T1 112007174 Full text
THE USE OF TENSES IN READING TEXTS “LET’S TALK”
SMP TEXTBOOKS
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan
Melisa Arimba Puspita
112007174
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
SATYA WACANA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
SALATIGA
2013
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PERPU STAKAAN U N I V ERSI TAS | U N I V ERSI TAS KRI STEN SATYA W A CA N A
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THE USE OF TENSES IN READING TEXTS “LET’S TALK”
SMP TEXTBOOKS
Melisa Arimba Puspita
112007174
Satya Wacana Christian University
Abstract
This study is about tenses that are used in reading texts “Let’s Talk” of SMP
textbooks. The samples of this study were reading texts. The data were collected from the
of SMP textbook grade VII, VIII, and IX. I choose 6 reading texts from each textbooks
randomly. To analyze the data, the sentences from each reading texts were labeled or
coded,classified and interpreted. This study used descriptive research to describe the
grammatical items used in Let’s Talk VIII, Let’s Talk VIII, and Let’s Talk IX. I found that
tenses were used in the reading texts of SMP textbook were the simple past, the simple
present, the simple future, the present perfect, and the past countinuous. The study also
found that the simple past tense was the most frequently used tense in all-reading texts. The
percentage of the simple past tense in the Lets Talk VII was 44%, in the Lets Talk VIII was
51% and in the Lets Talk IX was 49%.
Keywords: Reading texts, tenses (the present tense, the past tense, the future tense, the
present perfect tense and the present continuous tense)
Introduction
In the globalization era, using English is very important because English is an
International language. Ball and Culloch (1989) states that English as International
language is very important because of its function as a tool to establish social and
communication relationship with other people from all over the world. Besides it is used for
communication, it is also used for getting a lot of valuable information in the world.
1
In teaching English, the array of instructional materials available to elementary and
junior high school is amazing. Dahar and Faize (2011:7) as quoted by Nicholls (2000)
define instructional materials as printed and non-printed items designed to impart
information to the students in the educational process. They include items, such as kits,
textbook, magazine and pictures. Hunchinson and Torres (1994), classify textbook into two
types. The first type is streamlines. This textbook consists almost entirely of text questions
and substitution drill. These kinds of textbook only gives exercises and example, students
will always look for the reason why and how things could happen. The second type is
grapevine. This textbook consistst of an integrated video, information-gap activities, roleplays, reading texts, songs, the development of reading, writing, listening skills, grammar
summaries, games ,etc. This kind of book is very complete and it gives more detailed
instructions.
The textbook chosen must have good quality because they have important roles to
the success in the teaching learning process. Britton, et all (1993:viii) point out that
textbook are an omnipresent part of classroom life. After that, they mention textbooks are a
feature and often a very important one, of instruction. Anthony (2005) says that Textbooks
provide organized units of work. A textbook gives students all the plans and lessons needed
to cover a topic in some detail.
In textbooks, tenses become one element that is important. According to Nunan
(1996) learning another language is like constructing a wall since the students will learn the
easy tenses as the bottom of the wall and proceed to learn the more difficult ones. For
example, they should master one tense form, such as simple present, before being
introduced to other forms, such as the present continuous or the simple past. Whydeck
2
(2003), also states that an understanding of tenses helps us to improve our writing and
speaking, and become more aware of the way other people use language to communicate. It
can also make it easier for us to learn a foreign language. Tenses is the fundamental heart of
language and a tool to help learners’ comprehension of the target language because tenses
provides systematic rules of structure and word order. After that, learners can create their
own spoken and written discourse using these grammatical rules (Kers,1996).
As the study of English recently continues to occupy an important place in our
educational curriculum, in order to learn the English language students are required not
only to know the vocabulary, but also the grammar. Allan (1995) state that grmmar is a
major component of any general language course,wheter it is acknowledged as such or
distinguised as something else.
Bosston (2001) identifies many of grammatical items which comprise Englsih:
Types of nouns
1. Proper nouns
Judge Thompson ruled against Dan.
2. Common nouns
The judge ruled against Dan.
3. Count nouns
Lois brought eighteen cups to the party.
4. Mass nouns
The air was fragrant with the smell of lilacs.
5. Concrete nouns
Please place the clock on the mantle.
3
Types of verbs
6. Transitive verbs
George built a treehouse for his son.
7. Intransitive verbs
Mona smiled slyly.
8. Linking verbs
Joan seems content in her new position.
9. Auxiliary verbs
I have gone to see the doctor.
10. Modal auxiliary verbs
I might go to France this summer.
Verbals
11. Gerund
a. Parenting is a science and an art.
b. Roberto was weary of acting a false role.
12. Participle a. The edited manuscript was 700 pages.
b. The employee processing your request is named Sheila.
13. Infinitives a. To parent well requires endless patience.
b. The employee to process your request is Sheila.
4
Pronouns
14. Demonstrative a. These officials overcame partisan loyalties.
15. Intensive
a. The president himself cannot control economic forces.
16. Indefinite
a. Everybody who sees the movie will rave about it.
17. Reciprocal
a. The justices implicated each other in the bribery scandal.
Prepositions
18. Single-word prepositions
a. We did not want to leave during the performance.
b. The students waited anxiously for their test grades.
Mocanu Elena (2010) states that teaching grammar at school using theoretical
knowledge brought some critics and led to confusion. All the grammatical rules were
considered to be evil there were some steps to avoid using them at school. But when we
learns grammatical tems in models we use substitution such a type of training gets rid
grammar of neutralize it. Teaching the skills to make up sentences by analogy is step one
the way forming grammar skill. To form the grammar skill we must follow such step:
-
Selection the model of sentences.
-
Selection of the form of the word and formation of words forms
-
Selection of the auxialry,words,prepositions,articles, and etc.
Brown (2007) also asserts that without grammatical items, the use of language
could easily become confusing and might not be understandable. Furthermore, Nunan
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(1991) strongly support grammar teaching since tenses helps learners perform their target
language better. He also adds that students cannot communicative well if they do not have a
fundamental level grammar. Ur states that (1996), tenses can assist the students to produce
the structure correctly by themselves. In line with it, Close (1991) also implies that
communication can generally be achieved most efficiently by means of grammatical
sentences.
The current research has shown that grammar teaching is both necessary and
essential because grammar knowledge can affect learners’ capabilities to express
themselves in the target language (Nassaji and Fotos, 2004). Therefore, recent suggestions
strongly advocate focusing on form within communication approaches in second language
curriculum (Ellis, 2002a). This is because the concepts between the communication
teaching approach and the grammar teaching approach should not be separated.
There is a mixture of beliefs regarding grammar instruction. Some scholars support
the exclusion of grammar learning (e.g. Prabhu, 1987), while other researchers emphasize
the need to include grammar teaching in CLT (e.g. Lightbown & Spada, 1990; Nassaji,
2000; Spada & Lightbown, 1993). Olenka Bilash (2009) states that a strong emphasis on
inductive grammar teaching is particularly in communicative language teaching(CLT)
approaches, both inductive and deductive strategies are required in the classroom given the
many learning styles of students. The students can learn those strategies from some of the
reading text.
Roland Carter and Michael McCarthy (2006) say that a text is a stretch of language,
either is speech or in writing, that is semantically and pragmatically coherent in its real-
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word context. A text can range from just one word (e.g a SLOW sign on the road) to a
sequence of utterances or sentences in a speech, a letter, a novel and etc.
In Junior High School there are some types of reading text such as descriptive,
narrative, anecdote, procedure, recount and report. Those types are needed in reading
section skill. Reading skill is a skill that is expected to help the readingcomprehension of
other courses. It means students should be able to read different texts in literature,
science,social studies, etc. in order to transfer the information about modern science or
technology from other countries.They have to learn to read and have to read to learn.
Learning to read relates to reading for meaning or comprehension and also the grammatical
of the tenses are used in reading text. Reading for meaning is an important attempt to
comprehend texts, and reading to learn refers toreading for remembering or studying
(Hamra, 2003).
On the other hand the students also learn some tenses used in reading text , for
example in narrative text the students must understand about simple past tense first ,
because narrative text usally used simple past tense. Robert (2012) states that tense and
aspect have risen to some prominence within linguistics in recent decades as various
theories have taken first the verb and then the inflectional system associated with it to be
the central component of the clause. This has manifested itself most obviously in syntax
and morphology, but the effort to understand the meaning and use of time-related
expressions has coincidentally played a significant role in the development of new theories
of semantics and pragmatics, and those theories, in turn, have prompted further research
into tense and aspect.
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In Junior High School ,the students learn about 5 tenses. They were the simple
preset tense, the simple past tense, the simple future tense, the present perfect tense and also
the present countinous tense. According to Betty Azar (1996) those tenses were called basic
tenses, which she defined as the following :
1. The simple preset tense is to express events or situations that exist
always,usually, and habitually. For example :
a. She goes to school everyday
b. The earth revolves around the sun
2. The simple past tense is used to talk about activities that began and ended in the
past. The simple past has time indicators such as yesterday,last night,a week
ago, etc. For example :
a. He went to Solo yesterday
b. We finished our final exam an hour ago
3. The simple future tense is used at one particular time in the future and it will
happen. For example :
a. You will win
b. He will come tommorow
4. The Present countinuous tense is used to emphasize an idea or an activity that us
in progress or an uncompleted activity and an event that is in the progress at the
time the speaker is stating the sentence. For example :
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a. We are going to Jakarta on Saturday
b. We are enjoying our holiday
5. The Present perfect tense is used to indicate that an action happened at an
unspecified time before now. For example :
a. I have read the book
b. I have cut my hair
Those tenses should be mastered by SMP students to underastand the reading texts
in the textbook. Besides tenses are important in understending reading texts, tenses are also
important for EFL learners to communicate in the target language. K Shayegh (2011) stated
that the most important elements for communication process in the English language are
tenses.
