6
on common difficulties in language learning, as an aid in teaching or in the preparation of teaching materials.
”
6
Another concept of error analysis is given by Brown. He defined error analysis as
“the process to observe, analyze, and classify the deviations of the rules of the second language and then to reveal the systems operated by learner.
”
7
It seems this concept is similar with the one proposed by Crystal i.e. “error
analysis is a technique for identifying, classifying and systematically interpreting the unacceptable forms produced by someone learning a foreign language, using
any of the principles and procedures provided by linguistics. ”
8
“Theoretical analysis of errors, mainly deals with the process and strategies of language learning and its similarities with first language acquisition.
In other words, it tries to investigate what is going on in the minds of language learners. Secondly, it tries to decode the strategies of learners such as
overgeneralization and simplification, and thirdly, to go to a conclusion that regards the universals of language learning process whether there is an internal
syllabus for learning a second language. ”
9
Before we go further on explaining about the error and its characteristics, it is necessary to pay our attention to the distinction between an error and a
mistake as what some linguists call them two different phenomena. According to Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics,
“a learner makes a mistake when writing or speaking because of lack of attention, fatigue, carelessness, or some other aspects of performance. Mistake can be self-
corrected when attention is called. Whereas, an error is the use of linguistic item in a way that a fluent or native speaker of the language regards it as showing
faulty or incomplete learning, In other words, it occurs because the learner does
6
Richards, J.C., ed, Error Analysis, 1985, London: Longman, p.96
7
Brown, H.D., Principles of Language Learning and Teaching, 1980, New Jersey: Prentice Hall Inc.,p.166
8
Crystal, D., A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics, 2
nd
Edition, 1987, New York: Basil Blackwell Inc., p. 112
9
Vacide Erdogan, Contribution of Error Analysis to Foreign Language Teaching, volume
1, Issue 2, December 2005, p.263
7
not know what is correct, and thus it cannot be self-corrected. ”
10
To distinguish between an error and mistake, Ellis suggests two ways. “The first one is to check the consistency of learner‟s performance. If he
sometimes uses the correct form and sometimes the wrong one, it is a mistake. However, if he always uses it incorrectly, it is then an error. The second way is to
ask learner to try to correct his own deviant utterance. Where he is unable to, the deviations are errors, where he is successful, they are mistakes.
”
11
3. The Sources of Errors
As there are many descriptions for different kinds of errors, it is inevitable to move further and ask for the sources of errors. It has been indicated in the
previous part of this writing that errors were assumed as being the only result of interference of the first language habits to the learning of the second language.
“However, with the field of error analysis, it has been understood that the nature of errors implicates the existence of other reasons for errors to occur.
”
12
Then, the sources of errors can be categorized within two domains: 1 interlingual transfer,
and 2 intralingual transfer.
a. Interlingual Transfer
Interlingual transfer is a significant source for language learners. The dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics defines interlingual
transfer as “being the result of language transfer, which is caused by the learner‟s
first language ”.
13
In other words, students‟ mother tongue may interfere the language transfer that results in what is called interlingual errors. These
interlingual errors occur when the students translate the sentences or the test items into their first language directly or without making necessary adjustments and
thus use the result of the translation to cope with the matters or problems. Unlike English, the Indonesian language is only familiar with countable
10
Richards, J.C., et.al. Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics, 1992, Essex: Longman
11
Ellis, R., Second Language Acquisition, 1997, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p.17
12
Vacide Erdogan, op. cit., p.265
13
Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics, 1992
8
nouns whether they are singular or plural, and not the uncountable ones. In Indonesian, the noun „money‟ is almost always considered plural, without
concerning its quantity, contradictory with that in English, which is always considered singular since it is an uncountable noun. Another example of the
interlingual error is the words „each‟ and „every‟. These two determiners are
usually translat ed into Indonesian as „setiap‟, such as „setiap siswa‟ each student
or every student . In Indonesian, the word „setiap‟ usually refers to all members of
a group or all parts of something. In fact, it is always considered singular or refers to personal in English language structure.
b. Intra-lingual Transfer Interferences for the students‟ own language is not the only reason for
committing errors. As Ellis states, “some errors seem to be universal, reflecting
learners‟ attempts to make the task of learning and using the target language simpler.
”
14
The u se of past tense suffix „-ed‟ for all verbs is an example of
simplifications and over-generalization. “Intra-lingual errors result from faulty or partial learning of the target
language rather than language transfer. They may be caused by the influence of one target language item upon another. For example, learners attempt to use two
tense markers at the same time in one sentence since they have not mastered the language yet.
”
15
Norrish classifies the causes of error into three types, they are carelessness, first language interference, and translation.
16
The three types of causes of error will be stated briefly below.
a. Carelessness
Carelessness is often closely related to lack of motivation. Many teachers will ad
mit that it is not always the student‟s fault if he loses interest, perhaps the materials andor style of presentation do not suit
him.
14
Ellis, op.cit. , p.266
15
Vacide Erdogan, p.266
16
Norrish, J., Language Learning and Their Errors, 1983, London: Macmillan Publisher Ltd, p.21-26
