Elesp students errors in using english tenses - USD Repository
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
ELESP STUDENTS’ ERRORS IN USING ENGLISH TENSES
A THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By Yusta Dwi Novita Rini
Student Number: 031214101
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
A Thesis on
ELESP STUDENTS’ ERRORS IN USING ENGLISH TENSES
By Yusta Dwi Novita Rini
Student Number: 03 1214 101 Approved by Made Frida Yulia, S.Pd., M.Pd.
25 July 2009 Sponsor A
A
e
u
N
N
t
t
n
n
e
d
m
d
u
u
t
t
S
I I S
N
I I N
u
m
R
1
1
1
1
4
4
1
1
2
2
1
b
3
3
:
:
r
r
e
e
b
R
A
T
s
I I S S H H T T E E N N S S E E S S
B
I I N N G G E E N N G G L L
I I N N U U S S
E E L L E E S S P P S S T T U U D D E E N N T T S S ’ ’ E E R R R R O O R R S S
n
n
o
o
s
y
i
i
s
s
e
e
h
h
T
B
y
A
D
T
I I T
V V
O
O
N
I
I NW
W
D
Y
A
A
T
T
S
S
U
U
Y
1 PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
I dedicate this thesis to
My beloved father, mother, and sisters
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 references, as a scientific paper should.
Yogyakarta, 25 July 2009 The Writer
Yusta Dwi Novita Rini 03 1214 101
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma:
Nama : Yusta Dwi Novita Rini Nomor Mahasiswa : 03 1214 101 Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada
Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul: “ELESP STUDENTS’ ERRORS IN USING ENGLISH TENSES” beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, me- ngalihkan 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 : 22 Agustus 2009 Yang menyatakan (Yusta Dwi Novita Rini)
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
ABSTRACT
Rini, Yusta Dwi Novita. 2009.ELESP Students’ Errors in Using English
Tenses. Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma
University.
The students of the English Language Education Study Program are being prepared to be qualified teachers. As teacher candidates, they should be able to communicate well in English. Grammar provides rules to produce correct utterances. Therefore, as teacher candidates, it is important for them to be proficient in using grammar, especially the tenses. Measuring their ability in using tenses is important because in learning English, tense cannot be avoided. The study discussed two problems. They were (1) What are the errors that the students of the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University Yogyakarta make in using tenses? (2) What is the mastery of tenses of the students of the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University Yogyakarta?
There were ten tenses used in this study. They were simple present tense, present progressive tense, simple past tense, past progressive tense, present perfect tense, present perfect progressive tense, past perfect tense, past perfect progressive tense, simple future tense, and future progressive tense. To answer the first problem formulation, the errors made by the students were classified into three categories. They were context-related errors, form-related errors and other errors. Those three categories were then divided into sub categories based on the errors that the writer found in each tense. Context-related errors consisted of the students’ answers that deviated from the context or function in a given tense. Form-related errors consisted of the students’ answers that deviated from the form or pattern in a given tense. Other errors consisted of the students’ answers that did not belong to two previous categories because they deviated from the intended context and form. To answer the second problem formulation, the mean score of the test was calculated. The results of the research showed that t he students’ mean score was 53 out of 100. The score was below the minimum standard of mastery which is 56% from the maximum score. Based on the scoring category, it was categorized into Insufficient (D).
The study was a survey research. To answer those questions, a test was used as the instrument to gather the data. The test was administered to three classes of the third semester students in the academic year of 2008/2009. They were chosen because they had learned the tenses at the first semester, in Structure 1.
