THE GRAMMATICAL ACCURACY, COHESION AND COHERENCE OF THAI STUDENTS’ ENGLISH WRITING AT DARAWITHAYA SCHOOL, NARATHIWAT – THAILAND.
THE GRAMMATICAL ACCURACY, COHESION AND
ENGLISH
WRITING AT DARAWITHAYA SCHOOL,
NARATHIWAT THAILAND
THESIS
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan (S. Pd) in Teaching English
By:
Ruqoyyah Amilia Andania
D05211024
ENGLISH TEACHER EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF TARBIYAH AND TEACHERS TRAINING
SUNAN AMPEL STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY
SURABAYA
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THE GRAMMATICAL ACCURACY, COHESION AND
ENGLISH
WRITING AT DARAWITHAYA SCHOOL,
NARATHIWAT THAILAND
THESIS
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan (S. Pd) in Teaching English
By:
Ruqoyyah Amilia Andania
D05211024
FACULTY OF TARBIYAH AND TEACHERS TRAINING
SUNAN AMPEL STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY
SURABAYA
2015
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Surabaya, 30 Juli 2015 Pembuat Pernyataan
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ABSTRACT
Andania, Ruqoyyah Amilia. (2015). The Grammatical Accuracy, Cohesion and
Coherence a School,
Narathiwat Thailand. A Thesis, English Teacher Education Department, Faculty of Education and Teacher Training, Sunan Ampel State Islamic University, Surabaya. Advisors: Rizka Safriyani, M.Pd. and Zulidyana Dwi R, S.Hum, M.hum.
Key Words: Writing, Grammar Accuracy, Cohesion and Coherence
Writing has been recognized as important skill to be mastered by all students both English as Foreign Language (EFL) and English as Second Language (ESL) students since many universities around the world offer writing courses. Hence, this study attempts to analyze the grammatical accuracy, cohesion and coherence of Thai Writing at Darawithaya School. This study is designed to investigate
and coherence on Stu of the study consists of 14
Second Grade Students of Senior High School who enroll Academic Education at Darawithaya School, Narathiwat Thailand. Since this study is descriptive qualitative approach, the data is docu writing work. Some guidelines and rubric are used in this research for analyzing. The findings reveal that
there are 73 errors They occur on
singular/plural followed by subject omission, the use of article, pronoun, preposition, verb omission, S-V agreement, word formation, tense, and extraneous subject. Consequently, those err
one student to other students. The compositions of student 3, student 4, student 7, and student 10 are considered very good. Student 2, student 5, student 6, student 8, student 9, student 11and student 12 are classified into good. Then, onlystudent 1 is valuated as fair. Lastly, weak category occurs on the compositions of student 13 and student 14. Meanwhile, the analysis of cohesion and coherence indicates that mostly present coherence and cohesion aspect appropriately. The weakness occurs on the use of punctuation. Based on the finding, student 3, student 7 and student 14 are categorized very good. Then, 11 other students are classified into good, they are student 1, student 2, student 4, student 5, student 6, student 8, student 9, student 10, student 11, student 12 and student 13.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE SHEET i
ADVISOR APPROVAL SHEET ii
MOTTO iii
DEDICATION SHEET iv
ABSTRACT v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS viii
LIST OF TABLESAND FIGURES .. xii
LIST OF APPENDICES xiii
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
A. Research Background . . 1
B. Research Questions 8
C. Objective and Significance of The Study . . 9
D. .. . 11
E. Definition of Key Terms .. .. 12
CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
A. . .. 14
1. English Curriculum in Thailand 14
2. Grammar Accurac 17
3. Cohesion and Coheren 26
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CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHOD
A. Approach and Research 34
B. ... 37
C. Research Location 38
D. Data and Source of The 40
E. 41
F. 42
G. 48
CHAPTER IV: RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
A. Research Findings 50
1. 51
2. 59
B. Discussion 76
1. 77
2. Cohesion and Coher 89
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
A. 98
B. Suggestion 101
REFERENCES APPENDICES
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Research Background
Writing is an essential part of engaging in professional, social, community, and civic activities for everyone, because writing is a valuable tool for communication, learning, and self-expression.1 Writing English is not a simple task for all learners, mainly to non-native learners. Learners who learn English as a second language (ESL) or English as a foreign language (EFL) have to spend a lot of time and struggle to be intent in obtaining the language and learning on how to write well.
Santos explains that there are three reasons of making writing increasingly essential, which are; first, more international linguists are promoting writing as their field of concentration, second, more articles and journals are available in English for this age, and last, more international -students are pursuing their degrees in English speaking countries, like Australia, England, America, Filipina Canada, and others.2 Considering those three main reasons, becoming something a must for all ESL/EFL learners to
1
S. Graham, et.al. Teaching elementary school students to be effective writers: A practice (NCEE 20124058) (Washington, DC: National Center For Education Evaluation And Regional Assistance, Institute Of Education Sciences, U.S. Department Of Education), 2012, 15. Retrieved From http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/publications_reviews.aspx#pubsearch.
2
Somchai Watcharapunyawong, - Siriluck Usaha in Different Text Types: The Interference of the First Language . English Language Teaching; 6 (1), 67. doi:10.5539/elt.v6n1p67
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have good knowledge in writing English to enlarge global knowledge and global community to then be able to compete in this era.
English becomes a compulsory subject for Thai students from primary to tertiary levels, but commonly they think more in Thai than in English.3 In this case, English is not used as the instructional medium or communication language in other subjects in Thai educational institutions, as it is in Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines. This situation supports Thai students use more Thai rather than English in their English language classroom and other classroom, moreover when they are outsides the classroom area. This reality makes them difficult to develop their English both spoken and written.
On the other hand, the importance of writing in Thailand has been recognized since many universities provide writing courses as both elective and compulsory subjects for students to register. To evidently prove, according to the curricula of Thepsatri Rajabhat University, English major students have to pass four English writing courses in order to graduate, they are Paragraph Writing, Writing for Specific Purposes, Writing Strategies in English, and Creative Writing.4 For Thai students who live in South Thailand,
3
Somchai Watcharapunyawong, - Siriluck Usaha
Types: The Interference of the First Language . English Language Teaching; 6 (1), 68. doi:10.5539/elt.v6n1p67
4
Somchai Watcharapunyawong, - Siriluck Usaha, Writing Errors in Different Text Types: The Interference of the First Language . English Language Teaching; 6 (1), 68. doi:10.5539/elt.v6n1p67
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Patani Province. This reality was proven by researcher since being a teacher at Darawithaya School, Narathiwat.
Students of Darawithaya School tend to consider that English is difficult to be learned, especially in written. Many of them who are at Senior High School are not used to write the base English material as introduction, greeting, members in family, colors, numerals, days, months etc. Ideally, those materials have been mastered by EFL students since at elementary level. Beside that, most of them do not know how to apply grammar use in their text, like the rules of plural, S-V agreement, to be, pronoun, etc.
