learner, led to a surge of study of learners’ error”
4
. In other words, the study of error is a part of investigation of the process of language learning.
Corder also assumed that error analysis, branch of applied linguist activity, has two functions, theoretical and practical aspect. Theoretically, it is used to
investigate the language learning process. However, practically, it is used to guide the remedial action.
5
Moreover, Richards stated, “the field of error analysis may be defined as dealing with the differences between the way people learning a language speak
and the way adult native speakers of the language use the language”.
6
In other words, it is about the differences of how the native and non-native speaker use or
deliver the messages in which its differences should be analyzed to overcome learners’ errors.
From those opinions, the researcher concludes that error analysis is the deviation or unwanted form made by the learners because they do not understand
the rules of the target language, and the error analysis is defined as the study of learners’ error. In addition, the researcher considers the errors as a language
system reflecting the learners’ knowledge, and realizes that by learning the errors the learners will improve their own ability in acquiring the language, because the
error actually is a part of learning and learners’ strategies used to learn the foreign language. In other words, it is a language learning process providing the learners a
valuable insight in it.
1. The Definition of Er r or
In order to analyze learner’s language in a proper perspective, it is important to distinct between mistakes and errors. Errors and mistakes are the two
synonyms, that a little bit have same meaning, but in learning language, these words have different in meaning. There are various definitions of errors and
4
Douglas Brown, Principles of Language Learning and Teaching, 5
th
ed ., United States:
San Francisco State University, 2007, p. 259.
5
S. P. Corder, Error Analysis and Interlanguage, Great Britain: Oxford University Press, 1981, p. 45.
6
Jack C. Richards, Error Analysis and Second Language Strategies, language Science, 17, 1971, p. 3.
mistakes that have been presented by linguist. However, basically those definitions have same meaning while the difference lies only on the way they
formulate it. According to Richard mistake is made by a learner when writing or
speaking is caused of lack of attention, fatigue, carelessness, or other aspect of performance.
7
Then, Brown states that mistakes refer to deviations due to performance error that it is a deviance to utilize a known system correctly, and it
is caused by temporary lapses of memory, confusion, slips of the tongue and so on and it can be self-corrected.
8
From the explanation above, the researcher can infer that mistake is a deviance which occur because the learner tend to be careless in applying the
knowledge or the rules that heshe actually knows and this deviance can be corrected by himselfherself either by giving sufficient prompt or without giving
prompt from the teacher. In other words, an error is made by a learner because of lacking ability of the target language. The researcher can give conclusion to
distinguish between error and mistake; the first way is by checking the consistency of learner’s task or performance. If shehe sometimes uses the correct
form and sometimes the wrong one, it is a mistake. However, if shehe always uses the incorrect form, it is an error. The second is by letting learner to try to
correct his own deviant. If shehe is unable to correct it, the deviation is error, but is shehe is successful, it is a mistake.
2. The Sour ces or Causes of Er r or s
One aim of analyzing students’ errors it to know what cause which influence students’ errors. So, before analyzing it, the researcher should know the
cause of errors. However, there are two terms in discussing this; they are ‘sources of error’ by Brown and ‘causes of error’ by Richard. Then, it does not need to
7
Jack C. Richards, Error Analysis: Perpective oc Second Language Axquisition, London: Longman Group, Ltd., 1985, p. 95.
8
H. Douglas Brown, Principles of Language Learning and Teaching, 5
th
edition, New York: Pearson Education, 2006, p. 257.
