SIMPLE PAST TENSE ERRORS IN RECOUNT TEXT MADE BY THE THIRD GRADE STUDENTS OF SMAN 1 PRINGSEWU

ABSTRACT

SIMPLE PAST TENSE ERRORS IN RECOUNT TEXT MADE BY THE THIRD-GRADE STUDENTS

By:

Firma Pradesta Amanah

The purpose of this research was to find out the types and percentages of errors made by the students in using simple past tense in writing recount text. The method used was descriptive method. The sources of data in this research were the third grade students of senior high school year 2014/2015 in SMAN 1 Pringsewu. One class was taken as the sample to be investigated about the use of simple past tense and the grammatical errors in their recount text writing. Then, the data were classified based on Surface Strategy Taxonomy and Communicative Effect Taxonomy.

Based on the results of the analysis, the errors made by the students were 200 items. It could be inferred that the highest frequency of errors based on Surface Strategy Taxonomy was misformation that was 55.50%. And omission placed on the second that was 21.00%. Then, after omission there was addition on the third place that was 12.00%. At last was misordering consisted of 3.66%. Then, based on Communicative Effect Taxonomy, global errors were counted for 9.95% and local errors were 34.82%. Local error was the error which did not hinder communication significantly, so their writing could still be understood by the readers.

The conclusion on the result of this research was most of the students at third grade of SMAN 1 Pringsewu still committed all four errors types of Surface Strategy Taxonomy and two errors types of Communicative Effect Taxonomy. It means that although the students were taught English 12 hours in a week, they still had problem with English grammar, especially in simple past tense. In other words, they still made many errors in the use of simple past tense.

SIMPLE PAST TENSE ERRORS IN RECOUNT TEXT MADE BY THE THIRD GRADE STUDENTS OF SMAN 1 PRINGSEWU

By

FIRMA PRADESTA AMANAH

A Script

Submitted In a Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for S-1 Degree

in

The Language and Arts Department of Teacher Training and Education Faculty

FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF LAMPUNG

BANDAR LAMPUNG 2015

CURRICULUM VITAE

The writer, Firma Pradesta Amanah was born in Sendangagung, Middle Lampung on December 4th, 1992. She is the last child from a happy couple, Hi. Maryusup, S.Pd. and Hj. Muksodah, S.Pd. She has one sister and one brother. They are Ika Rachimah, A.Md. Keb. and Nur Fajar Purnama, A.Md.

She began her study when she was 4 years old at TK Miftahul Huda Sendangagung and graduated in 1999. She continued her study at SDN 2 Sendeangagung and graduated in 2005. In the same year, she continued her junior high school at SMP Muhammadiyah 1 Sendangagung and graduated in 2008. Then, she decided to continue her study at SMA Al-Kautsar Bandar Lampung, but in 2009 she moved to SMAN 1 Pringsewu and graduated in 2011.

She continued her study at University of Lampung majoring in English Education at Department of Language and Arts Education in 2011. From July to September 2014, she carried out Field Experience Program (PPL) in SMPN 1 Atap Tiga Lumbok Seminung, West Lampung.

DEDICATION

This script is dedicated to:

 My beloved and wonderful parents: Hi. Maryusup, S.Pd. and Hj. Muksodah, S.Pd.

 My beloved grand-father and grand-mother  My lovely sister, Ika Rachimah, A.Md. Keb.  My lovely brother, Nur Fajar Purnama, A.Md.  My lovely foster sister, Poppy Meliantika Alesya  My brother in law, Indra Gunawan, S.P.

 My sister in law, Nur Maya Sari, Amd. Kep.  My lovely nephew, Arfa Yusron

 My beloved teachers and lecturers

 My lovely best friends: GLAZE (Aulia Afifah Junaidi, Melati Dwi Anda Syaputri, Nivia Anda Ningrum, Raissa Utami Putri, Tika Yekti, and Zakiyah)

 My lovely man, Yonki Kurniawan, S.P.

 My lovely dormitory friends: Siska, Maret, Lita, Lutfi, Ira, and Septi.  My beloved comrades of English Education of Lampung University

2011.

MOTTO

Verily, with every difficulty there is relief. (Al-Inshyiroh 6)

The strong person is not he/she who has physical strength but the person is

strong if he/she can control his/her anger. (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

vii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

All praises are only to Allah SWT for blessing the writer with the health and determination to finish this script. This script entitled “Simple Past Tense Errors in Recount Text Writing Made by Third Grade Students of SMAN 1 Pringsewu” is presented to fulfill one of the requirements in accomplishing the S-1 Degree at the Department of Language and Arts Teaching-Training Education Faculty in University of Lampung.

The writer would like to express her deepest gratitude and respect to her first advisor, Prof. Dr. Patuan Raja, M.Pd. and Drs. Sudirman, M.Pd. as her second advisor, who have patiently guided her in writing this script by giving their best suggestions, advices, revisions, and many meaningful contributions to enrich her script, they helped her a lot in finishing this script. Then, she wants to deliver her gratitude to her examiner, Dra. Hartati Hasan, M.Hum., for their criticisms, contribution and encouragement. The writer also would like to thank to all the lecturers of English Education Study Program, for their contributions during her study at University of Lampung.

Besides, she wants to extend her deep appreciation to Drs. Yulizar, MM, the headmaster of SMAN 1 Pringsewu, and Miss Novita Dianawati, S.Pd. as the English teacher of the school in which the writer did her research, and also to the students of SMAN 1 Pringsewu, especially class XII.S.1 for their nice cooperation during the research.

Most importantly her special gratitude goes to her beloved mother, the best and the most wonderful woman in her life, Hj. Muksodah, S.Pd. and her great father, Hi. Maryusup, S.Pd. who always give their prayers, love, willingness, patience, and supports to the writer. Her sincere thanks and love are also dedicated to her beloved sister Ika Rachimah, A.Md. Keb., her beloved brother Nur Fajar Pyrnama, A.Md., her beloved foster sister, Poppy Meliantika Alesya, her beloved brother in law, Indra Gunawan, S.P., and beloved sister in law, Nur Maya Sari, A.Md. Kep., her for their love, supports, help, and laugh. Beside that, the writer will never forget to express her deepest love to her nephew Arfa Yusron who always makes her happy and laugh. Thank you so much from my deepest heart to you all.

viii

Fandana, Indra Fitri Yuliana, Munirul Ikhwan, Rahman Aryo Hananto, and Winarni. Thank you so much for our togetherness.

Besides, she would like to express her gratitude to her beloved friends “GLAZE”, Aulia Afifah Junaidi, Melati Dwi Anda Syaputri, Nivia Anda Ningrum, Raissa Utami Putri, Tika Yekti and Zakiyah who always become her good listener and advisers, give her motivation, spirit, laugh, and love. Thank you so much for your cheerfulness and happiness that have given, may the friendship be everlasting. And she also would like to express her gratitude to the other best friends Selvia Afriyanti, Lia Annisa Mahdalena, and Khairun Nisa who always gave a big motivation and advice for her. Then the writer would like to thank Yonki Kurniawan, S.P. for giving her the spirit and motivation as long as the writer did the script, and also thank you very much for your love. Hopefully Allah always gives His blessing for the beautiful relationship. After that, the writer would like to express her gratitude to her friends of English Department ’11 who have accompanied her along the way in finishing her study. Moreover, she says thank to all people around her who cannot be mentioned one by one for helping her in finishing this script.

Hopefully, this script can give a positive contribution to the educational development or to those who want to carry out further research.