The textbooks are important source of input and great opportunity of EFL learners
to communicate in the target language. Dahar and Faize (2011:6) add another important
role of textbooks. They can enhance the memory level of the students since the teachers
have to use textbooks to make the teaching-learning process interesting. Tok (2010:508),
mentions textbooks serve as the mostly used teaching and learning materials for both
tecahers and the learners. He furthermore explains that textbooks do not only provide a
framework for teacher in achieving the aims and objectives of the course , but also guide to
the teacher when conducting lessons. On behalf of the learners, a textbook truly affect have
to use their attitudes and performance to the lesson throughout the course. It is a fact that
when learners like their textbooks, they like the course as well and become active
participants of lesson.
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To sum up, with the help of the textbooks, teaching can become more efficient and
diverse. Moreover , then textbooks are expected to have relevant materials and type of
activities. It means that textbooks should be able to help teachers to carry out a quality
language teaching and learning process. O’Neil (1990) states that textbook give the basis of
materials to the students. The most important work in class starts with the textbook but
outside it, a creativity and alteration, is spontaneous interaction in the class, development
arises from that interaction.
Given the centrality of grammar in English textbooks to teaching learning in Junior
high school, my research question are “What grammatical items are mostly used in the
readings text in Lets Talk VII, Lets Talk VIII and Lets Talk IX? Specifically in reading
texts, what tenses are mostly used ? “It is then a descriptive research since I will describe
the grammatical items applied in Lets Talk textbooks. Therefore, the aim of this study is to
examine the tenses of the reading texts in “Lets Talk” textbooks in helping the students
understanding texts in their target language properly.
It is hoped that this study will be beneficial in many ways. First, the description of
this data can improve better understanding on the English teaching, particularly in the
grammar part, for the teachers’ participant, the researcher and readers. As a result, in the
teaching itself, they as the teachers can make more sustainable improvement in teaching
learning. Second, the description of the data hopefully can be useful information for
teaching micro class or practicum programs in English Department students of Satya
Wacana Christian University in preparing the students-teachers in becoming professional
English teachers in the future.
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The study
This study used descriptive method. Descriptive method Involves gathering data
that describe events and then organizes, tabulates, depicts, and describes the data, use
description as a tool to organize data into patterns that emerge during analysis and often
uses visual aids such as graphs and charts to aid the reader (Connie McNabb 2011). It
analyzed the tenses used in the reading texts grade VII,VIII, and IX of SMP textbooks. The
study was aimed to find out what tenses were used in reading texts of SMP textbooks. The
data used in this study were primary data because the data were directly taken from the
textbooks.
Table 1. Samples of textbooks
Title
Let’s Talk
Publisher
Pakar Karya Pustaka
Grade
VII
Year
2005
Authors
Joko Siswanto
Yuniarti Dwi Arini
Wasi Dewanto
Let’s Talk
Pakar Karya Pustaka
VIII
2005
Bachtiar Bima M.
Andreas Winardi
Siti Nurmalina S.
Let’s Talk
Pakar Karya Pustaka
IX
2005
Bachtiar Bima M.
Cicik Kurniawati
There are indeed many more English textbooks for Junior High School that we can
find in the bookstore. However, selection is necessary even in this study, for some reasons:
1) The textbooks which are used in both private and publis Junior High School (Buku
pelajarn: SMP,2012) , 2) each book has about 20-25 texts for reading sections, 3) these
books have been aprroved by Indonesian Ministry of Education, 4) the texbooks are
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published and written by Indonesians, which means they represent the Indonesians’ English
proficiency.
The data collection procedure was conducted by reviewing the reading texts in the
Reading sections three – four times to get the data. In thid study , I used reading texts from
SMP textbooks as the sample. The titles of the textbooks were “Let’s Talk VII” ,”Let’s
Talk VIII” and “Let’s Talk IX”. Those textbooks were published by Pakar Karya. The
reading texts taken from the textbooks were chosen randomly. From the 18 chapters in each
book 6 reading text chosen randomly, so the total number of reading texts used in this study
was 18 the reading texts.
The first step in this analysis was identifying theg grammatical items are included in
Lets Talk VII, Lets Talk VIII, and Lets Talk IX. The second steps was identifiying types of
tenses in the reeading texts by labeling /coding the sentences in reading texts. The second
third was classifiying the sentences under the same tenses and counting their percentage to
see what tense was the most commonly used in “Let’s Talk” textbooks. Last step was
interpreting the data and writing the report.
Discussion
1. Textbook I
In this section, I present and discuss the grammar items were used in the
Lets Talk VII.
Table 1. Grammar Items Used in the Lets Talk VII
No.
1.
Unit
Grammaticl Items
Unit 1
A. Spoken
Question words
12
(what,how many,how
much)
B. Written
C. Listening
2.
Tense (Simple present)
Question words
(what,how )
Pronouns
D. Reading
Unit 2
A. Spoken
B. Written
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
C. Listening
D. Reading
Question words
(what,how )
Auxiliary Verbs (to be)
Yes/no questions
Question words
(what,how,where )
Tense (Simple present)
Tense (Simple present in
reading text)
A. Spoken
B. Written
C. Listening
Tense (Simple present)
Auxiliary Verbs
Question words (what)
3.
Unit 3
D. Reading
4.
Unit 4
A. Spoken
Question words
(what,when)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Tense (Simple present
and Simple past)
Question words
(what,how many,how
13
much)
B. Written
C. Listening
D. Reading
A. Spoken
B. Written
5.
Unit 5
C. Listening
D. Reading
6.
Unit 6
A. Spoken
B. Written
Noun phrases
Articles (using definite
article the ,and indefinite
articles a ,an)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Tense (Simple present)
Noun phrase
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Adjective and noun
phrases
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Modals appropriate the
types of expression listed
above, eg.
Could,must,may,might
Tense (simple future
tense)
Question words
(where,when, how)
Modals appropriate the
types of expression listed
above, eg.
Can,must,may,might
Adverbs of manner
(slowly,fast ,etc),adverbs
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of place (preposition:
on,under,etc), adverbs of
time (day,date)
C. Listening
D. Reading
A. Spoken
B. Written
7.
Unit 7
C. Listening
D. Reading
A. Spoken
B. Written
C. Listening
D. Reading
8.
Unit 8
9.
Unit 9
A. Spoken
Question words
(where,when, how)
Tense (Simple present in
reading text)
Question words
(what,why,when)
Connecting clauses using
and ,or
Tense (simple present
tense in questions)
Question words
(what,how ,how much)
Tense (Simple present in
reading texts)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Possessive pronouns
(mines,yours,etc)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Tense (Simple past tense,
present countinuous tense
in reading texts)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
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B. Written
C. Listening
D. Reading
10.
Unit 10
A. Spoken
B. Written
C. Listening
D. Reading
Tense (simple past tense
in questions)
Tense (Simple present)
Tense (simple past tense
in reading texts)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Question words (,how
many,how much)
Countable
noun/uncountable noun
Question words (,how
many,how much)
Tense (Simple past tense
in reading texts)
As can be seen in Table 1, the first column has list of skills in every unit of
textbook. The second column has the grammar items were included in Lets Talk VII. The
next step was identifiying the tenses were mostly used in reading text(Lets Talk VII) .After
choosing 6 reading texts from textbook I, the sentences were identified according to the
tenses and clasified under the same tenses. I found that the tenses used in the reading texts
were simple present, simple past, present continuous tense , present perfect tense and
simple future tenses. The precentages of the tenses used in the reading texts can be seen in
Table 1 and Figure below.
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Table 1. The tenses uses in Texbook I
No.
1
2
3
4
5
Tenses
Simple Past Tense
Simple Present Tense
Present Perfect Tense
Present Countinuous Tense
Simple future Tense
Total
85
49
25
21
15
Precentage
44%
25%
13%
11%
7%
Figure 1. The proportion of tenses used in textbook I
Tenses used in textbook I
85
49
25
44%
Simple Past
Tense
25%
Simple
Present
Tense
21
13%
15
11%
7%
Present
Present
Simple future
Perfect Tense Countinuous
Tense
Tense
We see in figure one, the simple past tense was most freqeuntly used in the reading
texts. The persentage of the simple past tense used textbook I was 44 % . According Betty
Azar(1996) the simple past tense is used to talk about activities that began and ended in the
past. Below are the examples of the simple past tense sentences in textbook I.
(1.) One day a Lion lay asleep in the jungle. A tiny Mouse, running about in the grass
and not noticing where he was going, ran over the Lion's head and down his nose.
The Lion awoke with a loud roar, and down came his paw over the little Mouse.
( Let’s Talk VII page 179 )
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The simple present tense was the second tense that was often used in the reading
texts. The percentage of simple present tense was 25% . According to Betty Azar (1996)
the simple preset tense is to expresses event or situations that exist always,usually, and
habitually. Below are the examples of the simple present tense.
(2) Today is my sister’s birthday. We will have a small party in our home. My mother is
preparing a big cake. Before the party, my father decorates the room with colorful
balloon. My sister wears a very beautiful dress in the party. My mother does her
make up for my sister properly. At about seven, my sister’s friends come. They
bring many beautiful give. ( Let’s Talk VII page 79 )
The third tense that was used in the reading texts was the present perfect tense. The
percentage of this tenses was 13%. According to Betty Azar (1996) the present countinous
tense is used to emphasize an idea of an activity in progress or an uncompleted activity and
the events in the progress at the time the speaker is stating the sentence. Below are the
examples of present perfect tense.
(3). Dr. Fernando has been in the office sinceearly this morning. He has already seen a
lot of patients, and he will certainly see many more before the day is over. Dr.
Fernando’s patients don’t know it, but he also isn’t feeling well. He has had a pain
in his back since last Thursday, but he hasn’t taken any time to stay at home and
rest. He has had a lot of patients this week, and he’s a very dedicated doctor.
