auxiliary verbs, “do” and “does” tended to be omitted the most often, e.g. [15.a] Anyone of you remember? The absence of the auxiliary verb in this case has changed the question into a statement. The sentence lacks the plural auxiliary “do.” The correct sentence, therefore, will be [15.b] And then, do you want to choose your friend ? In addition to the omission of auxiliary verbs, the omission of linking verbs be, been, is, and are occurred frequently, e.g. [16.a] I know that you have already familiar with this … unclear. Since “familiar”, an adjective, needs a linking verb and the auxiliary “have” is followed by a past participle, the correction is [16.b] I know that you have already been familiar with this … unclear. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 38 The participants were also inclined to omit verb suffixes -s, -ed, and -ing, as in example [17.a]. [17.a] Who choose Angga? The participant omitted the simple present singular verb suffix “s” in the sentence, as most of the participants did. The utterance should have been as in [17.b]. [17.b] Who chooses Angga? Some verbs, the infinitive marker “to”, and relative pronouns were the last items which were left out when the students practiced teaching. The absence of these items was only small in number compared to the others. For instance, in [18.a] Anyone can help me how to make a glass of milk? the student missed “to”, while it is needed when the preceding structure is “help” + an object. Besides, since how to make a glass of milk is a kind of information, a verb like “explain” or “tell” is needed. Therefore, the correction will be [18.b] 1 Anyone can help me to explain how to make a glass of milk? Out of 708 errors, there were 76 10.7 which were categorized as misformation. They were the incorrect forms that the participants made. The first type of misformation is incorrect subject and verb SV agreement, which consists of the incorrect form of auxiliary and linking verbs. For instance, [19.a] Imperative and giving instruction is the same. The sentence should have contained the plural linking verb “are”, so the correct sentence is [19.b] Imperative and giving instruction are the same . 1 [18.b] is still incorrect for misordering category PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 39 In addition to incorrect subject and verb SV agreement, the participants used the wrong form of verbs and modals, for example: [20.a] Have you take a bath? [21.a] Although you couldn’t understand the speaking, you can still read the text. Since a past participle is the verb form for present perfect tense, the correction for [20.a] will be [20.b] Have you taken a bath? The student used the inappropriate form of modal in [21.a] because the sentence is in past tense. She should have said, [21.b] “Although you couldn’t understand the speaking, you could still read the text. ” The next that falls under this category is the use of future instead of simple present, for instance [22.a] Before you are going to be the boss, to be the chef, or maybe the tourist guide, first of all you need a skill to write something called a CV. Here future tense is not appropriate for the adverbial clause. The participant should have used simple present tense. The correct sentence, hence, will be [22.b] Before you become the boss, the chef, or maybe the tourist guide, first of all you need a skill to write something called a CV. It can be shown that some errors belonged to the unnecessary use of passive voice. One of the examples is [23.a] This pattern is a negative statement and then it’s continued by the positive statement . The second clause of the utterance should have simply been in active form. That is why the correction is [23.b] 2 This pattern is a negative statement and then it continues with the positive statement . 2 The researcher replaced the preposition “by” to form a correct prepositional verb PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 40 Then the researcher found out that there was an utterance in which a noun N was used instead of a verb V. The sentence is the previously-used example [9.a] And for the second session of this listening, I would like you to listening to the recording and decision whether the statement is True or False. “Decision” is incorrect in the sentence since what is needed is a verb to make the sentence a correct parallel structure. The correction, therefore, will be [9.b] 3 And for the second session of this listening, I would like you to listen to the recording and decide whether the statement is True or False. In addition to misformation, misordering is the other category to which as many as 72 errors, or 10.2 of the total errors, belonged. In this type of errors the participants put the words in a sentence in a wrong order. There are some subcategories which fall under it, one of which is misordering auxiliary verbs has, have, do, linking verbs is, are, and modals can, may as an operator. For instance, [18.b] Anyone can help me to explain how to make a glass of milk? “Can” as an operator should have been put at the beginning of the sentence, so the correction is [18.c] Can anyone help me to explain how to make a glass of milk? The participants also put auxiliary verbs am, are, linking verbs is, are, was, and the modal “will” in an incorrect order in an indirect question. The example is [24.a] If you don’t understand, you can ask me what am I talking about. The misplacement in the example made the noun clause still a direct question. Therefore, the utterance should have been [24.b] If you don’t understand, you can ask me what I am talking about. 3 In [9.b] the addition was also corrected. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 41 The linking verb “is” in a direct question was the last item that the participants misplaced, e.g. [25.a] What the story is about? Compared to the previous example sentence [24.a], reversely, the misordering caused the sentence to be a noun clause or an indirect question. The correction, then, is [25.b] What is the story about ? The data, subsequently, indicated that there were 54 errors 7.6 which the researcher classified as addition. In this sort of error, inappropriate items were added to the sentences, which made them grammatically incorrect. In some cases, an error belonged to this type as well as the other at a time, e.g. [26.a] Can you remember what were the speaker say, Yuan ? The utterance contained addition and omission. The first items that were added inappropriately the most frequently were verb suffixes -s, -ed, -ing. This is example [27.a]. [27.a] If you said “vitae”, it will be plural form. In [27.a] the addition of the suffix “-ed” is incorrect for the conditional clause type 1 and, hence, it made the sentence confusing. The correction for the sentence, then, is [27.b] If you say “vitae”, it will be plural form. The researcher also discovered that auxiliary verbs do, does, did, is, were were very often added inappropriately, as seen in [26.a]. In the utterance “were” is unnecessary because the noun clause is in the simple past tense. Therefore, the appropriate sentence will be [26.b] 4 Can you remember what the speaker said, Yuan ? 4 The omission was also corrected. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 42 In addition to auxiliary verbs, there were some cases where the participants used the relative pronouns “who” and ”that” inappropriately, e.g. [28.a] You have to see which person who do that action. The noun clause should have contained a verb. The addition of “who” made the clause lack a verb. That is why the correct sentence is [28.b] 5 You have to see which person did that action . The last items which were mistakenly added were the infinitive marker “to”, the linking verb “is”, and the verbs “be” and ”become”, which only counted for more or less 13 of all addition errors 7 errors out of 54. The example is [29.a] 6 Be concentrate, please, where the unnecessary “be” was used, instead of [29.b] Concentrate, please Another 19 errors, or only 2.7 of all the errors, were classified into interlingual errors, a category in which the participants produced grammatically- incorrect utterances under the influence of their mother tongue. Some participants said, [30.a] “Have you done?” instead of [30.b] “Are you done?” because “have” means “sudahkah” in Bahasa Indonesia. All of the errors that the researcher classified into this category indicated that the participants still used the structure and rules of Bahasa to produce English utterances. The last 10 1.4 errors were categorized as other errors; those which were unique to a participant and did not fit into the interlingual category. [29.a] Be concentrate, please and [31.a] What “hore” is mean? instead of [31.b] 7 What does “hore” mean ? The researcher noticed that other errors resulted from overgeneralization. 5 The misformation was also corrected. 6 [29.a] was also categorized as an “other error”. 7 The misordering was also corrected. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 43

B. The Causes of the Errors and the Suggestions for Coping with the