This weakness is caused by the fact that between English and Thai is so difference in the linguistic elements. It can be known from the grammatical structures, vocabulary items and discourse. Some sources, researcher finds that Thai does not have tenses, and articles, so Thai students often use the same V forms and neglect article when they write idea in English.5 Moreover, in terms of vocabulary use and the letter of the alphabet styles which are
English, especially writing. Pairote Bennui stated that written English shows more repetitions, and they neglect the use of conclusions in the
5
A Study of L1 Interference in the Writing of Thai EFL Students Malaysian Journal Of ELT Research, Vol. 4, 2001, 74. Retrieved from www.melta.org.
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end of their writing.6 This wide of different aspects offers learners to unavoidably make errors in some areas of their English writing.
Most students of Darawithaya School disposed mastering their knowledge in religion subjects (Arab). Meanwhile, English becomes a foreign language which is difficult to be mastered, therefore English is rarely used in their daily conversation, both spoken and written. They use Thai and Melayu Pattani for their communication language. This reality makes them get difficulty in building their competence in English.
While attending at that school as an English teacher, researcher found some problems dealing with English, especially in writing. It is proven by which are found some errors. Grammar and the connection of sentences and ideas are the most frequent problem that found in
which is not the nationality of the researcher, it becomes something challenging and interesting to do this research. Finally, the researcher decides Darawithaya School as research place in this recent study by choosing participants of Mathyum 5 grade in academic school. This grade is equal with second grade students of Senior High School. At Darawithaya School, Mathyum 5 is devided into 5/1 and 5/2. Then, 5/2 class is selected in this
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A Study of L1 Interference in the Writing of Thai EFL Students Malaysian Journal Of ELT Research, Vol. 4,74. Retrieved from www.melta.org
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study because the researcher was assigned in that class since being a teacher at Darawithaya school.
This study is focused only on the grammatical accuracy, however there are various other types of accuracy in writing, as lexical and semantic which both are similarly become a significant case in presenting valuable information and comprehensions dealing w
how a second language or foreign language is learned and received by students.
This focus is based on consideration that one of the most frequent errors in English writing lies on the grammar that has been found to be a major source of writing errors.7 Celce-Murcia, emphasized the importance of a reasonable degree of grammatical accuracy in academic writing. She stated that high frequency of grammatical errors in nonnative
probably makes their writings unacceptable to the University faculties.8 In the other sources, she also highlighted that the writing process is necessary for being a successful writer in a second or foreign language to express the ideas with reasonable coherence and accuracy.9
7
Pairote Bennui, A Study of L1 Interference in the Writing of Thai EFL Students Malaysian Journal Of ELT Research, Vol. 4,74. Retrieved from www.melta.org
8
Sasan Baleghizadeh Yahya Gordani , Grammatical Accuracy: The Role of
Gist Education and Learning Research Journal, 1692-5777. no. 6 ShahidBeheshti University, G.C. Irán, 2012, 159-176
9
Nantanawan Nanwita. The
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This case persuades the teachers who are responsible for their competence in writing to not only care about r use, but also how they express the idea and arrange the words, sentences, and paragraphs or discourse should be paid attention. As stated by Norrish that it is important to be able to write sentences that are acceptable and grammatically correct.10 It means that writers should write writing which is acceptable for the readers in giving understanding meaning in each sentence. As stated by Jeremy Harmer on his book,
.11 This statement means that a writing will be truly acceptable for readers if it has both cohesion and coherence aspect on the text itself. Therefore, other than grammatical accuracy aspect this study also c
Holloway states that when writers present their ideas in writing, especially in academic writing tasks, they need to ensure a text run through a sequence of sentences.12 This point becomes one of the criterions in the should be involved to the ideas they want to express as well as the sentences they use to express those ideas. Besides that, Brostoff also provides his idea; he states that sentences need to be connected to each other. If the ideas or sentences are only distinguished
10
Tiptida Bootchuy, - Year Thai
. (Graduate School, Kasetsart University, 2008), 10
11
Jeremy Harmer. How to Teach Writing. (Pearson Education Limited: England, 2004), 22.
12
SupongTangkiengsirisin, Promoting Cohesion in EFL Expository Writing: A Study of Graduate Students in Thailand . International Journal of Arts and Sciences. 3 (16). 2010, 1
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without being connected to one another, it will be difficult or impossible for the reader to understand the sequence.13 By having those above argumentations, this study attempts to examine the grammatical accuracy and both cohesion and coherence aspect compositions participating in this research, second grade students of senior high school at Darawithaya School.
There are some previous studies relating to this current study. The first study was conducted by Somchai Watcharapunyawong & Siriluck Usaha u
This study revealed that the first language interference errors of Thai students fell into 16 categories: verb tense, word choice, sentence structure, article, preposition, modal/auxiliary, singular/plural form, fragment, verb form, pronoun, run-on sentence, infinitive/gerund, transition, subject-verb agreement, parallel structure, and comparison structure. Second study was conducted by Ratanakul, under the - Tense Errors in English Writing Made by Thai Students: A
verbs and tenses made by Thai students, they were the lack of subject-verb
agreement, the omission
-The last study
13
SupongTangkiengsirisin, Promoting Cohesion in EFL Expository Writing: A Study of Graduate Students in Thailand . International Journal of Arts and Sciences. 3 (16). 2010, 3
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was conducted by
among grammatical accuracy, discourse features, and the quality of second The finding showed that no statistically significant correlation between grammatical accuracy and cohesion but a statistically significant correlation between grammatical accuracy and coherence.
Different from the previous studies, this current study analyzes the grammatical accuracy through 12 categories of grammar use provided and the aspect of coherence and cohesion of Thai students which are analyzed individually. Therefore, this current study will not correlate both of them.
take school at Islamic Boarding House where their study is not only Academic, but also Islamic lesson.
B. Research Questions
This research is interested in examining the grammatical accuracy, coherence and cohesion which participants perform in their writing.
The research question will be as follows: 1) How is the grammatical accuracy
Darawithaya School? 2) How are the
Darawithaya School?
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C. Objectives and Significances of the Study
1. Objectives of the Study
as an Indonesian English teacher to Thai EFL students, the researcher intends to analyze the grammatical accuracy, cohesion and coherence on
writings.
With the result above, this study has purpose to know the grammatical accuracy, cohesion and coherence
writing of senior high school at Darawithaya School, Narathiwat-Thailand by examining the frequent grammatical errors and analyzing the cohesion and coherence aspect on their writing.
2. Significance of the Study
This study is especially expected to give awareness for participants as EFL students of what they have been understood and what they need to improve dealing with their English writing skill. This effort is expected to
Beside that, as recognized that KKN-PPL Thailand program becomes continuous program that will be held by UINSA, so the result of this study might become a crucial reference for students who will take the program to understanding and weakness of grammatical accuracy and the coherence and cohesion on writing English. With the result, they
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(KKN students) can prepare themselves to choose the materials dealing with
This study also obtains English Education Department of UIN Sunan Ampel Surabaya, both lectures and students as the major which concentrate in English, moreover at educational field. As Indonesian learners, the EED dents in learning English. Both of them consume English as their foreign language. Regarding the reality, many sources indicated that errors are inevitable in second or foreign language learning process, especially in writing. So, identifying, categorizing, and
Then, for the lectures/teachers, this study becomes reference and
tence in writing. It then may be useful for ESL/EFL teachers in preparing ESL/EFL courses, determining instructional significances, formulating effective lessons and learning activities, developing teaching materials, and improving teaching methods and techniques. Particularly for teachers of ESL/EFL writing, the results of the study may support teachers in determining what grammatical rule and cohesion and coherence should be concerned and to be focused immediately on a writing course.