( Let’s Talk VII page 160 )
The present countinuous tense was the fourth tense in the textbook I. The
percentage of this tense was 11%. According to Betty Azar (1996) the present countinuous
18
tense is used to emphasize an idea of an activity in progress or an uncompleted activity and
the events in the progress at the time the speaker is stating the sentence.
(4.) Look! The man and the boys are working together. They are gardening in the school
garden. The boy in the left is painting the fence. He using a paint brush. The man is
digging the soil. The other
boys are cutting some flowers and taking some
mannure. ( Let’s Talk VII page 153)
The last most commonly used tense was the simple future tense. The percentage of
the simple future tense was 7%. The simple future tense is used at one particular time in the
future and it will happen (Betty Azar 1996). Below are the examples of the simple future
tense.
(5.) Tomorrow is my sister’s birthday. We will have a small party at home. My mother
will prepare a big cake. Before the party, my father will decorate the room with
colorful balloons. My sister;s will wear a very beautiful dress in the party.
( Let’s Talk VII Page 95)
2. Textbook II
Table 2. Grammar Items Used in the Lets Talk VIII
No.
1.
Unit
A. Spoken
Grammaticl Items
Unit 1
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
B. Written
C. Listen
Comparatives and
superlative of adjective
Question words
(what,how many,how
19
much)
D. Reading
2.
Unit 2
A. Spoken
B. Written
C. Listen
D. Reading
A. Spoken
B. Written
C. Listen
D. Reading
3.
Unit 3
4.
Unit 4
A. Spoken
Tense (The simple past
tense in reading
text,question and
statement)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Auxiliary Verb (Modal)
Tense (the simple past
tense and simple present
tense)
Tense (Simple present)
Tenses (the simple past
tense and simple present
tense in reading
text,question and
statement)
Expressions of
congratuation and
complimenting.
Tense( the past continous
tense in question)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Tenses (Simple present
and Tense( the past
continous tense in
question and reading text)
Modals appropriate the
types of expression listed
20
above, eg.
Could,must,may,might
B. Written
C. Listen
D. Reading
A. Spoken
B. Written
C. Listen
D. Reading
5.
Unit 5
6.
Unit 6
A. Spoken
B. Written
C. Listen
D. Reading
Modals (Will referring the
future)
Question words (what,how
many,how much)
Tense (Simple future
tense)
Auxiliary verbs
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much
Tenses(Simple present
and past tense in reading
text)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Modals appropriate the
types of expression listed
above, eg.
Could,must,may,might
Tenses (Simple present
and past tense in
questions)
Modals appropriate the
types of expression listed
above, eg.
Could,must,may,might
Tenses (Simple present
and past tense in reading
21
text)
7.
Unit 7
A. Spoken
B. Written
C. Listen
D. Reading
A. Spoken
B. Written
8.
Unit 8
C. Listen
D. Reading
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Pronoun (It’s)
Tense (simple past tense
and simpe present tense in
questions)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Tense (simple past tense
and simpe present tense in
reading text)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Adverbs of manner and
frequency
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Yes/no questions
Tense (simple past tense
in reading texts)
As can be seen in Table 2, the first column has list of skills in every unit of
textbook. The second column has the grammar items were included in Lets Talk VIII. The
next step was identifiying the tenses were used tenses were mostly used in reading text(Lets
Talk VIII). In the textbook II I also chose 6 reading texts. The sentences were identified
22
according to the tenses and clasified under the same tenses. I found that the tenses used in
the reading texts were simple present, simple past, present continous tense, present perfect
tense and simple future tenses. The precentages of the tenses used in the reading texts can
be seen in Table 2 and Figure below.
Table 2. The tenses used in Texbook II
No.
1
2
3
4
5
Tenses
Simple Past Tense
Simple Present Tense
Present Continous Tense
Present Perfect Tense
Simple future Tense
Total
96
41
23
20
16
Precentage
51%
22%
12%
11%
8%
Figure 2.The proportion of tenses used in textbook II
Tenses used in textbook II
96
41
23
51%
Simple Past
Tense
22%
Simple Present
Tense
20
12%
Present
Continous
Tense
16
11%
Present
Perfect Tense
8%
Simple future
Tense
From the diagram we can see that the tenses commonly used were simple past tense;
the persentage was 51%. According to Kent Uchiyama (2006) The Simple past is correct
23
for most actions in the past. There are only a few times when we absolutely need to use
other past tenses. Below the examples of simple past tense sentences from textbook II.
(1) Last moth, I flew from Denpasar to Makasar. I went with Kevin and Katryn. The
flight was only about an hour. We started to descend and landing gear made a loud
POP sound. I was little worried. The pilot said something over intercom in Bahasa
Indonesia. I didn’t understand him. I asked someone sitting near me for clue.
( Let’s Talk VIII page 68 )
The second tense that was most frequently used was the simple present tense. In
textbook II the persentage was 41%. According to Kent Uchiyama (2006) the simple
present tense is used to describe an action or habitual action that's happening at present and
does not indicate when the action is expected to end. The simple present tense is used
when: the action is not only occurring now; but repeats after regular intervals of time,or
indicates when it facts that are generally true. It can also be used to express an action for
relating habits and routines that happen all the time, be it in the future, past or present.
Below are the examples of the simple present tense sentences in the textbook II.
(2) Dengue fever is one of the most dangerous diseases in the world. Dengue fever is
endemic in most tropical countries od the South Pasific, Asia, the Caribbeans, the
Americas and Africas. This disease rapidly in most tropic urban areas of the world.
Dengue fever is caused by virus. (Let’ Talk VIII page 115)
Next, the third tense that was commonly used was the present countinuous tense.
The presentage was 23%. Kent Uchiyama (2006) says that the present continuous usually
defines an action that is going on at the time of speaking. The sentences with present
countinuous tense are used when:
24
Something is taking place now, while speaking and has a definite end as well.
When something is already decided and arranged as well to perform it.
To indicate an undesirable habit
Below are the examples of the present countinuous tense sentences in textbook II :
(3) Today they are wearing T-shirt because today is very hot. Everybody is feeling
happy. Look the sun is shining brightly, too. (Let’s Talk VIII page 80)
The present perfect tense was the fourth tense that was used in the reading text. The
persenatge was 20%. The present perfect tense according to Kent Uchiyama (2006) is
probably the most used tense form in English Grammar and is also considered difficult to
understand. The Present Perfect Tense explains the incident that has happened in the past
and that continues until the present time.Below are the examples of present perfect tense
sentences in the reading text from textbook II.
(4) The Indonesian government has become more interested in education.
( Let’s Talk VIII page 140 )
The last tense that the reading text used in the textbook II was the future tense; that
was 16%. The future tense is used for those sentences which refer to the actions which will
occur later, in the future. Below are the examples of future tense sentences from textbook
II.
(5) I will go to the movie next Saturday evening. I will go with my friend Ratih. We
will watch the movie we buy some snacks. ( Let’s Talk VIII page 79 )
25
3. Textbook III
Table 3. Grammar Items Used in the Lets Talk VII
No.
1.
Unit
Grammatical Items
Unit 1
A. Spoken
B. Written
C. Listen
D. Reading
2.
Unit 2
A. Spoken
B. Written
C. Listen
D. Reading
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Pronoun
Nouns in singular and
plural
Tense (Simple present
and simple past tense in
questions)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Tense (Simple present
and simple past tense in
reading text)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Modals appropiae the
types of expression listed
above, eg.
Could,must,may,might
Tense (Tense (Simple
present tense in questions)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Modals appropriate the
types of expression listed
above, eg.
Could,must,may,might
Tense (Tense (Simple
present tense in reading
26
text)
3.
Unit 3
A. Spoken
B. Written
C. Listen
D. Reading
A. Spoken
B. Written
C. Listen
D. Reading
4.
Unit 4
5.
Unit 5
A. Spoken
B. Written
C. Listen
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Yes/No questions
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Modals appropriate the
types of expression listed
above, eg.
Can,must,may,might,will
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Tense (Tense Simple
present tense in reading
text)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Noun as athing and Noun
as a person
Question words (what,how
many,how much)
Tense (Simple past tense
in reading text)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Comparatives and
superlatives of ajdective
Similarity of quantity
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
27
D. Reading
A. Spoken
B. Written
6.
Unit 6
C. Listen
D. Reading
7.
Unit 7
A. Spoken
B. Written
C. Listen
D. Reading
8.
Unit 8
A. Spoken
B. Written
Tense (Simple past tense
in reading text)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Auxiliary verbs
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Tense (Simple past tense
in reading text)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Modals appropriate the
types of expression listed
above, eg.
Can,must,may,might,will
Possible condition of
present or future time
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Tense (Simple present,
simple past and present
countinuous in reading
text)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Expressions using past
time
Connecting clauses using
28
and,but, because
C. Listen
D. Reading
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Tense ( Simple past tense
in reading text)
As can be seen in Table 3, the first column has list of skills in every unit of
textbook. The second column has the grammar items were included in Lets Talk IX. The
next step was identifiying the tenses were mostly used in reading text (Lets Talk IX) .From
textbook III, I also analyzed 6 reading texts. The sentences were identified according to the
tenses and clasified under the same tenses. I found that the tenses used in the reading texts
were simple present, simple past, present continuous tense , present perfect tense and
simple future tenses. The precentages of the tenses used in the reading texts can be seen in
Table 3 and Figure below.
Table 2. The tenses used in Texbook III
No.