Bandar Lampung, May 2015

ix

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ABSTRACT i

CURRICULUM VITAE vi

MOTTO vii

DEDICATION viii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ix

TABLE OF CONTENT xi

I. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background ... 1

1.2 Formulation ... 7

1.3 Objectives ... 8

1.4 Uses ... 8

1.5 Scope ... 9

1.6 Definition of Terms ... 10

II.LITERATURE RIVIEW 2.1 Previous Research Findings ... 12

2.2 Grammar ... 15

2.3 Error ... 16

2.4 Grammatical Error ... 18

2.5 Types of Error ... 18

2.6Steps in Error Analysis ... 19

2.7Surface Strategy Taxonomy ... 20

2.7.1 Omission ... 21

2.7.2 Addition ... 21

2.7.3 Misformation ... 22

2.7.4 Misordering ... 22

2.8Communicative Effect Taxonomy ... 23

2.8.1 Global Error ... 23

2.8.2 Local Error ... 24

2.9Tense ... 26

2.10Simple Past Tense ... 26

2.11 Past Tense Errors ... 33

2.12 Text ... 34

2.13 Recount Text ... 35

III. METHOD 3.1 Design ... 37

3.2 Data Sources ... 37

x

3.7 Validity and Reliability ... 42

IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 4.1 Results of the Research ... .. 45

4.2 Types of Error ... .. 46

4.2.1 The Types of Errors Based on Surface Strategy Taxonomy ... .. 46

4.2.2 The Types of Errors Based on Communicative Effect Taxonomy ... .. 53

4.3 The Proportion (frequency and percentage) of Students’ Error...……….……….. 58

4.4 Discussion………... 59

4.4.1 Errors Based on Surface Strategy Taxonomy ... .. 60

4.4.2 Errors Based on Communicative Effect Taxonomy ... .. 62

4.4.3 Error Comparison Based on Writer’s Research and Widiatmoko’s ... .. 63

V. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 5.1 Conclusions ... .. 66

5.2 Suggestions ... .. 67 REFERENCES

xi

LIST OF TABLE

Table 1 The Errors Based on the Privious Research

(Widiatmoko, Hanani, and Juwitasari) ... 4 Table 2 TheFrequency of Students’ Grammatical Errors in Using

Simple Past Tense in Recount Text Based on Surface

Strategy Taxonomy ... 47 Table 3 TheFrequency of Students’ Grammatical Errors in Using

Simple Past Tense in Recount Text Based on

Communicative Effect Taxonomy ... 54 Table 4 The Frequency and Percentage of Students’ Error Based

on Surface Strategy Taxonomy ... 58 Table 5 The Frequency and Percentage of Students’ Error Based

on Communicative Effect Taxonomy ... 59 Table 6 Error Comparison Based on Writer’s Research and

Widiatmoko’s on Surface Strategy Taxonomy ... 63 Table 7 Error Comparison Based on Writer’s Research and

xii

LIST OF APPENDICES

1. The Proportion of the CorrectUse of Simple Past Tense ... 72

2. Students’ Grammatical Errors in Using Simple Present Tense Based on Surface Strategy Taxonomy ... 86

3. The Distribution of Students’ Errors in Using Simple Past Tense Based on Surface Strategy Taxonomy and Communicative Effect Taxonomy ………... ... 98

4. The Percentage of Students’ Grammatical Errors in Using Simple Present Tense Based on Surface Strategy Taxonomy………... ... 99

5. The Percentage of Students’ Grammatical Errors in Using Simple Present Tense Based on Communicative Effect Taxonomy ………... ... 99

6. Samples of Students’ Writing ... 100

7. SuratIzinPenelitian ... 103

I. INTRODUCTION

This chapter presents background of the problem, formulations of the research, objectives of the research, uses of the research, scope of the research, and definition of terms clarified like the following.

1.1.Background

Generally language functions as a system of communication which consists of sound, word, and grammar. Language can represent the culture of a country especially for national language as unity of a country so that language is important to learn. The purpose of learning language related to cognitive, affective and psychomotor aspects. Then, there are four language skills, they are listening, speaking, reading and writing. The students who take a role as language learners should master those four language skills. In the realization one of the language skills that is created in all learning aspects including cognitive, affective, and psychomotor is writing skill.

In English as a foreign language (EFL), writing is often considered as a difficult language skill to master. Students who learn the writing skill need to be able to deal with some writing elements; they are content, form, grammar, style and mechanic. It starts from organizing ideas through employing vocabularies to form

a piece of writing by using grammatical rule. Then, it relates to manner whether it is formal or not and concerns with spelling and punctuation to built units of meaning.

Writing is a productive skill that should be mastered by the students of senior high schools as the language learners. Although there is not writing skill in English national examination, but there is clearly stated in standard of content that refer to KTSP. Writing also has to be elaborated in syllabus by employing the genres or types of text. It is in line with the research which deals with one of the genres, recount text. It is a kind of essay text that functions to inform and entertain the readers.

In writing, the students still have hesitancy about grammar. Grammar is the basic elements of an area of knowledge or skill, or it is a set of prescriptive notions about correct use of a language. Grammar is essentially about the systems and patterns we use to select and combine words (Murcia, 1995:4). By studying grammar we come to recognize the structure and regularity which is the foundation of language and we gain the tools to talk about the language system. Grammar must be learned by the students who want to learn about language. It will be more effective to produce utterance based on the basic structure which they know (Nichols, 1993: 78). Moreover in writing skill, the grammar is really needed to be learned, because the mistakes made in writing seem so clear when someone writes it and will be read by readers. Therefore, it is very important for the students to pay attention on grammar when they are writing.

English and Indonesian languages do not have similar structure in sentences. In Indonesian language, wedo not use the form of verb but in English we have to use the form of the verb based on the tenses. There is no change of verb form in Indonesian but not in English. It is in accordance with Setiyadi (2003:22); he points out that English tends to be very difficult to be learnt in Indonesia because English has different grammar from Indonesian language which might be difficult for language learners to understand the system of target language.

English has many tenses (e.g. present tense, past tense, future tense, perfect tense, etc.) that should be mastered by students, but because of the differences between Indonesian language and English, it causes difficulties for Indonesian students in learning English tenses and using the tenses in writing. Murcia (1995: 4) says that teaching tense is one of the most difficult area of English grammar for non-native speaker.

In relation to the problem that connected with the teaching of English in Indonesia, Sulaiman (1970:74) states that one of the serious problems connected with the teaching of English in Indonesia is that most of the students have difficulty in mastering the structure of language. Structure deals with the rules for forming words and making sentences. In making a sentence, we need some elements. One of the sentence elements which play an important role is verb. From the fact, we know that the students still make errors in making sentences especially on how to use verb correctly in a sentence based on the tense being used.For example,they wrote “She were sad when she left her village” it should be

“She was sad when she left her village”, then “I gived hera beautiful flower” it should be “I gave her a beautiful flower”.

Sometimes students make grammatical errors. They often produce incorrect utterances. Dullay et.al. (1982: 138) said that errors are flawed side of learning speech or writing. They are those parts of conversation or composition that deviate from selected norm of mature language performance. However, making error is fundamentally human in learning process. Therefore, it is possible for students to make errorsunconsciously when they are writing. By analyzing the students’ errors, it willl give the important role in giving feedback for the English teachers and researchers in order to evaluate and develop the material in teaching learning process.

Table 1. The Errors Based on the Privious Research (Widiatmoko, Hanani, and Juwitasari)

No. Types of Error

Percentage

Widiatmoko’s Hanani’s Juwitasari’s

1. Omission _25.40% 32.9% 50.90%

2. Addition _15.54% 15.6% 5.46%

3. Misformation _50.31% 44.9% 35.46%

4. Misordering _8.75% 6.6% 8.18%

The previous research done by Widiatmoko (2011), Hanani (2013) and Juwitasari (2013), showed that the students still made errors in the use of tenses. Based on the data analysis which has been shown by Widiatmoko, the total of students’

grammatical errors were 25.40% for omission, 15.54% for addition, 50.31% for misformation, and 8.75% for misordering. The results of the research done by Hananiwere 32.9% for omission, 15.6% for addition, 44.9% for misformation, and 6.6% for misordering. Then, the results of the research that have done by Juwitasari were 50.90% for omission, 5.46% for addition, 35.46% for misformation, and 8.18% for misordering. The reason was that the students were not familiar with English structure such as the form of verb, because they did not find such rules in Indonesian. They used surface strategy taxonomy to analyze the grammatical errors. There are four types of errors were identified on a sentence level such as omission, addition, misformation and misordering.