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D. Scope and Limitation
Since English writing is crucial in this modern age for both ESL and work based on the grammatical accuracy and the cohesion and coherence. The scope of this study is focused only on the grammar.
Besides that, as consideration of focusing on grammar accuracy, it lies on the fact that ESL/EFL learners have dedicated various types of grammatical errors in their written products. A number of studies in the field of error analysis have investigated types of errors committed by learners from a variety of first language backgrounds such as Spanish, German, Swedish, Arabic, Chinese, and Japanese in the acquisition of English as a second language or English as a foreign language.14 However, there is little information available concerning errors made by Thai EFL learners.
As stated in the previous discussion, the assessment of ESL/EFL writing not only concerns in grammatical accuracy but also in discourse organization. So, it is important in examining those two aspects of cohesion and coherence to ensure that the learners demonstrate successful performance on grammatical accuracy and both cohesion and coherence.
Then, this study is also narrowed into a group of Thai EFL students who are at second grade of senior high school of Islamic Foundation. Besides
14
N. An Error of Analysis of Fourth Year English Majors' Research Proposal .
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which have been given in their class. So, the result of this study may be inapplicable for other level and other writing types.
E. Definition of Key Terms
In order to let readers easy to understand about the main idea of this research, operationally some definitions of key terms are provided
1. Writing
Writing is a person's style of writing with a pen on paper which can be recognized as their own.15 In this study, writing refers to the the final assignment in their English class, that is writing a descriptive text
Those student compositions are taken as data for this research after being used for the main purpose. Therefore, the data is documentation.
2. Grammatical Accuracy
Accuracy is the ability to be free from errors while using language to communicate both in oral or written text.16 Operationally,
grammatical accuracy refers to from
grammar errors on their writings as the data in this study.
15
Walter, E., Cranz, D., - Glannon D. . Cambridge University Press,
2008.
16
Wolf-Quintero on research by N. An Error of Analysis of Fourth Year English Majors'
Master of Arts An Independent Study Report in English, Khon Kaen University, 14
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3. Coherence and Cohesion Coherence
Crystal states that coherence is the underlying connectedness of a piece of language. It is the sense that a text is connected and it makes logic and is not just a jumble of sentences. It deals with clear and well-thought argumentations, ideas or an organization of words, and each part of it connects or follows in an accepted or sensible way17. If the text is coherence, the reader will understand well what the text tells about.
Cohesion
Cohesion is the external relations between sentences of a text which strap the text together. Basically, the relations between sentences or different parts of a discourse are shown in terms of cohesive devices such as references, substitution and ellipsis, conjunction, and lexical relationships.18 This study is intended to m
sentence or even paragraph to paragraph to express their idea. It deals
understandable meaning and content.
17
Charuporn Pongsiriwet, Doctoral Dissertation: Relationships among Grammatical Accuracy, Discourse Features, and The Quality of Second Language Writing: The Case of Thai EFL Learners
(Morgantown: West Virginia University, 2001), 11.
18
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CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
A. Review of Related Literature
1. English Curriculum in Thailand
The current National Curriculum of Thailand has been designed and reformed based on the progress of economic, society, and technology that require all society to be aware and cooperate about that. According to National Education Act B.E. 2542 and Amendments (Second National Education Act B.E. 2545, the basic education curriculum is divided into two stages, they are national and institutional. Then, based on Ministry of Education, the curriculum framework at the national stage has three components: (1) the curricular framework specifying its objectives, standards, as well as assessment and evaluation methods of teaching and learning; (2) the framework for the national core curriculum to be organized consistently through four three-year key stages; and (3) the framework for local curriculum providing schools with plans for adaptation of learning contents appropriate to their localities. At the framework, there are eight subjects that are applied: Thai language; mathematics; science; social studies; religion and culture; health and
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physical education; art, work education and technology; and foreign languages.19
Based on the framework and standards for educational subjects that are provided in Thailand National Curriculum, English is included into the subject which is categorized as foreign languages. According to the Thai TESOL Association study, English language has been taught in Thailand for over a century.20
In responding to the global era, the Ministry of Education encourages all university classes to use English as a medium of instruction. In Thailand, many international programs both in undergraduate and graduate level use English to carry out teaching and learning. Bureau of International Cooperation Strategy, Commission on Higher Education in 2008
degree programs,
degree programs. However, in many universities, there is no clear policy of using English as a medium of instruction for each subject and each teacher. Therefore, there is no consistency in every class and subject. Some teachers use English along the course, some use it sometimes, and
19
Sirinit Chanawong Reshaping ELT in Thailand: Reconsidering curriculum design through reflective writing . Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, Vol.3 (2), 158
20
. International Journal of Language and Linguistics. Vol. 1, No. 1, 2013, pp. 23. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20130101.14
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others rarely use it. The cause of this problem may be because there is a variety in English language abilities of individual teachers. While the National Curriculum aims to shift the teaching paradigm from the traditional grammar-translation method to communicative teaching methods, there is a need to reconsider whether teachers themselves still have difficulties in using English to convey their instruction.21
In Thailand, English was made as a compulsory subject after grade 4 (first grade of Senior High School). It becomes the first compulsory foreign language subject for Thai students at levels of primary, secondary, and high school as it becomes a required subject in the National University Entrance Examination. Then, for the method of teaching English in Thailand is applied in memorization and grammar translation. These methods are traditional approaches of teaching and learning students who learnt the language without guiding students to practice and use it in the real life. By the time, English language teaching pedagogies have strongly emphasized a communicative approach, and learners are expected to apply the language skills in their real life situations in the last two decades. Though, the English curriculum in the
21
Nakhon Kitjaroonchai.
. International Journal of Language and Linguistics. Vol. 1, No. 1, 2013, pp. 25. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20130101.
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secondary school and university cannot meet the request for English used in the current factory. 22
The importance of writing has been recognized since many universities provide writing courses, as both elective and compulsory subjects for students to register. To evidently prove, according to the curricula of Thepsatri Rajabhat University23, English major students have to pass four English writing courses in order to graduate, they are Paragraph Writing, Writing for Specific Purposes, Writing Strategies in
far from satisfactory, especially, for Thai students who are living in South Thailand, Patani Province.
2. Grammar Accuracy in Writing
Many researchers have reasonably argued that for academically oriented and advanced L2 learners, grammar instruction is essential if they are to achieve their educational and professional goals. Celce-Murcia,24 emphasized the importance of a reasonable degree of grammatical accuracy in academic writing. She stated that high frequency
22
Nakhon Kitjaroonchai. tion Toward English Language Learning of Students in Secondary
. International Journal of Language and Linguistics. Vol. 1, No. 1, 2013, pp. 25. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20130101.
23
Somchai Watcharapunyawong, - Siriluck Usaha,
English Language Teaching; 6 (1), 68. doi:10.5539/elt.v6n1p67
24
Sasan Baleghizadeh Yahya Gordani , ic Writing and Grammatical Accuracy: The Role
Gist Education and Learning Research Journal, 1692-5777. no. 6 ShahidBeheshti University, G.C. Irán, 2012, 163
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average of 7.2 errors per 100 words) most probably makes their writings unacceptable to the University faculties.
