THE ACQUISITION OF ElYGLlSH TAG QUESTIONS BY INDONESIAN HIGH SCHOOL S'TUDENTS: AN ERROR ANALYSIS
THE ACQUISITION OF ElYGLlSH TAG QUESTIONS
BY INDONESIAN HIGH SCHOOL S'TUDENTS :AN ERROR ANALYSIS
In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for
the Sarjana Pend~dikan Degree in
English Language Teaching
-
%eng
IG.
UNIVERSITAS
KATOLIK
FAKULTAS
PROGRAM
1213083017
WlDYA
KEGURUAN
JURUSAN
MANDALA
DlAN
PENDIDIKAN
STUD1
/
-- ---I----_-.
d o a n S ) e r l i a n a i- _ _ _
ILMU
BAHASA
PENDIDIKAN
NOVEMBER,
PENDIDIKAN
DAN
BAHASA
1988
SURABAYA
SEN1
INGGRIS
I
i
APPROVAL SHEET
( 1 )
This thesis entitled THE ACQUISITION OF ENGLISH TAG
QUESTIONS BY
INDONESIAN H I G H
SCHOOL STUDENTS
: AN
ERROR
ANALYSIS
i s p r e p a r e d and s u b m i t t e d by Beng Avon D e r l i a n a
h a s been
the
approved and
requirements
for
accepted as p a r t i a l
the
Sarjana
fulfilment
Pendidikan
degree
of
in
E n g l i s h Language Teaching by t h e f o l l o w i n g a d v i s o r s .
Dam-dgiman,
Drs.
M .A.
Drs.
Ignatius Harjanto
_
,
,
/-
L-
F i r s t Advisor
Second Advisor
APPROVAL SHEET
T h i s t h e s i s h a s been examined
by
the
on O r a l Examinati2n w i t h a g r a d e of
Committee
B
o n November 4 , 1 9
Chairman
I
~ i s . .I g n a t i u s H a r j a n t o
Member
Dra.
Member
S i t i Minah Tamah
~ r a .M a g d a l e n a I . K a r t i o
Member
Member
Approved. b y
Dr.
mi
Soedjatmiko
Dean o f
Head o f
The T e a c h e r T r a i n i n g
The E n g l i s h Department
College
ACKNOHLEDGEMENT
T h e w r l t e r w o u l d l l k e t o t h a n k God f o r g i v i n g h e r
a n o p p o r t u n i t y t o s t u d y i n t h e E n g l i s h D e p a r t m e n t o f Wldya
Mandala
University
and
for
the
accomplishment
of
this
thesis writing.
She would l i k e t o e x p r e s s h e r g r a t i t u t e t o :
1. D r s .
Wagiman,
3.
M.A.,
her f i r s t thesis writing
a d v i s o r , whose comments a n d s u g g e s t i o n s h a v e b e e n o f g r e a t
h e l p t o h e r i n accomplishing t h i s t h e s i s .
2.
Ignatius
Drs.
Har?anto,
her
second
thesis
w r i t i n g a d v i s o r , who h a s g u i d e 1 3 h e r p a t i e n t l y i n w r i t i n g
this thesis.
3.
Ir.
A.
Widariono,
the
principal
of
St.
SMAK.
S t a n i s l a u s I1 K a l i j u d a n S u r a b a y a , who h a s g i v e n t h e warm
welcome
and
allowed
her
t o conduct
the
research
in his
school.
4.
Mrs.
Theresia
W i d ~ a s t u t i Soemarno,
Mrs.
Linda
H u d a y a a n d Miss J a d e M e i r i n a , t h e E n g l i s h t e a c h e r s o f SMAK.
S t . S t a n i s l a u s I1 K a l i j u d a n S u r i b a y a , who h a v e g i v e n t h e i r
assistance i n getting the data.
5.
Her
encouragement
beloired husband and f a m i l y ,
and
assistance
.heve b e e n
of
whose s u p p o r t ,
great help t o
her i n finishing her study.
