Students` grammatical errors in simple present tense.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

STUDENTS’ GRAMMATICAL ERRORS
IN SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE

A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education

By
Maria Asumpta Deny Kusumaningrum
Student Number: 071214036

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2012

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

STUDENTS’ GRAMMATICAL ERRORS
IN SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE

A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education

By
Maria Asumpta Deny Kusumaningrum
Student Number: 071214036

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA
2012
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Apapun yang terjadi pada anda esok hari itu karena apa
yang anda lakukan hari ini.....

Jatuh belum tentu berarti gagal, tetapi patah semangat
adalah fatal......

This thesis is dedicated to my beloved
family,

-They are my everything and my great supporteriv

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY

I honestly declare that this thesis, which I have written, does not contain the work
or parts of the work of other people, except those cited in the quotations and the
references, as a scientific paper should.

Yogyakarta, 8 December 2011
The Writer

071214036

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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma:
Nama

: Maria Asumpta Deny Kusumaningrum

Nomor Mahasiswa

: 071214036

Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan
Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:
STUDENTS’ GRAMMATICAL ERRORS
IN SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE
beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan
kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan,
mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan

data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di Internet atau
media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya
maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya
sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada tanggal : 10 Januari 2012
Yang menyatakan

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ABSTRACT

Kusumaningrum, Maria Asumpta Deny. (2012). Students’ Grammatical Errors in
Simple Present Tense. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.
In learning a language, it is common for the students to make errors.
Errors in written language vary and include errors in grammar. These would
contribute to the quality of the writing itself. Besides, writing is also a part of

communication in which misunderstanding is avoided. Therefore, the researcher
focused on how grammatical errors in Simple Present Tense play an important
role in language learning because it is the basis for making a sentence. Therefore,
applying the knowledge of grammar to the production of sentences is necessary.
Concerning this issue, this study was designed to look thoroughly at the
grammatical errors in Simple Present Tense made by 29 (twenty nine) students
who were in the Paragraph Writing class at English Language Education Study
Program of Sanata Dharma University academic year 2010/2011. There are two
problems to be solved in this research: (1) What are the grammatical errors in
Simple Present Tense that are made by the English Language Education Study
Program students? (2) What are the possible causes of the students’ grammatical
errors in Simple Present Tense? The research itself has two objectives. The first is
to find out the types of Simple Present Tense errors made by students in their
written works. The second is to figure out the causes of grammatical errors in
Simple Present Tense made by the students.
In this research, the researcher applied document analysis method. The
instruments used were human instrument, document and interview. The human
instrument is the researcher. It is because s/he is the main agent in gathering,
analyzing, and screening the data. The document consisted of the students’ written
works, which were used to solve the first research problem, whereas interview

was used to solve the second research problem. To analyze the errors, the
researcher used surface structure taxonomy proposed by Dulay, Burt and Krashen
(1982), in which the errors were grouped into omission, addition, misinformation
and misordering. However, to figure out the causes of errors, the researcher used
the theory proposed by Norrish (1983) and Brown (1980), namely, carelessness,
first language interference, translation, overgeneralization, errors as part of
language creativity and context learning.
The findings showed that the most frequent errors were misinformation
type (48%). Then, it was followed by omission (30%) and addition (22%). On the
other hand, the results of the interviews showed that almost all of the grammatical
errors made in Simple Present Tense was caused by context learning.

Keywords: Errors, Simple Present Tense, Paragraph Writing Class
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ABSTRAK

Kusumaningrum, Maria Asumpta Deny. (2012). Students’ Grammatical Errors in

Simple Present Tense. Yogyakarta: Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Membuat kesalahan dalam mempelajari bahasa adalah hal yang umum
terjadi. Kesalahan dalam bahasa penulisan ada berbagai macam, salah satunya
adalah penggunaan tata bahasa. Tata bahasa berperan penting dalam mempelajari
suatu bahasa. Tata bahasa merupakan dasar untuk menghasilkan suatu kalimat.
Dengan demikian sangatlah penting untuk menerapkan ilmu tata bahasa dalam
penulisan. Hal ini juga menentukan kualitas penulisan karya tulis tersebut. Di
samping itu, karya tulis juga merupakan bagian dari komunikasi, di mana
kesalahpahaman dalam mengartikan ide dalam karya tulis tersebut sebisa
mungkin dihindari. Oleh karena itu, peneliti fokus untuk menemukan bagaimana
kesalahan tata bahasa di Simple Present Tense sangat berperan penting dalam
penulisan.
Menanggapi hal tersebut, penelitian ini bertujuan untuk melihat lebih
menyeluruh kesalahan-kesalahan tata bahasa di Simple Present Tense yang
dilakukan oleh 29 (dua puluh sembilan) mahasiswa kelas Paragraph Writing. Ada
dua permasalahan yang harus dipecahkan dalam penelitian ini: (1) Kesalahan tata
bahasa dalam Simple Present Tense jenis apa yang dilakukan oleh mahasiswa
Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris? (2) Apa saja penyebab kesalahan tata bahasa dalam
Simple Present Tense yang dilakukan oleh mahasiswa? Ada dua tujuan dalam
penelitian ini. Yang pertama, penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menemukan jenisjenis kesalahan tata bahasa dalam Simple Present Tense yang dihasilkan oleh