Based on the research results, the writer proposes some suggestions. First, the students of the English Language Education Study Program should participate actively in learning tenses, study by themselves by practicing more in order to understand not only the context and functions of each tense but also the form, and
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
at the beginning of the semester, they should teach from the basic, be aware of the difficult tenses and parts of the tenses, give drills or exercises, and give the attention not only to the most frequently used but also to the less frequently used tenses. Third, future researchers should develop the research by conducting class observation to gather data to obtain more accurate data, may improve and modify the test or specify the tenses, find out the significance of tenses in building the mastery of English related to the four basic skills; listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
ABSTRAK Rini, Yusta Dwi Novita. 2009. ELESP Students’ Errors in Using English Tenses
. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Mahasiswa Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris disiapkan untuk menjadi guru yang berkualitas. Sebagai calon guru mereka disiapkan untuk mampu berkomunikasi dalam bahasa Inggris dengan baik. Tata bahasa menyediakan aturan-aturan agar menghasilkan ucapan yang benar. Oleh karena itu, sebagai calon guru, penting bagi mereka untuk pandai dalam menggunakan tata bahasa, khususnya tenses. Mengukur kemampuan mereka dalam menggunakan tenses adalah penting karena dalam belajar bahasa Inggris, tense tidak bisa dihindari. Penelitian ini membahas dua permasalahan. Permasalahan tersebut adalah (1) Apa saja kesalahan yang dibuat oleh mahasiswa Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Universitas Sanata Dharma? (2) Bagaimana kemampuan mahasiswa Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Universitas Sanata Dharma?
Ada sepuluh tenses yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini, yaitu simple
present tense, present progressive tense, simple past tense, past progressive tense,
present perfect tense, present perfect progressive tense, past perfect tense, past
perfect progressive tense, simple future tense, and future progressive tense. Untuk
menjawab rumusan masalah pertama, kesalahan yang dibuat mahasiswa dikelompokkan menjadi tiga kategori. Kategori tersebut adalah kesalahan yang berkaitan dengan konteks, kesalahan yang berkaitan dengan bentuk, dan kesalahan lain-lain. Ketiga kategori tersebut kemudian dibagi menjadi sub kategori berdasarkan kesalahan yang penulis temukan pada setiap tenses. Kesalahan yang berkaitan dengan konteks terdiri dari jawaban mahasiswa yang menyimpang dari konteks atau fungsi dari tenses yang dimaksud. Kesalahan yang berkaitan dengan bentuk terdiri dari jawaban mahasiswa yang menyimpang dari bentuk atau pola dari tenses yang dimaksud. Kesalahan lain-lain terdiri dari jawaban mahasiswa yang tidak termasuk ke dalam dua kategori sebelumnya karena kesalahan tersebut menyimpang dari konteks atau bentuk yang dimaksud. Untuk menjawab rumusan masalah kedua, rerata nilai dari hasil tes dihitung. Hasil dari penelitian menunjukkan bahwa rerata nilai mahasiswa adalah 53 dari 100. Nilai tersebut berada di bawah standar minimum penguasaan, yaitu 56% dari nilai maksimum. Berdasarkan kategori penilaian, nilai tersebut dikategorikan sebagai tidak cukup (D).
Studi ini merupakan penelitian survei. Untuk menjawab kedua pertanyaan tersebut, tes digunakan sebagai alat untuk mengumpulkan data. Tes dilaksanakan terhadap tiga kelas pada mahasiswa semester tiga tahun akademik 2008/2009. Mereka dipilih karena telah belajar tenses pada awal semester, di kelas Structure
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
Berdasarkan hasil penelitian, penulis mengajukan beberapa saran. Pertama, mahasiswa Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris seharusnya berpartisipasi secara aktif dalam belajar tenses. Mereka sebaiknya belajar sendiri dengan lebih banyak berlatih agar memahami konteks dan fungsi tiap tenses, tidak hanya pada bentuk, serta menjadi lebih sadar akan kesalahan mereka. Kedua, dosen kelas
Structure Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris perlu mengulang kembali
tentang tenses bahasa Inggris pada awal semester. Mereka seharusnya mengajarkan tenses dari dasar, menyadari bagian-bagian yang sukar, memberikan
drills atau latihan-latihan, dan memberikan perhatian tidak hanya pada tenses
yang paling sering digunakan tapi juga pada tenses yang sedikit digunakan.Ketiga, para peneliti di masa yang akan datang seharusnya mengembangkan penelitian dengan melaksanakan observasi kelas untuk memperoleh data yang lebih akurat. Mereka dapat meningkatkan dan memodifikasi tes atau menetapkan
tenses, mencari pentingnya tenses dalam mengembangkan kemampuan bahasa
Inggris terkait dengan empat kemampuan dasar; mendengarkan, berbicara, membaca, dan menulis.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
There is no biggest love except from Jesus Christ. I would like to express my greatest gratitude to Jesus Christ for everything that He has given me. With His love, wonderful blessing, loyalty, finally I could finish this thesis. I thank Mother Mary for accompanying me every single time.