Torut analyzed errors in grammar, lexicon, and sentence structures of free writing made by Thai first year university students at Silapakorn University.25 The grammatical morphemes and syntax were identified and grouped based on the study of Bardovi-Harlig and Bofman. The results revealed that ill-formed sentence errors were the most frequent syntactic errors. Fragments or incomplete sentences appeared the most. Run on sentences and omission of subjects were the second andthird most frequent errors, respectively. Besides that, Chownahe studied grammatical errors of English compositions of Thai high school students. 26 It was an experimental study, having pre and post-test design.Errors were classified were three kinds of errors; inter-lingual, intra-lingual and developmental errors. Errorsfrom the
first compositions. Another source, Ayurawatana27 analyzed types and frequency of errors in lexical and sentential levels of research proposals
25
Tiptida Bootchuy, glish Writing by A Group of First- Year
. (Graduate School, Kasetsart University, 2008), 31
26
P.Chownahe, An Error Analysis of English Compositions Written by Mattayomsuksa Six Students. Master of Arts Thesis in English, Khon Khaen University, 2000, 41
27
N. Ayuwaratana, Master
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written by fourth year English major students of Khon Kaen University. Data were analyzed based on the T-unit analysis system. The first three error types at the sentential levels which most frequently occurred in the study were: punctuation, subject-verb agreement, and fragments and run- ons. The results showed that, with regard to errors at the sentential level, the main cause of errors was the difference of Thai and English typology. This means that interference errors appeared as the students were unable to see the different structure of the two languages clearly. Application of accurate grammar is an important aspect of any good piece of writing.28
In recognizing grammatical accuracy, firstly, the compositions are classified and analyzed using a measurement of grammatical errors. This measurement has been used in several previous studies in second language writing to measure grammar accuracy in
English written. . This
guideline only measures some categories of grammar use to analyze the grammar accuracy, the categories are pronouns, articles, singular/plural nouns, prepositions, tenses, subject omission, verb omission, verb formation, fragments, word formation, subject-verb agreement, extraneous subject, and fragment.
28
N. Ayuwaratana,
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All the grammatical categories above are analyzed and identified based on some Standard English Grammar books.
1) Pronoun
Marcella writes on her grammar that the person of being spoken of, called the third person. Singular he (for male), -she (for female), -it (for thing; also for live beings whose sex is unknown or unimportant for the speaker). Plural they (for all live beings and for all things).
Pronouns are words used in place of nouns, substantives (words taking on the function of nouns), or noun phrase (noun accompanied by articles, demonstratives, adjectives, and so on). The noun that a pronoun replaces is called an antecedent. 29
For examples:
Antecedence Pronoun
John is American He is American
That book belongs to Marry That belongs to Marry That woman is American She is American Give that book to John Give that book to him
29
Marcel Danesi. Basic American Grammar and Usage: an ESL/EFL Handbook. (USA: Printed in the United States of America, 2006), 75.
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2) Article
For the use of article a is not necessary to be presented if there is no antecedent provided on a sentence. For instance a handsome. In this sentence, the article a is appropriate to be presented.30 Betty argues on her grammar book that usually a/an is used with a singular generic count noun. For examples: a window is made from glass, parent must give a child, a box has six sides. Marcel Danise also gives clear information dealing with the rule of article usage in sentence. 31 He states that there are two distinct forms of the indefinite article: (1) a before a consonant or u
and (2) an
For examples:
Before a consonant Before a vowel
A boy An egg
A friend An angel
A hat An honor
A union An Umbrella
30
Marcel Danesi. Basic American Grammar and Usage: an ESL/EFL Handbook. (USA: Printed in the United States of America, 2006), A20.
31
Marcel Danesi. Basic American Grammar and Usage: an ESL/EFL Handbook. (USA: Printed in the United States of America, 2006), 46.
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Be careful! When an adjective or some other part of speech precedes a noun, you have to adjust the article according to its initial sounds.
3) Singular/plural nouns
The theory of this singular/plural noun use is based on the plural noun rules on the grammar book written by Irene E. Schoenberg and Jay Maurer. 32 The other source of this singular/plural noun rule stated clearly by Marcel Danesi on his book
subdivided into count and non-count. Count nouns refer to anything that can be counted (one book, two books and so son). They can be specified with any article, numeral, or quantity term (many, several)
.33 For examples:
Singular Plural
A book Four books
One cake Many cakes
The church Several churches
32
Irene E. Schoenberg - Jay Maurer. Focus on Grammar: An Introductory Course For Reference And Practice. (USA: Pearson Education White plan, 2002), 262.
33
Marcel Danesi. Basic American Grammar and Usage: an ESL/EFL Handbook. (USA: Printed in the United States of America, 2006), 25.
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The rules of those statements explain that plural noun (regular) should be added s/es. Then, for the singular noun should not be added s /es. This analysis is also based on the rules of singular and plural nouns created by Betty, she explains that a final s or es is added to a noun to make a noun plural. 34
4) Preposition
Based on the rule of preposition, there are some types of preposition provided. One of them is preposition for position. There are three kinds of preposition which are used for preposition, they are
in or inside, on and at. 35
In or inside : giving the area of something enclosed a container, a drawer, a room, building, world - . For example:
On : indicating the surface of something a floor, a wall, a desk, a street. For instance:
At : refers to a general vicinity. For instance:
34
Betty Schrampfer Azar. Understanding and Using English Grammar: Second Edition. (Prentice Hall regents: United States of America, 1989), 197-198.
35
Marcel Danesi. Basic American Grammar and Usage: an ESL/EFL Handbook. (USA: Printed in the United States of America, 2006), 163-165.
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5) Subject omission and verb omission
verb. Who or what the sentence speaks about is called the subject; what the sentence says about the subject is called the verb 36 This statement means that every sentence should have subject and verb. 6) Tenses
Simple Present Tense expresses events or situations that exist always, usually, habitually. The formula is S+V1+O/ S+V1s/es+O. For instance: I go to school/ Ani goes to school. 37
7) Word formation
Prefixes and suffixes that are used in English give clues as to the meaning and, or, the function of words. Typically suffixes indicate the function of a word in a sentence. For instance there are some suffixes that are used only for nouns and others that are used for verbs, adjectives and adverbs. The particular suffix used in forming a word also helps to give meaning to a word, for instance competition and
competitor. Both of them are nouns that are formed from the verb
compete.38
36
John S. Hartanto, S. Koentjoro, - manaf Asmoro Seputro. Accurate, Brief and Clear: English Grammar. (Suarabaya: Indah Surabaya, 2009), 411.
37
Betty Schrampfer Azar. Understanding and Using English Grammar: Second Edition. (Prentice Hall regents: United States of America, 1989), 2.