mahasiswa dalam penulisan. Yang kedua bertujuan untuk mengungkap penyebab
kesalahan tata bahasa yang dihasilkan oleh mahasiswa tersebut.
Dalam penelitian ini, peneliti menerapkan metode document analysis.
Instrumen yang digunakan yaitu human instrument, dokumen dan wawancara.
Peneliti bertindak sebagai human instrument karena peneliti sendiri yang
mengumpulkan dan menganalisa data. Dokumen yang dianalisa berasal dari
tulisan siswa, yang akhirnya digunakan untuk menjawab pertanyaan nomor satu.
Sedangkan wawancara digunakan untuk menjawab pertanyaan nomor dua. Dalam
menganalisa kesalahan, peneliti menggunakan surface structure taxonomy yang
dikemukakan oleh Dulay, Burt dan Krashen (1982), dimana kesalahannya
dikelompokkan menjadi omission, addition, misinformation dan misordering.
Untuk menjawab pertanyaan nomor dua, peneliti menggunakan teori yang
dikemukakan oleh Norrish (1983) dan Brown (1980), yang dikelompokkan
menjadi carelessness, first language interference, translation, overgeneralization,
errors as part of language creativity dan context learning.
Penemuan –penemuan dalam penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa kesalahan
dalam Simple Present Tense yang paling sering terjadi adalah jenis
misinformation (48%). Kemudian diikuti oleh kesalahan dengan jenis omission
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(30%) dan addition (22%). Di sisi lain, hasil dari wawancara menunjukkan
bahwa hampir semua kesalahan yang dihasilkan oleh penulisan mahasiswa
disebabkan oleh context learning.
Kata kunci: Kesalahan, Simple Present Tense, Kelas Paragraph Writing

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My biggest gratefulness and never ending gratitude go to my faithful
companions, Lord Jesus Christ and Mother Mary, for endowing me with splendid
blessings and love.
My deepest gratitude goes to my only one advisor Miss Made Frida
Yulia, S.Pd., M.Pd. for her guidance and assistance during the process, her
willingness to spend her time reading and correcting my thesis patiently, and her
advice as well as her encouragement from the beginning of the research until the
final process of writing this thesis.

I am also greatly indebted to the lecturer of Paragraph Writing class, Miss
Mega Wulandari S.Pd., who has allowed her class’ progress test as the data of
the research for this thesis. My sincere thankfulness is also addressed to
Paragraph writing class D students of 2010/2011 academic year, who have
contributed their priceless writing as the data of this research and their willingness
to be interviewed as the respondents of this thesis. My deepest appreciation goes
to Mbak Danniek anda Mbak Tari for helping and guiding me in the academic
process.
Profound thankfulness is addressed to my beloved parents, Bapak
Antonius Sugeng Widodo and Ibu Agnes Indarti, for always supporting me
with magnificient love and care; to my sister Silviana Danty Kusumaningtyas,
whose hard work always seems admirable to me; to Simbah Putri for the spirit in
life that encourages me to do the best in this life. Appreciation is also addressed to

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Stefanus Dony Kurniawan for always painting my days with laughter, joy, love,
support and prayers.
My special gratitude goes to all of my best friends, Calvin, Celli, Arum,
Peny, Boti and to all of my friends in PPL II, KKN, as well as students of ELESP
who have supported me. My deepest thanks go to everybody who has directly or
indirectly supported me in writing this thesis.
Finally, the deepest thanks go to the crucial element in this whole
processes, that is, I, myself. Without encouraging, motivating myself, and selfesteeming, I will not finish this project.

