The Efforts Should be Done to Minimize the Students’ Prepositional Verb Errors

B. The Efforts Should be Done to Minimize the Students’ Prepositional Verb Errors

After classifying and describing the errors produced by the participants, the writer would present the efforts should be done to minimize prepositional verb errors. Hence, dealing with the second research question, the writer carried out a semi- structured interview as the instrument to discover the efforts should be done to minimize the errors. There were ten questions addressed to the respondents. In order to obtain thorough data, the questions were arranged into three items to investigate: 1 the importance of prepositional verbs, 2 the experience in dealing with the cases of prepositional verb errors, and 3 the suggestions to minimize prepositional verb errors. The respondents interviewed in this research were three ELESP lecturers who were teaching Academic Essay Writing class in the academic year 20092010. In addition, the writer used supporting references as the secondary data. The interviews were recorded and transcribed in order to help the writer analyze the findings more easily. The complete interview result could be seen in appendix E. To answer the second research questions, the efforts should be done to minimize the students’ prepositional verbs errors, the writer would discuss the research findings as seen in the data presentation. From the interview, it is shown that related to students’ score grading, each Academic Essay Writing lecturer put different emphasis on prepositional verbs. The first lecturer did not give any toleration to the errors. The second lecturer only tolerated errors related to uncommon prepositional verbs, but not to the common ones. The third lecturer tolerated prepositional verb errors as long as the students could convey their ideas clearly. In fact, the main concern of academic writing was the content of the writing. It weighed about 60. Dealing with prepositional verbs, each Academic Essay Writing lecturer included them in different rubrics of scoring. The first lecturer included them in mechanics although they were regarded as a grammar case. It was because grammar itself was included in mechanics. The second lecturer included them in grammar because prepositional verb errors would result in grammar errors. The third lecturer included prepositional verbs in mechanics because he did not include grammar rubric in his scoring. He was mainly concerned with the writing content. In general, the lecturers weighed prepositional verbs 5-20 in students’ score. Although prepositional verbs contributed small percentage in scoring, the lecturers agreed that prepositional verb errors were problematic because they could create misinterpretation in understanding the sentences where they occurred. Therefore, prepositional verb accuracy in writing was significant. The basic consideration was that in writing, students presented the final form of their ideas. In other words, unlike speaking production, writing production was not spontaneous. The students had enough time to finish it and to follow processes of check and re-check before submitting it. Then, the accuracy of prepositional verbs in writing firstly could influence the readers’ speed of reading because the more the writer wrote prepositional verb errors, the more ambiguous the sentences were. In other words, the accuracy helped the readers understand the idea of the writing. Secondly, since writing was considered to be a final thinking process, the accuracy of prepositional verb might reflect the students’ real comprehension of prepositional verbs. Accordingly, the students’ mastery and awareness of prepositional verb could be predicted from their writing. Based on the lecturers’ experiences, the Academic Essay Writing students’ mastery and awareness of prepositional verbs were still inadequate. Some students might have been aware of the use of prepositional verbs, in which some verbs must be followed by certain prepositions. However, errors in choosing the prepositions still happened. Moreover, some students were not aware of the use of prepositional verbs. They did not realize the rule that the prepositions following the verbs were restricted because they only focused on the verbs. The lecturers also mentioned the most frequently occurred prepositional verb errors in their students’ writing were: discuss about , according with, teach about, based in, and based as.