1
2
3
4
5
Tenses
Simple Past Tense
Simple Present Tense
Simple future Tense
Present Perfect Tense
Present Countinuous Tense
Total
98
47
20
18
15
Precentage
49%
24%
10%
9%
7%
29
Figure 3.The proportion of tenses used in textbook III
Tenses used in textbook
98
47
20
49%
Simple Past
Tense
24%
Simple Present
Tense
18
10%
Simple future
Tense
15
9%
Present
Perfect Tense
7%
Present
Countinuous
Tense
From the diagram we can see that the tense most frequently used was the simple
past tense. According Raymond Murphy (2005) the simple past tense is used to express the
idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past. Sometimes, the speaker
may not actually mention the specific time, but they do have one specific time in mind.
Below are the examples of simple past tense sentences found in textbook III.
a. Once upon a time in Lombok, there was a kingdom named Kuripan. The
king or Kuripan was very wise. He had a daughter, named. Mandalika. She
was so beautiful. Many princes wanted to marry her. To choose the one that
would be his son-in-law, the king had an arrow shooting competition. The
best one would be Mandalika's husband. ( Let’s Talk IX page 17 )
Next, the second tense that was used in the reading text from textbook III was the
simple present tense; that was 24%. The simple present tense is used to talk about things in
30
general. We use it to say something happens all the times or repeatly (Raymond Murphy
(2005)). Below the example of simple present tense sentences found in textbook III.
b. Radio is a form of communication in which intelligence is tarnsmitted
without wires from one point to another by means of electromagneticwaves.
Early forms of communication over great distances were the telephone and
telegraph. They requires wires between the sender and the receiver.
( Let’s Talk IX page 47 )
The simple future tense was the third tense that the reading text from the textbook
III used. The percentage was 10%. Raymond Murphy (2005) states that we use the simple
future tense to talk about things that will happen at a time later than now. In some
situations, like when you're making a prediction about the future, you can use either “be
going to” or “will”. But to talk about something that's already planned or decided, it's best
to use “be going to.”
c. My father will going to Denpasar next week to meet his partner business. He
will stay in a hotel for some day. He will busy a long day in Denpasar.
( Let’s Talk IX page
The fourth tense was the present perfect tense. The percentage was 18%. Raymond
Murphy (2005) says that we use the present perfect tense for an action that happens for a
period of time that coutinues until now. The present perfect tense used with certain
adverbials, such as: till now, by now, this week, since, in the last few years, and up to the
present. Below is an example of the present perfect tense sentence found in textbook III.
(4) Since 1962, important events have been organized in Gelora Bung Karno.
( Let’s Talk IX page 205 )
31
The present countinuous tense was the last tense that textbooks III used. The
percentage of this tenses was 15%. We use present countinuous forms for actions and
happenings that have started but have not finished yet (Raymond Murphy 2005). Below are
the examples of present countinuous tense sentences found in textbook III.
(5) Riko is walking home from school. He saw a man coming out of a shop. The
man carrying a lot of things. He is walking toward his car.
( Let’s Talk IX page 119 )
Conclusion
Overall, this study is about the tenses used in the reading texts in the Let’s talk
texbook grade VII,VIII,and IX. Regarding the research questions are are “What
grammatical items are mostly used in the readings text in Lets Talk VII, Lets Talk VIII and
Lets Talk IX? Specifically in reading texts, what tenses are mostly used ?“,the study shows
that the tenses that were most freqeuntly used in the textbooks were the simple past tense.
According to Raymond Murphy (2005) the simple past tense is to express the idea that an
action started and finished at a specific time in the past. Sometimes, the speaker may not
actually mention the specific time, but they do have one specific time in mind. Based on the
finding of this study I hope teachers give more attention to the students about the simple
past tense , because to help the students understanding texts in their target language
properly.
According to the result data, the precentage from each tenses in the textbook I were
the simple past was 44%, the simple present was 24 %, the present perfect was 13%, the
32
present countinuous tense was 11% and the simple future was 7%. In the textbook II , the
simple past was 51%, the simple present was 22%, the present perfect was 12%, the present
countinuous tense was 11% and the simple future was 8 %. In the textbook III , the simple
past was 49%, the simple present was 24%, the present perfect was 10%, the present
countinuous tense was 9% and the simple future was 7%. From the result we can see that
the tenses were most frequently used were the simple past tense.
Recommendations
Based on the findings, this study suggests the following recommendations. First ,
the teacher should give more disscussions on the past tense. Teachers should explain that
the simple past tense is used to talk about activities that began and ended in the past. The
simple past has time indicators such as yesterday,last night,a week. Second, teachers also
give more attention to the students about the simple past tense, because this is the tense that
student would find most in the reading texts in this textbooks.
Pedagogical Implication
From the result of the study, some implication can be observed. First, the data can
improve better understanding on the English teaching, particularly in the grammar part, for
the teachers’ participant, the researcher and readers. Second, after knowing the result of the
study, as a result, in the teaching itself, they as the teacher can improvement in teaching
learning to get the target language.
33
Limitation of the Study
Limitations of this study were chose 6 reading texts from each textbook randomly
which is many different tenses. I found that tenses used in the reading text of SMP textbook
were the simple past, the simple present tense, the simple future tense, the present perfect
and the past countinuous. I should analyzed the data , the sentences from each reading texts
were labeled or coded, classified and interpreted one by one.
The Future Researcher
My study hopefully can also improve the understanding on the English teaching,
particularly in the grammar part, for the teacher’s participant, the researcher and readers. As
a result, in the teaching itself, they as the student-teacher can make more sustainable
improvement in teaching learning. Second, the description of the data hopefully can be
useful information for teaching micro class or practicum programs for the English
Department students of Satya Wacana Christian University in preparing the studentsteachers in becoming professional English teachers in the future.
34
Acknowledgement
I would like to express my gratitude to Allah S.W.T who gave many bounties to me
to finish this thesis. I submit my highest appreciation to my supervisor, Dra. Martha
Nandari, M.A whose expertise, guidance, patience, and her assistance in writing this thesis.
Without her guidance, I would never have been able to finish my thesis, despite her
extremely busy schedule. I would like to thank Athriyana Pattiwael,M.Hum for examining
my thesis and giving a lot of suggestion. I also wish to express my love and gratitude to my
beloved families; my boyfriend for their understanding and endless love,through the
duration of my study. I also would like to thank to Adisti, Deby and Fatra for assistance in
the data collection. Special thanks also to all my seveners family,
I Love you all!!
35
References
Azar, Schampfer. Betty (1996). Understanding and Using English Grammar . A Psarson
Education Company
Murphy, Raymond. (2005). English Grammar in Use . Cambridge : Cambridge University
Press.
Dahar,MA., & Farze, F.A. 2011. Effect of avalability and the use of instructional material
on academic performance of students in Punjab (Pakistan). Journal of Middle
Eastern Finance and Economics, No.11, pp 6-8. Retrieved from
http://www.aerojournals.com/MEFE.htm/
Jeyaschandra, S. (2009). Textbook Analysis of English for Engineers . Department of
English School of Science and Humanities Karunya University: Coimbator (641114)
Britton, B , Woodward A and Binkley, M. 1993. Learning from textbook. Theory and
practice. New Jersey:Lowrence Erlbaun Associates. Inc.
Issitt, John (2004). Reflections on the Study of Textbooks, History of Education , 33(6),
683-697.
McConnell, Cheryl and Gail Hoover (2008). Strategies to Get Students to Read the
Textbook before Class. Accounting Education News, Winter 2008, 5-6.
Brown (2007). The Role of Textbooks and Reading in Content Area Classrooms : What are
Teachers and Students Saying, in Linek and Sturtevant (eds.)
Ackert, P., & Lee, L. (2005). Reading and vocabulary development 3: Cause and effect .
Boston, MA: Thom-son Heinle.
Ching, Chyi Kao. (2009:258) .Reading and vocabulary development 4: Concepts and
comments. Boston, MA: Thomson Heinle.
Anderson, N.J. (2003). Active skills for reading 3 . Boston, MA: Thomson Heinle.
Graber, B., & Babcock, P. (2004). Reading for the real world 3. Sachse, TX: Compass.
20
Kirn, E., & Hartmann, P. (2007). Interactions 1: Reading . New York: McGraw-Hill.
Lee, L., & Gundersen, E. (2004). Select readings-intermediate . Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
Fredericks, D. Anthony. 2005. The Complate Guied to Success as a teacher. Penguin Group
(USA)
Nunan, D. (1996). Langauge teaching methodology: A textbook for teachers.
Hemel,Hemsted: Prentice Hall
Whydeck, Kanthi. (2003). Everyday spelling and Grammar . Sidnet NWS: Pascal Press.
Kerr, P. (1996). Grammar for trainee teacher. In J. Willis, & D. Willis (Eds.). Challenge
and change in language The textbook as agent of change Education : Cambridge
University Press.
O’Nentil, R. 1990. “Why use textbooks?”. Currentiof Change in English Language
Teaching. Eds. R. Rossner and R. Bolitho. Oxford: Oxfordf University Press. 148156.
Hutchinson, T & Torres, E. 1994.. ELT Journal Volume 48/4. Oxford: Oxfordf University
Press.
Uchiyama, Kent. (2006). English Verb Tenses: An informal but extensive reference for
ESL students, the good folks who teach them, the idly curious, and the linguistically
perplexed
Cunningsworth, Allan. 1995. Coosing Your Coursebook.Magcmillan Heinemann. English
Language Teaching
Lunsford,A.A, Boston : Bedford. 2001. The Elements of English Grammar . Illinois
Wesleyan University .Bloomington. Illinois.
Elena, Mocanu. 2010. Guidelined on Presenting and Explaining a New Grammatical
Sturcture in the 8th grade . Chisinau
37
APPENDIX
Samples of Reading Texts
Siswanto, Joko., Arini, Yuniarti Dwi., & Dewanto, Wasi. (2005) . Let’s Talk VII. Pakar
Karya. Bandung
The Lion and The Mouse
One day a Lion lay asleep in the jungle. A tiny Mouse, running about
in the grass and not noticing where he was going, ran over the Lion's head
and down his nose.