Maria Asumpta Deny Kusumaningrum

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
TITLE PAGE.....................................................................................................

i

APPROVAL PAGES.........................................................................................

ii

DEDICATION PAGE.......................................................................................

iv

STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY..................................................

v

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI ……………......

vi

ABSTRACT......................................................................................................

vii

ABSTRAK..........................................................................................................

viii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS..............................................................................

x

TABLE OF CONTENTS.................................................................................

xii

LIST OF TABLES...........................................................................................

xv

LIST OF APPENDICES..................................................................................

xvi

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTION
A. Research Background........................................................... 1
B. Research Problem................................................................. 5
C. Problem Limitation .............................................................. 5
D. Research Objectives ............................................................. 6
E. Research Benefits ................................................................. 7
F. Definition of Terms .............................................................. 7

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CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
A. Theoretical Description ...................................................... 10
1. Errors ............................................................................ 10
a. Definition of Errors ........................................................ 10
b. Error Analysis ............................................................... 11
c. Types of Errors ................................................................. 12
1) Linguistic Category Taxonomy ........................................ 13
2) Surface Structure Taxonomy ............................................ 13
a) Omission ........................................................................... 13
b) Addition ............................................................................ 13
c) Misinformation .................................................................. 14
d) Misordering ....................................................................... 15
3) Comparative Taxonomy ................................................... 15
4) Communicative Effect Taxonomy .................................... 15
d. Causes of Errors ................................................................ 15
1) Carelessness ................................................................... 16
2) First Language Interference ........................................... 16
3) Translation .................................................................... 16
4) Over-generalization ........................................................ 17
5) Errors as a Part of Language Creativity ......................... 17
6) Context Learning ........................................................... 17
e. Mistakes and Errors ....................................................... 18
2. Grammar ....................................................................... 20
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a. Theory of Grammar ....................................................... 20
b. The Importance of Grammar .......................................... 20
3. Simple Present Tense .................................................... 22
B. Theoretical Framework ...................................................... 23

CHAPTER III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
A. Research Method ............................................................... 26
B. Research Setting ................................................................. 27
C. Research Participants ......................................................... 28
D. Instruments and Data Gathering Technique ........................ 28
1. Human Instrument .......................................................... 29
2. Document ....................................................................... 29
3. Interview ........................................................................ 30
E. Data Analysis Technique .................................................... 31
F. Research Procedure ............................................................ 33

CHAPTER IV. RESEARCH RESULTS AND FINDINGS
A. The Grammatical Errors in Simple Present Tense .............. 35
1. Data Presentation of the Grammatical Errors in Simple
Present Tense ................................................................ 35
2. Discussion on the Grammatical Errors in Simple Present
Tense ............................................................................. 36
B. The Causes of Errors in Simple Present Tense ................... 41
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1. Data Presentation of the Causes of Errors in Simple Present
Tense ............................................................................ 41
2. Discussion on the Causes of Errors in Simple Present
Tense .............................................................................. 44

CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
A. Conclusions ....................................................................... 49
B. Recommendations .............................................................. 50
1. For English Lecturers .................................................... 50
2. For Students .................................................................. 51
3. For Others Researchers ................................................... 52
REFERENCES..................................................................................................... 53

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LIST OF TABLES

Table

Page

2.1 The Theory of Simple Present Tense ........................................................... 22
3.1 The Types of Errors and Their Examples .................................................... 32
4.1 The Types of Errors ...................................................................................... 36
4.2 The Summary of the Interview Results......................................................... 42

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LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix

Page

A. Surat Ijin Penelitian .................................................................................... 55
B. Samples of Students’ Written Work............................................................. 57
C. The Types of Errors and Their Examples .................................................... 64
D. The Classification of Errors Made by the Students ......................................

71

E. The Interview Blueprint ............................................................................... 74
F. The Interview Guide .................................................................................... 78
G. Summary of Interview Results .................................................................. 81
H. Summary of Interview Results (English version) ......................................... 86
I. Interview Transcripts .................................................................................... 89

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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

This chapter consists of six subchapters. Those are research background,
problem formulation, problem limitation, research objectives, research benefits,
and definition of terms.