My deepest gratitude goes to my sponsor, Made Frida Yulia, S.Pd., M.Pd., for her willingness to spend her time to read and check my thesis thoroughly. Her advice and suggestions are useful for me in writing this thesis. I also thank her for her patience and willingness to guide me during the consultation.
I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Drs. J.B. Gunawan,
M.A., and Yohana Veniranda, S.Pd., M.Hum., for the permission to administer
the test in their classes. I would like to thank the third semester students who joined Structure classes in the academic year of 2008/2009 for their willingness to be the respondents of this research.
I also thank all lecturers of the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University for guiding me and providing me with knowledge and experience during my study. I also thank Mbak Dhanniek and Mbak Tari for all their help during my study.
I would like to express my deepest appreciation and love to my beloved parents, Ignatius Iskandar, S.Pd. and Christiana Mujilah. I could not have finished this thesis without all their love, supports, patience, and never ending
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
prayers. My sincere gratitude goes to my beloved sisters, Dhita and Sari, Lulu and my big family for always encouraging me to finish my study.
My special thanks go to my best friends Eko, Ratih, Bamz, Dika, Tere,
Ayu, Sevi, Siska, Ngoreyan Lor family for the beautiful, unforgettable moments,
encouragement, and support. My special thanks also go to Grace, Linda
Marbun, Ana, Mbak Nica, Mbak Indri, Irsa, 2003 PBI students, LINK (Datu,
Utik, Anas, Nina, Wiwid, Linda), Mas Deddy, Tomo, Brojowikalpo 1 family
( Mas Bebe, Mas Goez, and others) for their sharing, friendship, and support. I
also express my big thanks to Sr. Margareth, Dono, Widya, Tika, Edu, Upi,
Putri, Tuti for their willingness to help me in writing my thesis. I express my
gratitude to my friends during consultation time: Gabo, Ratri, Mbak Ayuk, Anas, Danti, Toni, Nita, I thank them for their sharing.
I would also like to express my deepest gratitude to Stephanus Tri
Ariwibowo, S.Pd. and Pandan family who always give me support, happiness,
togetherness and prayers. My special thanks also go to Dr. Susento, M.S., Dra.
Sri Prapti J., P4 staff, Dialogue staff, who have given me precious experiences,
knowledge, support and prayers.Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to everyone I could not mention here one by one, who has helped and supported me during the process of writing the thesis. May God bless them all.
Yusta Dwi Novita Rini
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE .................................................................................................. i APPROVAL PAGES ...................................................................................... ii DEDICATION PAGE ...................................................................................... iv v STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ................................................
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI ................................. vi
ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................... vii
ABSTRAK ......................................................................................................... ix
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................ xi TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................ xiii LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................... xix LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................ xx LIST OF APPENDICES ................................................................................. xxi
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study ...................................................
1 B. Problem Formulation .........................................................
3 C. Problem Limitation ............................................................
4 D. Objectives of the Study .....................................................
5 E. Benefits of the Study ........................................................
5 F. Definition of Terms...........................................................
6 CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE A. Theoretical Description ....................................................
9 1. A Brief Review on Language Errors .............................
9 a. Definition of Errors ...................................................
9 b. Mistakes and Errors ..................................................
10
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
b. Criteria of Mastery ....................................................
12 3. Tenses ...........................................................................
12 a. Simple Present Tense ...............................................
