By Ari Wijayanto Student Number: 031214030 ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

  

THE PERFORMANCE ON ANALYSING THE ADJECTIVE CLAUSE

USING THE X-BAR SCHEMA OF THE SIXTH SEMESTER STUDENTS

  

IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

OF SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

A THESIS

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

  By Ari Wijayanto

  Student Number: 031214030

  

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION

FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

  

THE PERFORMANCE ON ANALYSING THE ADJECTIVE CLAUSE

USING THE X-BAR SCHEMA OF THE SIXTH SEMESTER STUDENTS

  

IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

OF SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

A THESIS

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

  By Ari Wijayanto

  Student Number: 031214030

  

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION

FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

  A Sarjana Pendidikan Thesis on

THE PERFORMANCE ON ANALYSING THE ADJECTIVE CLAUSE USING THE X-BAR SCHEMA OF THE SIXTH SEMESTER STUDENTS

  Prepared and Presented by Ari Wijayanto

  Student Number: 031214030 Approved by

  Date Yohana Veniranda, S.Pd., M.Hum.

  18 June 2009 Sponsor A Sarjana Pendidikan Thesis on

  

THE PERFORMANCE ON ANALYSING THE ADJECTIVE CLAUSE

USING THE X-BAR SCHEMA OF THE SIXTH SEMESTER STUDENTS

  

IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

OF SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

  By ARI WIJAYANTO

  Student Number: 031214030

  For my mom, my dad, Ari Novi Wardana, and Meyske Jeannette “Everyone, left to his own devices, forms an idea about what goes on in language which is very far from the truth.”

  Ferdinand de Saussure

  

STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY

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

  Yogyakarta, 18 June 2009 The writer

  Ari Wijayanto 031214030

  

ABSTRACT

  Wijayanto, Ari. 2009. The Performance on Analysing the Adjective Clause Using

  

the X-Bar Schema of the Sixth Semester Students in the English Language

Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University . Yogyakarta: English

  Language Education Study Program Sanata Dharma University.

  Grammar provides the blueprints for a person to produce novel utterances and sentences from limited words. Equally, the intelligibility of a language largely depends on the understanding of the grammar of that language. From these points, it is understood that language teachers as well as students of English Language Education will perform better in teaching by having extensive knowledge of grammar and understanding systems for assessing language as their subject matter. The X-Bar schema, as one of thriving systems for assessing language, can deliberately depict the formations of words, phrases and sentence. However, the use of the X-Bar schema has been apparently poles apart from the practice and consideration on language teaching especially in grammar studies which in turn make it worth researching.

  This current study was conducted to answer two questions. The first question was on the performance of the sixth semester students of English Language Education on analysing the adjective clauses using the X-Bar schema. The second question was on the general classifications of the students’ mistakes in analysing the adjective clauses using the X-Bar schema. The research was conducted to the sixth semester students of the English Language Education academic year 2007/2008. A test which consists of two parts was administrated to answer those two questions.

  The research findings revealed that the performance of the students was sufficient in general in that the result of the test showed that the average score of the students was 57.77%. In details, the first part of the test which tested the students’ knowledge and comprehension of the topics the average score was 64.67% whereas the second part of the test which required the students to apply the concepts and theories of the topics the average score was 50.89%. These figures implied that the students’ performance needs improving so that better performance in their learning especially grammar could be attained. They also answered the first question of the research. On the other hand, the students made mistakes generally in (1) identifying an adjective clause in a complex sentence, (2) identifying a CP related to the noun which was modified, (3) identifying the head of a main clause and (4) merging the categories of a matrix clause in both subject-subject adjective clause and object-subject adjective clause. These findings answer the second question.

  As the students’ performance needs improving, the writer proposed some ideas of teaching adjective clauses and syntax to the English Language Education students. Furthermore, the writer also recommended that future research be directed to look for the underlying factors of the students’ mistakes so that better performance can be attained.

  

ABSTRAK

  Wijayanto, Ari. 2009. The Performance on Analysing The Adjective Clause Using

  

the X-Bar Schema of the Sixth Semester Students in the English Language

Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University . Yogyakarta: Program

  Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Universitas Sanata Dharma.