A. Research Background
Nowadays, English has a very important role in education. English is not
only studied by junior or senior high school students but also by young learners
such as elementary and kindergarten students. It is a popular subject in playgroup
or kindergarten presently. English as the Foreign Language is implemented as a
compulsory subject to learn in Indonesia as stated in the curriculum for
Elementary School, Junior High School and Senior High School.
Mastering English is one of the important skills that people need to do in
order to achieve a better life. English is also used in many aspects of life such as
politics, economics, commercial and trade, culture and many more. By mastering
English, people can have a better job than people who do not master English.
Seeing the benefits of English, Indonesian government in their educational
regulations has made a decision to make English as a compulsory subject in
schools.
Based on the description about the importance of English position, it can
be seen that English is one of the important languages in the world. It is one of the
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challenging subjects in every school in Indonesia. Therefore, English, for the
English department students, is not a new subject. That is because they have learnt
English from elementary school to the university so that they should master
English well and they should be able to apply their knowledge both in written and
oral form.
English Language Education Study Program students, as learners of
English as a foreign language, are expected to have good proficiency of English.
They need it because they will be English users when they enter the fields after
graduating from the English Language Education Study Program. Therefore, their
English is expected to be more accurate compared to that of other graduates from
other study programs. Heaton (1979) mentioned that they are not only expected to
be able to recognize English language, including the patterns, but also to be able
to produce the language (p. 6).
Producing language includes speaking and writing skills. Accuracy is
needed in both of them. Thornbury (2006) mentioned that in order to acquire
English accuracy, learners have to form speaking and writing skills. In speaking
skills, learners have limited attention to focus on form and meaning at the same
time. In fact, they are more accurate if they have more time to plan, monitor, and
modify their output (p. 92). On the other hand, according to Harmer (2005),
writing provides learners enough time to think how to create accurate language in
their writing so that it enables them to initiate their language development (p. 31).
Therefore, accuracy could be evidently detected in written form because writing is

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considered to be the final product of planning and modifying process, consisting
of a lot of drafting.
In learning English, including writing, students will learn about grammar.
According to Corder, as cited in Ellis and Barkhuizen (2005) Grammar is one of
the significant factors that cause an error (p. 51). The difficulties occur because of
the difference between native language and the target language. The difference
can be in all aspects of language and can create errors. Each language has the
complex system and rule. Difficulties in mastering grammar can cause
grammatical errors. It could be seen that the grammatical error made by the
student should be seen as the student’s strategies in learning grammar. Because of
it, teachers should help in correcting the grammatical errors. It is because
grammar is the important factor in learning English.
In this research, the researcher will discuss about grammatical errors in
Simple Present Tense used by the English Language Education Study Program
students of Sanata Dharma University. From the explanation above, it is clearly
seen that grammar takes an important role in studying English especially for the
English Language Education Study Program students. It is because later they are
going to teach English to their students so they have to use good English
grammar. Furthermore, when they become English teachers, they would become
role models for their students. In this case, they are considered as the masters of
English, whose accuracy is highly demanded. They are no longer learners whose
errors are tolerable. If they could not use good grammar, they would not be able to
guide their students to use the correct ones. The students would have the same

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problem as that of their teachers and eventually, this problem would be a vicious
circle.
Considering the problem above, the researcher is going to analyze the
grammatical errors in Simple Present Tense made by the English Language
Education Study Program students. The researcher chooses Simple Present Tense
to be analyzed because it is the more basic tense than the other tenses. Moreover,
it is taught in the first time than the other tenses. Another reason is that Simple
Present Tense is the foundation tense in English and used in daily life. In addition,
students have learnt Simple Present Tense since they were in Elementary School
or Junior High School. Besides, they have learned Simple Present Tense when
they were in semester one so it is expected that students in the English Language
Education Study Program have mastered Simple Present Tense well.
In this research, the researcher will analyze whether the students in
English Language Education Study Program have mastered Simple Present Tense
or not. It is because the students have to master Simple Present Tense well before
they learn other tenses, as stated in the curriculum for Elementary School, Junior
High School and Senior High School. Besides, the researcher is also eager to find
the grammatical errors made by students.

The researcher chooses English

Language Education Study Program students of Sanata Dharma University in
semester two because at that time, the researcher started this research in semester
eight and the researcher did not have enough time to make some instruments in
order to do the research at the first semester. Another reason is they should have
good foundation in tenses, especially in Simple Present Tense (the basic) in order

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to follow and support their study in the next semester. Moreover, it will be
beneficial for second semester students to know their errors in Simple Present
Tense so that they can learn from them. Then, the students are expected to avoid
the same errors as what they did. After knowing the errors that they made,
students are expected not to make the same errors in the next writing classes so
that their errors can be minimized since they are in the lower semester. Paragraph
Writing is chosen in this research because it is more visible than analyzing the
errors from listening, speaking or reading skill. Additionally, after the Simple
Present Tense errors and the factors behind the errors can be identified, the best
teaching method to minimize students’ errors can be found so that they will not
make Simple Present Tense errors in their writing class.

B. Research Problem
Based on the background, there are two problems addressed in this
research. They are:
1.

What are the grammatical errors in Simple Present Tense that are made by
the English Language Education Study Program students?

2.