S h e i s w o r r i e d t h a t t h i s t h e s i s c a n n o t be f i n i s h e d
without
some
help
from
them.
She i s
a n y b o d y who h a s g i v e n h i s a s s i s t a n c e .
really
grateful
to
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
v
LIST OF APPENDIXES
vi
CHAPTER
CHAPTER
I.
11.
CHAPTER 111.
CHAPTER
IV.
INTRODUCTION
1
1.1
Background of the Study
1
1.2
Statement of the Problem
3
1.3
The Objective of the Study
3
1.4
The Significance of the Study
4
1.5
The Limitations of the Study
4
1.6
The Assumpt.ions of the Study
4
1.7
Definition of Key Terms
5
1.8
Organization of the Study
6
REVIEW OF RELATEiD LITERATURE
8
2.1
Contrastive Analysis
8
2.2
Error Analysis
13
2.3
Interlanguage
24
METHODOLOGY OF RESEARCH
28
3.1
Population and Sample
29
3.2
Instruments
30
3.3
Procedures of Collecting the Data
33
DATA ANALYSIS AhlD FINDINGS
34
4.1
Types of Errors
34
4.2
The Examples of Students' Errors
37
4.3
CHAPTER
The Causes of the Errors
V. CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
5.1
Summary
5.2
Suggestions
LIST OP APPENDICES
Page
I . The T e s t I t e m s O f The R e s e a r c h T e s t
52
11. The R e l i a b i l i t y of The T e s t
Table A
Table B
-
The S t u d e n t s ' S c o r e s of The T e s t
57
The F r e q u e n c y o f T h e S t u d e n t s ' S c o r e s
60
111. The F r e q u e n c y o f S t u d e n t s ' E r r o r s
Table A
Table B
-
E r r o r s o f The P e r s o n a l P r o n o u n
61
E r r o r s o f The A u x i l i a r y Verb
71
vii
ABSTRACT
E n g l i s h i s t a u g h t and l e a r n e d a s a f o r e i g n l a n g u a g e
i n I n d o n e s i a . The grammar o f t h e E n g l i s h i s t a u g h t t o
I n d o n e s i a n s t u d e n t s b e g i n n i n g from t h e J u n i o r High S c h o o l .
The p r o b l e m w i t h t h e t e a c h i n g o f E n g l i s h grammar i n
I n d o n e s i a i s t h a t t h e s t u d e n t s v e r y o f t e n make e r r o r s
throughout t h e learning process. Considering t h i s f a c t ,
t h e w r i t e r t h r o u g h t h i s s t u d y would l i k e t o h e l p t h e
s t u d e n t s who g e t d i f f i c u l t i 1 2 s i n l e a r n i n g a n d m a s t e r i n g
t h e grammar. The f o c u s o f t h i s s t u d y i s o n t h e s t u d e n t s 1
e r r o r s i n E n g l i s h Tag Q u e s t i o n s .
With r e f e r e n c e of t h e r e a s o n f o r c h o o s i n g t h e
t o p i c , t h e s t a t e m e n t o f t h e major problem under s t u d y i s
formulated a s follows :
"What t y p e s o f e r r o r s d o h i g h s c h o o l s t u d e n t s make
i n t h e l e a r n i n g o f E n g l i s h Tag Q u e s t i o n s a n d w h a t a r e t h e
possible causes of t h e errors?".
There a r e t h r e e o b j e c t i v e which s h o u l d b e a c h i e v e d
i n t h i s s t u d y , namely ; t o i d e n t i f y t h e t y p e s o f e r r o r s
made b y h i g h s c h o o l s t u d e n t : ; i n t h e l e a r n i n g o f E n g l i s h
Tag Q u e q t i o n s ; t o f i n d o u t t h e p o s s i b l e c a u s e s o f t h e
e r r o r s ; a n d t o s u g g e s t some t e c h n i q u e s t o m i n i m i z e t h e
errors.