  Tata bahasa memberikan cetak biru bagi seseorang untuk untuk menciptakan ujaran dan kalimat baru dari kata-kata yang terbatas. Demikian pula, kejelasan atas sebuah bahasa sangat bergantung pada pemahaman atas tata bahasa dari bahasa tersebut. Dari hal ini dapat dipahami bahwa guru bahasa dan juga mahasiswa pendidikan bahasa Inggris akan berperforma lebih baik dalam mengajar dengan memiliki pengatahuan yang luas akan tata bahasa dan memahami sistem untuk menilai bahasa sebagai pokok persoalan. Skema X berpalang, sebagai salah satu sistem yang sangkil dalam menilai bahasa, menunjukkan pembentukan kata-kata, frase-frase dan kalimat-kalimat secara hati- hati dan runtut dengan cara yang cerdas namun sederhana. Namun demikian, penggunakan skema X berpalang nampaknya telah terpisahkan dari praktek pengajaran bahasa yang justru sebaliknya membuat hal ini layak untuk diteliti.

  Studi ini berusaha menjawab dua pertanyaan. Pertanyaan pertama menanyakan performa mahasiswa-mahasiswi semester enam Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris dalam menganalisis klausa adjektiva menggunakan skema X berpalang. Pertanyaan kedua menanyakan kesalahan-kesalahan umum yang dilakukan oleh mahasiswa-mahasiswi semester enam Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris dalam menganalisis klausa adjektiva menggunakan skema X berpalang. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan terhadap mahasiswa-mahasiswi semester enam Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris tahun ajaran 2007/2008. Sebuah tes yang terdiri atas dua bagian diujikan untuk menjawab kedua pertanyaan tersebut.

  Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa performa mahasiswa-mahasiswi adalah cukup secara umum karena nilai rata-rata tesnya adalah 57,77%. Sebagai rincian, pada bagian pertama tes, yang mengujikan pengetahuan dan pemahaman dari topik-topik di atas, nilai rata-ratanya adalah 64,67% sedangkan pada bagian kedua tes yang mengujikan mahasiswa untuk menerapkan konsep dan teori dari topik-topik di atas nilai rata-ratanya adalah 50,89%. Angka-angka tersebut menyiratkan bahwa performa mahasiswa-mahasiswi perlu ditingkatkan sehingga performa yang lebih baik dalam studi terutama dalam tata-bahasa dapat dicapai. Hal tersebut juga menjawab pertanyaan pertama dari penelitian ini. Di sisi lain, mahasiswa-mahasiswi melakukan kesalahan umumnya pada (1) mengidentifikasi sebuah klausa adjektiva dalam kalimat majemuk, (2) mengidentifikasi klausa pelengkap (CP) dalam kaitanya dengan kata benda yang diterangkannya, (3) mengidentifikasi kategori yang menjadi kepala dari klausa induk dan (4) menggabungkan kategori-kategori dari kalimat majemuk baik dalam subjek- subjek dan objek-subjek klausa ajektiva. Temuan-temuan tersebut menjawab pertanyaan kedua dalam penelitian ini. Karena performa mahasiswa-mahasiswi perlu ditingkatkan, penulis mengajukan beberapa gagasan dalam mengajar klausa ajektiva dan sintaksis. Lebih jauh lagi, penulis juga menyarankan penelitian lanjutan diarahkan untuk mencari faktor-faktor yang menjadi penyebab mahasiswa-mahasiswi melakukan kesalahan sehingga performa yang lebih baik dapat dicapai.

  

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN

PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS

  Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma: Nama : Ari Wijayanto Nomor Mahasiswa : 031214030

  Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:

THE PERFORMANCE ON ANALYSING THE ADJECTIVE CLAUSE USING THE X-BAR SCHEMA OF THE SIXTH SEMESTER STUDENTS

  beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, me- ngalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di Internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis. Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya.

  Dibuat di Yogyakarta Pada tanggal: 12 Agustus 2009 Yang menyatakan Ari Wijayanto

  

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I would like to express my greatest gratitude to Jesus Christ for His everlasting love, blessing and for making everything possible and beautiful just in time.