What are the possible causes of the students’ grammatical errors in Simple
Present Tense?

C. Problem Limitation
The researcher will limit the problem in order to be able to explain well. It
is impossible for the researcher to study all parts of tenses because of the limited

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time, finances and ability of the researcher. The researcher focuses on the
students’ difficulties in mastering Simple Present Tense and what grammatical
errors students made. Therefore, the researcher only analyzes Simple Present
Tense errors made by students in one Paragraph Writing class of the English
Language Education Study Program Sanata Dharma University Yogyakarta in the
academic year 2010/2011. It is an qualitative study so the number of the
population is not important. So that the reseracher only chooses one Paragraph
Writing class. Paragraph Writing is chosen because it is more visible when the
researcher analyzes the grammatical errors from the written work. By analyzing
the grammatical errors in Simple Present Tense, the researcher hopes that the
students can increase their ability in mastering grammar especially in Simple
Present Tense after they know their errors.

D. Research Objectives
Considering the formulation of the problem, the researcher determines two
objectives in the study. They are to find out:
1.

Simple Present Tense errors made by students in Paragraph Writing class
of the English Language Education Study Program Sanata Dharma
University.

2.

The factors that make students in Paragraph Writing class of the English
Language Education Study Program Sanata Dharma University make
those errors in Simple Present Tense.

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E. Research Benefits
This research is beneficial for both students and teachers, particularly for
those who are involved in English Language Education Study Program.
Moreover, this research is also beneficial for the next researchers.
1.

For Students
The research helps the students to analyze the common errors occuring in

Simple Present Tense. Noticing the errors, they are expected not to make the same
errors anymore. The analysis in the errors would also help them have a deeper
understanding of Simple Present Tense.
2.

For Teachers
This research, hopefully, will be useful for the teachers so that by knowing

the students’ grammatical errors in some areas, they can put more emphasis to that
area. By finding the appropriate strategy in the learning process, the teachers can
help their students in minimizing the errors they make.
3.

For the Next Researchers
This research also helps the next researchers or anyone who feels

interested in the same study. By reading this research, they can be supported and
guided in doing their research.

F. Definition of Terms
There are some terms mentioned in this study that need to be defined in
order to avoid misunderstanding and to lead readers to a better understanding of
the topic being discussed.

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1.

Grammatical Error
Sinclair (2001) noted that error is something a person has done which is

considered to be incorrect or wrong, or which should not have been done (p. 249).
In writing, students often make some errors because they assume that their work is
correct. Moreover, according to Ellis (2003), error reflects gaps in a learner’s
knowledge; they occur because the learner does not know what is correct (p. 17).
This research defines an error as a wrong rule because students do not know the
correct rule. This commonly happens when students make some sentences in their
writing class. In the study, the researcher focuses on learners’ errors in Simple
Present Tense. Those errors are classified both in Verb Simple Present Tense and
Be Simple Present Tense. For example:
[1a]* It make the home more comfortable. (grammatical error in Verb
Simple Present Tense)
[2a]* If you tired. (grammatical error in Be Simple Present Tense)
It can be concluded that the sentence is called as error when the sentence breaks
the rule or the formula.

2.

Paragraph Writing Class
Paragraph Writing class is a class where the researcher does the research

and finds the data about Simple Present Tense. It is offered in semester two in the
English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University
Yogyakarta. In this class, students are asked to write some paragraphs in order to
construct a text. In Paragraph Writing class, students are taught how to make a

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good and a correct written text. On the other hand, in the process of writing,
students often make some errors and often find some difficulties in their writing.
Because of the reason above, the researcher chooses Paragraph Writing class to be
analyzed in order to support this research. In this Paragraph Writing class,
students can show their written works in Simple Present Tense. Moreover, the
researcher can find out how well they apply the rules of Simple Present Tense
correctly.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter consists of two sections. First, the researcher presents the
theoretical description. Second, the researcher presents the theoretical framework.

A. Theoretical Description
This part provides theories on errors, grammar and Simple Present Tense.
The theories are stated by some experts in language teaching.
1.

Errors
Since this study deals with error analysis, it becomes significant to provide

the theories supporting the analysis. The discussion involves the definition of
errors, error analysis, types of errors and causes of errors.
a.