13 b. Present Progressive Tense .......................................
16 c. Simple Past Tense .....................................................
19 d. Past Progressive Tense .............................................
21 e. Present Perfect Tense ................................................
22 f. Present Perfect Progressive Tense .............................
24 g. Past Perfect Tense .....................................................
25 h. Past Perfect Progressive Tense .................................
26 i. Simple Future Tense ..................................................
26 j. Future Progressive Tense...........................................
29 B. Theoretical Framework .....................................................
30 CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY A. Research Method ............................................................
32 B. Research Participants ......................................................
33 C. Research Instrument .......................................................
34 1. Validity .........................................................................
34 a. Face Validity ..........................................................
35 b. Content Validity .....................................................
35 c. Construct Validity ..................................................
36 2. Reliability ....................................................................
36 D. Data Gathering Techniques ............................................
38 E. Data Analysis Techniques ...............................................
38 F. Research Procedure .........................................................
40 CHAPTER IV. RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION A. Data Presentation ...........................................................
43
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
B. Discussion .................................................................
47 1. The Errors Made by the Students ................................
48 a. Errors in Simple Present Tense ..............................
48 1) Context-Related Errors .......................................
49 a) Wrong Choice of Tenses .................................
49 b) The Use of Passive in Active Sentence...........
50 2) Form-Related Errors ............................................
51 a) The Use of be with Ordinary Verb ..................
51 b) Omission of -s .................................................
51 c) Problem in Using be ........................................
51 d) Subject and Verb Disagreement......................
52 e) Wrong Order of Adverb of Frequency ............
52 3) Other Errors in Simple Present Tense ................
53 a) Wrong Verb Form in Auxiliary have ..............
53 b) Mixed Tenses ..................................................
53 b. Errors in Present Progressive Tense .......................
53 1) Context-Related Errors .......................................
54 a) Wrong Choice of Tenses .................................
54 2) Form-Related Errors ............................................
56 a) Omission of be ................................................
56 3) Other Errors in Present Progressive Tense ..........
56 a) Subject and Verb Disagreement ......................
56 b) The Use of be with Ordinary Verb .................
56 c) Wrong Verb Form in Auxiliary has ................
57 d) The Use of Passive in Active Sentence ..........
57
e) The Use of Negative in Affirmative Sentences .....................................
57 c. Errors in Simple Past Tense ..................................
58 1) Context-Related Errors .......................................
58
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
a) Problem in Using used to ..............................
60 b) Wrong Use of Verb ......................................
60 c) Subject and Verb Disagreement ...................
60 d) Mixed Tenses ................................................
61 3) Other Errors in Simple Past Tense ....................
61 a) Omission of Verb (Verbless) ........................
b) Wrong Verb Form in Auxiliary have ...........
61 c) Wrong Context and Word Order ..................
62 d. Errors in Past Progressive Tense ............................
62 1) Context-Related Errors ......................................
63 a) Wrong Choice of Tenses...............................
63 b) The Use of Passive in Active Sentence ........
64 2) Form-Related Errors ..........................................
64 a) Subject and Verb Disagreement ...................
64 b) Omission of be ..............................................
65 c) Wrong Spelling .............................................
65 3) Another Error in Past Progressive Tense ..........
65 a) Subject and Verb Disagreement ...................
65 e. Errors in Present Perfect Tense ............................
65 1) Context-Related Errors ......................................
66 a) Wrong Choice of Tenses...............................
66 b) The Use of Passive in Active Sentence ........
67 2) Form-Related Error ...........................................
67 a) Wrong Verb Form in Auxiliary have ............
67 f. Errors in Present Perfect Progressive Tense .........
67 1) Context-Related Errors ......................................
68 a) Wrong Choice of Tenses...............................
68 b) The Use of Passive in Active Sentence ........
70 2) Form-Related Errors ..........................................
70
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
c) Subject and Verb Disagreement ...................
71 3) Other Errors in Present Perfect Progressive Tense ..............................................