  My deepest gratitude goes to my major sponsor, Yohana Veniranda, S.Pd., M.Hum., for her precious time and support. Her criticism and suggestion were very helpful to complete this thesis. I would like to address my thankfulness to Drs. Y.B. Gunawan, M.A., for his permission to conduct my research in his class and for his positive advice. I also would like to thank the sixth semester students class A of Morpho-Syntax of the academic year 2007/2008 for their willingness to be the respondents of this research.

  My sincere appreciation also goes to my mother, my father and my brother for their support in accomplishing this thesis. I would like thank Meyske Jeannette for maintaining my sanity in time of difficulties through her everlasting love, patience and smile.

  I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the lecturers of the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University, PBI secretariat staff, Mbak Daniek and Mbak Tari, and the library staff, for their guidance, inspiration, encouragement and help during my study. I would like also thank Dr. Bambang Triguno who patiently supported and guided me to finish this thesis. I also thank Mera Puspitasari, S.E., Aff. W.M., and Beatri Hiprakurniwan, S.E., M.M., for her willingness to help my research on statistic.

  I also want to express my gratitude to PBI fellows, Daniel, Mas Denny, Niko, Devi ‘Amoy’, Reta, Lintang, Nina, Ozzy, Yuanita, Ipad, Dhea, Bagong, Bhe, Ratna, Paulina, Alene ‘Cret’, Cimoy, Indra, Om Adit and Bram for the unforgettable moments during the study. I thank my fellow teachers and staff of Cresscendo Music School for their support in finishing my thesis. I also thank my fellow teachers, staff and managers of LBA Interlingua especially Sari Irjayanti, S. Hut., for her kindness to give me some opportunities to teach. I also thank Imam Budi Purwoko. S.T., M.A. for his new insights of teaching and for sharpening my knowledge through wonderful discussions.

  Ari Wijayanto

  

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

  TITLE PAGE ............................................................. ........................................ i APPROVAL PAGES ......................................................................................... ii DEDICATION PAGE ........................................................……........................ iv STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ................................................... v ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................... vi

  

ABSTRAK ................................................................. .......................................... vii

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................…............................ xi LIST OF TABLES ............................................................ ................................. xiv LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................ xv LIST OF APPENDICES .................................................................................... xvii

  CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Research Background ...................................................................................

  1 B. Problem Formulation ....................................................................................

  3 C. Problem Limitation ....................................................................................... 4 D. Research Objectives .................................................................……............

  5 E. Research Benefits ….....................................................................................

  5 F. Definition of Terms ......................................................................................

  6 CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW A. Theoretical Review ........................................................................ ..............

  8 1. Theoretical Review of Adjective Clause ................................................

  8 a. Independent Clause, Dependent Clause and Modifier .......…..........

  8

  b. Relative pronoun .......................................................... ……............ 10 1) Who .............................................................................................. 10 2) Which ........................................................................................... 11 3) Whom ........................................................................................... 11

  c. Embedding .................................... ................................................... 13

  2. Theoretical Review of the X-Bar Schema .............................................. 14

  a. The Blueprint .................................................................................... 14 1) Head, Specifier and Complement .................................. .............. 15 2) Merge Operation .......................................................................... 17

  b. The I' and the Inflection Phrase ....................………........................ 20 c. Complementizer Phrase ................................................................ ...

  21

  d. Wh Movement and Trace on Complemetizer Phrase ...................... 23

  e. The Syntactic Structure of the Adjective Clause ........................ ..... 26

  B. Theoretical Framework ................................................................ ................ 28

  CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY A. Research Method ............................................................................ ............. 30 B. Research Respondent ......................................................................... .......... 31 C. Research Instrument ..................................................................................... 32

  1. Type of Instrument ................................................................................. 32

  2. Validity and Reliability of the Instrument .............................................. 33

  a. Test Validity ..................................................................................... 33 1) Content Validity ........................................................................... 34 2) Construct Validity ........................................................................ 35 3) Face Validity ................................................................................ 36

  b. Test Reliability ................................................................................. 36

  c. Test Practicality ................................................................................ 38

  D. Data Gathering Technique ................................................................... ........ 38

  E. Data Analysis Technique ..................................................................... ........ 39

  F. Research Procedure ............................................................................. ........ 40

  CHAPTER IV RESEARCH FINDING AND DISCUSSION A. Data Presentation ..........................................................................…............ 41