This topic was chosen because many Indonesian students get problems in comprehending the simple past tense. For example, “my family and I visit Borobudur temple when I was in junior high school” the verb visit should be in the past verb visited, because the event happened in the past when the researcher was in junior high school. Indonesian and English are quite different both phonologically and grammatically. Besides that, Indonesian does not use tenses the way English does. When the researcher was doing PPL program and checked the students writing, grammatical errors also found in their writing. When the students were asked to write a paragraph, the errors in simple past tense were found in their writing. For exampleyesterday I go to the market. The word go should be replaced by wentbecause the event happened in the past, so the verb should be placed in the past verb. And the other example is “She gave me this book when I in elementary school”, there is no auxiliary verb in this sentence. The

sentence is written in Indonesian way. Auxiliary verb should be used after word “I” becausein the rule of English grammar, every sentence must use auxiliary verb or verb. So, the correct sentence is “She gave me this book when I was in elementary school”. Therefore, based on this fact the researcher was interested in examine the students’ grammatical errors in recount text writing to another school namely Senior High School 1 Pringsewu.

The students of the third grade Senior High School 1 Pringsewu in the academic year of 2014/2015 hadmany common errors of grammar when they were writing. For example, “We was very happy at that time”. The auxiliary verb on this sentence is wrong, it should be “were” because the subject is plural. Then, “The teacher did not gave the example”. There is double past marking on that sentence. The verb “gave” should be “give” because in the simple past tense sentence should not be any double past verbs. So, the correct sentence is “The teacher did not give the example”. The students have not mastered grammar well. Firstly, they are weak in tenses. They are confused how to use the base verb, past verb, and participle verb. In the context of this research, the tense that is used is simple past tense. Thirdly, they are confused in using auxiliary in past tense and followed by verb. Furthermore, despite of grammar, they are lack of vocabularies which are very crucial in conducting writing. They are inadequate in word usage and class.

This study is expectedly useful for students and teachers. It is expected that theEnglishteachers give more pratices to improve the English ability of the students.It isrequired for the students to improve their English grammarespecially

in writing. Errors analysis can lead English teachers to learn the kinds, sources, and causes of the students’ errors in writing especially in recount text. By knowing students grammatical errors, it can be a beneficial feedback for teaching learning process. In fact, the result of the research can be used for English teachers to improve their teaching technique in order to minimize the grammatical errors in writing in general, especially in recount text.

Considering the background above, the researcher is interested ininvestigating the use of simple past tense and in identifying the grammatical errors made by the students in composing simple past tense in students’ recount text. This research covered the analysis of two categories and also compiled the percentages, in order to see which type of errors has the highest percentage. By this analysis, English teachers can identify the nature of errors mostly happen in students writing. It is hoped that there is improvement of students’ ability in writing recount text. Therefore, the researcher entitles the research “Simple Past Tense Errors in Recount Text Made by Third Grade ofSenior High School Students”.

1.2.Formulations of the Problems

Based on the background of the problem above, the researcher states that there are two problems on analyzing students’ errors in writing recount text:

1. What types of simple past tense errors are made by the students in writing recount text at the third grade of senior high school?

2. What are the percentages of errors made by the students in using simple past tense in writing recount text based on surface strategy taxonomy and communicative effect taxonomy?

1.3 Objectives

In relation to the research problems formulated above, the objectives of this research are:

1. To find out the types of errors made by the students in using simple past tense in writing recount text at the third grade of senior high school.

2. To find out the percentages of errors made by the students in using simple past tense in writing recount text.

1.4 Uses

After doing the research the researcher hopes that the result of the analysis will be useful contribution to educational research particularly in grammatical errors of using simple past tense in recount text. The researcher gives the input as follows: 1. Theoretically, the significances of this research are:

a. To verify the previous theory dealing with the theories in this research. b. To be used as a reference for further research.

c. To enrich the theory about simple past tense errors in students writing recount text.

2. Practically, the significances of this research are:

a. To inform the English teachers about the grammatical errors made by senior high school students in using simple past tense in writing recount text.

b. To encourage senior high school students to learn structure more seriously in their learning.

c. To find out the students’ grammatical errors in making recount text.

1.5 Scope

This research was conducted for students in third grade ofsenior high school. The researcher took only one class as the sample. This research focused on the use of simple past tense and its grammatical errors in students’ made recount text. Moreover, the researcher investigated the use of simple past tense and its grammatical error in students’ recount text by asking the students to write about recount text.The types of simple past tense were nominal sentence simple past tense and verbal sentence simple past tense. And the types of errors were classified based on the surface strategy taxonomy and communicative effect taxonomy. There were 4 types in surface strategy taxonomy; omission, addition, misformation, and misordering. Then, there were 2 types of errors in the communicative effect taxonomy; global errors and local errors.

1.6 Definition of Terms

In order to reflect the research items, there are some terms that were used by the researcher in making this research, to make it clear the researcher gives some definitions as follows:

a. Writing is one of the language skill where the students are trained to be able to explore their thought into written form by paying attention to grammar, diction, vocabulary, mechanic, and organization (Linderman, 1983: 120). b. Text is a semantic unit that is realized in the form of word, clause, and

sentence, or any meaningful stretch of language-oral or written form (Derewianka, 1992: 17).

c. Recount text is a text which retells events or experiences in the past. Its purpose is either to inform or to entertain the audience. (Derewinka, 1992) d. Simple past tense is something that happens at a specific time in the past

(Azar, 1989).

e. An error is systematic and consistent deviance, which is the characteristic of the learners’ linguistic system at a given stage of learning (Corder, 1976: 166).

f. A grammatical error is categorized as being an error in either grammars, usage or mechanics and sometimes include subset of spelling errors. The errors were: run-on sentences, sentence fragments, incorrect subject-verb agreement, incorrect pronouns, confused homonyms, double negatives and incorrect capitalization (Hendrickson, 1982).

g. Omission errors are characterized by the absence of an item that mustappear in a well-form utterance(Dulay, et. at: 1982).

h. Addition errors are characterized by the presence of an item which must not appear in a well-formed utterance (Dulay, et. at: 1982).

i. Misformation erros are characterized by the use of the wrong form of themorpheme (Dulay, et. at: 1982).

j. Misordering errors are characterized by the incorrect placement of amorpheme or group morpheme in an utterance (Dulay, et. at: 1982).

k. Global errors are errors that affect overall sentence organization significantly hinder communication (Dulay, et. at: 1982).

Local error that affects single element or constituents in a sentence does not usually hinder communication significantly (Dulay, et. at: 1982).

II. LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter contains explanation about the concept of related theories used in this research which include: previous research findings, grammar, grammatical errors, error, types of error, surface strategy taxonomy, communicative effect taxonomy, tense, simple past tense, text, and recount text.

2.1 Previous Research Findings

The previous research findings are: (1) Analysis of the Students‟ Grammatical

Error in Making Narrative Text at the First Semester of the Eleventh Grade of State Senior High School 1 Kalirejo in the Academic Year 2013. It was written by Hanani. (2) An Analysis of Grammatical Errors in Using Simple Present Tensein Descriptive Text Writing by Students of MAN 1 (Model) Bandar Lampung in the

Academic Year 2013. It was written by Juwitasari. (3) An Analysis of Students‟

Grammatical Errors in Composing Narrative Paragraph at the Third Grade of Senior High School Kartikatama Metro in the Academic Year 2011. It was written by Widiatmoko.

Based on the data analysis which has been shown by Hanani, there were 167 errors of complex sentences made by the students from 232 total complex sentences. Therefore, there are four types of errors made by the students in

making complex sentence. They are omission, addition, misformation, and misordering. Then, these are the proportions (frequency and percentage) of each error as follows:

1. There were 55 omission errors and the percentage is 32, 9%. 2. There were 26 addition errors and the percentage is 15, 6%. 3. There were 75 misformation errors and the percentage is 44, 9%. 4. There were 11 misordering errors and the percentage is 6, 6%.

From the result above, the total of students‟ grammatical error is 72% and the

researcher assumed that the level of students‟ error is high. In addition, the

researcher concludes that the students experienced some difficulties in making complex sentence in narrative text. They are lack of vocabulary in formation and usage; they are difficult in defining verbs in the past form, defining subject-verb agreement, and arranging the words into sentences.

Beside that, the results of the research that have done by Juwitasari are:

1. The use of simple present tense in students‟ descriptive text writing of class X1.A.1 of MAN 1 (Model) Bandar Lampung is the students used more the correct simple present tense than error in using simple present tense. It can be seen from the result that the students used more correct simple present tense (73.81%) than made errors (26.19%) in their descriptive text writing. It means that the students have understood how to use simple present tense in writing descriptive text.