To g e t t h e d a t a f o r t h i s s t u d y , t h e w r i t e r g a v e
s u b j e c t i v e t e s t t o t h e s e c o n d y e a r s t u d e n t s o f SMAK S t .
S t a n i s l a u s I1 K a l i j u d a n S u r a h a y a . Then s h e n o t e d down a l l
of t h e e r r o r s encountered, analyzed, c l a s s i f i e d , counted
and p u t i n r a n k o r d e r . F ~ n a l l y , s h e i n t e r p r e t e d t h e
f i n d i n g b a s e d on t h e f o r m u l a t e d p r o b l e m s a n d o b j e c t i v e s .
Based o n t h e d a t a , s h e c l a s s i f i e d t h e e r r o r s i n t o two
t y p e s , namely e r r o r s o f t h e p e r s o n a l p r o n o u n s ( = 4 2 % ) a n d
e r r o r s o f t h e a u x i l i a r y v e r t r s ( = 5 8 % ) . Then s h e d i v i d e d
e r r o r s of a u x i l i a r y v e r b s i n t o t h r e e s u b - e r r o r t y p e s ,
namely : m i s u s e s o f a u x i l i a r y v e r b s , a d d i t i o n and o m i s s i o n
of n e g a t i v e markers a f t e r a u x i l i a r y v e r b s .
After t h e w r i t e r c l a s s i f i e d t h e e r r o r s b a s e d on t h e
p a t t e r n occurence, s h e t r i e d t o f i n d o u t t h e causes of t h e
e r r o r s made b y t h e s t u d e n t s . The f i n d i n g s a n d t h e c a u s e s
a r e a s follows :
a . The s t u d e n t s d i d n o t pay a t t e n t i o n t o t h e p o s s e s i v e
p r o n o u n s o f t h e s u b j e c t s i n t h e s t a t e m e n t p a r t . They
u s e t h e wrong f o r m s o f t h e p r o n o u n s i n t h e t a g
q u e s t i o n . These e r r o r s might b e caused b y t r a n s f e r of
training.
b . The s t u d e n t s d i d n o t n o t i c e t h e u s e o f " a r e n ' t " i n t h e
t a g q u e s t i o n a f t e r " I am" i n t h e s t a t e m e n t p a r t . The
cause of t h i s e r r o r i s i n t r a l i n g u a l t r a n s f e r i n f a l s e
viii
concept hypothesized.
c . The s t u d e n t s w e r e n o t a w a r e o f t h e r u l e s o f i m p e r a t i v e
s e n t e n c e s which s h o u l d b e f o l l o w e d b y " w i l l + you" i n
t a g q u e s t i ~ n . The c a u s e o f t h i s e r r o r i s I n t r a l i n g u a l
t r a n s f e r b e c a u s e o f t h e i r wrong s t r a t e g i e s o f l a n g u a g e
learning.
d . The
students
overgeneralized
imperative
sentences
b e g i n n i n g w i t h " L e t ' s " w h i c h s h o u l d b e f o l l o w e d by
" s h a l l + w e " . The c a u s e o f t h i s e r r o r i s i n t r a l i n g u a l
t r a n s f e r i n over generalization.
e. The s t u d e n t s d i d n o t r e a l i z e t h a t s e n t e n c e s c o n t a i n i n g
n e g a t i v e words l i k e ' n o t h i n g 1 and ' n o b o d y 1 a r e f o l l o w e d
b y a f f i r m a t i v e q u e s t i o n ta43.s. The c a u s e o f t h i s e r r o r
is I n t e r l i n g u a l t r a n s f e r i n language t r a n s f e r .
f . The s t u d e n t s d i d n o t p a y a t t e n t i o n t h a t " t h e r e " c a n b e
u s e d a s a s u b j e c t i n q u e s t i o n t a g s . The c a u s e o f t h i s
e r r o r is intralingual t r a n s f e r i n over generalization.
g . The s t u d e n t s d i d n o t u s e t h e a p p r o p r i a t e a u x i l i a r y
according t o t h e tense of t h e statement p a r t . This type
of e r r o r s might b e caused t y i n t r a l i n g u a l i n t e r f e r e n c e .