  1. The Students’ Performance on the Test .................................................. 41

  b. The Students’ Final Scores ............................................................... 43

  2. The Presentation of the Descriptive Statistics ........................................ 45

  B. Discussion ......................................................................................... ........... 47

  1. The Students’ Performance on Analysing the Adjective Clauses using the X-Bar Schema ......................................................................... 47

  2. The General Classifications of the Students’ Mistakes .......................... 49

  a. Main Clause, Subordinate Clause and Modifier ............................... 49

  b. Complementizer Phrase and Wh Movement .................................... 54

  c. Wh Movement and Trace on Inflection Phrase ……......................... 60

  d. Drawing the Tree Diagram ................................................…........... 70

  CHAPTER V CONCLUSION, IMPLICATION AND SUGGESTION A. Conclusion .................................................................................................... 87 B. Teaching Implication .................................................................................... 89

  1. Teaching Syntax ..................................................................................... 89

  2. Teaching Adjective Clause ..................................................................... 91

  C. Suggestion .................................................................................................... 92

  

BIBLIOGRAPHY …………………………………....………………………. 93

APPENDICES

  Appendix A. The Test and the Answer…………….................……….………. 96 Appendix B. The Computation of the Test Reliability ….… ...………..……… 103 Appendix C. Lesson Plans and Teaching Materials ……….………… .......….. 109 Appendix D. Examples of the Students’ Test ……………….……… ...........… 127

  

LIST OF TABLES

Page

Table 2.1 Specifiers in Relation to Head ............................................................ 16Table 2.2 Lexical Categories and Their Inflectional Affixes ............................. 18Table 2.3 Distributional Properties of Nouns, Verbs, and Adjectives ............... 18Table 2.4 Syntactic Categories ........................................................................... 19Table 3.1 The Distribution of the Test Contents................................................. 35Table 4.1 The Students’ Scores in Part A............................................................ 42Table 4.2 The Students’ Scores in Part B.................................................... ....... 43Table 4.3 The Students’ Final Scores ................................................................. 44Table 4.4 The Students’ Scores in Relation to the Category............................ .. 45Table 4.5 The Descriptive Statistics ................................................................... 46

  

LIST OF FIGURES

Page

Figure 2.1 The X' Schema .................................................................................. 15Figure 2.2 A VP Consisting of a Specifier, a Head, and a Complement .......... . 16Figure 2.3 Merge Operations in Action .......................................................... ... 20Figure 2.4 The Structure of a Sentence .............................................................. 21Figure 2.5 Complementizer Phrase .................................................................... 22Figure 2.6 How Derivations Works ................................................................ ... 24Figure 2.7 An Example of the D-Structure of an Adjective Clause ................... 25Figure 2.8 An Example of S-Structure as a Result of the Movement ................ 25Figure 2.9 The D-Structure of a Sentence Containing an Adjective Clause ... .. 27Figure 2.10 The S-Structure of a Sentence Containing an Adjective Clause . ... 27

  Figure 4.1a The Tree Diagram of the Correct CP .............................................. 56 Figure 4.1b The Incorrect Tree Diagram of the CP in which CP as an IP ......... 56 Figure 4.1c The Incorrect Tree Diagram of the CP in which CP as an NP ........ 57 Figure 4.1d The Incorrect Tree Diagram of the CP in which CP as an IP ......... 57

Figure 4.2 An Adjective Clause Modifies a NP ................................................. 58

  Figure 4.3a The Tree Diagram of the Question Number 7 and 8 ....................... 61 Figure 4.3b The D-Structure of the Sentence [4] ..........................................….. 62 Figure 4.3c The S-Structure of the Sentence [4] ................................................ 63 Figure 4.4a The Tree Diagram of the Question number 9 and 10 .............. ....... 66 Figure 4.4b The D-Structure of the Sentence [5] ........................................ ...... 67 Figure 4.4c The S-Structure of the Sentence [5] ................................................ 68

Figure 4.5 The Correct Tree Diagram of the Sentence [6] ................................. 71