2. Even though the students have used more correct simple present tense, but the researcher still would like to analyze the errors made by the students based on

surface strategy taxonomy in order to know the difficulties faced by the students, and it had been found that the most common error committed by the students in their descriptive text was omission (50.90%), It can be seen from the total errors, it was 110 items in the form of simple present tense, and the students committed omission 56 items. The students often omitted -s or -es in the verb which the subject of the sentence was in the form of the third person singular and also the students omitted to be when there was no verb in the sentence. Additionally, the students also committed 39 errors of misformation (35.46%), followed by 9 errors of misordering (8.18%), and 6 errors of addition (5.46%).

Then, the results of the research done by Widiatmokoshowed that for the types of error based on the surface strategy taxonomy are the ommision (24%), addition (7%), misformation (65%), and misordering (4%). Misformation was the highest type of error occurred. The sources of those errorswere overextention of analogy error (1%), transfer of structure errors (94%), andinterlingual/intralingual errors (5%). Eventhough the students have good score intheir English, they stillmake a lot of errors and tend to apply the rules of their firstlanguage when they do not know the rules of second language.

Based on the researches above, the researcher takes the research on simple past tense errors in making recount text. It is because the researches above showed

students‟ error in writing paragraph. There are many errors by the students in

2.2 Grammar

According to Brown (2001), grammar is the system of rules that constructs the formation and connection of every word in a sentence. Brown also states that

“grammatical competence occupies a prominent position as a major component of

communicative competence”.

Grammar competence refers to the degree to which the language user has mastered the linguistic code which includes knowledge of vocabulary, rules of pronunciation and spelling, word formation, and sentence structure. Grammatical competence is one of the four components of communicative competence. The other three components are sociolinguistic, discourse, and strategic competence (Cahyono, 1997: 7).

Veit (1986: 6) states that grammar is a person‟s subconscious language knowledge. Whenever we speak or write English or we understand someone

else‟s speech or writing, we use English grammar. A grammar consists of

principles of rules that allow us to create an infinite number of possible sentences out of a finite number of words.

Grammar is a description of a language by means of a definition of sentence in that language (Burton, 1986: 4). The definition takes the form of a set of rules. The definition automatically has three interrelated function, they are: (1) To make an infinite number of productions about what is and is not in set of sentences of a language, (2) To give description of the grammatical sentences, and (3) To give

explanation of the ungrammatically of the ungrammatical „sentence‟ (the noun sentence).

In relation with students‟ grammatical errors, Hendickson (1982: 7-8) suggested

that errors involving general grammatical rules are more deserving of attention than errors involving lexical exceptions. It is because the errors in general grammatical rules more often create misperception than the second one.

Departing to the theories above, grammar is a scientific statement of the principles of good usage which concern with the relation of words in the sentence. Educated people use certain forms of expression. Language specialists (linguists) study the forms they use, note that they follow a few comparatively simple principles, and state these principles. The result is grammar.

2.3 Error

Corder (1976: 166) states that errors are systematic and consistent deviance,

which is the characteristic of the learners‟ linguistic system at a given stage of

learning. Errors are typically produced by learners who do not yet fully command some institutionalized language system. In other words, errors arise due to the imperfect competence in the target language. If the learners do not understand about system of language, it will make them doing many errors in their learning. It can be concluded that errors are actually ungrammatical utterance which refers to the language competence refer to the implicit knowledge of the rules of the

language. They are made when language users are lack of knowledge of the language rules.

An error relates to students‟ systematic errors from being capable of

reconstructing his knowledge of the language so far (Corder, 1981: 10). It is dangerous for students to have error in understanding the tenses of English as a foreign language. Meanwhile, as explained by Dulay, Burt, and Krashen (1982: 138), putting another way, errors deviate from some selected norm of mature

language performance. Brown (2001: 258) also acknowledges “error is a

noticeable deviation from the adult grammar of a native speaker, reflecting the inter language competence of the students”.

Corder also suggests that errors can be identified or detected by comparing what the learner actually said whit what he ought to have said to express what he intended to express. In other words, his erroneous utterances are compared with what a native speaker would have said to express that meaning. Thus, errors can be identified by comparing original utterances with reconstructed utterances, that is, correct sentences having the meaning intended by the learner.

In order to find out about the errors, error taxonomy can be classified into four classification, they are; (1) Linguistic category, (2) Surface strategy taxonomy, (3) Comparative analysis, (4) Communicative effects. Furthermore, in analyzing the errors from the data taken, the researcher only focused on the surface strategy taxonomy and communicative effect that will be explained as follow.

2.4 Grammatical Error

Grammatical error is often categorized as being an error in either grammars, usage or mechanics and sometimes include subset of spelling errors (Hendrickson, 1979). Spelling errors are not usually considered grammatical errors, some classes

of spelling errors, we argue, are. Some language learners‟ spelling errors involve a

violation of syntactic and/ or morphological regularities, and should be covered under the umbrella of grammatical errors. For example, be writed contains a word that does not exist in English. Technically, it could be considered a spelling or even a typographical error, especially if a native speaker of English produced the text. However, as James (1998: 225) point out, language learners can produce misspellings based on either misapplication of morphological rules or other influences from their native language (L1), or from their incomplete knowledge of the morphology and phonology of the language being learned (L2). In the example of a learner using writed, we can hypothesize that this form is influenced by an incomplete knowledge of English irregular verbs. Most likely the learner added the regular past tense morpheme –edto the verb stem writ- instead of using the irregular from wrote. As a morphological error, we consider this typing of misspelling a grammatical error.

2.5 Types of Error

There are four descriptive taxonomies most useful and commonly used as the basis for error classification; they are (1) Linguistic Category Taxonomy, (2) Surface Strategy Taxonomy, (3) Comparative Taxonomy, and (4) Communicative Effect Taxonomy. However, the errors would be classified based on Surface

Strategy Taxonomy because analyzing errors from surface strategy perspective holds much promise for researcher concerning with identifying cognitive processes that underlies the learner reconstruction of the language. It also makes

us aware that learners‟ errors are based on some logic. They are not the result of

laziness or sloppy thinking, but of the learners‟ use of interim principles to

produce a new language (Dulay et. al.: 1982, 150). Through communicative effect taxonomy it would see the errors from the perspective of their effect to the reader. So, in this research the researcher used surface strategy taxonomy and communicative effect taxonomy.

2.6 Steps in Error Analysis

According to Abbot (1981:218), the process of error analysis is divided into 5 stages: (1) recognition, (2) interpretation, (3) reconstruction, (4) classification, (5) explanation.

(1) Recognition: In many cases what is regarded as an error depends on what standard of performance is considered to be acceptable. This will obviously vary according to circumstances, and will take into account factors such as the standard being aimed at; the stage in the course, the age, ability, motivation, etc. of the students; the amount of time available; and a realistic assessment of the possibilities of improving performance in that time.

(2) Interpretation: Interpretation is central to the whole process, because our interpretation of what we think the student meant may determine whether we recognize an error at all, and will certainly determine our reconstructing.

(3) Reconstruction: (1) It is sometimes necessary to differentiate between (a) what a native speaker would have produced in the same context and (b) what the learner was trying to produce, i.e. the English forms he was aiming at what but getting wrong. (2) The most obvious reconstruction to the teacher, especially the native-English-speaker, is not necessarily the version at which the students were aiming.

(4) Classification: There are great many ways in which errors can be assigned to classes and one should use whether system or combination of system is the most useful and enlightening according to the purposes of the analysis.

(5) Explanation: Explanation of the causes of errors has not been included in the section on the process of analysis. This is because it is not strictly speaking part of the analysis at all. Apart from the problem of interpretation, the analysis of errors is basically on objective procedure involving classifying, counting and tabulating; explanation on the other hand is much more speculative

So, in analyzing errors there are five steps: recognition, interpretation, reconstruction, classification, and explanation. These steps were used an

analyzing the students‟ errors in their recount text writing.

2.7 Surface Strategy Taxonomy

Surface strategy taxonomy highlights the ways surface structures are altered:

“learners may omit necessary items or add unnecessary ones, they may misform

items or misorder them” (Dulay, et al, 1982: 150). Classifying errors using surface strategy taxonomy can give a clear description about cognitive processes that

underlie the learner‟s reconstruction of the new language or language being learned. It also makes us aware that learner‟s errors are the result of their active

way in using the temporary principles to produce the target language. Below is the detailed description of each category used in surface strategy taxonomy.