71 a) Subject and Verb Disagreement ...................
71 b) The Use of be with Ordinary Verb ...............
71
c) The Use of Passive and Subject and Verb Disagreement.............
72 g. Errors in Past Perfect Tense ...................................
72 1) Context-Related Errors ......................................
73 a) Wrong Choice of Tenses...............................
73 b) The Use of Passive in Active Sentence ........
73 2) Form-Related Errors ..........................................
73 a) Wrong Verb Form in Auxiliary had .............
73 3) Other Errors in Past Perfect Tense ....................
74 a) Subject and Verb Disagreement ...................
74 b) Wrong Verb Form in Auxiliary have ...........
74 c) The Use of Passive in Active Sentence ........
75 h. Errors in Past Perfect Progressive Tense ................
75 1) Context-Related Errors ......................................
75 a) Wrong Choice of Tenses...............................
75 2) Other Errors in Past Perfect Progressive Tense ..............................................
76 a) Subject and Verb Disagreement ...................
76 b) Wrong Verb Form in Auxiliary had .............
77 c) The Use of Passive in Active Sentence ........
77 d) The Use of be with Ordinary Verb ...............
77 i. Errors in Simple Future Tense ...............................
78 1) Context-Related Errors .....................................
78 a) In Simple Present to Express Future Time ...
78
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
d) The Use of Passive in Active Sentence ........
79 2) Form-Related Errors ..........................................
80 a) Wrong Verb Form in Auxiliary will .............
80 b) The Use of be with Ordinary Verb ...............
80 c) Subject and Verb Disagreement ...................
80 j. Errors in Future Progressive Tense .........................
81 1) Context-Related Errors ......................................
81 a) Wrong Choice of Tenses...............................
81 2) Form-Related Errors ..........................................
82 a) Wrong Order of Adverb still .........................
82 b) Omission of be ..............................................
83 c) The Use of be with Ordinary Verb ...............
83 3) Other Errors in Future Progressive Tense .........
83 a) Subject and Verb Disagreement ...................
83 b) Wrong Verb Form in Auxiliary has .............
84 c) Misuse of be going to ...................................
84 d) The Use of Passive in Active Sentence ........
85 e) Wrong Verb Form in Auxiliary will .............
85
85 2. The Students’ Mastery on Tenses ..............................
CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS A. Conclusions .....................................................................
87 B. Suggestions .....................................................................
89
1. Suggestions for the Students of the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University ..
89
2. Suggestions for the Lecturers of the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University ..
90 3. Suggestions for Future Researchers ..............................
91 REFERENCES .............................................................................................
92
LIST OF TABLES
54 4.6 Errors in Simple Past Tense ..............................................................
78 4.13 Errors in Future Progressive Tense .................................................
75 4.12 Errors in Simple Future Tense ........................................................
72 4.11 Errors in Past Perfect Progressive Tense ........................................
68 4.10 Errors in Past Perfect Tense ............................................................
66 4.9 Errors in Present Perfect Progressive Tense .....................................
63 4.8 Errors in Present Perfect Tense .........................................................
58 4.7 Errors in Past Progressive Tense .......................................................
49 4.5 Errors in Present Progressive Tense ..................................................
Table Page 3.1 The Classification of Reliability Coefficient ...................................
46 4.4 Errors in Simple Present Tense .........................................................
4.3 The Students’ Achievement in Each Tense .....................................
45
4.2 The Students’ Scores in Relation to the Category ............................
44
4.1 The Students’ Scores in the Test ......................................................
37
81 PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page 2.1 The Summary of Formulation of the Simple Present Tense .............
14 2.2 The Summary of Formulation of Present Progressive Tense............
17 2.3 Non-Progressive Tense Verbs ...........................................................
18 2.4 The Summary of Formulation of Simple Past Tense ........................
20 2.5 The Summary of Formulation of Past Progressive Tense .................
22 2.6 The Summary of Formulation of Present Perfect Tense ...................