The Lion awoke with a loud r
SMP TEXTBOOKS
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan
Melisa Arimba Puspita
112007174
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
SATYA WACANA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
SALATIGA
2013
i
P ER P U ST A KA A N U N I V ER S I T A S
UNIVERSITAS KRISTEN SATYA W A CA N A
j l . D ipo n e go ro 5 2 - 6 0 Salatiga 50711
Jaw a Te n gah , Indonesia
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Em ai l : l i brary @adm . u ksw . e du ; h t t p:/ / i i brary . u k sw . e d u
PERNYATAAN TID AK PLAGIAT DAN PERSETUJUAN AKSES zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVU
Sebagai sivitas akademik Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana, saya yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini:
NamazyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
: tAel\sa A^ b a ?U6?fta
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Judul tugas akhir
Program Studi : Pfr&Afcap
ft at exa
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a\ £
Dengan ini menyerahkan karya t ersebut di atas untuk disimpan dalam Koleksi Digital Perpustakaan Universitas dengan
ketentuan akses tugas akhir elekt ronik sebagai berikut (beri tanda pada kotak yang sesuai):
[y^j a. Saya mengijinkan karya t ersebut diunggah ke dalam aplikasi Koleksi Digital Perpustakaan Universitas,
dan/ atau port al GARUDA.
|
| b.Saya t idak mengijinkan karya t ersebut diunggah ke dalam aplikasi Koleksi Digital Perpustakaan Universitas,
dan/ atau port al GARUDA. *
* poin b harus dilompiri dengon surat dari Oekon/ Kaprodi ot au pembimbing TA dengan dt ket ahui olcb pimpt non fakult as yang menjelaskon alason pilihon.
'. Yangakan'd^
;
Dengan ini saya juga menyatakan bahwa:
1. Hasil karya yang saya serahkan ini adalah asli dan belum pernah diajukan untuk mendapatkan gelar kesarjanaan baik di
Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana maupun di inst it usi pendidikan lainnya.
2. Hasil karya saya ini bukan saduran/ terjemahan melainkan merupakan gagasan, rumusan, dan hasil pelaksanaan
penelitian/ implementasi saya sendiri, tanpa bantuan pihak lain, kecuali arahan pembimbing akademik dan
narasumber penelit ian.
3. Hasil karya saya ini merupakan hasil revisi t erakhir setelah diujikan yang t elah diketahui dan diset ujui oleh
pembimbing.
4. Dalam karya saya ini tidak t erdapat karya atau pendapat yang t elah ditulis atau dipublikasikan orang lain, kecuali yang
digunakan sebagai acuan dalam naskab dengan menyebutkan nama pengarang dan dicantumkan dalam daftar
pustaka.
5. Saya menyerahkan hak non-eksklusif kepada Perpustakaan Universitas - Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana untuk
menyimpan, mengatur akses serta melakukan pengelolaan terhadap karya saya ini dengan mengacu pada ketentuan
akses tugas akhir elektronik di atas dan norma hukum yang berlaku.
Pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sesungguhnya. Apabila di kemudian hari t erbukt i ada penyimpangan dan ketidakbenaran
dalam pernyataan ini maka saya bersedia menerima sanksi akademik berupa pencabutan gelar yang t elah diperoleh
karena karya saya ini, serta sanksi lain yang sesuai dengan ketentuan yang berlaku di Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana.
3S
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PERPU STAKAAN U N I V ERSI TAS | U N I V ERSI TAS KRI STEN SATYA W A CA N A
ii
iii
iv
THE USE OF TENSES IN READING TEXTS “LET’S TALK”
SMP TEXTBOOKS
Melisa Arimba Puspita
112007174
Satya Wacana Christian University
Abstract
This study is about tenses that are used in reading texts “Let’s Talk” of SMP
textbooks. The samples of this study were reading texts. The data were collected from the
of SMP textbook grade VII, VIII, and IX. I choose 6 reading texts from each textbooks
randomly. To analyze the data, the sentences from each reading texts were labeled or
coded,classified and interpreted. This study used descriptive research to describe the
grammatical items used in Let’s Talk VIII, Let’s Talk VIII, and Let’s Talk IX. I found that
tenses were used in the reading texts of SMP textbook were the simple past, the simple
present, the simple future, the present perfect, and the past countinuous. The study also
found that the simple past tense was the most frequently used tense in all-reading texts. The
percentage of the simple past tense in the Lets Talk VII was 44%, in the Lets Talk VIII was
51% and in the Lets Talk IX was 49%.
Keywords: Reading texts, tenses (the present tense, the past tense, the future tense, the
present perfect tense and the present continuous tense)
Introduction
In the globalization era, using English is very important because English is an
International language. Ball and Culloch (1989) states that English as International
language is very important because of its function as a tool to establish social and
communication relationship with other people from all over the world. Besides it is used for
communication, it is also used for getting a lot of valuable information in the world.
1
In teaching English, the array of instructional materials available to elementary and
junior high school is amazing. Dahar and Faize (2011:7) as quoted by Nicholls (2000)
define instructional materials as printed and non-printed items designed to impart
information to the students in the educational process. They include items, such as kits,
textbook, magazine and pictures. Hunchinson and Torres (1994), classify textbook into two
types. The first type is streamlines. This textbook consists almost entirely of text questions
and substitution drill. These kinds of textbook only gives exercises and example, students
will always look for the reason why and how things could happen. The second type is
grapevine. This textbook consistst of an integrated video, information-gap activities, roleplays, reading texts, songs, the development of reading, writing, listening skills, grammar
summaries, games ,etc. This kind of book is very complete and it gives more detailed
instructions.
The textbook chosen must have good quality because they have important roles to
the success in the teaching learning process. Britton, et all (1993:viii) point out that
textbook are an omnipresent part of classroom life. After that, they mention textbooks are a
feature and often a very important one, of instruction. Anthony (2005) says that Textbooks
provide organized units of work. A textbook gives students all the plans and lessons needed
to cover a topic in some detail.
In textbooks, tenses become one element that is important. According to Nunan
(1996) learning another language is like constructing a wall since the students will learn the
easy tenses as the bottom of the wall and proceed to learn the more difficult ones. For
example, they should master one tense form, such as simple present, before being
introduced to other forms, such as the present continuous or the simple past. Whydeck
2
(2003), also states that an understanding of tenses helps us to improve our writing and
speaking, and become more aware of the way other people use language to communicate. It
can also make it easier for us to learn a foreign language. Tenses is the fundamental heart of
language and a tool to help learners’ comprehension of the target language because tenses
provides systematic rules of structure and word order. After that, learners can create their
own spoken and written discourse using these grammatical rules (Kers,1996).
As the study of English recently continues to occupy an important place in our
educational curriculum, in order to learn the English language students are required not
only to know the vocabulary, but also the grammar. Allan (1995) state that grmmar is a
major component of any general language course,wheter it is acknowledged as such or
distinguised as something else.
Bosston (2001) identifies many of grammatical items which comprise Englsih:
Types of nouns
1. Proper nouns
Judge Thompson ruled against Dan.
2. Common nouns
The judge ruled against Dan.
3. Count nouns
Lois brought eighteen cups to the party.
4. Mass nouns
The air was fragrant with the smell of lilacs.
5. Concrete nouns
Please place the clock on the mantle.
3
Types of verbs
6. Transitive verbs
George built a treehouse for his son.
7. Intransitive verbs
Mona smiled slyly.
8. Linking verbs
Joan seems content in her new position.
9. Auxiliary verbs
I have gone to see the doctor.
10. Modal auxiliary verbs
I might go to France this summer.
Verbals
11. Gerund
a. Parenting is a science and an art.
b. Roberto was weary of acting a false role.
12. Participle a. The edited manuscript was 700 pages.
b. The employee processing your request is named Sheila.
13. Infinitives a. To parent well requires endless patience.
b. The employee to process your request is Sheila.
4
Pronouns
14. Demonstrative a. These officials overcame partisan loyalties.
15. Intensive
a. The president himself cannot control economic forces.
16. Indefinite
a. Everybody who sees the movie will rave about it.
17. Reciprocal
a. The justices implicated each other in the bribery scandal.
Prepositions
18. Single-word prepositions
a. We did not want to leave during the performance.
b. The students waited anxiously for their test grades.
Mocanu Elena (2010) states that teaching grammar at school using theoretical
knowledge brought some critics and led to confusion. All the grammatical rules were
considered to be evil there were some steps to avoid using them at school. But when we
learns grammatical tems in models we use substitution such a type of training gets rid
grammar of neutralize it. Teaching the skills to make up sentences by analogy is step one
the way forming grammar skill. To form the grammar skill we must follow such step:
-
Selection the model of sentences.
-
Selection of the form of the word and formation of words forms
-
Selection of the auxialry,words,prepositions,articles, and etc.
Brown (2007) also asserts that without grammatical items, the use of language
could easily become confusing and might not be understandable. Furthermore, Nunan
5
(1991) strongly support grammar teaching since tenses helps learners perform their target
language better. He also adds that students cannot communicative well if they do not have a
fundamental level grammar. Ur states that (1996), tenses can assist the students to produce
the structure correctly by themselves. In line with it, Close (1991) also implies that
communication can generally be achieved most efficiently by means of grammatical
sentences.
The current research has shown that grammar teaching is both necessary and
essential because grammar knowledge can affect learners’ capabilities to express
themselves in the target language (Nassaji and Fotos, 2004). Therefore, recent suggestions
strongly advocate focusing on form within communication approaches in second language
curriculum (Ellis, 2002a). This is because the concepts between the communication
teaching approach and the grammar teaching approach should not be separated.