2.7.1 Omission

Omission errors are characterized by the absence of an item that mustappear in a well-form utterance. It means that there is a sentence in which there is one of its aspects (word) or more is omitted.

Example:

The monkey on the back. (incorrect)

The independent clause “the monkey on the back” of this sentence is incorrect

because the verb “was” is omitted. That should be added the verb in the past form

“was”. It is because the subject “the monkey” is third person singular. So, the

correct sentence is “The monkey was on the back.”

2.7.2 Addition

Addition errors are characterized by the presence of an item which must not appear in a well-formed utterance. Learners usually have already acquired target language rules, and they often too faithful to use certain rules which cause errors. Example:

The independent clause “he did not met his children” is incorrect because there is

double past markings “did” and “met”. The verb “met” should be in verb 1. So,

the correct sentence is “He did not meet his children when he visited the island.

2.7.3 Misformation

Misformation erros are characterized by the use of the wrong form of themorpheme. It means that one or more of sentence‟s aspect has wrong formation. It can be caused by rule regularization.

Example:

The mouse deer eated cucumber when the farmer went home. (incorrect)

The independent clause “The mouse deer eated cucumber” is incorrect because the predicate has wrong form of verb. The verb “eated” should be in past form

“ate”. So, the correct sentence is “The mouse deer ate cucumber when the farmer

went home.”

2.7.4 Misordering

Misordering errors are characterized by the incorrect placement of amorpheme or group morpheme in an utterance. It means that the sentence structure is ordered incorrectly. The words are ordered in wrong structure.

Example:

Came the teacher to the class. (incorrect)

The sentenceabove is ordered incorrectly. It has incorrect placement of its words.

The verb “came” should follow the subject “the teacher”. So, the correct sentence

2.8 Communicative Effect Taxonomy

While the surface strategy taxonomy focuses on the aspects of the errors itself, the communicative effect taxonomy deals with errors from the perspective of their affect on the listeners or readers. It focuses on the distinguishing between errors that seem to cause the miscommunication and those that do not (Dullay et.al, 1982: 189). This taxonomy classifies errors in two types, global and local errors. Below is the detailed description of each category used in communicative effect taxonomy.

2.8.1 Global Error

Errors that affect overall sentence organization significantly hinder communication. Because of the wide syntactic scope of such error, Burt and

Kiparsky labeled this category “global”. These systematic global errors include:

a. Wrong order or major constituents, e.g: English language used many people. This sentence can lead the reader to have different interpretation about

meaning. The sentence should be changed as “Many people used English”

b. Missing, wrong misplaced sentence connectors, e.g:

1. He did not go to school, he was sick. The sentence connector “because” is missing. The correct sentence is: He did not go to school, because he was sick.

2. I bought a new dress because I loved my old dress. The sentence connector

“because” is wrong. It should be “even though”. The correct sentence is: I bought a new dress even though I loved my old dress.

3. Because I had to finish my work, my time was limited. The sentence

connector “because” is misplaced. The correct sentence should be I had to

finish my work, because my time was limited.

c. Missing cues to signal obligatory exceptions to pervasive syntactic rules, e.g:

The students’ proposals looked the principle. In this sentence, were and by are missing in passive sentence. This sentence leads the readers to have different interpretation because it is a confusing sentence. And the correct

sentence should be “The students’ proposal were looked by their principle”.

In analyzing this research, the researcher focused on simple past tense errors. So, the parts of grammatical error that were used to analyze simple past tense errors were wrong order or major constituents and missing cues to signal obligatory exceptions to pervasive syntactic rules. The errors out of simple past tense errors (wrong misplaced sentence connectors) would not be analyzed.

2.8.2 Local Error

Local error that affects single element or constituents in a sentence does not usually hinder communication significantly. In other words, local error is error that does not significantly influences the structure and the meaning of the overall sentence. The categories include these following errors:

a. Errors in noun and verb inflection, e.g.:

When I was six years old, I live in Paris, but then I move to Bandar Lampung. (Inflectional –d on the verbs live and move show past form are left out). The correct sentence is:

When I was six years old, I lived in Paris, but then I moved to Bandar Lampung.

b. Errors in article, e.g.:

I bought a apple with my sister yesterday. (Article an should be used instead of a) The correct sentence is:

I bought an apple with my sister yesterday. c. Errors in auxiliary, e.g.:

She have listened that information from her teacher. (Auxiliary has should be used instead of have) The correct sentence is:

She haslistened that information from her teacher. d. Errors in the formation of quantifier, e.g.:

I have much friends in that school.

(The using of quantifier much is wrong. It should be many because the word

“friends” is countable)

The correct sentence is:

I have many friends in the school.

There are 4 parts of local error. The researcher focused on analyzing simple past tense errors, so allparts of local error did not used to analyze the errors in this research. The parts that were used were errors in noun and verb inflection and errors in auxiliary. The errors out of simple past tense errors such as error in article or errors in other past tenses would not be analyzed.

2.9 Tense

According to Master (2004: 1), tense in grammatical aspect is typically marked on the verb which refers to the time of event or state denoted by the verb in relation to some other temporal reference point.

Additionally, MacKay (1987) states, “Tense means „time‟, and the verb tenses

show the time of the action describe by the verb”. It means that to form tenses

correctly we must know the principal parts of the verb or the form of the verb itself. As it has been mentioned above that tense means time, English has sixteen different tenses. These sixteen tenses are different to one another. The differences happened in the forms of the used verbs and the time of verbs action takes places.As we know that the principle parts of the verb are present form and past participle form. In this research, the researcher only focuses on the verb in the simple pasttense because this research is about students‟ recount text which used simple past tense as one of the language feature in recount text.

Departing to the theories above, tense is a grammatical category, typically marked on the verb, that deictically refers to the time of the event or state denoted by the verb in relation to some other temporal reference point.

2.10 Simple Past Tense

Simple past tense is a verb tense (the second principal part of a verb) indicating action that occurred in the past and which does not extend into the present, Nordquist (2006).

Azar (1989: 32) said that “The simple past tense is used to talk about activities or situations that began and ended at a particular time in the past.” The simple past is used to indicate an action completed in the past. It often occurs with adverbs or adverb phrases of past time. Then, according to Hornby (1986: 85), simple past tense is to indicate activities or states in the past, without indicating any connection the present.

According to Hornby (1986: 91) the simple past tense is normally used: a. To indicate an action complete in the past.

b. To indicate that an activity or state was continuing at the time when another activity occurred.

c. If he chief interest in a past activity is not in the point or period of past time but in the activity itself, and its continuity.

d. If we wish to indicate that two or more activities or states were continuing at the same time, and to put into prominence the continuous nature of the activities or states.

e. For habitual and repeated activities in the past.

According to Azar (1989: 70), there are many time signals, which show the simple past tense, they are:

a. A few days ago

Example: I went to the beach a few days ago. b. A few minutes ago

c. A month ago

Example: I visited my uncle‟s home a month ago. d. Last April

Example: We met at the café last April. e. Last night

Example: I did my homework last night. f. Last month

Example: you gave me this book last month. g. Last year

Example: Linda celebrated my birthday party with my family last year. h. Last week

Example: We found this pocket last week. Forming of the Simple Past Tense

There are some forms of simple past tense. According to Thomson and Martinet (1992: 1126) state:

1) Be as an auxiliary verb:

Affirmative Negative Interrogative Negative Interrogative

I was I was not/ _wasn‟t Was I?

Was I not? / Wasn‟t I? You were You were not/ _{you weren‟t} Were you?

Were you not? / Weren‟t you? He/ she/ it was He/ she/ it was not/ _Wasn‟t Was he/ she/ it?

Was he/she/it not? Wasn‟t he/she/it? We were We were not/ _{We weren‟t} Were we?

Were we not? / Weren‟t we? They were They were not/ _Weren‟t Were they? Were they not? / _{Weren‟t they?}

2) Regular verb

a. The simple past tense in regular verbs is formed by adding ed to the infinitive:

Infinitive : to work Simple past : worked b. Verbs ending in eadd d only:

Infinitive : to loved Simple past : loved

c. The same form is used for all persons: Example: I worked

You worked He worked Etc.

d. The negative of regular and irregular verbs is formed with did not (didn‟t) and the infinitive:

I did not/ didn‟t work You did not/ didn‟t work

Etc.

e. The interrogative Example: Did I work?