A n o t h e r c a u s e o f t h i s e r r o r i s t h a t t h e s t u d e n t s were
n o t a w a r e o f t h e e x i s t e n c e o f modal a u x i l i a r i e s i n t h e
s t a t e m e n t p a r t . They h a d f a l s e c o n c e p t h y p o t h e s i s t h a t
t h e f o r m " c o u l d , w o u l d , m i g h t w were i n t e r p r e t e d a s a
m a r k e r o f t h e p a s t t e n s e and ' ' c a n , w i l l , may and s h a l l ' '
were understood t o b e t h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g marker of t h e
present tense.
a l l affirmative
h . The s t u d e n t s o v e r g e n e r a l i z e d t h a t
s t a t e m e n t s s h o u l d b e f o l l o w e d b y n e g a t i v e t a g . They
used negative t a g although t h e sentences containing
n e g a t i v e words l i k e ' n o t h i n g ' , ' n o b o d y ' .
The f i n d i n g s o f t h i s s t u d y show t h a t E n g l i s h Tag
Q u e s t i o n s a r e s t i l l c o n s i d e r e d d i f f i c u l t t o SMA s t u d e n t s
o f S a n t o S t a n i s l a u s I1 K a l i j u d a n S u r a b a y a . R e a l i z i n g t h a t
f a c t , t h e w r i t e r would l i k e t o s u g g e s t how t o m i n i m i z e t h e
students'
errors.
The f o l l o w i n g a r e t h e s u g g e s t i o n s .
F i r s t , the teacher
s h o u l d e m p h a s i z e t h e e x i s t e n c e of
a u x i l i a r y v e r b and p e r s o n a l p r o n o u n
i n constructing
E n g l i s h Tag Q u e s t i o n s . S e c o n d , t h e t e a c h e r s h o u l d e x p l a i n
t h e v a r i a b l e f o r m s i n c o n s t r u c : t i n g E n g l i s h Tag Q u e s t i o n .
They a r e :
a . a f f i r m a t i v e statement should b e followed by n e g a t i v e
t a g s and n e g a t i v e s t a t e m e n t s s h o u l d b e f o l l o w e d by
positive tags ;
b. t h e a u x i l i a r i e s repeat themselves i n t h e tag.
c . ' a r e n ' t ' i s u s e d i n t h e t a g q u e s t i o n a f t e r ' I am' i n
t h e statement part;
d. t h e i m p e r a t i v e s e n t e n c e s ,should b e f o l l o w e d by ' w i l l
y o u 1 i n t a g q u e s t i o n and ' s h a l l we' f o r i m p e r a t i v e
sentence beginning with "Let's";
e . s e n t e n c e s c o n t a i n i n g n e g a t i v e words l i k e ' n o t h i n g ' ,
'nobody '
s h o u l d b e foll.owed by
affirmative
tag
q u e s t i o n . The p r o n o u n " i t u i s u s e d t o a v o i d r e p e a t i n g
' n o t h i n g ' a n d " t h e y " i s u s e d f o r ' n o b o d y 1 . The p r o n o u n
"they"
is
used
to
avoid
repeating
'somebody',
' s o m e o n e ' , and ' e v e r y b o d y ' ;
f . " t h e r e " c a n be u s e d a s a s u b j e c t i n t a g q u e s t i o n s .
