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direct exclamation in example [27] had present reporting clause, so that the tense in the indirect exclamation should not be back shifted. This error was called
misformation error because the students formed the wrong tense by back shifting the tense, which should not be applied in direct speech which has present
reporting clause. Error in the pronoun found in example [27] was shown on the use of I in
the indirect command. The students did not change the pronoun but they kept the pronoun as I. However, the pronoun should be changed into she because I in the
direct speech referred to Jane, not the reporter. Based on surface structure taxonomy, this error could be categorized as misformation error, because the
students used incorrect form of pronoun. Another form of error is found in example [28]. Besides tense error, which
was found on the use of present tense as in the use of is as to be, error was also happened in the word order.
[28] a. Direct Speech My teacher said, “What a naughty little girl she is.”
b. Indirect Speech My teacher said what a naughty little girl she was. c. Incorrect Answer My teacher exclaimed what a naughty little girl is
she. The word is in the students’ incorrect answer should be placed after the pronoun
she. It was because when the students chose to form indirect exclamation using the original pattern of the direct exclamation, there should be no changes in the
word order. They should keep the order of the pronoun and to be like they were in the direct exclamation. It is clearly shown that based on surface structure
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taxonomy, this error was categorized as misordering, because the incorrect placement of some word happened in the indirect speech.
The last form of students’ error in forming indirect exclamation is shown in example [29].
[29] a. Direct Speech Lidya said to me, “How brave you are.”
b. Indirect Speech Lidya said to me that I was brave. c. Incorrect Answer Lidya said if I was brave.
Conjunction that should be used in indirect exclamation is that or it might also be formed without using conjunction. Thus, the addition of if could be categorized as
misformation error. The use of if as the conjunction in the indirect exclamation made the meaning of the exclamation sentence change into yes-no question.
B. The Possible Causes of Errors
According to Brown 2000, there are four sources of error. They are interlingual transfer, intralingual transfer, context of learning, and communication
strategies. In this research, only interlingual transfer and intralingual transfer were applicable. The other two sources, context of learning and communication
strategies, were not applicable because the researcher did not go further to the students’ process of learning and the way they communicate. The rest of the
source of error that could not be categorized into Brown’s theory was categorized in other sources.
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1. Interlingual Transfer as the Possible Cause of Errors
Brown 2000: 224 stated that interlingual transfer from the native language, or called interference, commonly happens in the beginning levels of
learning second languages. In the students’ erroneous answers in the test, the researcher found that some of the errors were caused by interlingual transfer. The
interlingual transfer in the students’ answers was influenced by the students’ native language, which was Indonesian language.
The first example of error, which was possibly caused by interlingual transfer, was found in the use of wrong tenses in the indirect speech. Some
students used wrong forms of tenses because they did not backshift the speech which should be back shifted. This error might be influenced by Indonesian
language, in which there is no tense backshifts in changing direct speech into indirect speech.
The use of wrong word order in indirect statement could also be categorized as interlingual transfer. It was because in Indonesian language, there
were no changes of word order in changing direct question into indirect question, for example, in Indonesian language direct question “Dimana Anda bekerja?,”
there would be no changes in the word order, thus the indirect question would be Dia bertanya dimana Anda bekerja. In Indonesian language, there are no changes
in the order of the word because there are no auxiliary verbs like are, is, do, and could like questions in English language.
The cause of errors in the wrong order of not + to in indirect negative command could also possibly caused by interlingual transfer. Some students used
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to + not instead of not + to like in I warned them to not watch late night horror movies. In this error, the students might form the indirect command by translating
it form Indonesian language as “Saya memperingatkan mereka untuk tidak menonton film horror malam hari,” so that they used the wrong form of order
between to and not. Interlingual transfer could also be found in some items, in which some
students did not use the right conjunction. For example in indirect yes-no question, which should use if or whether as the conjunction, the students did not
change the word order. However, they tended to put the auxiliary verb after the reporting clause without using any conjunction. It might be influenced by their
first language, Indonesian language, where there is no need to add any conjunction in changing direct yes-no question into indirect yes-no question. The
example is in “Apakah dia akan menonton sepak bola besok siang?” the reporter just needs to change it as Dia bertanya apakah dia akan menonton sepak bola
besok siang. The students might think that the auxiliary verb means apakah, so that they did not need to add any conjunction.
Another error possibly caused by interlingual transfer was in the use of if as the conjunction in indirect statement. The right conjunction that should be used
in statement is that. The students might use if because they were influenced by their tendency in Indonesian language, in which they usually say “Wendy berkata
kalau ayahnya telah membeli sebuah mobil.” They used the word kalau, so that they translated the conjunction as if.
