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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Research Background
One of the basic problems for the students of English Language Education Study Program ELESP in Sanata Dharma University Yogyakarta is the use of
passive voice. Azar 1992 points out that in a passive sentence, the object of an active verb becomes the subject of the passive verb. In the other words, the subject
of the clause is the one who does the action, for example: 1. Andi cleaned the blackboard. active sentence
2. The blackboard was cleaned by Andi. passive sentence In brief, the writer who is going to make a passive sentence has to change the
active verb into past participle in making a passive sentence. From the writer’s observation, the writer realized that the ELESP students in
Sanata Dharma University, who are trained to be English teachers, showed that they had a problem in making passive voice. They were still confused in making passive
sentences. When the students made a passive sentence, they did not change their sentence into passive sentence correctly. However, the students as teacher candidates
need to be a good language model for their future students. They are expected to be able to use the language correctly and fluently. In addition, they should not produce a
sentence that violates the grammar because the students will imitate the teachers.
2 Therefore, it is important for them to master their language skills and elements,
including passive voice. Passive voice is one of grammatical points that have to be mastered by the students ELESP in Sanata Dharma University Yogyakarta because
according to Hewings 1999, the use of passive voice really affects the result of the students’ writing whereas writing is also one of essential parts in language skills in
learning English, especially for ELESP students. In this study, the researcher conducted a research on the students’ mastery in
using passive voice. Their mastery would be analyzed through a test. The test result may show the students’ mastery in making passive voice. Fries 1948 states that
there are three requirements of mastering the language: mastering the form, meaning, and function.
The ELESP students in Sanata Dharma University learned passive voice in semester two. Having that condition, the researcher chose to conduct the research
after the ELESP students in Sanata Dharma University learned passive voice. It would be very useful for the students to know their mastery of passive voice right
after they learn passive voice in semester two, since it helped the students not to make mistake again when they use passive voice on the following semester. Furthermore,
the researcher also examined the students’ difficulties in using passive voice. The aim was to realize the students’ difficulties in making passive voice. In addition, the
researcher also tries to find the possible causes of the students’ errors. This will help the students to avoid making errors.
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1.2 Research Problem
