The Procedure of Error Analysis

Here is a list of characteristic changes in tense forms: 56 Table 2.5 The Characteristics Changes in Tense Direct Question Indirect Question Simple Present ‘What is the matter?’ Simple Past She asked me what the matter was Simple Past ‘How did you make this salad?’ Past Perfect I wondered how she had made that salad. Present Perfect ‘Have you bought a new outfit for it?’ Past Perfect She wondered whether I had bought a new outfit for it. Present Progressive ‘Where are you going?’ Past Progressive I wanted to know where she was going. Future ‘Will you be in Paris on Monday?’ Conditional He asked me if I would be in Paris on Monday. Here is some common change in pronouns and possessive adjectives: 57 Table 2.6 The Changes of Pronoun and Passive Adjectives Direct Question Indirect Question I He or she Me Him or her My His or her we They 56 http:www.athabascau.cacoursesengl . 12 Desember 2012 57 Martin Parrot, op. cit., p. 223. Then, pronouns and possessive adjectives, of the 1 st and 2 nd persons, are all turned into the 3 rd persons in the indirect form, as follows: a. I, you, singular my, your become he, she, his, her, their. b. We, you plural, our, your become they, their. In addition, when one reports the question, the word order is generally the same as that of statements. 58 Reported questions do not have the same word – order auxiliary verb before subject as direct questions often have. Do and question mark are not used. Example: ‘Do you have the time, please?’ Someone asked me if I had the time. 59 58 Ibid. 59 Michael Swan, loc. cit., p. 536. 7

CHAPTER II THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS

A. Error 1. Understanding of Error

When students learn a target language, they usually make errors or mistakes. It happens because sometimes the students interfered by their native language. The different system of the second language and the first language leads them to make the errors. However, it can be used to know the understanding of the students about the rules or system of the language being learned. Some experts give the understanding of error. According to Brown “An error is a noticeable deviation from the adult grammar of native speaker, reflecting the interlanguage competence of the learner.” 1 It means that an error is something that can be seen; it shows the learner’s ability. While Corder in Norrish states, “Errors are the result of some failure of performance.” 2 From the statement above; errors are caused by the incorrect form on the learner’s work. Hubbard, et.al. also have the same opinion with Corder. According to them, “Errors are caused by lack of knowledge about the target language English or by incorrect hypotheses about it. 3 It means that errors can appear due to the insufficient knowledge or the inappropriate rule about the language being learned. 1 H. D. Brown, Principle of Language Learning and Teaching, 5 th edition New York: Pearson Education, Inc., 2007, 5 th edition, p. 258. 2 Carl James, Errors in Language Learning and Use, New York: Addision Wesley Longman, Inc., 1998, p. 79. 3 Peter Hubbard, et al., A Training Course for TEFL, New York: Oxford University Press, 1983, p. 134.