a. The Efforts Should be Done by English Teacher Candidates to Minimize

Prepositional Verb Errors Dealing with students’ prepositional verb errors, ELESP students as teacher candidates, need to prepare themselves to minimize their future students’ prepositional verb errors. There are two kinds of suggestions presented in this part. They are suggestions for the teachers and actions in minimizing students’ prepositional verb errors. 1 Suggestions for the Teachers a Not being Ignorant about the Students’ Errors Although prepositional verbs were small parts of writing, prepositional verbs needed to be paid attention to in order to avoid misunderstanding in grasping information in the writing. Besides, as the first lecturer said, if the errors were ignored, they could become the students’ habit. This would be dangerous for the students’ language learning in the future. …be careful, I mean do not be ignorant. Because sometimes being ignorant is not the same as… what is it… not knowing is not the same as being ignorant. So, I think they know it, but they… many of them are ignorant. Ya, because they think that that would be classified as a small mistake. And that’s OK to make that kind of mistake. But, I would say that is not OK. Ya, that is dangerous. R1, interview result Therefore, the first thing the teachers need to stress was the importance of the accuracy of prepositional verbs in writing. This meant that teachers should not tolerate the students’ errors. b Being Careful in Using Prepositional Verbs in Teaching Since teachers were role models for the students, the teachers’ language productions were also followed by the students. In fact, as the second lecturer said, teachers might face slip of the tongue in speaking. And the second, as also lecturers, sometimes we do not realize that we produced it unconsciously. R2, interview result Hence, teachers needed to be more careful in producing language, especially in speaking. c Practicing and Re-memorizing Prepositional Verbs Teachers needed to practice prepositional verbs as well as their students. As role models, teachers needed to ensure prepositional verbs they use. Besides, it was unavoidable that students ask the teachers about prepositional verbs. In these cases, teachers needed to enrich themselves with prepositional verbs by practicing and re- memorizing prepositional verbs they already acquire. The second lecturer said, Minimize the error,….and we also have to realize that these errors, are unconscious errors, I mean we are familiar with the errors, we are rarely familiar with the correct patterns, correct verbs, correct prepositional verbs, so what we have to do as lecturers and also students, we have to practice more and then we have to memorize more. Re-memorize. Maybe we have to go back to vocabulary one or two, in which we everyday memorize 15, 50 words, so everyday we memorize 50 prepositional verbs if it is possible. R2, interview result As the second lecturer stated, English learners tended to be more familiar with the incorrect patterns of prepositional verb instead of the correct ones. This also happened to English teachers. It meant that when the fossilized errors were possessed by the teachers, the errors could influence the students to produce similar errors. Therefore, teachers were also expected to learn from their own prepositional verb errors which they produced during their teaching or during their study when they were students. d Reading a lot of English Texts to Find the Examples of Prepositional Verbs One way for the teachers to enrich themselves with prepositional verbs was by reading a lot of English texts, especially the authentic ones, in which they would find a lot of examples of prepositional verbs. Then, they could provide the texts for their students. The third lecturer said, Well, I really suggest the future teacher to read a lot so that they can find examples of the use of prepositional verbs… R3, interview result As the third lecturer mentioned, teachers were suggested to read a lot because examples of prepositional verbs were provided in English texts. Besides, when this had been a habit, they would be familiar with prepositional verbs. As a result, they would not need to always depend on dictionaries to check the correctness of prepositional verbs. 2 Actions in Minimizing Students’ Prepositional Verb Errors In order to minimize the students’ prepositional verb errors, teachers needed to take several actions, as follows. a Giving Spoken and Written Feedback The feedback in this case was negative feedback, which means feedback that shows the students that their errors are unacceptable Brown, 1991: 117. The feedback was significant because it enables the students to identify their errors and to improve their language acquisition, dealing with prepositional verbs. The feedback was not only given in written form, but also in a spoken way. Through written and spoken feedback, the information about the errors could be delivered to the whole class. Therefore, feedback about prepositional verb errors needed to be emphasized through a written and a spoken way. First, it was because the concern of the students when they were writing was the idea of the writing. Second, prepositional verbs were not specifically taught in certain classes so that they were not accustomed to them. Third, Indonesian language might influence students’ way of thinking in producing prepositional verbs that resulted in addition errors. As Thornbury 2006: 114 said, it is called negative transfer of first language. Therefore, related to addition errors, not only did the feedback emphasize the students to write in English, but also to think in English. b Keeping Reminding the Students about the Errors The concern of Academic Essay Writing class was the content of the students’ writing. As a result, when the students wrote their assignments, they tended to only pay attention to their idea. This fact led them to miss detail things in writing, including prepositional verbs. Therefore, the information about the errors must be reminded