10 observed since the underlying grounds of their production are not easy to
determine. It is also supported by Dulay, Burt, and Krashen 1982: 139 who state that although it is very important to make a distinction between performance and
competence error, it is often not easy to find out the nature of a deviation since it should involve precise analysis.
b. Error Analysis
Error analysis is closely related to contrastive analysis. Dulay et al. 1982: 140 state that based on contrastive analysis, the differences between the first and
the second language account for the majority of errors made by a second language learner. Conversely, many cases show that the grounds for errors that a second
language learner produces can not always be traced to their first language.
Error analysis has yielded insights into the L2 acquisition process that have stimulated major changes in teaching practices. Perhaps its most
controversial contribution has been the discovery that the majority of the grammatical errors second language learners make do not reflect the
learner’s mother tongue but very much like those young children make as they learn a first language. Dulay et al., 1982: 138
Hence, the favour to error analysis started rising since contrastive analysis, which was popular up through the 1960’s, seemed to fail in predicting the errors that
would be produced by second language learners. Error analysis, according to Asher’s definition 1994: 740, is “the procedure
of describing and explaining errors systematically.” Similar to Asher’s, the definition of error analysis by Ellis and Barkhuizen 2005: 51 is “a set of
11 procedures for identifying, describing, and explaining learner errors.” In brief,
error analysis is the study of learners’ errors in both speaking and writing. Besides, Asher 1994: 740 states that error analysis has both pedagogical
and psycholinguistic aims. It has pedagogical aim because it provides feedback related to the teaching methods as well as the materials employed by the teachers.
In addition, it has a psycholinguistic aim since it can depict the way learners learn and produce languages.
c. Types of Error
Since errors can be numerously found in the language production of second language learners, it becomes essential to classify the errors based on the type so
that it will be easier to analyze. According to Dulay et al. 1982: 146, there are four taxonomies used to classify errors.
1. Linguistic Category Taxonomy