38
This source is taken fro
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/word+form,
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8) fragments
Every sentence has to have a subject and a verb in order to be
complete. If it doesn't, it is a Ran into
(No subject) and (No verb). So, A
sentence fragment is a sentence in the sense that it cannot stand by itself. It does not contain even one independent clause.39
9) Extraneous subject
Every sentence has to have a subject and a verb in order to be complete. In this case, the subject and verb can be more than one, depending on the context. But, for the subject who/what has been mentioned and the subject refers to the same people, place or thing does not need to be mentioned twice. For example: my mother she is beautiful. 40
10)Verb formation
In a sentence, the existence of verb should agree with the context and meaning of that sentence logically. For example:
39
This source is taken from website of Capital Community College Foundation.
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/fragments.htm, http://aliscot.com/bigdog/fragments.htm 22
40
Betty Schrampfer Azar. Understanding and Using English Grammar: Second Edition. (Prentice Hall regents: United States of America, 1989), A5.
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This sentence is grammatically correct, but it is incorrect logically. 41
11)subject-verb agreement
John Langan states that a verb must agree with its subject in number. A singular subject (one person or thing) takes a singular verb.
A plural subject (more than one person or thing) takes a plural verb. 42 John S. Hartanto and friends state that is used to combine between subject and complement of the sentence. The complement of sentence can consists of adjective, noun, adverb, and verb showing continuous.43 In the present tense, the use of
are am, are, is dependson the subject.
3. Cohesion and Coherence in Writing
Chafe stated that writing is generally produced under basically different expectations from those of speaking. Whereas speaking typically occurs in a face-to-face interactive situation, writing is typically performed in atures of a well-written text are the unity
41
Betty Schrampfer Azar. Understanding and Using English Grammar: Second Edition. (Prentice Hall regents: United States of America, 1989), A1.
42
John S. Hartanto, S. Koentjoro, - manaf Asmoro Seputro. Accurate, Brief and Clear: English Grammar. (Suarabaya: Indah Surabaya, 2009), 453.
43
John S. Hartanto, S. Koentjoro, - manaf Asmoro Seputro. Accurate, Brief and Clear: English Grammar. (Suarabaya: Indah Surabaya, 2009), 34-35.
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together and relate to one another, it is stated by Celce-Murcia and Olshtain on Supong Tangkiengsirisin research.44 This textual relationship is partly a result of coherent organization of the intentions and ideas presented in writing. In addition, Cornbleet and Carter argued that this relationship significantly depends on the specific process of the writer goes through in order to create formal and grammatical cohesion among paragraphs and among sentences in each paragraph.45 Therefore, the writer can strengthen coherence, and create global and local unity by employing various devices.
l-formed text is the unity
are essential for university-bound learners to be able to recognize and reproduce. Celce-Murcia and Olshtainstated argued that these organizational patterns make significant contributions to the overall coherence of the discourse by indicating logical connections between ideas, dividing text into chunks of information and drawing attention to themes and meaning with lexical choices.46
since 1976 whose major concern is to investigate how sentences are linked in
44
Supong Tangkiengsirisin. Cohesion and Coherence in Text Language Institute, (Thammasat University), 9.
45
Supong Tangkiengsirisin. Cohesion and Coherence in Text Language Institute, (Thammasat University), 10.
46
Supong Tangkiengsirisin. Cohesion and Coherence in Text Language Institute, Thammasat University, 10.
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a text. For them, the various parts of a paragraph are connected together by cohesive ties. They argued that the writer is able to hold together meanings in the related sentences in a number of ways, and cohesion is created to establish the structure of meaning. They also claim that cohesion is a factor that indicates whether a text is well-connected or simply a group of unrelated sentences. In this case, certain linguistic devices that are used in relating different parts of a text to one another are called cohesive devices.47
Various Cohesive Devices
Halliday and Hassan discussed cohesive devices under five heads,
reference, substitution, ellipsis, conjunction and lexical cohesion. But according to them, cohesion can be generally classified as grammatical
(reference, substitution, ellipsis) and lexical (reiteration, collocation). Halliday and Hassan keep conjunction on the uncertain of the grammatical and lexical cohesion with the greater tilt on the grammatical side. Similar views are shared by Steffensen, Hatch and Paltridge.48 They give more detail explanation dealing with each item as follow:
Reference, Halliday and Hassan explanation that when one item of the language appears second time in the discourse that is the continuity of
47
Kolawole Olaniyan Cohesion And Coherence In Comments In Tell Ife Studies in English Language. Vol. 9 No 1. 2011, 6.
48
Ambreen Shahriar -
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reference it it refers to the
previous word in that sentence, the book.
Substitution. Writersfrequently substitute a short phrase for a longer one that has preceded it, in much the same way as they use pronoun reference.49 Simply, substitution is the replacement of one item by another remark. For instance,
because he was desperate to get into university. The word did so substitutes for cheated in his exam.
Nominal: one, ones; same.
Verbal: do
Clausal: so,not
Substitutions are believed as very important cohesive function, Cook mentions that the brief forms of the sentences with substitutions are more authentic than the longer sentences without substitutions.50
Ellipsis, is a gap or unsaid information that is known to the listener/reader of the text already, as it refers back to something already said. Writers use ellipsis where words are deliberately left out of a sentence when the meaning is still clear. 51 For example: Penny was introduced to a famous
49
Jeremy Harmer. How to Teach Writing. (Pearson Education Limited: England, 2004), 24.
50
Ambreen Shahriar -
Language in India www.languageinindia.com, Vol.12, 2012, 377.
51
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author, but even before she was she had recognized him. The second clause omits the unnecessary repetition of introduced a famous author.
Conjunctions. Cook defines conjunction as the words which draw attention towards the relationships between sentences, clauses and words. The
(and, also, moreover, furthermore), (however, on the other hand, but, yet)
etc.52
Reiteration. McCarthy defines reiteration as restating a word (or a phrase) by either direct repetition or using the lexical relations for that word (for example, synonyms,antonyms, hypernyms, meronyms etc).
Collocation. McCarthy, Hatch finds collocation to be an important element for building
collocation among the devices of lexical cohesion, they do not find that collocation can present a semantic relation between various items of discourse as other cohesive markers do.
Coherence may be t
on the interpretation each individual sentence relative to the interpretation of
53
For a text to have coherence, it needs to have some kind of internal logic which the reader can follow with or without the use of prominent cohesive devise. When a text is coherence, the reader can
52
Jeremy Harmer. How to Teach Writing. (Pearson Education Limited: England, 2004), 24.
53
Supong Tangkiengsirisin. Cohesion and Coherence in Text Language Institute, (Thammasat University), 3.
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thought. 54
. The reader should be able to understand what purpose is. Is it to give information, suggest a course of action, make a judgment on a book or play, or express an opinion about world
. The reader should be able to follow the
discursive piece. If the text is a narrative, the reader should be able to follow the story and not get confused by time jumps, the characters, etc. Then, in a descriptive text, the reader should know what is being described and what it looks, sounds, smells, or test like.Therefore, coherence is frequently achieved by the way in which a writer sequences information, and this brings us right back to the issue of genre and text construction. Because, different genres provoke different writing.
