writing which deviates from some selected norm of mature language performance
”. Then, another expert, Corder adds that errors are “the results of the interference in the learning of a second language from the habits of the first
language” 1981: 5. Errors that occur are distinguished based on the several factors. First, errors are caused fatigue and inattention that Chomsky in Dulay et
al. , 1982 called it performance factors and errors resulted from lack of
knowledge of the rules of the language called competence. After the causal factors of making errors are shown, the distinction of errors
and mistakes has to offer since they are quite different. As Ellis 1997: 17 said that “errors reflect gaps in a learner’s knowledge; they occur because the learner
does not know what is correct”. On the contrary, mistakes happen when the
learner is unable to produce what he or she knows. They are usually caused by slip of the tongue, mental condition, high emotion eager, too happy, uncontrolled
condition, etc. It can be concluded that the differences between mistakes and errors are
when the mistakes are the deficiencies of learners and naturally occurs on human being. They sometimes make wrong utterances and sometimes produce the right
form. For example: learner makes “he must go” and the other side he produces “he must to go”. Then, errors are noticeable as a deviation of the grammar
knowledge. It may happen because of the interference of the tradition of the first language and the inadequacy of the target language. Errors are also signed by the
consistent wrong sentence or utterance committed by the learner, for instance, a learner produced a paragraph that consisted of seven sentences and fifteen verbs.
He consistently applied verb base for the third person singular as a subject in simple present tense so that he already made errors.
2.2.4 Error Analysis
Error which people usually made is a predictable feature of learning. It can also be a part of learning strategies which are used by the language learners in
their process of learning so that they can get the benefit from various forms of those errors. A linguistic approach that deals with errors committed by learners is
error analysis Gass and Selinker, 2008. Before this analysis emerges, another analysis has already appeared in the study of second language acquisition that is
called contrastive analysis. Contrastive analysis is an analysis which compares mother tongue and second language to show the differences and similarities by
explaining and predicting learner s’ problems Saville-Troike, 2006. From
comparing these languages, errors which reflected the structure of the first language in producing the second language would be made because of the
habituation of the leaner’s first language Dulay et al, 1982. Gass and Selinker propose that the analysis aims at “predicting areas that
will be either easy or difficult for learners” 2008: 96. It aids the learners in learning and producing the second language especially in avoiding errors that will
be made. However, predictions of learners’ errors in this analysis do not always occur because they do not explain many learners’ errors and the positive transfer
does not happen Saville-Troike, 2006. Another weakness of this analysis is the habituation of first language that influences second language acquisition. The
habit formation is not only the factor to succeed in second language acquisition, the innate capacity of learners also affect the process of acquisition Gass and
Selinker, 2008. Contrastive analysis has also involved pedagogical concerns and SLA into one unit whereas researchers have broken them up Saville-Troike,
2006. Error analysis was declared after the weaknesses of contrastive analysis
appeared by the early 1970’s Saville-Troike, 2006. This analysis functions to know why the learners produce errors, what errors learners make, and to help the
learners to learn from their own errors Ellis, 1997. Moreover, Corder 1981 tells that learning errors are beneficial for three different ways, those are for
teachers, researchers, and learners themselves. It is useful for learners, teachers and the researcher as one of the keys to understand the process of second language
learning. By knowing the errors, they will know how the second language is learnt. Then, the learner’s errors that are produced can be found and compared the
wrong sentences with the correct sentences in target language in order that the
erroneousness will
not be
repeated anymore.
2.2.5 Verb and Verb Phrase Definition and Types of the Errors