There is a mixture of beliefs regarding grammar instruction. Some scholars support
the exclusion of grammar learning (e.g. Prabhu, 1987), while other researchers emphasize
the need to include grammar teaching in CLT (e.g. Lightbown & Spada, 1990; Nassaji,
2000; Spada & Lightbown, 1993). Olenka Bilash (2009) states that a strong emphasis on
inductive grammar teaching is particularly in communicative language teaching(CLT)
approaches, both inductive and deductive strategies are required in the classroom given the
many learning styles of students. The students can learn those strategies from some of the
reading text.
Roland Carter and Michael McCarthy (2006) say that a text is a stretch of language,
either is speech or in writing, that is semantically and pragmatically coherent in its real-
6
word context. A text can range from just one word (e.g a SLOW sign on the road) to a
sequence of utterances or sentences in a speech, a letter, a novel and etc.
In Junior High School there are some types of reading text such as descriptive,
narrative, anecdote, procedure, recount and report. Those types are needed in reading
section skill. Reading skill is a skill that is expected to help the readingcomprehension of
other courses. It means students should be able to read different texts in literature,
science,social studies, etc. in order to transfer the information about modern science or
technology from other countries.They have to learn to read and have to read to learn.
Learning to read relates to reading for meaning or comprehension and also the grammatical
of the tenses are used in reading text. Reading for meaning is an important attempt to
comprehend texts, and reading to learn refers toreading for remembering or studying
(Hamra, 2003).
On the other hand the students also learn some tenses used in reading text , for
example in narrative text the students must understand about simple past tense first ,
because narrative text usally used simple past tense. Robert (2012) states that tense and
aspect have risen to some prominence within linguistics in recent decades as various
theories have taken first the verb and then the inflectional system associated with it to be
the central component of the clause. This has manifested itself most obviously in syntax
and morphology, but the effort to understand the meaning and use of time-related
expressions has coincidentally played a significant role in the development of new theories
of semantics and pragmatics, and those theories, in turn, have prompted further research
into tense and aspect.
7
In Junior High School ,the students learn about 5 tenses. They were the simple
preset tense, the simple past tense, the simple future tense, the present perfect tense and also
the present countinous tense. According to Betty Azar (1996) those tenses were called basic
tenses, which she defined as the following :
1. The simple preset tense is to express events or situations that exist
always,usually, and habitually. For example :
a. She goes to school everyday
b. The earth revolves around the sun
2. The simple past tense is used to talk about activities that began and ended in the
past. The simple past has time indicators such as yesterday,last night,a week
ago, etc. For example :
a. He went to Solo yesterday
b. We finished our final exam an hour ago
3. The simple future tense is used at one particular time in the future and it will
happen. For example :
a. You will win
b. He will come tommorow
4. The Present countinuous tense is used to emphasize an idea or an activity that us
in progress or an uncompleted activity and an event that is in the progress at the
time the speaker is stating the sentence. For example :
8
a. We are going to Jakarta on Saturday
b. We are enjoying our holiday
5. The Present perfect tense is used to indicate that an action happened at an
unspecified time before now. For example :
a. I have read the book
b. I have cut my hair
Those tenses should be mastered by SMP students to underastand the reading texts
in the textbook. Besides tenses are important in understending reading texts, tenses are also
important for EFL learners to communicate in the target language. K Shayegh (2011) stated
that the most important elements for communication process in the English language are
tenses.
The textbooks are important source of input and great opportunity of EFL learners
to communicate in the target language. Dahar and Faize (2011:6) add another important
role of textbooks. They can enhance the memory level of the students since the teachers
have to use textbooks to make the teaching-learning process interesting. Tok (2010:508),
mentions textbooks serve as the mostly used teaching and learning materials for both
tecahers and the learners. He furthermore explains that textbooks do not only provide a
framework for teacher in achieving the aims and objectives of the course , but also guide to
the teacher when conducting lessons. On behalf of the learners, a textbook truly affect have
to use their attitudes and performance to the lesson throughout the course. It is a fact that
when learners like their textbooks, they like the course as well and become active
participants of lesson.
9
To sum up, with the help of the textbooks, teaching can become more efficient and
diverse. Moreover , then textbooks are expected to have relevant materials and type of
activities. It means that textbooks should be able to help teachers to carry out a quality
language teaching and learning process. O’Neil (1990) states that textbook give the basis of
materials to the students. The most important work in class starts with the textbook but
outside it, a creativity and alteration, is spontaneous interaction in the class, development
arises from that interaction.
Given the centrality of grammar in English textbooks to teaching learning in Junior
high school, my research question are “What grammatical items are mostly used in the
readings text in Lets Talk VII, Lets Talk VIII and Lets Talk IX? Specifically in reading
texts, what tenses are mostly used ? “It is then a descriptive research since I will describe
the grammatical items applied in Lets Talk textbooks. Therefore, the aim of this study is to
examine the tenses of the reading texts in “Lets Talk” textbooks in helping the students
understanding texts in their target language properly.
It is hoped that this study will be beneficial in many ways. First, the description of
this data can improve better understanding on the English teaching, particularly in the
grammar part, for the teachers’ participant, the researcher and readers. As a result, in the
teaching itself, they as the teachers can make more sustainable improvement in teaching
learning. Second, the description of the data hopefully can be useful information for
teaching micro class or practicum programs in English Department students of Satya
Wacana Christian University in preparing the students-teachers in becoming professional
English teachers in the future.
10
The study
This study used descriptive method. Descriptive method Involves gathering data
that describe events and then organizes, tabulates, depicts, and describes the data, use
description as a tool to organize data into patterns that emerge during analysis and often
uses visual aids such as graphs and charts to aid the reader (Connie McNabb 2011). It
analyzed the tenses used in the reading texts grade VII,VIII, and IX of SMP textbooks. The
study was aimed to find out what tenses were used in reading texts of SMP textbooks. The
data used in this study were primary data because the data were directly taken from the
textbooks.
Table 1. Samples of textbooks
Title
Let’s Talk
Publisher
Pakar Karya Pustaka
Grade
VII
Year
2005
Authors
Joko Siswanto
Yuniarti Dwi Arini
Wasi Dewanto
Let’s Talk
Pakar Karya Pustaka
VIII
2005
Bachtiar Bima M.
Andreas Winardi
Siti Nurmalina S.
Let’s Talk
Pakar Karya Pustaka
IX
2005
Bachtiar Bima M.
Cicik Kurniawati
There are indeed many more English textbooks for Junior High School that we can
find in the bookstore. However, selection is necessary even in this study, for some reasons:
1) The textbooks which are used in both private and publis Junior High School (Buku
pelajarn: SMP,2012) , 2) each book has about 20-25 texts for reading sections, 3) these
books have been aprroved by Indonesian Ministry of Education, 4) the texbooks are
11
published and written by Indonesians, which means they represent the Indonesians’ English
proficiency.
The data collection procedure was conducted by reviewing the reading texts in the
Reading sections three – four times to get the data. In thid study , I used reading texts from
SMP textbooks as the sample. The titles of the textbooks were “Let’s Talk VII” ,”Let’s
Talk VIII” and “Let’s Talk IX”. Those textbooks were published by Pakar Karya. The
reading texts taken from the textbooks were chosen randomly. From the 18 chapters in each
book 6 reading text chosen randomly, so the total number of reading texts used in this study
was 18 the reading texts.
The first step in this analysis was identifying theg grammatical items are included in
Lets Talk VII, Lets Talk VIII, and Lets Talk IX. The second steps was identifiying types of
tenses in the reeading texts by labeling /coding the sentences in reading texts. The second
third was classifiying the sentences under the same tenses and counting their percentage to
see what tense was the most commonly used in “Let’s Talk” textbooks. Last step was
interpreting the data and writing the report.
Discussion
1. Textbook I
In this section, I present and discuss the grammar items were used in the
Lets Talk VII.
Table 1. Grammar Items Used in the Lets Talk VII
No.
1.
Unit
Grammaticl Items
Unit 1
A. Spoken
Question words
12
(what,how many,how
much)
B. Written
C. Listening
2.
Tense (Simple present)
Question words
(what,how )
Pronouns
D. Reading
Unit 2
A. Spoken
B. Written
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
C. Listening
D. Reading
Question words
(what,how )
Auxiliary Verbs (to be)
Yes/no questions
Question words
(what,how,where )
Tense (Simple present)
Tense (Simple present in
reading text)
A. Spoken
B. Written
C. Listening
Tense (Simple present)
Auxiliary Verbs
Question words (what)
3.
Unit 3
D. Reading
4.
Unit 4
A. Spoken
Question words
(what,when)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Tense (Simple present
and Simple past)
Question words
(what,how many,how
13
much)
B. Written
C. Listening
D. Reading
A. Spoken
B. Written
5.
Unit 5
C. Listening
D. Reading
6.
Unit 6
A. Spoken
B. Written
Noun phrases
Articles (using definite
article the ,and indefinite
articles a ,an)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Tense (Simple present)
Noun phrase
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Adjective and noun
phrases
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Modals appropriate the
types of expression listed
above, eg.
Could,must,may,might
Tense (simple future
tense)
Question words
(where,when, how)
Modals appropriate the
types of expression listed
above, eg.
Can,must,may,might
Adverbs of manner
(slowly,fast ,etc),adverbs
14
of place (preposition:
on,under,etc), adverbs of
time (day,date)
C. Listening
D. Reading
A. Spoken
B. Written
7.
Unit 7
C. Listening
D. Reading
A. Spoken
B. Written
C. Listening
D. Reading
8.
Unit 8
9.
Unit 9
A. Spoken
Question words
(where,when, how)
Tense (Simple present in
reading text)
Question words
(what,why,when)
Connecting clauses using
and ,or
Tense (simple present
tense in questions)
Question words
(what,how ,how much)
Tense (Simple present in
reading texts)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Possessive pronouns
(mines,yours,etc)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Tense (Simple past tense,
present countinuous tense
in reading texts)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
15
B. Written
C. Listening
D. Reading
10.