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B. Review of Previous Study
There are some previous studies dealing with this current study. First, the study was done by Somchai Watcharapunyawong & Siriluck Usaha under Writing Errors in Different Text Types: The
Foreign Languages, Institute of Social Technology, Suranaree University of Technology, Thailand. This study aimed at analyzing writing errors caused by the interference of the Thai language, regarded as the first language. The results revealed that the first language interference errors of Thai students fell into 16 categories: verb tense, word choice, sentence structure, article, preposition, modal/auxiliary, singular/plural form, fragment, verb form, pronoun, run-on sentence, infinitive/gerund, transition, subject-verb agreement, parallel structure, and comparison structure.
- Tense Errors in English Writing Made by T hai Students: A Comparative -tense errors in Thai
differences. The findings suggested that errors of verbs and tenses made by Thai students were the lack of subject-verb agreement, the omission of
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Third, the study was conducted by Charuporn Pongsiriwet under the
study was done at college of Human Resources and Education at West Virginia University. This study attempted to combine the study of grammatical accuracy with the study of discourse features of second language writing. The findings reveal no statistically significant correlation between grammatical accuracy and cohesion but a statistically significant correlation between grammatical accuracy and coherence.
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CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHOD
A. Approach and Research Design
The goal of this study is to examine and then describe the profile of grammatical accuracy, cohesion and coherence on English writings which are produced by Thai students at Darawithaya School. Considering the goal, this study is included as qualitative design using descriptive approach, since it tries to describe a phenomenon of language behavior. This study includes library research.
Qualitative research employs words and images to answer questions.55 As stated that one of the characteristics of qualitative study is the natural setting since its goal is to describe social phenomenon as it occurs naturally without manipulation. Furthermore, the writers define qualitative research as the research which investigates the quality of relationships, activities, situations, and materials. It focuses on understanding the context and attempts to explain the intentionality of behaviors.56 By those functions of qualitative research, it is believed to be an appropriate method in this current study, since it tries to give a description of phenomenon in language behavior naturally without manipulation.
55
Donald. Ary, et.al., Introduction to Research in Education (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2009), 420.
56
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Descriptive approach is designed primarily to describe what is going on or what exists.57
Whitney states that descriptive qualitative is a data collection which interprets the fact truly.58 This way agrees with the requirements in this recent study.
In qualitative study, there are three major categories of data collection; in-depth interviews, direct observation and document analysis.59
The other source, we can see four varied nature of qualitative forms of data. They are: Observations, interviews and questionnaires, documents and audiovisual materials.60 Document analysis is used in this recent study to collect the data. Document is believed as a valuable source of information in qualitative research. It can include newspapers, minutes of meetings, personal journals, and letters. 61
57
William M. K. Trochim, Research Methods Knowledge Base (Cincinnati, OH: Atomic Dog Publication, 2001), 5
58
F.L Whitney. The element of research, Asian Ed,. Overseas Book Co., Osaka, 1960, 35
59
William M. K. Trochim, Research Methods Knowledge Base (Cincinnati, OH: Atomic Dog Pub., 2001), 159
60
John W Creswell. Educational research : planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research / John W. Creswell. 4th ed, 2012, 212
61
John W Creswell. Educational research : planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research / John W. Creswell. 4th ed, 2012, 223
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Documents provide the advantage of being in the language and words of the participants who have usually given thoughtful attention to them. They are also ready for analysis without the necessary transcription that is required with observational or interview data.62 In this case, the data is taken from
Descriptive Text. as the main data that will be analized, while the other data are also taken
English class. Those additional data are used as refference for this research but those are not analized.
In this research, both researchers and theories are handled in second and foreign language acquisition field that can offer important evidence of
knowledge, and the main areas of linguistic and discourse difficulty of learner
62
John W Creswell. Educational research : planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research / John W. Creswell. 4th ed, 2012, 225
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may occur in learning writing in target language. Studies on linguistic accuracy presents appropriate information for research in three parts: second language acquisition, second language writing assessment, and second language writing pedagogy.63 Thus, the focus on examining grammatical accuracy and the aspect of cohesion and coherence on
study may also provide valuable insights concerning the importance of them in assessing the writing quality.
By having the
grammar, and coherence and cohesion aspect on English written text. With the result that, the researcher will be able to measure what should be measured.
B. Researcher Presence
While leading this study, the researcher takes up a role as a complete or covert participant. Complete participant is a member of the group or context under study and focuses on the natural activity of the group without informing the group that it is under study. It can be a researcher who becomes a certified teacher and takes a position in a school for the purpose of conducting research without telling anyone.64 In this study, researcher is a
63
C. G. Polio, Measures of Linguistic Accuracy in Second Language Writing Research.Language Learning, 47, 1997, 101-143
64
Donald. Ary, at.al., Introduction to Research in Education (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2009). 432-433.
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teacher for the participants for five months. In collecting the data, researcher does not need to tell anyone.
C. Research Location
This study takes place at Darawithaya School Muhammadiyah Islamiyah Islamic Bording House, Kiambang Dalam Tanyongmas Rangae Narathiwat, South of Thailand. The researcher formerly attended as an English instructor at that School for about five months both Academic course and Islamic course.
Most students of Darawithaya School disposed mastering their knowledge in religion subjects (Arab). Meanwhile, English becomes a foreign language which is difficult to be mastered, as stated in detail in the previous discussion. English is rarely used in their daily conversation, both spoken and written. They use Thai and Melayu Pattani for their communication language every time. This reality makes them get difficulty in building their competence in English.
While attending at that school as an English teacher, researcher finds some problems dealing with English, especially in writing. It is proven by found some errors. Grammar and the connection of sentences and ideas are the most frequent problem that found in
65
65
This information is taken from the profile of the school and interview on some teachers at 2nd of March 2015, in Thailand.
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The participants of this study enroll as students of Mathyum 5 in second semester, year 2014-2015. Mathyum grade is provided from 1 up to 6. Mathyum 1 up to 3 is equal with Junior High School level, and Mathyum 4 up to 6 is equal with Senior High School. So, the participants of this study are equal with second grade students of Senior High School. In this school, Mathyum 5 is divided into two classes; 5/1 class and 5/2 class. The researcher takes 5/2 class for taking the sample, then focuses on female learners only for data collection. That class consists of 25 students with 14 females and 11 males.
Mathyum 5/2 class is selected based on the reality that the researcher only took a role as a teacher at that class for Academic School. Furthermore, as recognized that second grade students are in the middle process in that level, familiarly it is known as transition age. In this age they have experienced learning in first grade that is believed they are capable of doing the instruction/tests given in this study and they need to face one more level after passing this age then. In the last level, third grade, they will face final examination which should be taken by all learners under government rule, included English. Therefore, it becomes something crucial for them also instructor to know their capability in writing English and what they need to improve to be ready in joining the next level, and prepare for final examination.
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Female learners become a focus in this study because a certain consideration. During the semester, male students have not attended the class
house.
students in the other room. Thus, they do not get learning optimally during the semester and this case is worried they do not get the material that deals with data collection.
D. Data and Source of The Data
1. Data
a. Primary
data is taken after those writings are used for the final project of . The data is the study at senior High School, year 2014-2015. This data is included into documentation data.
b. Secondary
This data is used for supporting the primary data. This data is regarded as additional data which gotten from some sources; books,
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2. Source of the data
Source of the data in this recent study is observer as the teacher of the class, and participants as the students who make the primary data.