  Figure 4.6a The Tree diagram of the Students Achieved Score 4 .............. ....... 72 Figure 4.6b The Tree diagram of the Students Achieved Score 4 ............... ...... 73 Figure 4.7a The Tree Diagram of the Students Achieved Score 3 ..................... 74 Figure 4.7b The Tree Diagram of the Students Achieved Score 3 ................…. 75 Figure 4.8a The Tree Diagram of the Students Achieved Score 2 ..................... 76 Figure 4.8b The Tree Diagram of the Students Achieved Score 2 ..................... 77

  Figure 4.9a The Tree Diagram of the Students Achieved Score 1 .......... .......... 78 Figure 4.9b The Tree Diagram of the Students Achieved Score 1 ............. ....... 79

Figure 4.10 The Correct Tree Diagram of the Sentence [7] .................... .......... 80Figure 4.11 The Tree Diagram of the Students Achieved Score 4 ......... ........... 81

  Figure 4.12a The Tree Diagram of the Students Achieved Score 3 .............. .... 82 Figure 4.12b The Tree Diagram of the Students Achieved Score 3 ....... ........... 83 Figure 4.12c The Tree Diagram of the Students Achieved Score 3 ........... ....... 83

Figure 4.13 The Tree Diagram of the Students Achieved Score 2 ........... ......... 84

  Figure 4.14a The Tree Diagram of the Students Achieved Score 1 ................... 85 Figure 4.14b The Tree Diagram of the Students Achieved Score 1 ........ .......... 85 Figure 4.14c The Tree Diagram of the Students Achieved Score 1 ........... ....... 86

  

LIST OF APPENDICES

Page

  Appendix A. The Test and the Answer…………….................……….………. 96 Appendix B. The Computation of the Test Reliability …… ....………..……… 102 Appendix C. Lesson Plans and Teaching Materials …………………. .......….. 107 Appendix D. Examples of the Students’ Test …………………….… ...........… 124

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The writer puts forward his rationale in doing the research in this chapter. He questions two important problems which are going to be answered in this

  research. The purpose, limitation and benefit of the research are also elaborated in this chapter. Finally, the writer also provides the definition of terms based on the relevant sources to avoid misunderstanding.

A. Research Background

  The practice of English language teaching is closely related to the grammar. Tracing back to the history of English language teaching, it reveals that grammar becomes the main consideration in language teaching (Howatt and Widdowson, 2004: 95-98). Grammar is evidently vital in the practice of English language teaching and language itself in that grammar provides blueprints on how one should combine words to form meaningful sentences and utterances. Equally, the intelligibility of a language largely depends on the understanding of the grammar of that language. Grammar is the answer on how one creates and understands novel utterances and sentences from limited words (Fromkin, Rodman and Hyams, 2003: 117-121). Therefore, it is understood that language teachers as well as students of English Language Education will perform better by having extensive knowledge of grammar. It cannot be denied that correcting students’ performance on speaking or writing is grammatical. By knowing the correct rules and patterns, teachers lead and help the students to be able to use language grammatically, accurately and meaningfully. In addition, the tendency of contemporary language teaching literatures and practices perceive grammar as a skill in which it demands extensive knowledge of grammar (Celce-Murcia and Larsen-Fremaan, 1999: 4-6; Larsen-Freeman, 2003: 34-48).

  Therefore, this research is put down on the investigations of the grammar studies which help the language teachers assess language as their main subject matter. X-Bar schema, hereafter is abbreviated X' schema, is one of the thriving methods to assess linguistic phenomena. Nevertheless, the use of the X' schema has been apparently poles apart from the practice and consideration of language teaching. It is due the fact that the X' requires understanding of various concepts like complementizer, empty category, movement or tree diagram which are somewhat unusual (Alip, 2006). Moreover, for those who are not accustomed to using the X' schema to analyse linguistic phenomena it might be felt impractical. In spite of the terms which are problematic, the X' schema provides simplicity and deliberately shows generations of words, phrase or sentences. It means that the X' schema does not only deals with the actual utterances or performance (Alip, 2006), but the X' schema also shows the competence in which the generation of those elements are rooted in a speaker’s mind. Another colour of the X' schema is the use of tree diagrams. The tree diagrams are graphic representations of grammatical relations of each syntactic category. The X' schema widely employs tree diagrams to show how words, phrases and sentences are generated. Once the teachers comprehend how words, phrases and sentences are generated, explanations to the students on language forms and functions are clear and reliable.