Did you work? Etc.

f. Negative interrogative

3) Irregular verb

These very considerably in their simple past form: Infinitive : to eat, to leave, to see, to speak Simple past : ate, left, saw, spoke

The simple past form of each irregular verb must therefore be learnt, but once this is done there is no other difficulty, as irregular verbs (like regular verbs) have no inflexions in the past tense.

Nominal and Verbal Sentence:

1. Nominal Sentence – Simple Past Tense

Be (was, were) as a structural meaning word is called "be-past". Be-past is used to build a nominal sentence in simple past form. The existance of be-past in nominal sentence is important because it is a vital word or a verb (we can say that /be/ is "a Structural Verb" in Nominal Sentence).

a. Positive sentence (+): Subject + be-past + complement For examples:

a) I was here. d) They were here g) It was here. b) You were here. e) He was here.

c) We were here. f) She was here.

Take notice that the be/was or were/has its specific subject and it can not be exchanged.

b. Negative Sentence (-): Subject + be-past + not + complement For examples:

a) I wasn't late. e) He wasn't late. b) You weren't late. f) She wasn't late. c) We weren't late. g) It wasn't late. d) They weren't late.

c. Interogative Sentence (?): Be-past + subject + complement + ? For examples:

a) Was I late? e) Was he late?

b) Were you late? f) Was she late? c) Were we late? g) Was it late? d) Were they late?

2. Verbal Sentence – Simple Past Tense

In verbal sentence, simple past tense has a single auxiliary, that is, "DID". This auxiliary will appear when the positive sentence is changed into negative (-) or interrogative sentence (?).

a. Positive Sentence (+): Subject + verb 2 + complement

In the verbal positive sentence, we use the third verb or the past form verb. Remember that the verb, in verbal sentence, is Lexical-meaning-verb and it is different of /be/, as a structural-meaning-Lexical-meaning-verb.

b. Negative Sentence (-): Subject + did + not + verb 1 + complement

When the positive sentence is changed into negative then change the third verb into the first-verb or present-verb (V1) and use /did/ + not before the subject.

For example: I did not go to Bali a month ago.

c. Interogative Sentence (?): Did + subject + verb1 + complement + ? When you want to make an interrogative sentence, place the only /Did/ at the beginning of the sentence and change the verb into the first-form-verb or present verb.

For example: Did you go to Bali a month ago?

Simple Past Tense and other Past Tenses

Tenses deal with the time of sentence take place or expressed. In expressing event happened in the past time, there will be some difference of sequence or length of the time which require different form of past tenses from simple past tense. For example:

1. Simple past tense and past continuous tense

“I took my friend’s bag when she was taking a bath”

The events were in the same time where one of them was happening and the other happened.

2. Simple past tense and past perfect tense

“I had picked up my friend before I went to the beach”

The events were in sequence where one of them had already completed before the other happened.

3. Simple past tense and past perfect continuous tense

“I had been waiting for 30 minutes when my friend came.”

The events were in the same time where one of them had been happening when the other happened.

Recount text requires past form so that the sentences can be in all kinds of past tenses depending on the sequence and the length of the time. In this research, the students would probably use different form of past tenses in their recount text writing. They would also make errors in those tenses, but in this research did not concern on those. This research just focused on simple past tense errors. The errors in the other tenses beside simple past would not be labeled as error data but

would be corrected in the students‟ sheets for their further learning.

2.11 Past Tense Errors

Based on the previous research done by Widiatmoko (2011), he said that most of the students at third grade of senior high school Kartika Metro still did simple past tense errors in writing narrative text. It means that although the students were taught 12 hours in a week, they still had problem with English grammar. In other word, they still did many errors.

For example:

- Wrong: I waswent to the beach two days ago Correct: I went to the beach two days ago - Wrong: We talk about the problem.

- Wrong: In a moment the sun will set in the west Correct: In a moment the sun would set in the west - Wrong: They not did wait for me

Correct: They did not wait for me

2.12 Text

Generally, text is a written or printed work regarded in terms of content rather than form, the actual structure of words in a piece of writing/ wording, or the main body of a book or other piece of writing, as distinct from appendices, illustration, etc. According to Anderson (1997: 7), texts do not have unitary meanings potentially accessible to all, they rather allow for variety in interpretation by different readers, governed by factors such as purpose, background knowledge, and the relationship established in the act of reading between the reader and the researcher.

The distinction that the reader can see from the text is from the purpose for which the text is being used. For example, descriptive text is used to describe a particular thing, person and place, narrative text is used to entertaint the reader about the story that happens in the past, and recount text is used to retell about the pass event or the experience which is done by someone in the past. But in this research the researcher only focus on the descriptive text which is explained more detail bellow.

2.13Recount Text

According to Derewinka (1992), recount text is a text which retells events or experiences in the past. Its purpose is either to inform or to entertain the audience. There is no complication among the participants and that differentiates from narrative.

A recount text has an orientation, a series of events in chronological order,

personal remarks on the events and a reorientation that “rounds off” the sequence

of events. In the text, will be found words and phrases used to start, connect a sentence with the next one, and end your composition. Those words and phrases are: first, then, after that, finally.

Generic Structure of Recount:

1. Orientation: Introducing the participants, place and time 2. Events: Describing series of event that happened in the past

3. Reorientation: It is optional. Stating personal comment of the researcher to the story

Language Feature of Recount:

1. Introducing personal participant; I, my group.

2. Using chronological connection; then, first, after that. 3. Using linking verb; was, were, saw, heard.

4. Using action verb; look, go, change. 5. Using simple past tense

Example of recount text:

Wonderful Beach, Parangtritis Beach

Paragtritis beach was one of beach that I ever met beside Pangandaran , and Kute beach. I went to Parangtritis beach when I was in senior high school. I went to this beach beside for finding the data for my final report; it was also used to fill the holiday time.

The first impression when I arrived in Parangtritis beach was very beautiful and very extraordinary. It was because the sea‟s wave was so big and the sand on that beach was so white. Then, when I and my friends saw those things, we run to that beach. Nevertheless, it was very hard for us when running. It was because I and my friends used sandals or shoes when I and my friends run on the sands. For that, I and my friends decided to put off our sandals and shoes to be put another area. After that, I and my friend run to the wave easily.

Then, one thing that I wanted you to know was when you would visit this beach. You might not wear shirt or skirt (clothes) in green color. It was caused by the existence of myth in that area about the existence of NyiRorokidul, the master in that beach. That myth was about if there were people who would visit this beach, they were forbidden to wear clothes in green color, if those people opposed it. The people would get bad luck, or even that people would be lost in the sea and their bodies would not be found.

From the myth above, I and my friends were not brave to wear cloth in green one when we playing in that beach. Nevertheless, if there was anybody who worn the green, she/he changed into other colors. Then, if we did not bring another cloth which had another color, we were no afraid. It was caused that we could find many stores which provided clothes; especially cloth only was used on beach there. Besides, the facility above, I and my friends also got other facilities like horse (it was used to go round the beach), surfing tools and others. I and my friends really enjoyed that holiday.

III. METHOD

This chapter provides design, data sources, instrument, data collecting technique, procedures, and data analysis that will be employed in the research.

3.1 Design

According to Arikunto (1998:51), research design is program or plan that is made by researcher as the preparation of activities that will be done. This research belongs to qualitative that uses descriptive method. The method is intended to describe exactly a phenomenon or problem that researcher hadobserved. It means that the researcher investigated the use of simple past tense and to identify the grammatical errors in using simple past tense in students’ recount text writing based on surface strategy taxonomy and communicative effect taxonomy. In this way, the researcher collected the data from the students’ recount text writing and investigated them whether the students used correct simple past tense or made errors, and identified the errors based on surface strategy taxonomy and communicative effect taxonomy in order to conclude the result.