In collecting the data, researcher takes a play as a complete or covert participant since researcher becomes a certified teacher and takes a position in a school for the purpose to conduct the research without telling anyone. Firstly, the data is collected when those data have been used as the course which is handled by the researcher. The
the other writing works in regular class as references.
Figure. 3.1 Data Collection Technique.
E. Research Instrument
The instruments which are used in this research to collect the data are the documents themselves, guidelines and rubrics. Documents provide the advantage of being in the language and words of the participants, who have usually given thoughtful attention to them. They are also ready for analysis
Writing final written work; Descriptive text
Collecting/taking the data
Analyzing any information deals with the grammatical accuracy & the cohesion and coherence
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without the necessary transcription that is required with observational or interview data.66
In this current study, the become instruments
which then being analyzed to know the grammar accuracy and the cohesion and coherence on the writings which are produced by students. Then, a rubric
is chosen to be standard guide the
grammatical accuracy and the coherence and cohesion aspect.
F. Data Analysis Technique
Data analysis deals with processing the data such as organizing, breaking into manageable units, synthesizing, discovering the patterns, finding out the important points, and deciding what should be explained to others. All qualitative analysis includes trying to comprehend the phenomenon under study, synthesize information and explain relationships, theorize about how and why the relationships perform as they do, and relink the new knowledge with what is already known. The task of analyzing qualitative data can appear overwhelming but becomes manageable when broken down into key stages. 67 In order to come to the last step of analyzing data, there are several steps should be done.
As the data in this study is the writing samples produced by the participants of this study, the first step of this analysis data process is
66
Donald. Ary, et.al., Introduction to Research in Education (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2009), 432.
67
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organizing all the writing samples. The next step is analyzing all the writing samples to see the grammatical accuracy and the cohesion and coherence
After analyzing those two aspects in the writing samples, the last step is describing and interpreting what have been known dealing with the grammatical accuracy and both cohesion and coherence
Then, conclusion will be provided. Here are the steps of this analysis technique.
Figure. 3.2 Steps of the Data Analysis Technique
Organizing writing samples
Analyzing writing samples
Research Finding:
Describing and interpreting the analysis result of the grammar accuracy and the
cohesion and coherence
Grammatical accuracy Cohesion & Coherence
Discussion
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In this case, to examine the grammatical accuracy on
writing samples, firstly, the composition are classified and analyzed using a measurement of grammatical errors. This measure has been used in several previous studies in second language writing to measure grammar accuracy in English written, for example in a research done by Chastian,68 Frantzen,69 Kobayashi & Rinnert,70 Kroll.71 Those researches have showed to offer theoretically valuable information dealing with this current study. All grammatical errors which are established in the
rules which provided in any grammar book. The following guidelines suggested by Polio. 72
1. Do not count spelling errors
2. Do not look at the sentence in isolation.
4. Do not count errors in capitalization.
68
K. Chastian, .Modern Language Journal, 11, 367-383.
69
D. Frantzen,
Content Course . Modern Language Journal, 79, 1995, 329-344
70
H. Kobayashi - C. Rinnert,
Comparison , 42, 1992, 183-215.
71
B. Kroll, What Does Time Buy? ESL Student Performance on Home Versus Class Compositions. In B. Kroll (Ed.), Second Language Writing: Research Insights for the Classroom (pp. 140-154). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990
72
C. G. Polio, Measures of Linguistic Accuracy in Second Language Writing Research.Language Learning, 47, 1997, 101-143
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5. Count errors that can be made by native speakers (e.g., between you and I)
6. Ignore an unfinished sentence at the end of the essay. This guideline
method used by Kroll to tabulate composition error. Then, it can prove useful finding since it allows for comparison of compositions of any length. This measurement is specified into some categories of grammatical errors involved errors such as pronouns, articles, singular/plural nouns, prepositions, tenses, verb formation, word formation, fragments, verb omission, extraneous subject, subject omission, and subject-verb agreement. The errors are highlighted or underlined to make it easy in categorizing the various types of errors.
Table 3.1 Guideline for measuring frequent grammatical error. No. Error Category Frequency
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Singular/plural noun Pronoun Tense Article Preposition Word form Verb formation Verb omission Subject omission Extraneous subject S-V agreement
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12 Fragment
Total
After categorizing the various types of errors, each composition is then measured to know the level of the grammatical accuracy from each composition. To measure this grammatical accuracy, grading rubric adapted from the Assessment rubric for The Writing Task based on CEFR descriptor at Universitat de le Illes Balears (UIB) is used. (See appendix B)
Then, for the coherence and cohesion are firstly measured by the rating scale which is collected of two subscales aiming at two major areas of cohesion and theory which is aimed to measure and appropriateness in the organization of ideas above the sentence
level and among 73 This theory is taken to check an
understanding involving 7 features for cohesion and 7 features for coherence. But, this study uses rating scale which consists of only 6 features for cohesion and 5 features coherence. The point of
in cohesion aspect is not included. Since, that point has been evaluated in
grammar category as . Then, there are two points of coherence
which are not used, they are
and .
73
S. Y. Chiang Assessing Grammatical and Textual Features in L2 Writing Samples:The Case of French as A
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This consideration is based on the compositions which are used as data in this study are simple writings about descriptive text under the topic MY FAMILY which consist only one paragraph in each composition. Therefore, those categories are not obtained.
Please circle the number that reflects the degree to which you agree with the statement about the composition.
4 = Strongly Agree 3 = Agree 2 = Disagree 1 = Strongly Disagree
Cohesion
4 3 2 1 A. The same vocabulary/expressions are repeated consistently. 4 3 2 1 B. Ellipsis is used where needed.
4 3 2 1 C. Junction words are used accurately.
4 3 2 1 D. New information is introduced in an appropriate manner. 4 3 2 1 E. Examples are introduced judiciously.
4 3 2 1 F. Punctuation is employed appropriately to separate ideas and sentences.
Coherence
4 3 2 1 A. The beginning section is effective in introducing the subject. 4 3 2 1 B. The ideas in the composition are relevant to the topic. 4 3 2 1 C. The ideas are well-related to one another.
4 3 2 1 D. The writ
4 3 2 1 F. The ending gives the reader a definite sense of closure.
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Then, each feature from those 11 features is categorized into four numbers based the criteria of measurement, why getting 4, 3, 2, and 1. This categorization has been approved by Prof. Furqon as the writing lecture at UIN Sunan Ampel. (See appendix D) Further, after analyzing the cohesion and coherence aspects through the rating scale above, each composition is finally measured to examine the level of the cohesion and coherence from each composition through grading rubric adapted from the Assessment Rubric for The Writing Task based on CEFR descriptor at Universitat de le Illes Balears (UIB) is used. (See appendix B)
There are five levels provided on assessment rubric for the writing task with the highest score up to the lowest score; from 1, 0.75, 0.5, 0,25, and 0. In this case, researcher decides those five levels as very good, good, fair, weak, and failed to
writings.
G.Checking Validity of Findings
In checking the validity of findings, firstly, researcher consults the instruments used in analyzing the data to some qualified lecturers including the advisors. After that, the researcher analyzes the data many times until the same result is gotten. Then, researcher also relates the findings with some theories needed, as theory of grammar use, cohesion and coherence theories. After relating the findings with the theories, researcher also asks other researcher to analyze the data in order to check whether the result of the analysis is same or not. Further, the researcher
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consults the finding to some qualified lecturers including the advisors to get the appropriate interpretations and descriptions.