Unit 10
A. Spoken
B. Written
C. Listening
D. Reading
Tense (simple past tense
in questions)
Tense (Simple present)
Tense (simple past tense
in reading texts)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Question words (,how
many,how much)
Countable
noun/uncountable noun
Question words (,how
many,how much)
Tense (Simple past tense
in reading texts)
As can be seen in Table 1, the first column has list of skills in every unit of
textbook. The second column has the grammar items were included in Lets Talk VII. The
next step was identifiying the tenses were mostly used in reading text(Lets Talk VII) .After
choosing 6 reading texts from textbook I, the sentences were identified according to the
tenses and clasified under the same tenses. I found that the tenses used in the reading texts
were simple present, simple past, present continuous tense , present perfect tense and
simple future tenses. The precentages of the tenses used in the reading texts can be seen in
Table 1 and Figure below.
16
Table 1. The tenses uses in Texbook I
No.
1
2
3
4
5
Tenses
Simple Past Tense
Simple Present Tense
Present Perfect Tense
Present Countinuous Tense
Simple future Tense
Total
85
49
25
21
15
Precentage
44%
25%
13%
11%
7%
Figure 1. The proportion of tenses used in textbook I
Tenses used in textbook I
85
49
25
44%
Simple Past
Tense
25%
Simple
Present
Tense
21
13%
15
11%
7%
Present
Present
Simple future
Perfect Tense Countinuous
Tense
Tense
We see in figure one, the simple past tense was most freqeuntly used in the reading
texts. The persentage of the simple past tense used textbook I was 44 % . According Betty
Azar(1996) the simple past tense is used to talk about activities that began and ended in the
past. Below are the examples of the simple past tense sentences in textbook I.
(1.) One day a Lion lay asleep in the jungle. A tiny Mouse, running about in the grass
and not noticing where he was going, ran over the Lion's head and down his nose.
The Lion awoke with a loud roar, and down came his paw over the little Mouse.
( Let’s Talk VII page 179 )
17
The simple present tense was the second tense that was often used in the reading
texts. The percentage of simple present tense was 25% . According to Betty Azar (1996)
the simple preset tense is to expresses event or situations that exist always,usually, and
habitually. Below are the examples of the simple present tense.
(2) Today is my sister’s birthday. We will have a small party in our home. My mother is
preparing a big cake. Before the party, my father decorates the room with colorful
balloon. My sister wears a very beautiful dress in the party. My mother does her
make up for my sister properly. At about seven, my sister’s friends come. They
bring many beautiful give. ( Let’s Talk VII page 79 )
The third tense that was used in the reading texts was the present perfect tense. The
percentage of this tenses was 13%. According to Betty Azar (1996) the present countinous
tense is used to emphasize an idea of an activity in progress or an uncompleted activity and
the events in the progress at the time the speaker is stating the sentence. Below are the
examples of present perfect tense.
(3). Dr. Fernando has been in the office sinceearly this morning. He has already seen a
lot of patients, and he will certainly see many more before the day is over. Dr.
Fernando’s patients don’t know it, but he also isn’t feeling well. He has had a pain
in his back since last Thursday, but he hasn’t taken any time to stay at home and
rest. He has had a lot of patients this week, and he’s a very dedicated doctor.
( Let’s Talk VII page 160 )
The present countinuous tense was the fourth tense in the textbook I. The
percentage of this tense was 11%. According to Betty Azar (1996) the present countinuous
18
tense is used to emphasize an idea of an activity in progress or an uncompleted activity and
the events in the progress at the time the speaker is stating the sentence.
(4.) Look! The man and the boys are working together. They are gardening in the school
garden. The boy in the left is painting the fence. He using a paint brush. The man is
digging the soil. The other
boys are cutting some flowers and taking some
mannure. ( Let’s Talk VII page 153)
The last most commonly used tense was the simple future tense. The percentage of
the simple future tense was 7%. The simple future tense is used at one particular time in the
future and it will happen (Betty Azar 1996). Below are the examples of the simple future
tense.
(5.) Tomorrow is my sister’s birthday. We will have a small party at home. My mother
will prepare a big cake. Before the party, my father will decorate the room with
colorful balloons. My sister;s will wear a very beautiful dress in the party.
( Let’s Talk VII Page 95)
2. Textbook II
Table 2. Grammar Items Used in the Lets Talk VIII
No.
1.
Unit
A. Spoken
Grammaticl Items
Unit 1
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
B. Written
C. Listen
Comparatives and
superlative of adjective
Question words
(what,how many,how
19
much)
D. Reading
2.
Unit 2
A. Spoken
B. Written
C. Listen
D. Reading
A. Spoken
B. Written
C. Listen
D. Reading
3.
Unit 3
4.
Unit 4
A. Spoken
Tense (The simple past
tense in reading
text,question and
statement)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Auxiliary Verb (Modal)
Tense (the simple past
tense and simple present
tense)
Tense (Simple present)
Tenses (the simple past
tense and simple present
tense in reading
text,question and
statement)
Expressions of
congratuation and
complimenting.
Tense( the past continous
tense in question)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Tenses (Simple present
and Tense( the past
continous tense in
question and reading text)
Modals appropriate the
types of expression listed
20
above, eg.
Could,must,may,might
B. Written
C. Listen
D. Reading
A. Spoken
B. Written
C. Listen
D. Reading
5.
Unit 5
6.
Unit 6
A. Spoken
B. Written
C. Listen
D. Reading
Modals (Will referring the
future)
Question words (what,how
many,how much)
Tense (Simple future
tense)
Auxiliary verbs
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much
Tenses(Simple present
and past tense in reading
text)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Modals appropriate the
types of expression listed
above, eg.
Could,must,may,might
Tenses (Simple present
and past tense in
questions)
Modals appropriate the
types of expression listed
above, eg.
Could,must,may,might
Tenses (Simple present
and past tense in reading
21
text)
7.
Unit 7
A. Spoken
B. Written
C. Listen
D. Reading
A. Spoken
B. Written
8.
Unit 8
C. Listen
D. Reading
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Pronoun (It’s)
Tense (simple past tense
and simpe present tense in
questions)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Tense (simple past tense
and simpe present tense in
reading text)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Adverbs of manner and
frequency
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Yes/no questions
Tense (simple past tense
in reading texts)
As can be seen in Table 2, the first column has list of skills in every unit of
textbook. The second column has the grammar items were included in Lets Talk VIII. The
next step was identifiying the tenses were used tenses were mostly used in reading text(Lets
Talk VIII). In the textbook II I also chose 6 reading texts. The sentences were identified
22
according to the tenses and clasified under the same tenses. I found that the tenses used in
the reading texts were simple present, simple past, present continous tense, present perfect
tense and simple future tenses. The precentages of the tenses used in the reading texts can
be seen in Table 2 and Figure below.
Table 2. The tenses used in Texbook II
No.
1
2
3
4
5
Tenses
Simple Past Tense
Simple Present Tense
Present Continous Tense
Present Perfect Tense
Simple future Tense
Total
96
41
23
20
16
Precentage
51%
22%
12%
11%
8%
Figure 2.The proportion of tenses used in textbook II
Tenses used in textbook II
96
41
23
51%
Simple Past
Tense
22%
Simple Present
Tense
20
12%
Present
Continous
Tense
16
11%
Present
Perfect Tense
8%
Simple future
Tense
From the diagram we can see that the tenses commonly used were simple past tense;
the persentage was 51%. According to Kent Uchiyama (2006) The Simple past is correct
23
for most actions in the past. There are only a few times when we absolutely need to use
other past tenses. Below the examples of simple past tense sentences from textbook II.
(1) Last moth, I flew from Denpasar to Makasar. I went with Kevin and Katryn. The
flight was only about an hour. We started to descend and landing gear made a loud
POP sound. I was little worried. The pilot said something over intercom in Bahasa
Indonesia. I didn’t understand him. I asked someone sitting near me for clue.
( Let’s Talk VIII page 68 )
The second tense that was most frequently used was the simple present tense. In
textbook II the persentage was 41%. According to Kent Uchiyama (2006) the simple
present tense is used to describe an action or habitual action that's happening at present and
does not indicate when the action is expected to end. The simple present tense is used
when: the action is not only occurring now; but repeats after regular intervals of time,or
indicates when it facts that are generally true. It can also be used to express an action for
relating habits and routines that happen all the time, be it in the future, past or present.
Below are the examples of the simple present tense sentences in the textbook II.
(2) Dengue fever is one of the most dangerous diseases in the world. Dengue fever is
endemic in most tropical countries od the South Pasific, Asia, the Caribbeans, the
Americas and Africas. This disease rapidly in most tropic urban areas of the world.
Dengue fever is caused by virus. (Let’ Talk VIII page 115)
Next, the third tense that was commonly used was the present countinuous tense.
The presentage was 23%. Kent Uchiyama (2006) says that the present continuous usually
defines an action that is going on at the time of speaking. The sentences with present
countinuous tense are used when:
24
Something is taking place now, while speaking and has a definite end as well.
When something is already decided and arranged as well to perform it.
To indicate an undesirable habit
Below are the examples of the present countinuous tense sentences in textbook II :
(3) Today they are wearing T-shirt because today is very hot. Everybody is feeling
happy. Look the sun is shining brightly, too. (Let’s Talk VIII page 80)
The present perfect tense was the fourth tense that was used in the reading text. The
persenatge was 20%. The present perfect tense according to Kent Uchiyama (2006) is
probably the most used tense form in English Grammar and is also considered difficult to
understand. The Present Perfect Tense explains the incident that has happened in the past
and that continues until the present time.Below are the examples of present perfect tense
sentences in the reading text from textbook II.
(4) The Indonesian government has become more interested in education.