3.2 Data Sources

This research was conducted to the third grade of senior high school year 2014/2015 in Senior High School 1 Pringsewu. Then, the researcher took one

class for the sample to be investigated about the use of simple past tense and the grammatical errors in their recount text writing.The students of the third grade Senior High School 1 Pringsewumade several common errors of grammar when they were writing. They did not master English grammar well. Firstly, they were weak in tenses. They were confused how to use the base verb, past verb, and participle verb. Thirdly, they were confused in using auxiliary in past tense and followed by verb. Furthermore, despite of grammar, they were lack of vocabularies which are very crucial in writing. They were inadequate in word usage and class (parts of speech).

3.3 Instrument

According to Arikunto (1998:148) instrument is tools in research that use a method. The instrument that was used depends on the object that was researched. Simply, itwas a tool that is used by an observer when she or he applied certainmethod to get data.

In conducting the research, the researcher needed the instrument to get the data to be analyzed. In this research, the researcher used the documentation of students’ writing as the instrument to make a recount text according to the material that had been learnt before. To make the students not confused in determining what about they would write, the researcher gave two topics to be chosen by the students. The researcher gave the instruction and direction to the students below.

Instructions:

b. Use your time adequately, the time is 90 minutes.

c. Write at least 2 paragraphs and each paragraph consists of 10-15 sentences Directions:

a. Choose only one topic from the topics given bellow. b. Make a recount text based on the topic that you choose. c. The topics you may choose are:

1) School holiday

2) Unforgettable moment

3.4 Data Collecting Technique

In order to collect the data accurately in the use of simple past tense and its grammatical errors in students’ recount text writing, the researcher asked the students to make at least 2 paragraphs based on the topic that had been given. In getting the data, the researcher did the following steps:

1. The researcher took the data from the result of writing made by the students. This step was aimed to determine how far the students were able to write the recount text by using simple past tense accurately in their writing.

2. The researcher took a note about the use of simple past tense students’ in recount text writing and analyzed the grammatical errors made by students in using simple past tense then classified the errors based on surface strategy taxonomy and communicative effect taxonomy then counted the percentage of every type in the list to conclude the result.

3.5 Procedures

The procedures of the research were done as follows: 1. Determining the subjects of the research

The subject of this research was the third grade of senior high school students in the 2014/2015 learning and one class was taken as the sample.

2. Giving the writing task

The researcher asked the students to make recount text in order to get the data of the use of simple past tense in students’ recount text writing. The topic of the writing was about holiday or unforgettable moment.

3. Identifying data

The data were identified based on 5 steps of types of error analysis. First, the data would be collected from the errors of recount text made by the students. Second, interpreting the errors by classified the use of simple past tense into a table whether the tense was used in correct form or error. Then, it was identified the errors based on surface strategy taxonomy and communicative effect taxonomy. After that, the errors were classified in table specification to find out the frequency of errors.And the last, explaining the data by calculated each aspect being analyzed and made the percentages.

4. Reporting the research finding

The last step was reporting the research finding and making conclusion based on the result that had been gotten.

3.6 Data Analysis

In order to find out the use of simple past tense and its grammatical errors in students’ recount text writing, the researcher analyzed the result of the students’ writing, using the steps below to analyze the data:

1. Recognizing the data. The data would be collected from the errors of recount text made by students of SMAN 1 Pringsewu.

2. Interpreting the errors whether the use of simple past tense was used in well-formed or error by the students. In this step, the researcher classified the use of simple past tense into a table whether the tense was used in correct form or error.

3. Reconstructing the errors made by the students. In this step, the researcher identified the errors in students’ recount text writing by underlining the errorsand gave mark OM, AD, MF, MO in surface strategy taxonomy, GE and LE in communicative effect taxonomy.

4. Classifying the errors of using simple past tense in students’ recount text writing to find out the frequency of errors. Each error was classified by using surface strategy taxonomy and communicative effect taxonomy.

a. Surface Strategy Taxonomy 1) Omission (OM)

2) Addition (AD) 3) Misformation (MF) 4) Misordering (MO)

1) Global Error (GE) 2) Local Error (LE)

5. Explining the data, the researcher used the qualitative method to treat the data. Ismiati (2004: 34) stated that the simplest way to use qualitative data is through percentage. Therefore, the researcher determined the most frequent up to the least frequent error type as the result of the errors in using simple past tense in students’ recount text writing by using percentage. Thus, the researcher gave the percentage in each error type in a table of frequency.Calculating the data taken and making the percentage in each category.

In calculating the data in each error, the researcher employed the following formula:

X 100% = …..% (Nation, 1981: 58)

By calculating the frequency of error, the researcher could identify the most common error made by the students.

3.7 Validity and Reliability 1. Validity

One of criteria that determine the quality of a good instrument was its validity. According to Fraenkel and Wallen (1991: 151), validity was “the appropriateness, meaningfulness, correctness, and usefulness of the inferences a researcher makes”. It meant that the instrument should be designed fitted to the determined criteria so the researcher could obtain the desired data in order to draw correct conclusions for his/her research.

The instrument used in this research was documentation in the form of students’ writing. This data source has some superiority than the other data source. Different from other instrument, documentation is not reactive so that the subject cannot hide anything. A research of error analysis in writing skill can use a document of students’ writing, where in this research the document was pointed on students’ recount text writing.

The raters paid attention to the criteria. The criteria of writing whether it was valid. The criteria of validity of the instrument in this research were past tense, length and topic. After the assessment, all the recount text writing made by the students were accepted or categorized as valid.

2. Reliability

Reliability refers to whether the test gives us an indication of how accurate the test score were (Shohamy, 1985: 70). The basic principle of reliability is consistency. The reliability of this research is more related to the collected data. Concept of consistency is done by triangulation. Triangulation or double method is a combination of two methods or more in collecting data about the behavior of the research subject (Setiyadi, 2006: 30).

Cohen and Manion (1980) categorize triangulation into some types: time triangulation, place triangulation, theory triangulation, method triangulation, researcher triangulation, and methodology triangulation. This research used

researcher triangulation to collect the same data from two raters. By involving two raters, the research produced a relatively higher level of credibility

In this research, the inter-raters assess the recount texts made by the students. The raters determine whether the texts werereliable for the analysis. The criteria to assess were the text length and topic. The texts should be at least in two paragraphs and each paragraph consisted of 10-15 sentences, and the topic should be appropriate to one of the optional topics given before.

After the raters assessed the instrument, they found the consistency about the criteria that the researcher stated before. From the judgment, it showed that the instrument had good reliability.

V.CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

In this chapter the conclusions of the research and several suggestions are drawn based on the results presented in the previous chapter and in relation to the problem formulated in the first chapter.

5.1 Conclusions

In relation to the result of the research in the third grade of class XII.S.1 of SMA N 1 Pringsewu, the conclusion can be formulated as follows:

1. Most of the students at third grade of SMA N 1 Pringsewu still committed all four errors types of Surface Strategy Taxonomy and two errors types of Communicative Effect Taxonomy. It means that although the students were taught English 12 hours in a week, they still had problem with English grammar, especially in simple past tense. In other words, they still made many errors in the use of past tense.

2. The percentage and frequency of the errors (ranked from the types of error that is mostly made by the students) resulted from the students’ recount text writing are:

a) Based on Surface Strategy Taxonomy

1) Error in misformation is 55.50% (111 items from 200 errors) 2) Error in omission is 21.00% (42 items from200 errors) 3) Error in addition is 12.00% (24 items from 200 errors)

4) Error in misordering is 11.50% (23 items from 200 errors) b) Based on Communicative Effect Taxonomy

1) Global error is 13.50% (27 items from 200 total errors) 2) Local error is 86.50% (173 items from 200 total errors)

5.2 Suggestions

Referring to the conclusions, the researcher comes to the following suggestions: 1. The English teachers may use information of the types of students’ errors as a

guidance to evaluate the weakness or progress of the students’ ability in learning English, especially in their recount text writing. They pay attention to the errors, analyze them and give proper correction.

2. In order to minimize the students’ errors, the teacher should improve the students’ knowledge of English grammar by teaching how to form or construct the sentences appropriately and meaningfully, and by telling the functions of the language area themselves. Besides that, the teacher has to set the first priority to the errors the mostly occurred (misformation and local error).

3. The teacher has to give further explanation concerning the different rules that English and Bahasa Indonesia have. It is crucial to the teacher to explain English grammar and compare it with Bahasa Indonesia grammar clearly to the students. This will minimize the influence of the students’ native language to construct English sentences.