Definition of Errors
Dulay, Burt, and Krashen (1982) concluded, “Errors are “the flawed side

of learner speech or writing.” A learner makes error if he deviates from the rules
in speaking or writing. In learning a language, making errors cannot be avoided. A
learner cannot learn a language without making errors. The errors are used as
feedback in teaching – learning processes. They serve two major purposes of
studying learners’ errors. First, it provides data about the nature of language
learning. Second, it gives contribution to the teacher to know the difficulties of

10

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11

their students in learning in a target language. It can be used as the feedback in
teaching learning” (p. 138).
b. Error Analysis
Error analysis is closely related to contrastive analysis. Dulay et al. (1982)
state that based on contrastive analysis, the differences between the first and the
second language account for the majority of errors made by a second language
learner. Conversely, many cases show that the grounds for errors that a second
language learner produces can not always be traced to their first language. Dulay
et al. (1982) described:
Error analysis has yielded insights into the L2 acquisition process that
have stimulated major changes in teaching practices. Perhaps its most
controversial contribution has been the discovery that the majority of the
grammatical errors second language learners make do not reflect the
learner’s mother tongue but very much like those young children make as
they learn a first language (p. 138).
Hence, the favour to error analysis started rising since contrastive analysis
which was popular up through the 1960’s, seemed to fail in preceding the errors
that would be produced by second language learners.
Asher (1994) defined error analysis is the procedure of describing and
explaining errors systematically (p. 740). Similar to Asher’s definition, Ellis and
Barkhuizen (2005) defined, “Error analysis is a set of procedures for identifying,
describing, and explaining learner errors” (p. 51). In brief, error analysis is the
study of learners’ errors in both speaking and writing. It is also similar to
contrastive analysis, in which the errors are compared to the native language.
Conversely, according to Gass and Selinker (2001), “The comparison in error

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12

analysis is between learner’s production of target language and the target language
form itself” (p. 79). Furthermore, Stern (1986) mentioned that according to
Selinker (late 1960’s), error analysis is also called interlanguage study because the
developing learners language is assumed as a system in their own right (p. 354).
Moreover, Selinker, Swain, and Dumas (1975) said that:
Second language speech rarely conforms to what one expects native
speakers of the target language to produce, that is not an exact translation
of the native language, that it differs from the target language in systematic
ways, and at the forms of utterances produced in the second language by a
learner are not random. This interlanguage-hypothesis proposes that the
relevant data of a theory of second language learning must be the speech
forms which result from the attempt expression of meaning in a second
language (p. 354).
Besides, Asher (1994) states that error analysis has both pedagogical and
psycholinguistic aims. It has pedagogical aim because it provides feedback related
to the teaching methods as well as the materials employed by the teachers. In
addition, it has a psycholinguistic aim since it can depict the way learners learn
and produce languages (p. 740).
c.

Types of Errors
Since errors can be numerous and found in the language production of

second language learners, it becomes essential to classify the errors based on the
type so that it will be easier to analyze. Dulay et al. (1982) classified errors into
four taxonomies.

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13

1) Linguistic Category Taxonomy
According to Johnson and Johnson (1999), “Linguistic category taxonomy
is one of the earliest error taxonomies, classifies errors by their linguistic type” (p.
111). Moreover, Dulay et al. (1982) shaped the definition stating that this
taxonomy classifies errors according to both the language component and the
particular linguistic constituent the error affects. Language components consist of
phonology (pronunciation), syntax and morphology (grammar), semantic and
lexicon (meaning and vocabulary), and discourse (style). Constituents include the
elements that comprise each language component.
2) Surface Structure Taxonomy
It is based on the ways surface structures are changed in erroneous
utterances or sentences. In 1982, Dulay, Burt, and Krashen stated by Ellis and
Barkhuizen (2005), “The errors are divided into four types, namely omission,
addition, misinformation, and misordering” (p. 61).
a) Omission
An error is classified into this category when there is an absence of an item
which must be present in a well-formed sentence, e.g.: *My sisters very happy
instead of My sister is very happy.
b) Addition
Contrary to omission, addition is characterized by “the presence of an item
which must not appear in a well-formed utterance.” Three types of addition are

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14

double-marking, regularization, and simple addition. Double marking refers to an
error in an utterance containing two or more items which are marked for the same
feature. For example, *He does not comes instead of He does not come. Dulay et
al. (1982) stated that regularization errors that fall under the addition category are
those in which a marker that is typically added to a linguistic item is erroneously
added to exceptional items of the given class that do not take a marker, e.g.:
*watchs and *drinkes. The third category of addition is called simple addition. An
addition error is a simple addition if it is neither a double marking nor
regularization.
c)

Misinformation
Dulay et al. (1982) stated that misinformation errors are characterized by

the use of the wrong form of the morpheme or structure, e.g.: the word ‘eated’
shown in *The dog eated the chicken. There are three sub-classifications of
misinformation, which are regularization, archi-forms and alternating forms.
Regularization that fall under the misinformation category are those in
which a regular marker is used in place of an irregular one, as seen in *Do they be
happy? Archi-forms refer to forms selected by the learner. Dulay et al. (1982)
stated that a learner may select only one member of the class of personal pronouns
to function for several others in the class, as seen in *Give me that and *Me
hungry.