( Let’s Talk VIII page 140 )
The last tense that the reading text used in the textbook II was the future tense; that
was 16%. The future tense is used for those sentences which refer to the actions which will
occur later, in the future. Below are the examples of future tense sentences from textbook
II.
(5) I will go to the movie next Saturday evening. I will go with my friend Ratih. We
will watch the movie we buy some snacks. ( Let’s Talk VIII page 79 )
25
3. Textbook III
Table 3. Grammar Items Used in the Lets Talk VII
No.
1.
Unit
Grammatical Items
Unit 1
A. Spoken
B. Written
C. Listen
D. Reading
2.
Unit 2
A. Spoken
B. Written
C. Listen
D. Reading
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Pronoun
Nouns in singular and
plural
Tense (Simple present
and simple past tense in
questions)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Tense (Simple present
and simple past tense in
reading text)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Modals appropiae the
types of expression listed
above, eg.
Could,must,may,might
Tense (Tense (Simple
present tense in questions)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Modals appropriate the
types of expression listed
above, eg.
Could,must,may,might
Tense (Tense (Simple
present tense in reading
26
text)
3.
Unit 3
A. Spoken
B. Written
C. Listen
D. Reading
A. Spoken
B. Written
C. Listen
D. Reading
4.
Unit 4
5.
Unit 5
A. Spoken
B. Written
C. Listen
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Yes/No questions
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Modals appropriate the
types of expression listed
above, eg.
Can,must,may,might,will
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Tense (Tense Simple
present tense in reading
text)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Noun as athing and Noun
as a person
Question words (what,how
many,how much)
Tense (Simple past tense
in reading text)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Comparatives and
superlatives of ajdective
Similarity of quantity
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
27
D. Reading
A. Spoken
B. Written
6.
Unit 6
C. Listen
D. Reading
7.
Unit 7
A. Spoken
B. Written
C. Listen
D. Reading
8.
Unit 8
A. Spoken
B. Written
Tense (Simple past tense
in reading text)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Auxiliary verbs
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Tense (Simple past tense
in reading text)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Modals appropriate the
types of expression listed
above, eg.
Can,must,may,might,will
Possible condition of
present or future time
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Tense (Simple present,
simple past and present
countinuous in reading
text)
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Expressions using past
time
Connecting clauses using
28
and,but, because
C. Listen
D. Reading
Question words
(what,how many,how
much)
Tense ( Simple past tense
in reading text)
As can be seen in Table 3, the first column has list of skills in every unit of
textbook. The second column has the grammar items were included in Lets Talk IX. The
next step was identifiying the tenses were mostly used in reading text (Lets Talk IX) .From
textbook III, I also analyzed 6 reading texts. The sentences were identified according to the
tenses and clasified under the same tenses. I found that the tenses used in the reading texts
were simple present, simple past, present continuous tense , present perfect tense and
simple future tenses. The precentages of the tenses used in the reading texts can be seen in
Table 3 and Figure below.
Table 2. The tenses used in Texbook III
No.
1
2
3
4
5
Tenses
Simple Past Tense
Simple Present Tense
Simple future Tense
Present Perfect Tense
Present Countinuous Tense
Total
98
47
20
18
15
Precentage
49%
24%
10%
9%
7%
29
Figure 3.The proportion of tenses used in textbook III
Tenses used in textbook
98
47
20
49%
Simple Past
Tense
24%
Simple Present
Tense
18
10%
Simple future
Tense
15
9%
Present
Perfect Tense
7%
Present
Countinuous
Tense
From the diagram we can see that the tense most frequently used was the simple
past tense. According Raymond Murphy (2005) the simple past tense is used to express the
idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past. Sometimes, the speaker
may not actually mention the specific time, but they do have one specific time in mind.
Below are the examples of simple past tense sentences found in textbook III.
a. Once upon a time in Lombok, there was a kingdom named Kuripan. The
king or Kuripan was very wise. He had a daughter, named. Mandalika. She
was so beautiful. Many princes wanted to marry her. To choose the one that
would be his son-in-law, the king had an arrow shooting competition. The
best one would be Mandalika's husband. ( Let’s Talk IX page 17 )
Next, the second tense that was used in the reading text from textbook III was the
simple present tense; that was 24%. The simple present tense is used to talk about things in
30
general. We use it to say something happens all the times or repeatly (Raymond Murphy
(2005)). Below the example of simple present tense sentences found in textbook III.
b. Radio is a form of communication in which intelligence is tarnsmitted
without wires from one point to another by means of electromagneticwaves.
Early forms of communication over great distances were the telephone and
telegraph. They requires wires between the sender and the receiver.
( Let’s Talk IX page 47 )
The simple future tense was the third tense that the reading text from the textbook
III used. The percentage was 10%. Raymond Murphy (2005) states that we use the simple
future tense to talk about things that will happen at a time later than now. In some
situations, like when you're making a prediction about the future, you can use either “be
going to” or “will”. But to talk about something that's already planned or decided, it's best
to use “be going to.”
c. My father will going to Denpasar next week to meet his partner business. He
will stay in a hotel for some day. He will busy a long day in Denpasar.
( Let’s Talk IX page
The fourth tense was the present perfect tense. The percentage was 18%. Raymond
Murphy (2005) says that we use the present perfect tense for an action that happens for a
period of time that coutinues until now. The present perfect tense used with certain
adverbials, such as: till now, by now, this week, since, in the last few years, and up to the
present. Below is an example of the present perfect tense sentence found in textbook III.
(4) Since 1962, important events have been organized in Gelora Bung Karno.
( Let’s Talk IX page 205 )
31
The present countinuous tense was the last tense that textbooks III used. The
percentage of this tenses was 15%. We use present countinuous forms for actions and
happenings that have started but have not finished yet (Raymond Murphy 2005). Below are
the examples of present countinuous tense sentences found in textbook III.
(5) Riko is walking home from school. He saw a man coming out of a shop. The
man carrying a lot of things. He is walking toward his car.
( Let’s Talk IX page 119 )
Conclusion
Overall, this study is about the tenses used in the reading texts in the Let’s talk
texbook grade VII,VIII,and IX. Regarding the research questions are are “What
grammatical items are mostly used in the readings text in Lets Talk VII, Lets Talk VIII and
Lets Talk IX? Specifically in reading texts, what tenses are mostly used ?“,the study shows
that the tenses that were most freqeuntly used in the textbooks were the simple past tense.
According to Raymond Murphy (2005) the simple past tense is to express the idea that an
action started and finished at a specific time in the past. Sometimes, the speaker may not
actually mention the specific time, but they do have one specific time in mind. Based on the
finding of this study I hope teachers give more attention to the students about the simple
past tense , because to help the students understanding texts in their target language
properly.
According to the result data, the precentage from each tenses in the textbook I were
the simple past was 44%, the simple present was 24 %, the present perfect was 13%, the
32
present countinuous tense was 11% and the simple future was 7%. In the textbook II , the
simple past was 51%, the simple present was 22%, the present perfect was 12%, the present
countinuous tense was 11% and the simple future was 8 %. In the textbook III , the simple
past was 49%, the simple present was 24%, the present perfect was 10%, the present
countinuous tense was 9% and the simple future was 7%. From the result we can see that
the tenses were most frequently used were the simple past tense.
Recommendations
Based on the findings, this study suggests the following recommendations. First ,
the teacher should give more disscussions on the past tense. Teachers should explain that
the simple past tense is used to talk about activities that began and ended in the past. The
simple past has time indicators such as yesterday,last night,a week. Second, teachers also
give more attention to the students about the simple past tense, because this is the tense that
student would find most in the reading texts in this textbooks.
Pedagogical Implication
From the result of the study, some implication can be observed. First, the data can
improve better understanding on the English teaching, particularly in the grammar part, for
the teachers’ participant, the researcher and readers. Second, after knowing the result of the
study, as a result, in the teaching itself, they as the teacher can improvement in teaching
learning to get the target language.
33
Limitation of the Study
Limitations of this study were chose 6 reading texts from each textbook randomly
which is many different tenses. I found that tenses used in the reading text of SMP textbook
were the simple past, the simple present tense, the simple future tense, the present perfect
and the past countinuous. I should analyzed the data , the sentences from each reading texts
were labeled or coded, classified and interpreted one by one.
The Future Researcher
My study hopefully can also improve the understanding on the English teaching,
particularly in the grammar part, for the teacher’s participant, the researcher and readers. As
a result, in the teaching itself, they as the student-teacher can make more sustainable
improvement in teaching learning. Second, the description of the data hopefully can be
useful information for teaching micro class or practicum programs for the English
Department students of Satya Wacana Christian University in preparing the studentsteachers in becoming professional English teachers in the future.
34
Acknowledgement
I would like to express my gratitude to Allah S.W.T who gave many bounties to me
to finish this thesis. I submit my highest appreciation to my supervisor, Dra. Martha
Nandari, M.A whose expertise, guidance, patience, and her assistance in writing this thesis.
Without her guidance, I would never have been able to finish my thesis, despite her
extremely busy schedule. I would like to thank Athriyana Pattiwael,M.Hum for examining
my thesis and giving a lot of suggestion. I also wish to express my love and gratitude to my
beloved families; my boyfriend for their understanding and endless love,through the
duration of my study. I also would like to thank to Adisti, Deby and Fatra for assistance in
the data collection. Special thanks also to all my seveners family,
I Love you all!!
35
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APPENDIX
Samples of Reading Texts
Siswanto, Joko., Arini, Yuniarti Dwi., & Dewanto, Wasi. (2005) . Let’s Talk VII. Pakar
Karya. Bandung
The Lion and The Mouse
One day a Lion lay asleep in the jungle. A tiny Mouse, running about
in the grass and not noticing where he was going, ran over the Lion's head
and down his nose.
The Lion awoke with a loud r