REFERENCES

Abbot, G. 1981. The Teaching of English as an International Language. Glasgow: Collins.

Anderson, Mark and Anderson, Kathy. 1997. Text Type in English 2. Malaysia: Macmillan Education.

Arikunto, Suharsimi. 1998. Prosedur Penelitian. Rineka Cipta: Jakarta. Asing: Pendekatan Kualitatifdan Kuatitatif. Yogyakarta: PenerbitGraha. Azar, Betty Schrampfer. 1989. Understanding and Using English Grammar.

Prentice Hall Regents: New Jersey.

Brown, H. Douglas. 2001. Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Inc.

Burton, Robert Noel. 1986. Analyzing Sentences. London: Addison Wesely. Cahyono, Djauhari. 1997. Master on English Grammar. Surabaya: Indah. Corder, S. P. 1976. Introducing Applied Linguistics. Middlesex: Penguin.

Corder, S.Pit. 1981. Error Analysis and Interlingua. London: Oxford University Press.

Derewianka, Beverly. 1992. Exploring How Texts Work. New South Wales: Primary English Association

Dewan Penyunting Penerbit Universitas Lampung. 2008. Pedoman Penulisan KaryaIlmiah. Bandar Lampung: Universitas Lampung.

Dulay, H., Burt, M. and Krashen, S. D. 1982. Language Two. New York: Oxford University Press.

Frankel, J. R. and Wallen, N. E. 1991. How to Design and Evaluate Research in Education. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Hanani, Karni. 2013. Analysis of the Students’ Grammatical Error in Making Complex Sentence in Narrative Text at the First Semester of the Eleventh Grade of State Senior High School 1 Kalirejo. Pringsewu:

44

researcher triangulation to collect the same data from two raters. By involving two raters, the research produced a relatively higher level of credibility

In this research, the inter-raters assess the recount texts made by the students. The raters determine whether the texts werereliable for the analysis. The criteria to assess were the text length and topic. The texts should be at least in two paragraphs and each paragraph consisted of 10-15 sentences, and the topic should be appropriate to one of the optional topics given before.

After the raters assessed the instrument, they found the consistency about the criteria that the researcher stated before. From the judgment, it showed that the instrument had good reliability.

66

V.CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

In this chapter the conclusions of the research and several suggestions are drawn based on the results presented in the previous chapter and in relation to the problem formulated in the first chapter.

5.1 Conclusions

In relation to the result of the research in the third grade of class XII.S.1 of SMA N 1 Pringsewu, the conclusion can be formulated as follows:

1. Most of the students at third grade of SMA N 1 Pringsewu still committed all four errors types of Surface Strategy Taxonomy and two errors types of Communicative Effect Taxonomy. It means that although the students were taught English 12 hours in a week, they still had problem with English grammar, especially in simple past tense. In other words, they still made many errors in the use of past tense.

2. The percentage and frequency of the errors (ranked from the types of error that is mostly made by the students) resulted from the students’ recount text writing are:

a) Based on Surface Strategy Taxonomy

1) Error in misformation is 55.50% (111 items from 200 errors) 2) Error in omission is 21.00% (42 items from200 errors) 3) Error in addition is 12.00% (24 items from 200 errors)

67

4) Error in misordering is 11.50% (23 items from 200 errors) b) Based on Communicative Effect Taxonomy

1) Global error is 13.50% (27 items from 200 total errors) 2) Local error is 86.50% (173 items from 200 total errors)

5.2 Suggestions

Referring to the conclusions, the researcher comes to the following suggestions: 1. The English teachers may use information of the types of students’ errors as a

guidance to evaluate the weakness or progress of the students’ ability in learning English, especially in their recount text writing. They pay attention to the errors, analyze them and give proper correction.

2. In order to minimize the students’ errors, the teacher should improve the students’ knowledge of English grammar by teaching how to form or construct the sentences appropriately and meaningfully, and by telling the functions of the language area themselves. Besides that, the teacher has to set the first priority to the errors the mostly occurred (misformation and local error).

3. The teacher has to give further explanation concerning the different rules that English and Bahasa Indonesia have. It is crucial to the teacher to explain English grammar and compare it with Bahasa Indonesia grammar clearly to the students. This will minimize the influence of the students’ native language to construct English sentences.

REFERENCES

Abbot, G. 1981. The Teaching of English as an International Language. Glasgow: Collins.

Anderson, Mark and Anderson, Kathy. 1997. Text Type in English 2. Malaysia: Macmillan Education.

Arikunto, Suharsimi. 1998. Prosedur Penelitian. Rineka Cipta: Jakarta. Asing: Pendekatan Kualitatifdan Kuatitatif. Yogyakarta: PenerbitGraha. Azar, Betty Schrampfer. 1989. Understanding and Using English Grammar.

Prentice Hall Regents: New Jersey.

Brown, H. Douglas. 2001. Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Inc.

Burton, Robert Noel. 1986. Analyzing Sentences. London: Addison Wesely. Cahyono, Djauhari. 1997. Master on English Grammar. Surabaya: Indah. Corder, S. P. 1976. Introducing Applied Linguistics. Middlesex: Penguin.

Corder, S.Pit. 1981. Error Analysis and Interlingua. London: Oxford University Press.

Derewianka, Beverly. 1992. Exploring How Texts Work. New South Wales: Primary English Association

Dewan Penyunting Penerbit Universitas Lampung. 2008. Pedoman Penulisan KaryaIlmiah. Bandar Lampung: Universitas Lampung.

Dulay, H., Burt, M. and Krashen, S. D. 1982. Language Two. New York: Oxford University Press.

Frankel, J. R. and Wallen, N. E. 1991. How to Design and Evaluate Research in Education. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Hanani, Karni. 2013. Analysis of the Students’ Grammatical Error in Making

Complex Sentence in Narrative Text at the First Semester of the

Script (Unpublished) Sekolah Tinggi Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan Pringsewu.

Hendrickson, James M. 1997. Error Analysis and Error Correction in Language Teaching. Singapore: Regional Language Centre.

Hewings, Martin. 1999. Advanced Grammar in Use (A self-study reference and practice book for advanced learners of English). Jakarta: Erlangga. Hornby, A. S. 1986. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English.

Oxford University Pers.

Juwitasari, Ratna. 2013. An Analysis of Grammatical Errors in Using Simple Present Tensein Descriptive Text Writing by Students of MAN 1 (Model) Bandar Lampung. Bandar Lampung: Script (Unpublish) Universitas Lampung.

Linderman, E. 1983. What is Writing in A Rhetoric for Writing Teachers. London: The University of Chicago Press.

Master, Peter. 2004. English Grammar and Technical Writing. Washington: Office of English Language Program.

McKay, S. 1987. Teaching Grammar: From Function and Technique. Hemel Hempstead: Prentice Hall.

Murcia, M., and Hilles S. 1995. Techniques and Resources in Teaching Grammar. New York: University Press.

Nation. LSP. 1981. Language Teaching Technique. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington.

Nichols, Lorrain. 1993. Grammar Step By Step. Jakarta: Binarupa Aksara.

Nordquist, Richard. 2006. Grammar and Composition. London: Pearson Education.

Setiyadi, Ag.Bambang. 2003. Teaching English as a Foreign Language. Yogyakarta: Penerbit Graha Ilmu.

Setiyadi, Ag.Bambang. 2006. Metode Penelitian Untuk Pengajaran Bahasa Asing: Pendekatan Kualitatif dan Kuantitatif. Yogyakarta: Penerbit Graha Ilmu.

Shohamy, E. 1989. A Practical Handbook in Language Testing for the Second Language Teachers. Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University.

Tarigan, A.G. 1988. Pengajaran Analisis Kesalahan Berbahasa. Bandung: Angkasa.

Thomson, A. J. and Martinent A. V. 1992. Fundamental of English Grammar. New York: Prentice Hall.

Veit, Allsop. 1986. Making Sense of English Grammar. Jakarta: Binarupa Aksara. Widiatmoko, Andy. 2011. An Analysis of Students’ Grammatcal Errorsin

Composing Narrative Paragraph at the Second Grade of SMA Kartikatama Metro: Script (Unpublished) Lampung University.