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15

d) Misordering
Like what the term implies, misordering is categorized by the incorrect
placement of a morpheme or groups of morpheme in an utterance, e.g.: *She
fights all the time her brother and *I don’t know what is that.
3) Comparative Taxonomy
Dulay et al. (1982) the classification of errors in comparative taxonomy is
based on comparisons between the structure of L2 errors and certain other types of
constructions (p. 163). In other words, according to Johnson and Johnson (1999),
“The second language learners’ errors are classified by similarity with children’s
first language learner deviations from the target language norms and/or by
similarity with the errors made by L2 speakers from different L1 background” (p.
111).
4) Communicative Effect Taxonomy
This taxonomy classifies errors based on the effect on the listener or
reader. According to Johnson and Johnson (1999), “The effect they have on native
speakers, whether in terms of comprehension or in terms of the way that nonnative speakers are perceived by native speakers” (p. 112).
d. Causes of Errors
Norrish (1983) classified the causes of errors which are carelessness, first
language interference, translation, overgeneralization, and errors as part of
language creativity (p. 41-42).

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1) Carelessness
Carelessness is often closely related to lack of motivation. Many teachers
will admit that it is not always the student’s fault if he loses interest; perhaps the
materials and/or the style of presentation does not suit him.
2) First Language Interference
Norrish (1983) states that learning a language (a mother tongue or a
foreign language) was a matter of habit formation (p. 22). The learner’s utterances
were thought to be gradually “shaped” towards those of the language he was
learning. Mother tongue leads in turn to repetitions of the utterance and the
subsequent formation of linguistic habits. First Language Interference is
essentially a set of habits, then when the learners try to learn new habits, the old
ones will interfere with the new ones.
3) Translation
Norrish (1983) states that translating word by word of idiomatic
expressions in the learner’s first language is another factor in making errors in his
or her writing (p. 26). It can happen in the typical situation when a learner has
been asked to communicate something, in this case in writing, but he or she is
aware that he or she does not know the appropriate expression or structure. The
learner may even be unaware that an appropriate one exists. Consequently, when
the learner wants to communicate his or her ideas, the learner will look at the
language system with which the learner is familiar, namely that of his or her
mother tongue.

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4) Over-generalization
According to Norrish (1983), over-generalization can also be defined as a
blend of two structures in the standard version of the language (p. 31), e.g.:
*writes instead of write. Another example is the form is is generalized for all
persons and both numbers in the Present Tense.
5) Errors as a Part of Language Creativity
Norrish (1983) said that language creativity is a natural activity of the
human who interacts with his environment in the laudable attempt to make sense
of it and to form it to his own ends (p. 34-35). Learners sometimes are required
and asked to create new utterances, but with limited experience of the target
language, they may make mistake. For example, “emergent visit”. It should be
“emergency visit”. The process leading to the errors is clearly a creative one.
6) Contex Learning
Furthermore, Brown (1980) added context learning as the causes of errors
(p. 174-177). Context refers to the classroom with its teacher and its materials in
the case of school learning, or the social situation in the case of untutored second
language learning. In the school context, the teacher or the textbook can lead the
learner to make faulty hypotheses about the language. Learners often make errors
because of a misleading explanation from the teacher, faulty presentation of a
structure or word in a textbook, or even because of a pattern that was memorized
in a drill but not properly contextualized.

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e.

18

Mistakes and Errors
The characterization of error remains vague, yet it is significant to discern

error among any other terms which seem to be synonymous with error. One term
that is often used synonymously with error is mistake. Harmer (2007) classifies
error, slip and attempt as sorts of mistake. While slips can be corrected by the
ones making mistakes, errors can not be corrected by themselves. Besides, the
term attempt is used when someone wants to say something but does not yet know
how to say it (p. 96).
Slips are mistakes which students can correct themselves, once the mistake
has been pointed out to them. Errors are mistakes which they can’t correct
themselves-and which, therefore, need explanation. Attempts are mistakes
that students make when they try to say something but do not know yet
how to say it.
Brown (1987) defines error and mistake in another way. He points out that
a mistake can be a random guess or a slip reflecting a performance error. It means
that someone who makes mistakes does not succeed in utilizing a known system
correctly. Besides, he adds that as a direct manifestation of learners’ operated
system, error is an obvious deviation from the grammar of an adult native speaker
(p. 170).
According to Gass and Selinker (2001), “An error is the incorrect form of
a target language produced by learners. However, it is different from mistake”
(p. 453). Moreover, Ellis and Barkhuizen (2005) stated that errors arise because of
gaps in the learners’ knowledge when they make the incorrect forms because they
do not know the correct ones (p. 62). In other words, errors are the results of their
ignorance. Mistakes arise because of incomplete knowledge mastery processed by