Third, t h e teacher should enzourage t h e students t o f i n d
t h e r e a l s u b j e c t i n t h e p o s s e s s i v e form by u s i n g p i c t u r e s
o r d i a g r a m s . If t h e y cannol: g i v e t h e c o r r e c t f o r m o f
p e r s o n a l p r o h o u n w e l l , t h e y
BY INDONESIAN HIGH SCHOOL S'TUDENTS :AN ERROR ANALYSIS
In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for
the Sarjana Pend~dikan Degree in
English Language Teaching
-
%eng
IG.
UNIVERSITAS
KATOLIK
FAKULTAS
PROGRAM
1213083017
WlDYA
KEGURUAN
JURUSAN
MANDALA
DlAN
PENDIDIKAN
STUD1
/
-- ---I----_-.
d o a n S ) e r l i a n a i- _ _ _
ILMU
BAHASA
PENDIDIKAN
NOVEMBER,
PENDIDIKAN
DAN
BAHASA
1988
SURABAYA
SEN1
INGGRIS
I
i
APPROVAL SHEET
( 1 )
This thesis entitled THE ACQUISITION OF ENGLISH TAG
QUESTIONS BY
INDONESIAN H I G H
SCHOOL STUDENTS
: AN
ERROR
ANALYSIS
i s p r e p a r e d and s u b m i t t e d by Beng Avon D e r l i a n a
h a s been
the
approved and
requirements
for
accepted as p a r t i a l
the
Sarjana
fulfilment
Pendidikan
degree
of
in
E n g l i s h Language Teaching by t h e f o l l o w i n g a d v i s o r s .
Dam-dgiman,
Drs.
M .A.
Drs.
Ignatius Harjanto
_
,
,
/-
L-
F i r s t Advisor
Second Advisor
APPROVAL SHEET
T h i s t h e s i s h a s been examined
by
the
on O r a l Examinati2n w i t h a g r a d e of
Committee
B
o n November 4 , 1 9
Chairman
I
~ i s . .I g n a t i u s H a r j a n t o
Member
Dra.
Member
S i t i Minah Tamah
~ r a .M a g d a l e n a I . K a r t i o
Member
Member
Approved. b y
Dr.
mi
Soedjatmiko
Dean o f
Head o f
The T e a c h e r T r a i n i n g
The E n g l i s h Department
College
ACKNOHLEDGEMENT
T h e w r l t e r w o u l d l l k e t o t h a n k God f o r g i v i n g h e r
a n o p p o r t u n i t y t o s t u d y i n t h e E n g l i s h D e p a r t m e n t o f Wldya
Mandala
University
and
for
the
accomplishment
of
this
thesis writing.
She would l i k e t o e x p r e s s h e r g r a t i t u t e t o :
1. D r s .
Wagiman,
3.
M.A.,
her f i r s t thesis writing
a d v i s o r , whose comments a n d s u g g e s t i o n s h a v e b e e n o f g r e a t
h e l p t o h e r i n accomplishing t h i s t h e s i s .
2.
Ignatius
Drs.
Har?anto,
her
second
thesis
w r i t i n g a d v i s o r , who h a s g u i d e 1 3 h e r p a t i e n t l y i n w r i t i n g
this thesis.
3.
Ir.
A.
Widariono,
the
principal
of
St.
SMAK.
S t a n i s l a u s I1 K a l i j u d a n S u r a b a y a , who h a s g i v e n t h e warm
welcome
and
allowed
her
t o conduct
the
research
in his
school.
4.
Mrs.
Theresia
W i d ~ a s t u t i Soemarno,
Mrs.
Linda
H u d a y a a n d Miss J a d e M e i r i n a , t h e E n g l i s h t e a c h e r s o f SMAK.
S t . S t a n i s l a u s I1 K a l i j u d a n S u r i b a y a , who h a v e g i v e n t h e i r
assistance i n getting the data.
5.
Her
encouragement
beloired husband and f a m i l y ,
and
assistance
.heve b e e n
of
whose s u p p o r t ,
great help t o
her i n finishing her study.