  To relate with the practice of English language teaching, this research puts forward on the practical uses and the application of the X' schema to analyse adjective clauses as one of the subjects of language teaching. The adjective clauses have been interest for many researchers to investigate for their complexity and usage (Annas, 2004 and Lin and Bever, 2006). Some teaching literatures (Celce-Murcia and Larsen-Freeman, 1999: 571-573; Murphy, 1985: 182-190 and Yule, 2004: 239-240) also indicate that the adjectives clauses should be elaborated in a great respect. However, most of the researchers investigate the adjective clauses in the light of teaching strategies and second language acquisition. Therefore, this research carries out the research in the framework of syntax as a complement of those researches. This research is expected to give positive contribution in language teaching by disclosing the students’ performance in applying the X' schema as well as making general classifications of the students’ mistakes so that better performance in teaching could be attained.

B. Problem Formulation

  The research questions are the followings:

  1. What is the sixth semester students’ performance on analysing the adjective clauses using the X-Bar schema?

  2. What are the general classifications of the most mistakes commonly made by the students on analysing the adjective clauses using the X-Bar schema?

C. Problem Limitation

  This research is conducted to the sixth semester students of English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University academic year 2007/2008. The main focus of this research is to measure students’ performance to analyse adjective clause using the X' schema. To measure the students’ performance the writer will administers a test. The test results are then analysed to determine the students’ performance and to know the mistakes on analysing the adjective clauses.

  Since adjective clauses are a broad topic, the writer limits the topic of the adjective clause. This research will focus on the restrictive adjective clauses which use relative pronouns which, who, whom and that. According to Biber, Conrad and Leech (2002: 284-286), those relative pronouns are included in the high frequency of relative pronouns choices in conversation, fiction, news and academic prose. Therefore, they clearly deserve priority from pedagogical perspective to be analysed.

  The writer uses and follows the theories which is used as the main sources in Morpho-Syntax class to analyse the adjective clauses. The theories are taken from the book entitled Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction (2005) by O’Grady, Archibald, Aronof and Rees-Miller. The consideration of taking that book is because the sixth semester students who become the sample of the research study the theories taken from the book. Therefore, in making the research instrument and in discussing the findings, the writer refers to that theory as the main source. In addition, the book emphasises more on the practical uses of the

  X ' schema rather than philosophical. Therefore, it is suitable to be used for language teachers and candidate of teachers as a media to depict language.

  D. Research Objective

  Based on the background of the problem and the problem formulation, the purposes of the research are:

  1. To find out the sixth semester students’ performance on analysing the adjective clauses using the X-Bar schema.

  2. To find out the general classifications of the most mistakes commonly made by the sixth semester students on analysing the adjective clauses using the X-Bar schema.

  E. Research Benefit

  This research will give positive contributions to the field of language teaching and linguistics. In language teaching, this research will measure the students’ performance on their extensive knowledge of the grammar study related to the adjective clauses and the X' schema. Besides, this research also looks for general classifications of the students’ mistakes. Once the students’ performance is measured and mistakes are classified, better improvement on grammar study can be enhanced in which it will bring about a change in the knowledge and behavior of the students in the teaching practice. On the other hand, in the area of linguistics, this research can be used as a basis to conduct similar research with different interests to enrich and enlarge research-based literature on linguistics.

F. Definition of Terms

  This research uses some technical terms in the area of linguistics and language teaching. In order to avoid misunderstanding among the readers, the writer provides some definitions of terms related to the research based on relevant sources.

  1. Performance

  According to McKean (2005), performance is an action, task, or operation seen in terms on how successfully it was. In this research, performance refers to on how successful the sixth semester students on applying the concepts and theories of the X' schema to analyse the adjective clauses. Furthermore, a test which consists of two parts is administered to elicit the students’ performance. Once the students’ scores are obtained, the students’ performance is classified according to the academic regulations of Sanata Dharma University which are used as the benchmark.

  2. Adjective Clause

  Azar (1999: 267) states that adjective clause or relative clause is a dependent clause that modifies a noun. It describes, identifies or gives further information about a noun. On the other hands, Yule (2004: 240) adds that adjective clauses do not only describe and identify nouns but also people.