23
2.7 The Summary of Formulation of Present Perfect Progressive Tense ................................................
24 2.8 The Summary of Formulation of Past Perfect Tense ........................
25 2.9 The Summary of Formulation of Simple Future Tense ....................
27 PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
LIST OF APPENDICES
Page Appendix A: Surat Permohonan Ijin Penelitian ....................................
95 Appendix B: The Test .............................................................................
96 Appendix C: Key to the Test .................................................................. 100 Appendix D: The Sample of the Stu dents’ Sheets .................................
102 Appendix E: The Students’ Test Scores..................................................
110 Appendix F: The Content and Distribution of the Test in Each Number................................................................. 114 Appendix G: The Students’ Erroneous Answers ....................................
117
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION This chapter consists of six parts which present the introduction of the
study. It includes background of the study, problem formulation, problem limitation, objectives of the study, benefits of the study, and definition of terms.
A. Background of the Study
English is widely used around the world. It is used for communicating and interacting among nations because English is an international language.
Furthermore, in globalization era, people are demanded to be able to use English in many aspects. Therefore, they need to learn English.
In learning English, the students learn the four basic skills namely listening, speaking, reading, and writing. In addition to learning the four basic skills, the students also learn the elements of language namely vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. These elements of language give a contribution to the four basic skills. The examples are vocabulary as in speaking, writing, reading and listening; pronunciation as in speaking; and grammar as in writing and speaking. Having good vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation helps people to communicate well. Those four basic skills and three elements of language are important in building the mastery of English.
Grammar is one of the important elements in building the mastery of a
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
When the students want to convey information, grammar is one of the important things to be considered in order that the information can be understood well. It is supported by Nunan (1991: 153), he states that grammar is present to make us understand and possible to communicate beyond a rudimentary level. Using grammar, people are able to communicate appropriately, correctly, and meaningfully. Ur (1988), as cited in (Nunan, 1991: 154), also argues that the elements of a language, be they lexical, phonological or grammatical, are essential toward the ability to communicate in the language. It means that grammar is one of the elements that should be paid attention to in communication. Purpura (2004, ix) also argues that grammar is the rule of language, the heart of language use, which is used in speaking, listening, reading or writing.
There are a lot of aspects in grammar. One of them is tense. In learning grammar, English tense is important because in English, tense or time cannot be avoided
. According to Nesfield as cited in Mas‟ud (2005: 18), “tense is a form of a verb that shows time of happening of an event or an action and it shows the level (1982: of perfection of an action at the time it happened.” According to Jackson
74), time is divided into past, present and future. In English, each tense indicates the time; therefore it is clear whether he spoke in the past, he speaks in the present or he will speak in the future.
The study discusses the ELESP students‟ errors and mastery in using tenses. ELESP stands for the English Language Education Study Program. The students of the English Language Education Study Program are prepared to be qualified
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
moreover for a language teacher, in this case an English teacher. S/he is expected to communicate well in English. To communicate well and correctly, it needs rules. Grammar provides rules to produce communicative and effective utterances. Therefore, as teacher candidates, it is important for them to be proficient in using grammar, especially the tenses. It is needed, for example in teaching learning processes, when the teacher explains the lesson in the past, present, or future time.
Based on the writer ‟s experience, the students of the English Language Education Study Program still have difficulties in mastering English tenses.
Considering that English tenses are essential, measuring the students‟ ability on tenses is important. The study is conducted to find out the students‟ mastery of the tenses of ELESP students. This study is conducted to the third semester students of the English Language Education Study Program students in the academic year of 2008/2009. The third semester students are considered to have enough knowledge about tenses during the learning processes for one semester at the first semester in the English Language Education Study Program. In addition to finding out the students‟ mastery, the writer also tries to find out the students‟ errors on tenses. Since their errors are recognized in the early stage of the study program, the lecturer will be able to do remedial actions.
B. Problem Formulation The questions of the research are formulated as follows.
1. What are the errors that the students of the English Language Education Study
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
2. What is the mastery of tenses of the students of the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University Yogyakarta? C.