repeatedly. In addition, the information should include the importance of structure in writing in avoiding misleading. This would show the students that they have to pay attention to detail information, including prepositional verbs, in composing academic writing. c Assembling Group Discussions Group discussions were beneficial in minimizing prepositional verb errors in writing. They were assembled during the teaching-learning activity. Here, the students were divided into small groups, in which they conducted peer correction. In their groups, students learned to identify their classmates’ errors in their writing. Besides, the students could share their idea in their groups. Therefore, through this group discussion, students could realize that errors they produced might create misunderstanding for the readers. The lecturer, who assisted the groups in turns, could guide the students to find out their errors and the corrections. d Asking Students to Consult Dictionary As Harman 1950: 180 said, a monolingual dictionary is the most reliable reference to the meanings and uses of words. Therefore, students needed to be encouraged to consult their dictionary when they find doubt in prepositional verbs usage. This was necessary in order to encourage the students to be independent because they could not always depend on their teachers when they wrote their assignments or any other kinds of writing. Besides, prepositional verbs needed to be memorized. They were naturally produced by the native language users as their habitual communication. As a result, non-native language users, including the students and the teachers, needed to memorize them. This meant that the English teachers themselves had limited mastery of prepositional verbs. It was in line with what was conveyed by the third lecturer. Well, I think the idea is just the same what we have discussed previously, but usually the more effective way to ask them to fix this error, just ask them to open the dictionary. That’s I think that is the most important thing because when just the information from me, I, myself, may make mistakes of that. Right…. R3, interview result According to the third lecturer, since the teacher’s prepositional verb mastery was limited, the students needed to be encouraged to consult dictionaries. e Providing Prepositional Verb Practices for Students Minimizing students’ prepositional verb errors could be carried out by introducing the prepositional verbs through practices. There were several practices for students to minimize their prepositional verb errors, such as: matching exercises, filling the blanks exercises, and contrasting prepositional verbs which share the same verb, but different prepositions exercises Anonymous, 2006: http:www.oposicionesprofesores.commuestrasdemo_ingles_text_1_answers.pdf. In addition, Frodesen and Eyring 1997, as stated by Celce-Murcia and Larsen- Freeman 1999: 417, suggested a prepositional verb practice in the form of discussion. 1 Matching Students were asked to match several verbs to the co-occurrence prepositions. Otherwise, students could match several prepositional verbs to non-prepositional verbs which are synonymous. 2 Filling in the Blanks Students were asked to fill the blanks in a text with the proposed prepositional verbs. Students could be provided with the verbs, and then they filled the blanks with the suitable prepositions. 3 Contrasting Prepositional Verbs which Share the Same Verbs, but Different Prepositions Since in prepositional verbs, some verbs might be paired with several prepositions, students needed to be able to differentiate their meanings and use them in the right context. In this practice, students attempted to use the prepositional verbs in correct sentences. The examples are as follows. 1 I agree with you, I agree to the proposal, I agree on the plan, I agree about your opinion, I agree for the principle 2 It differs from something else, It differs aboutover a question. 4 Discussion Students were asked to discuss certain topics and share their opinion about them using prepositional verbs. To emphasize the use of prepositional verbs, the prepositional verbs were specified for verbs followed by suggested prepositions. For example, Frodesen and Eyring 1997, as stated by Celce-Murcia and Larsen-Freeman 1999: 417, proposed a topic about different immigrant groups to the United States. The students were asked to use verb + for pattern. Then, they said: “The Pilgrims longed for freedom from religious persecution. In the 1840s and 1850s, the Irish hoped for freedom from hunger. In the late 1800s, the Scandinavians yearned for farmland.” f Providing Authentic Reading Texts for Students One of EFL teachers’ main tasks was providing authentic materials for their students Anonymous, 2006: http:www.oposicionesprofesores.commuestrasdemo ingles_text_1_answers.pdf. By reading authentic texts, students would find a lot of prepositional verb examples. It would enrich their prepositional verbs mastery. Then, the more often they found the prepositional verbs, the more they were accustomed to them. Dealing with the results of this research, prepositional verb errors which were mostly produced by Academic Essay Writing students were included in addition error. The mostly produced example of this error was discuss about. Addition error, according to the third lecturer, was an effect of the students’ first language interference. As Thornbury 2006: 114 stated, it is called interlanguage error. The learners’ first language influences the language being learned which results in errors. Ya, because I guess this is Indonesian interference. We have like ‘Kita berdiskusi tentang’, but actually discuss about, and we’re familiar with that, umm…we are comfortable using discuss about but actually this is incorrect, ya. If we say discuss, just discuss what, not discuss about. Ya, this is interference I think…. R3, interview result Furthermore, to minimize this type of error, the lecturer suggested that the teachers put emphasis on the feedback and ask the students to consult dictionaries.