S h e i s w o r r i e d t h a t t h i s t h e s i s c a n n o t be f i n i s h e d
without
some
help
from
them.
She i s
a n y b o d y who h a s g i v e n h i s a s s i s t a n c e .
really
grateful
to
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
v
LIST OF APPENDIXES
vi
CHAPTER
CHAPTER
I.
11.
CHAPTER 111.
CHAPTER
IV.
INTRODUCTION
1
1.1
Background of the Study
1
1.2
Statement of the Problem
3
1.3
The Objective of the Study
3
1.4
The Significance of the Study
4
1.5
The Limitations of the Study
4
1.6
The Assumpt.ions of the Study
4
1.7
Definition of Key Terms
5
1.8
Organization of the Study
6
REVIEW OF RELATEiD LITERATURE
8
2.1
Contrastive Analysis
8
2.2
Error Analysis
13
2.3
Interlanguage
24
METHODOLOGY OF RESEARCH
28
3.1
Population and Sample
29
3.2
Instruments
30
3.3
Procedures of Collecting the Data
33
DATA ANALYSIS AhlD FINDINGS
34
4.1
Types of Errors
34
4.2
The Examples of Students' Errors
37
4.3
CHAPTER
The Causes of the Errors
V. CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
5.1
Summary
5.2
Suggestions
LIST OP APPENDICES
Page
I . The T e s t I t e m s O f The R e s e a r c h T e s t
52
11. The R e l i a b i l i t y of The T e s t
Table A
Table B
-
The S t u d e n t s ' S c o r e s of The T e s t
57
The F r e q u e n c y o f T h e S t u d e n t s ' S c o r e s
60
111. The F r e q u e n c y o f S t u d e n t s ' E r r o r s
Table A
Table B
-
E r r o r s o f The P e r s o n a l P r o n o u n
61
E r r o r s o f The A u x i l i a r y Verb
71
vii
ABSTRACT
E n g l i s h i s t a u g h t and l e a r n e d a s a f o r e i g n l a n g u a g e
i n I n d o n e s i a . The grammar o f t h e E n g l i s h i s t a u g h t t o
I n d o n e s i a n s t u d e n t s b e g i n n i n g from t h e J u n i o r High S c h o o l .
The p r o b l e m w i t h t h e t e a c h i n g o f E n g l i s h grammar i n
I n d o n e s i a i s t h a t t h e s t u d e n t s v e r y o f t e n make e r r o r s
throughout t h e learning process. Considering t h i s f a c t ,
t h e w r i t e r t h r o u g h t h i s s t u d y would l i k e t o h e l p t h e
s t u d e n t s who g e t d i f f i c u l t i 1 2 s i n l e a r n i n g a n d m a s t e r i n g
t h e grammar. The f o c u s o f t h i s s t u d y i s o n t h e s t u d e n t s 1
e r r o r s i n E n g l i s h Tag Q u e s t i o n s .
With r e f e r e n c e of t h e r e a s o n f o r c h o o s i n g t h e
t o p i c , t h e s t a t e m e n t o f t h e major problem under s t u d y i s
formulated a s follows :
"What t y p e s o f e r r o r s d o h i g h s c h o o l s t u d e n t s make
i n t h e l e a r n i n g o f E n g l i s h Tag Q u e s t i o n s a n d w h a t a r e t h e
possible causes of t h e errors?".
There a r e t h r e e o b j e c t i v e which s h o u l d b e a c h i e v e d
i n t h i s s t u d y , namely ; t o i d e n t i f y t h e t y p e s o f e r r o r s
made b y h i g h s c h o o l s t u d e n t : ; i n t h e l e a r n i n g o f E n g l i s h
Tag Q u e q t i o n s ; t o f i n d o u t t h e p o s s i b l e c a u s e s o f t h e
e r r o r s ; a n d t o s u g g e s t some t e c h n i q u e s t o m i n i m i z e t h e
errors.