Problem Limitation
The study aims to find out the ELESP students ‟ errors and mastery in using tenses. The subjects of the study are the third semester students of the English
Language Education Study Program in the academic year of 2008/2009. The reason why the writer chooses the third semester students is because they have enough knowledge about tenses during the learning processes at the first semester in the English Language Education Study Program.
In the study, the writer limits the discussion on the mastery of the ten tenses. It is based on the consideration of the syllabus used in the English Language Education Study Program. The ten tenses that are taught in the first semester are simple present tense, present progressive tense, simple past tense, past progressive tense, present perfect tense, present perfect progressive tense, past perfect tense, past perfect progressive tense, simple future tense, and future progressive tense. The study focuses on the use of each tense in relevance to its functions.
To find out the students' errors and mastery, the writer administers a test to the third semester students of the English Language Education Study Program in the academic year of 2008/2009. The study emphasizes on the ability of the students in using the tenses. It focuses on the use of each tense in relevance to its
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
each tense. However, forms or patterns of each tense are included in the error analysis.
D. Objectives of the Study
This research aims to answer the research questions formulated in the problem formulation. The objectives are as follows.
1. To find out the errors that the students of the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University Yogyakarta make in using the tenses.
2. To find out the mastery of tenses of the students of the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University Yogyakarta.
E. Benefits of the Study
The study is useful for the students of the English Language Education Study Program. They are expected to be able to improve their learning of English tenses. As teacher candidates, they are expected to master the grammar, in which tense is included. They are also expected to be aware of their errors so that they are able to remedy their errors. By realizing their weaknesses, they should not make mistakes anymore.
The study is also useful for the lecturers. The study on the mastery of tenses of the students of the English Language Education Study Program helps to find the students‟ errors and mastery in using tenses. The results of the study can be
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
used as feedback for the Structure class lecturers in the teaching learning processes, and thus hopefully be able to improve the teaching of English tenses.
The study also, hopefully, gives benefits to future researchers and readers. It is expected that the study gives sufficient information about the research on mastery of tenses, thus they can explore more. It is hoped that the study will help the future researchers and readers in understanding the tenses, especially the ten tenses. For future researcher, it is expected that they can develop the research by improving and modifying the test. They may find the significance of tenses in building the mastery of a language related to four basic skills; listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
F. Definition of Terms To avoid misunderstanding, there are some terms that need to be explained.
The terms that will be defined are mastery, tenses, and errors.
1. ELESP Students ELESP stands for the English Language Education Study Program. The subject of this research is the third semester students of the English Language
Education Study Program in the academic year of 2008/2009. The study is conducted at Sanata Dharma University Yogyakarta.
2. Errors According to Dulay, Burt and Krashen (1982: 138), errors are the deviation parts of learner in spoken and written from rules of language. In the
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
There are three categories of errors in the study. They are „context-related errors‟,
„form-related errors‟ and „other errors‟. Those three categories are then divided into sub categories based on the errors that the writer found in each tense.
Context-related error s consist of the students‟ answers that deviate from the context or function in a given tense. Form- related errors consist of the students‟ answers that deviate from the form or pattern in a given tense. Other errors consist of the students‟ answers that do not belong to two previous categories because they deviate from the intended context and form.
3. Tense According to Jackson (1982: 74),
“the grammatical category of tense is related to real-world time. ” He divides time into past, present and future.
According to Asher (1994: 4558), there are two important facets of tenses. First, from a formal point of view, tense is a grammatical category expressed overtly on the verb. Second, from a semantic point of view, tense serves to locate situations in time. The study focuses on ten tenses. They are simple present tense, present progressive tense, simple past tense, past progressive tense, present perfect tense, present perfect progressive tense, past perfect tense, past perfect progressive tense, simple future tense, and future progressive tense.
4. Mastery In this study, definition of mastery refers to Fries (1948: 3). He says that
“a person has learned a foreign language when he has thus first, within a limited vocabulary mastered the sound system, that is, when he can understand the stream