  An adjective clause uses relative pronoun such as who, which, whom and

  

that to connect the dependent clause to the independent clause. Murphy (1985:

  182-184) elaborates that the relative pronoun who is used to talk about people,

  

which is used for things, that can be used either for people or things. In addition,

whom is used when the adjective clause functions as an object in formal English.

  3. X-Bar Schema

  According to O’Grady et al. (2005: 658), X' schema is the template for phrase structure, indicating that a phrase is hierarchically organised with a head, complement and specifier. The symbol X is used as a variable denoting any word category. In addition, Radford (1997: 535) adds that the X' is an intermediate projection headed by a word category. Furthermore, according to O’Grady et al. (2005: 155-157), the X' schema captures four generalisations. First, all phrases have a three-level structure. Second, all phrases contain a head. Third, if there is a complement, it is attached at the intermediate X' level as a ‘sister’ of the head. Fourth, if there is a specifier, it is attached at the XP level.

  4. Tree Diagram

  According to Radford (1997: 533), a tree diagram is a way of representing the syntactic structure of a phrase or a sentence. In addition, the tree diagram represents the formations of phrases and sentences hierarchically. It is called a ‘tree’ because the representation of the syntactic structures using this diagram is similar to a tree sketch with its branch and leaves.

CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW The writer elaborates theories of adjective clause and X-Bar based on

  relevant sources in this chapter. This chapter is also meant to present the theoretical ground as the basis of analysis. Contemporary theories of adjective clause and X-Bar are presented here.

A. Theoretical Review

  In this part, the writer reviews many theories related to the adjective clause and the X' schema to provide theoretical background to conduct the research. The first part is related to the adjective clauses theory and the second part is related to the X' schema. The followings are the complete elaborations of those theories.

1. Theoretical Review of Adjective Clause Many literatures on grammar discuss adjective clauses extensively.

  However, to avoid exaggerate discussion on the adjective clauses and to synchronise those literatures with the aims of this study the writer will discuss theories and concepts of the adjective clause related to the research.

a. Independent Clause, Dependent Clause and Modifier

  According to Azar (1999: 267) and Murphy (1985: 182), a clause is a part of a sentence which contains a subject and verb. On the other hand, Azar (1999:

  267) also states that an independent clause or a main clause is a complete sentence. It contains the main subject and verb of a sentence. It should be also contrasted with the term dependent clause or subordinate clause since an adjective clause is a dependent clause. A dependent clause is not a complete sentence. It must be connected to an independent clause.

  On the other hand, adjectives, as Azar (1999: A4) states, give a little different meaning by describing or modifying nouns. Therefore, as the name suggests, the adjective clause is a clause which functions to modify or to describe about a noun. In line with the arguments, Murphy (1985: 182) states that an adjective clause is not only to explain about a noun but also a pronoun. In other words, the adjective clause functions as a modifier of a noun or pronoun. To make it precise, sentence [1] illustrates those explanations. [1] The woman who lives next door is a doctor.

  The clause in italic is an adjective clause. It is an adjective clause because it functions to modify or to give further information about the noun phrase the

  

woman . By adding an adjective clause after the noun phrase, a speaker intends to

  be precise on which he or she means. Still according to Murphy (1985: 182), sentence [1] actually consists of two sentences. They are [1a] and [1b].

  [1a] The woman is a doctor. [1b] She lives next door. Comparing sentence [1a], [1b] and [1], it makes an impression that [1b] explains or gives further information of sentence the [1a]. It gives further information of the noun phrase the woman. However, if [1b] merely combines with [1a] it will be less elegant and wordier. Therefore, the presence of the relative pronoun who encodes the properties of [1b] so that it naturally attaches to [1a] to form [1]. The next part discusses the theoretical description of the relative pronoun.

b. Relative Pronoun

  The relative pronoun is the most noticeable feature of an adjective clause because of its functions. The relative pronoun marks or introduces the adjective clause as well as functions as a subject or an object in a sentence (Philips, 2003: 119 and Swan, 2005: 477). The relative pronouns such as who, which, whom and

  

that introduce the adjective clauses. However, the use of the relative pronouns

  largely depends on the noun or pronoun which is modified. The followings are the explanation of each relative pronoun.