b. The Efforts Should be Done by English Learners to Minimize Prepositional Verb Errors

Since English learners, especially ELESP students, needed to be independent in minimizing their prepositional verb errors, they needed to attempt several efforts, such as: 1 Consulting Dictionaries and Grammar Books The students needed to have dictionaries and grammar books as their guide. As stated previously, dictionaries were the reliable references of prepositional verbs. Besides, grammar books were also recommended. ….review the grammar book. That’s the only way to do it. Because I think it is impossible for me to what is it… to teach them… about grammar, at the same time I teach them academic essay. R1, interview result The first lecturer added that the grammar books were also dependable references for students to check prepositional verbs. There, students would find the correct forms and usage of prepositional verbs. Therefore, English learners, especially ELESP students, needed to have both dictionaries and grammar books. 2 Memorizing the Prepositional Verbs After students consulted dictionaries and reviewed grammar books, they needed to memorize the prepositional verbs. Since they could not always depend on the dictionaries and grammar books when they produced prepositional verbs, they needed to memorize them. Memorizing was one way that enabled the students to produce the prepositional verbs automatically. It also helped the students convey their idea fluently. As a result, students would be more confident in producing the language. 3 Practicing the Prepositional Verbs From the interview, the writer found that mastering prepositional verbs needed a process. The third lecturer said that, …prepositional verb is very cultural. So, it takes time to make students to be more automatic… R3, interview result Since prepositional verbs were cultural, it needed a process and took time for students to be accustomed to them before finally they could use them naturally. Therefore, students needed to apply prepositional verbs in every English class, including reading skill, listening skill, writing skill, and speaking skill.

c. Teaching Prepositional Verbs for ELESP Students

All in all, it was assumed that prepositional verbs should be introduced to students as early as possible because it needed process and took time for them to be accustomed to the prepositional verbs and to be able to automatically use them. For ELESP students, based on the interview, they appropriately started to be introduced to prepositional verbs in the first or second semester. The first lecturer mentioned, As early as possible. I think after they learn or at the same time when they learn tenses, like simple present, and they are introduced with prepositional verb because I think when they use simple present, perhaps some of them will use the word discuss, and they should know the preposition followed umm… the verb. Ya… R1, interview result As the first lecturer stated, the lesson was introduced in a structure class, in which the students were introduced to English tenses. When the tenses were taught, the students learned about different forms of verbs: V1, V2, and V3. At the same time, they also learned to recognize the following prepositions. Besides, as the second lecturer suggested, prepositional verbs could be introduced in vocabulary class, in which the students acquired a new vocabulary list, especially verbs. Maybe from vocabulary and then it is also supported by the usage of prepositional verbs in writing, in speaking, and in other subjects. So I think, the sooner the better. R2, interview result When they learned the verbs, at the same time they also learned the prepositions which followed the verbs. Nevertheless, afterward, teaching prepositional verbs should be integrated in every English skill. As the third lecturer said, I don’t think of segmentation here, so I think it will be more appropriate when umm…all subjects have this contain, so in listening they have an opportunity to listen to umm…prepositional…prepositional verbs, and then they can learn from it, then in reading, they have the umm…form of the verb, and also in writing they apply it to the writing, so I think, all of the subjects should put together to make the students aware of the problem, verb, and another one that the students will be more automatic in producing prepositional verb. R3, interview result Consequently, students would be familiar with prepositional verbs. They could recognize them in listening and reading, and then they could produce them in speaking and writing. This would minimize their prepositional verb errors and lead them to be automatic in producing correct prepositional verbs. 69

CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

This chapter presents the conclusions of this research and the suggestions related to this research. In the first part, the writer presents the conclusions of this research. Then, in the second part, the writer provides suggestions for English teachers, students, and future researchers who are interested to follow up this research.

A. Conclusions

This research was conducted to answer two research questions: a the prepositional verb errors in the students’ Academic Essay Writing class assignments, and b the efforts should be done to minimize the students’ prepositional verbs errors. To answer the first research question, the writer conducted document analysis. The documents used in this research were the writing assignments of Academic Essay Writing students of academic year 20072008 submitted as the first final project. Afterwards, the writer collected prepositional verb errors in the assignments. Based on the gathered data, the writer found 150 prepositional verb errors. Those errors are included in three types of error based on surface structure taxonomy: addition 68,5, misinformation 29,5, and omission 2. The research results show that the mostly produced errors belong to addition error. Then, the second mostly produced errors belong to misinformation error, and the third is omission error.