To g e t t h e d a t a f o r t h i s s t u d y , t h e w r i t e r g a v e
s u b j e c t i v e t e s t t o t h e s e c o n d y e a r s t u d e n t s o f SMAK S t .
S t a n i s l a u s I1 K a l i j u d a n S u r a h a y a . Then s h e n o t e d down a l l
of t h e e r r o r s encountered, analyzed, c l a s s i f i e d , counted
and p u t i n r a n k o r d e r . F ~ n a l l y , s h e i n t e r p r e t e d t h e
f i n d i n g b a s e d on t h e f o r m u l a t e d p r o b l e m s a n d o b j e c t i v e s .
Based o n t h e d a t a , s h e c l a s s i f i e d t h e e r r o r s i n t o two
t y p e s , namely e r r o r s o f t h e p e r s o n a l p r o n o u n s ( = 4 2 % ) a n d
e r r o r s o f t h e a u x i l i a r y v e r t r s ( = 5 8 % ) . Then s h e d i v i d e d
e r r o r s of a u x i l i a r y v e r b s i n t o t h r e e s u b - e r r o r t y p e s ,
namely : m i s u s e s o f a u x i l i a r y v e r b s , a d d i t i o n and o m i s s i o n
of n e g a t i v e markers a f t e r a u x i l i a r y v e r b s .
After t h e w r i t e r c l a s s i f i e d t h e e r r o r s b a s e d on t h e
p a t t e r n occurence, s h e t r i e d t o f i n d o u t t h e causes of t h e
e r r o r s made b y t h e s t u d e n t s . The f i n d i n g s a n d t h e c a u s e s
a r e a s follows :
a . The s t u d e n t s d i d n o t pay a t t e n t i o n t o t h e p o s s e s i v e
p r o n o u n s o f t h e s u b j e c t s i n t h e s t a t e m e n t p a r t . They
u s e t h e wrong f o r m s o f t h e p r o n o u n s i n t h e t a g
q u e s t i o n . These e r r o r s might b e caused b y t r a n s f e r of
training.
b . The s t u d e n t s d i d n o t n o t i c e t h e u s e o f " a r e n ' t " i n t h e
t a g q u e s t i o n a f t e r " I am" i n t h e s t a t e m e n t p a r t . The
cause of t h i s e r r o r i s i n t r a l i n g u a l t r a n s f e r i n f a l s e
viii
concept hypothesized.
c . The s t u d e n t s w e r e n o t a w a r e o f t h e r u l e s o f i m p e r a t i v e
s e n t e n c e s which s h o u l d b e f o l l o w e d b y " w i l l + you" i n
t a g q u e s t i ~ n . The c a u s e o f t h i s e r r o r i s I n t r a l i n g u a l
t r a n s f e r b e c a u s e o f t h e i r wrong s t r a t e g i e s o f l a n g u a g e
learning.
d . The
students
overgeneralized
imperative
sentences
b e g i n n i n g w i t h " L e t ' s " w h i c h s h o u l d b e f o l l o w e d by
" s h a l l + w e " . The c a u s e o f t h i s e r r o r i s i n t r a l i n g u a l
t r a n s f e r i n over generalization.
e. The s t u d e n t s d i d n o t r e a l i z e t h a t s e n t e n c e s c o n t a i n i n g
n e g a t i v e words l i k e ' n o t h i n g 1 and ' n o b o d y 1 a r e f o l l o w e d
b y a f f i r m a t i v e q u e s t i o n ta43.s. The c a u s e o f t h i s e r r o r
is I n t e r l i n g u a l t r a n s f e r i n language t r a n s f e r .
f . The s t u d e n t s d i d n o t p a y a t t e n t i o n t h a t " t h e r e " c a n b e
u s e d a s a s u b j e c t i n q u e s t i o n t a g s . The c a u s e o f t h i s
e r r o r is intralingual t r a n s f e r i n over generalization.
g . The s t u d e n t s d i d n o t u s e t h e a p p r o p r i a t e a u x i l i a r y
according t o t h e tense of t h e statement p a r t . This type
of e r r o r s might b e caused t y i n t r a l i n g u a l i n t e r f e r e n c e .