1) Who

  The relative pronoun who introduces an adjective clause when it modifies or gives further explanation about people. The relative pronoun who replaces the use of he, she, or they (Azar, 1999: 268 and Murphy, 1985: 182). Sentence [2] illustrates the role of the relative pronoun who in a sentence.

  [2] I thanked the woman who helped me. The presence of the relative pronoun who in the clause who helped me introduces that the phrase is an adjective clause. According to Azar (1999: 268), the sentence [2] consists of an independent clause [2a] and dependent clause [2b]. Therefore, sentence [2a] and [2b] constitute [2].

  [2a] I thanked the woman. [2b] The woman helped me. The phrase the woman in [2b] corresponds to the noun phrase the woman in [2a] therefore the relative pronoun who is used when those two sentences are combined in which one of those sentences functions as the modifier.

  2) Which

  Conversely, the relative pronoun which introduces an adjective clause when it modifies or gives further explanation about things (Murphy, 1985: 182).

  Sentence [3] illustrates the use of which in an adjective clause.

  [3] Where is the cheese which was in the fridge? Following the same arguments, dependent clause [3a] and independent clause [3b] constitutes sentence [3].

  [3a] Where is the cheese? [3b] It was in the fridge.

  The pronoun it in [3b] corresponds to the noun phrase the cheese in [3a]. Therefore, the relative pronoun which takes the position of the pronoun to form the sentence [3].

  3) Whom

  Similar to the former relative pronoun, the relative pronoun whom introduces an adjective clause when it modifies about people. However, as Azar (1999: 268) puts forward, whom is generally used only in formal English. In speaking, who is usually used instead of whom. However, in the perspective of grammar, the relative pronoun whom is used when it functions as an object of the verb. Sentence [4] illustrates the use of whom in an adjective clause. [4] The man whom I met was Lecter. Based on the arguments that an adjective clause connects to an independent clause, sentence [4a] and [4b] comprise [4].

  [4a] The man was Lecter [4b] I met him.

  Comparing [4a], [4b] and [4], the presence of the relative pronoun whom is clear then. The object pronoun him which functions as an object corresponds to the pronoun Lecter therefore the relative pronoun whom occupies the object position to make up sentence [4].

4) That Another relative pronoun which introduces either people or things is that.

  According to Murphy (1985: 182-184 and Azar, 1999: 268), the relative pronoun

  

that occupies same properties as which and who. Instead of using who and which,

that can be used in an adjective clause. Following the arguments therefore,

  sentence [5] and [6] below have the same meaning as sentence [2] and [3].

  [5] I thanked the woman that helped me. [6] Where is the cheese that was in the fridge. A final point which should be clear is that those relative pronouns also occurs in a noun clause. The relative pronoun who, which and that can function as a connector in a noun clause (Philips, 2003: 117). However, the nature of the noun clause naturally distinguishes from an adjective clause. As the name suggest, a noun clause is a clause which is treated like a noun. Therefore, it can occupy the position of subject, object and object preposition whereas an adjective clause cannot. It should be another point which needs to be taken in to account in considering an adjective clause in a sentence.

c. Embedding The formation of an adjective clause entails embedding process.

  Embedding is a process in which one clause embeds or pushes in within another superordinate clause or a main clause (Celce-Murcia and Larsen-Freeman, 1999: 572). Thus, it implies that the adjective clause derives from a basic structure consisting of more than one sentence in which one sentence modifies another sentence. Furthermore, Celce-Murcia and Larsen-Freeman (1999: 572) illustrates the idea of embedding in sentence [7] clearly.

  [7] The fans who were attending the rock concert had to wait in line for three hours.

  By observing [7] closely, it has a sense that the embedded clause in italics is closely associated with the noun phrase the fans. The italics clause gives further explanation or explains the noun phrase precedes it. In the perspective of Murphy (1985: 182-184) and in line with Azar (1999: 268), sentence [7] consists of two sentences. They are [7a] and [7b].

  [7a] The fans had to wait in line for three hours.

  [7b] They were attending the rock concert. The subject they in [7b] corresponds to the subject the fans of [7a]. Thus, relative pronoun who can replace the subject position to form more elegant sentence such as [7]. The process in which [7b] push in within [7a] to form a more elegant sentence such as [7] is called the embedding.