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19

the learners. Furthermore, Gass and Selinker (2001) noted that mistakes are
similar to slips of the tongue (p. 78). When the learners recognize them, they
could correct them. On the other hand, errors are more systematic. When making
errors, learners could repeat the same incorrect forms of language without
recognizing the errors.
Nevertheless, Brown (1991) proposed a distinct definition of errors. He
classified errors into two types: goofs and mistakes. Goofs are errors made not
only by the language learners, but also by the native language users. They are
caused by slips of the tongue and are correctable. Meanwhile, mistakes are errors
occurring when the learners attempt to produce the language correctly, as a result
of the process of second language rules system which is incompletely formed
(p. 109).
Sometimes, people have difficulty to differentiate between mistakes and
errors. Those two terms have a little difference. However, it is important to
differentiate both of the terms in order to make them clear. Chomsky (1965) as
stated in Dulay (1982) distinguishes between errors caused by fatigue and
inattention and errors resulting from lack of knowledge of the rules of the
language. Errors caused by fatigue and inattention is called “performance factors,”
while errors resulting from lack of knowledge of the rules of the language is
called “competence.” Furthermore, “performance errors have been called
‘mistakes’, while the term ‘errors’ was reserved for the systematic deviations due
to the learner’s still developing knowledge of the L2 rule system” (p. 139).

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2.

20

Grammar
The following discussion covers the theory of grammar and the

importance of grammar.
a.

Theory of Grammar
Fries (1945) stated that grammar as the pattern of form and arrangement

by which the words are put together (p. 28). However, Rivers (1968) stated that to
most people, grammar is the rules of language set out in a terminology which is
hard to remember, with many exceptions, appended to each rule (p. 56).
Discussing the term grammar will lead to the word structure rules which
exist in sentences. Many linguists propose numerous definitions of grammar.
Lado (1977) found that for common people “Grammar has been the study of the
rules of correctness, that is, rules that claimed to tell the students what they should
not say in order to speak the language of the society educated classes” (p. 141).
b. The Importance of Grammar
According to Colburn (1949) grammar is not merely the names of parts of
speech and parts of a sentence. Grammar is the knowledge of some principles
governing the way words work in group to give certain effects (p. 31). As a result,
changing the form or order of words will alter the meaning too. Since human
beings live in varied circumstances, it is important to apply the knowledge of
grammar to use and choose the form of language best suited to each particular
situation. Brooks (1964) illustrated the importance of grammar by saying:

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21

In any discussion, we must recognise that grammar is to language what
anatomy is to the human body ...... To say that grammar can be brushed
aside as inconsequential or irrelevant is of course nonsense. The question
to ask is rather to what degree we must be aware of the grammar we use,
just as we may ask to what extent we must be aware of the anatomy of our
bodies as we act and play and whink and work (p. 153).

This means that in producing a sentence, grammar is a really important
element in order to make a sentence meaningful. Therefore, English users must be
aware of the grammar used in producing a sentence. In addition, rules of grammar
are very important to be applied especially in formal education. Therefore, it can
be said that it is necessary for the school learners to learn the rules of grammar in
the very earliest of school.
The definition of grammar as stated above clearly defines that grammar is
useful to help the language learners or users make use of words. English grammar
leads the learners or users to make use of the English language in a proper
manner. Moreover, an understanding of grammar speeds up the language learning.
Although it is possible to speak or to write without any knowledge of grammar,
indeed, learning grammar gives some benefits.

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3.

22

Simple Present Tense
Azar (1985: 11) explains the formulations of the Simple Present Tense.

The formulation is presented in Table 2.1.

Table 2.1 The Theory of Simple Present Tense (Azar. 1985, p. 11)

Statement
(affirmative)

Negative

Question

Short answer

I
You
We
They

work

I
We
You
They

Do

Yes
,
No,

He
She
It

Do not
(don’t)
work
I
You
We
They
I
We
You
They
I
We
You
They

work?

do

Don’t

He
She
It

Does

Yes
,
No,

works

Does not
(doesn’t)
work
He
She
It