A n o t h e r c a u s e o f t h i s e r r o r i s t h a t t h e s t u d e n t s were
n o t a w a r e o f t h e e x i s t e n c e o f modal a u x i l i a r i e s i n t h e
s t a t e m e n t p a r t . They h a d f a l s e c o n c e p t h y p o t h e s i s t h a t
t h e f o r m " c o u l d , w o u l d , m i g h t w were i n t e r p r e t e d a s a
m a r k e r o f t h e p a s t t e n s e and ' ' c a n , w i l l , may and s h a l l ' '
were understood t o b e t h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g marker of t h e
present tense.
a l l affirmative
h . The s t u d e n t s o v e r g e n e r a l i z e d t h a t
s t a t e m e n t s s h o u l d b e f o l l o w e d b y n e g a t i v e t a g . They
used negative t a g although t h e sentences containing
n e g a t i v e words l i k e ' n o t h i n g ' , ' n o b o d y ' .
The f i n d i n g s o f t h i s s t u d y show t h a t E n g l i s h Tag
Q u e s t i o n s a r e s t i l l c o n s i d e r e d d i f f i c u l t t o SMA s t u d e n t s
o f S a n t o S t a n i s l a u s I1 K a l i j u d a n S u r a b a y a . R e a l i z i n g t h a t
f a c t , t h e w r i t e r would l i k e t o s u g g e s t how t o m i n i m i z e t h e
students'
errors.
The f o l l o w i n g a r e t h e s u g g e s t i o n s .
F i r s t , the teacher
s h o u l d e m p h a s i z e t h e e x i s t e n c e of
a u x i l i a r y v e r b and p e r s o n a l p r o n o u n
i n constructing
E n g l i s h Tag Q u e s t i o n s . S e c o n d , t h e t e a c h e r s h o u l d e x p l a i n
t h e v a r i a b l e f o r m s i n c o n s t r u c : t i n g E n g l i s h Tag Q u e s t i o n .
They a r e :
a . a f f i r m a t i v e statement should b e followed by n e g a t i v e
t a g s and n e g a t i v e s t a t e m e n t s s h o u l d b e f o l l o w e d by
positive tags ;
b. t h e a u x i l i a r i e s repeat themselves i n t h e tag.
c . ' a r e n ' t ' i s u s e d i n t h e t a g q u e s t i o n a f t e r ' I am' i n
t h e statement part;
d. t h e i m p e r a t i v e s e n t e n c e s ,should b e f o l l o w e d by ' w i l l
y o u 1 i n t a g q u e s t i o n and ' s h a l l we' f o r i m p e r a t i v e
sentence beginning with "Let's";
e . s e n t e n c e s c o n t a i n i n g n e g a t i v e words l i k e ' n o t h i n g ' ,
'nobody '
s h o u l d b e foll.owed by
affirmative
tag
q u e s t i o n . The p r o n o u n " i t u i s u s e d t o a v o i d r e p e a t i n g
' n o t h i n g ' a n d " t h e y " i s u s e d f o r ' n o b o d y 1 . The p r o n o u n
"they"
is
used
to
avoid
repeating
'somebody',
' s o m e o n e ' , and ' e v e r y b o d y ' ;
f . " t h e r e " c a n be u s e d a s a s u b j e c t i n t a g q u e s t i o n s .
Third, t h e teacher should enzourage t h e students t o f i n d
t h e r e a l s u b j e c t i n t h e p o s s e s s i v e form by u s i n g p i c t u r e s
o r d i a g r a m s . If t h e y cannol: g i v e t h e c o r r e c t f o r m o f
p e r s o n a l p r o h o u n w e l l , t h e y