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CHAPTER IV
RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter presents research finding and discussion. The finding of this study is presented based on the research questions mentioned in Chapter One. Then, relating the result of the finding with the theories becomes a discussion point in the end of this chapter. The research questions of this research are (1) how is the ? and (2) how are the cohesion and coherence
Darawithaya School?
A.Research Findings
In this session, the process of collecting data and data finding are described in detail based on those two research questions above. Firstly, this study is library research that the data is documents that were collected after those data had been
used as the final assignment of the course which was handled
by the researcher as a teacher at Darawithaya School. The data refers to the ; composition of descriptive text under the topic MY FAMILY. It was taken on March 19th, 2015 in Thailand.
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1. Grammatical Accuracy
Answering the first research question including the grammatical accuracy on writing, some certain grammar categories are decided to be analyzed. Those grammar categories are based on Standard English grammatical rule which is provided in any grammar book. Specifically, the guideline of grammar categories suggested by Polio is used in this research, as stated and showed in the previous chapter.74 After analyzing and categorizing, then the result is described and explained in detail of each error type by enclosing the examples found on each composition. In this analysis, some grammar books are used as the sources to support the validity of this result.
Student 1 (ST1)
The result of the analysis shows that there are some errors presented on the composition especially in the use of singular/plural noun. The errors of this category are found in some sentences. For example: My mother has seven brother , and my mother has two sister , and four brother , and my sister are single. My first sister is a student. She is tall, friendly, good-looking. She is 17 years old. Second sister is a student. She is beautiful, tall, and kind .
Those sentences prove that student 1 has lack understanding in grammar, especially in the use of singular/plural category. Then, student 1 also presents one error of using pronoun. It occurs on the sentence
74
C. G. Polio, Measures of Linguistic Accuracy in Second Language Writing Research.Language Learning, 47, 1997, 101-143
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School. She is good- In the use of pronoun here refers to a man, my father. In this case, my father is the antecedent of that sentence.
For the other items of the grammatical rules of Standard English that was used in this study are presented in no errors. As the use of tense, article, preposition, word formation, verb omission, subject omission, extraneous subject, S-V agreement, and fragment are free from error.
Student 2 (ST2)
Student 2 only makes two errors in the use of singular/plural category, one article, and one S-V agreement. Whereas, for the other grammar categories are presented in free from error. Here are the errors that student 1 makes in the use of singular/plural. For example: ... my mother has four sisters and two brother , and sister
Then, the error also occurs on the use of article. It happens in sentence . Besides those two categories, student 2 also makes an error in the use of S-V agreement. It happens in the sentence that has been mentioned
above, that is and
.
However, the other categories of grammar use are presented in no errors in the whole paragraph. Those categories include the use of pronoun, tense, preposition, word form, verb formation, verb omission, subject omission, extraneous subject, and fragment.
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Student 3 (ST3)
There are two errors of all categories that student 3 makes. They are only in the use of article. Each of them occur on the sentence a handsome, brave,
and she is a . Whereas the other categories
of standard grammar used are presented well with no error.
Student 4 (ST4)
The result of the analysis indicates that the grammatical accuracy of student 4 consists of ten of twelve categories are presented with no errors. Only the use of singular/plural and word form categories which are presented with some errors.
The first error is in the use of singular/plural noun. The errors of this category are found in some sentences below.
sisters and one brother , My sister are married
and My fourth and fifth sisters do not have any children .
Besides in the use of singular/plural category, student 4 also presents two errors
in using word formation. It occurs on the sentence, , and
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Student 5 (ST5)
The analysis of grammatical accuracy shows that there are some errors are presented on the composition especially in the use of subject omission. The errors of this category are found in some sentences. For example: is five years old and is
good- .
The first sentence is presented without subject. It means that student 5 omits subject that properly presented. Also, the second sentence is in the same case. On the other hand, there are some sentences which are lack of complete subject. This error occurs on the sentences below:
She is good-looking, kind, and clever name is Abidah , name , first old brother name is , and second old brother name is Anah
Extraneous subject is also found in error appearance. The sentence Sister she
, the subject is provided in double, and . The other error category that is found is the use of pronoun. I love my mother He name is Aruni is the sentence evidences that the use of pronoun is inappropriate of this sentence. The use of pronoun did not represent the previous subject that student 5 intends to be explained.
For the last error category of grammar is found on the use of article. Sister
she is a beau
Student 6 (ST6)
The result of the analysis shows that some grammar categories are presented in no error. There is only little error presented on the composition, they are two errors in
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the use of singular/plural noun and one is in the use of article. The errors of these categories are found in some sentences. For example:
children, one boy, and two girl , and boy and one
. The other error occurs on the use of article. is the
sentence that provides the error of article by using a.
Student 7 (ST7)
Same as the composition of student 6, the analysis of grammar accuracy shows that composition of student 7 presents grammar categories that are presented in no error. There are only two categories of twelve categories which are presented in error: two errors occur on the use of singular/plural noun and one error in the use of S-V agreement. The errors of this category are found in sentences below.
brothers , and
son
Student 8 (ST8)
The analysis shows that there are only three errors appear on that composition. They are two errors of singular/plural use, and one error of S-V agreement. Those three errors occur on the sentences below:
sisters , brother , and
On the other hand, the other ten categories of grammar accuracy are presented in free from error, as the use of tense, pronoun, articles, preposition, word formation,
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who become participants in this study and all EFL/ESL students, and the other future researchers who may want to continue this study. Here are suggestions:
1. Students
a. EFL/ESL students
As the present study has identified some grammatical errors that tend to be challenging for the students, practicing and reviewing more on grammatical aspects of English seem to be necessary for the
students participating in this current research and for all ESL/EFL students. On the other hand, students might need some exercises to help more understanding and reducing problematic grammatical features before they start to write.
b. Candidates of KKN International
For students of UIN Sunan Surabaya who will be candidates
for the next KKN International program at Thailand, this study may become a reference and consideration dealing with what should be
English, moreover in written.
2. Lecturers/teachers
This study provides the teacher who handles English class for Thai students and lectures who handle English course as EFL/ESL learning with
the knowledge of the areas of difficulties and problems that might occur. Therefore, lecturers/teachers should be focused on his/her teaching on those
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areas. Since, based on the result of this study, they are some types of grammar errors that need more attention from ESL/EFL lectures/ teachers and should be focused in their teaching so that grammatical accuracy of
products can be improved.
Further, by having the information from the result of this study, becoming homework for EFL/ESL lectures and teachers to give some treatments and find ways to reduce the errors.
3. Future research
ition in grammar and cohesion and coherence. Other types of errors, such as lexical or semantic errors, may make more significant contributions to be combined with
above, future research should include lexical or semantic errors in the study so
written English.
Then, this study includes an analysis study which examines the
grammatical accuracy and the cohesion and coherence individually. The finding is also described separately. So, further research may integrate other aspects of writing, such as content, text topic, length, word choice, and many others.
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participants were second grand of senior high school. Future research should use another text with different level.
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