An analysis on grammatical errors in the spoken language of business communication class at wisma bahasa Yogyakarta - USD Repository
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
AN ANALYSIS ON GRAMMATICAL ERRORS
IN THE SPOKEN LANGUAGE MADE BY THE STUDENTS OF
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION CLASS AT WISMA BAHASA
YOGYAKARTA
A Thesis
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
RUSI YANNY
Student Number: 021214040
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2007
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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Serenity sets up as the result of
an awareness of
appreciating other people
…. (rusi)
A dedication for:
mama
papa
sisters
brothers
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My endless thank is dedicated to the Lord for allowing me to get along
with my diary of life until now. The last earth quake tragedy in Jogjakarta
reminded me that He still loves me so much that He gives me a chance to step on
my stairs again. I Thank Him for this precious chance.
Completing my study after five years, finally I come to the gate of my
future life. When I step forward, I remember the words that always remind me
that I go to school not for academic purposes but for my life. I realized that the
completion of this thesis would never have been done without the help of the
following people.
The marvelous help of Markus Budirahardjo S.Pd., M.Ed. as my thesis
sponsor was really important for me. I thank him for leading me to accomplish
this thesis. I believe that I was not able to finish this without his sincerity.
Lots of thanks are addressed to my beloved family for supporting me in
this study. My mother and father, Rita and Cui Tien, are two important people in
my life. I would never have been like this if they had neglected me in the past
fifteen years. I am really indebted to them for the whole of my life time. The good
will never return for the evil. I promise this to myself and they can keep these
words. My eternal indebtedness also goes to my three sisters, Fani, Henni, and
Leni, for supporting me with any kinds of supports including the financial one. I
believe there is no sacrifice without love. In that way I know they love me very
much. I really appreciate that. Brothers, Hendri and Herman, who also support
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me in any kinds of condition will never lose their part in my acknowledgement.
That’s what brothers are for.
I cherish someone who becomes a part of my life now. The words he
always gives to me lead me to be better and will never be forgotten. I deeply
grateful for all decrees and experience he has given to me and I would like it be
immortal now and forever. I hope he can always be part of my life.
My gratitude also goes to my comrades in arms, Anna, Vera, Dy, Leny,
Lucia, Dewi, Fifi, Rina. Nevertheles, Op, Eny, Yali and also Eka. I thank them
for the days that we had together. Unforgettable thanks go to the people in former
boarding house, Kos SUBOROK, for supporting me and being parts in my boat
so that I could sail it to an island now. Last but not least, I would also like to
express my gratefulness to my crazy, cool, narcissist and inspiring friends in
Wisma Bahasa, Mas Boel, Cici’e, Prima, Ette, Fajar, Lety, Lila, Gelar,
Mawar, Niken,Tiwuk, Mas Sugeng , Mas Iman, Pak Omar and my language
consultant, Adrian Coen. It is a great time to have them in my life. I thank them
for teaching me how to live in society, to make me “crazy”, and to be my family.
Finally, I would like to thank all people who have given me supports, love,
guidance, and prayers who I cannot mention one by one.
RUSI YANNY
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
TITLE PAGE ................................................................................................
i
APPROVAL PAGES ....................................................................................
ii
PAGE OF DEDICATION ............................................................................
iv
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ...........................................
v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .........................................................................
vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................. viii
LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................
xi
LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................
xii
ABSTRACT .................................................................................................. xiii
ABSTRAK ......................................................................................................
xiv
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
A. Background .........................................................................................
1
B. Problem Limitations ............................................................................
6
C. Problem Formulations .........................................................................
7
D. Research Objectives ............................................................................
8
E. Research Benefits ................................................................................
8
F. Definition of Terms .............................................................................
10
CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW
A. Theoretical Description ......................................................................
11
1. Speaking ........................................................................................
11
a. Theory of Spoken English .........................................................
11
b. Spoken English versus Written English ....................................
13
2. Grammar ........................................................................................
16
a. Theory of Grammar ...................................................................
16
b. The Importance of Grammar .....................................................
18
c. Grammar in Spoken and Written Language ..............................
20
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3. Theory of Error .............................................................................
20
a. Definition of Error .....................................................................
20
b. Errors Versus Mistakes .............................................................
22
c. The Source of Errors ..................................................................
23
d. Type of Errors ...........................................................................
26
4. Theory of Error Analysis ..............................................................
29
B. Theoretical Framework .......................................................................
30
CHAPTER III : RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
A. Research Methods ...............................................................................
32
B. Research Participants ..........................................................................
33
C. Research Settings ................................................................................
35
D. Research Instruments ..........................................................................
35
E. Data Gathering ....................................................................................
39
F. Techniques of Data Analysis ..............................................................
40
G. Research Procedures ...........................................................................
41
CHAPTER IV: RESEARCH RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
A. Data Presentation ...............................................................................
43
1. Frequency Distribution of the Error Types Based on
the Grammatical Error Types Checklist ......................................
44
2. Frequency Distribution of the Error Types Based on
the Causes of Errors Checklist .....................................................
47
B. Data Discussion ..................................................................................
49
1. Discussion on Each Error Produced by the Participant ................
49
a. Tenses (Te) ...............................................................................
50
b. Finite Verbs (Fv) .......................................................................
51
c. Concords (Co) ...........................................................................
52
d. Prepositions (Pe) .......................................................................
55
e. Articles (Ar) .............................................................................
56
f. Verb Group (Ve) .......................................................................
57
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g. Adjectives (Adj) ........................................................................
58
h. Possessive Case (Pos) ..............................................................
59
2. Discussion on Each Cause of Errors Produced by the Participant ..
60
a. Ignorance of Rule Application .................................................
60
b. Falsely Hypothesized Concepts ................................................
61
c. Incomplete Application of Rules (Inc) .....................................
63
d. Overgeneralization (Ov) ...........................................................
64
C. Other Findings ....................................................................................
65
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
A. Conclusions .........................................................................................
69
B. Suggestions .........................................................................................
70
BIBLIOGRAPHY .........................................................................................
73
APPENDICES ..............................................................................................
76
Appendix 1. Minimum Requirements
Appendix 2. Questions Used for the Interviews
Appendix 3. Interviews Transcripts
Appendix 4. The Result of Grammatical Error Types Checklist
Appendix 5. The Result of Causes of Errors Checklist
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LIST OF TABLES
page
Table 2.1 Differences between Spoken and Written Language ........................ 15
Table 3.1 Personal Data of the Participants ...................................................... 34
Table 3.2 Grammatical Error Types Checklist .................................................. 38
Table 3.3 Causes of Errors Checklist ................................................................ 38
Table 3.4 Frequency Distribution of the Error Types ....................................... 39
Table 3.5 Frequency Distribution of the Causes of Errors ................................ 39
Table 4.1 Frequency Distribution of the Error Types ....................................... 46
Table 4.2 Frequency Distribution of the Causes of Errors ................................ 48
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LIST OF FIGURE
Page
Figure 2.1 Psycholinguistic Sources of Errors .................................................. 29
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ABSTRACT
YANNY, RUSI. 2007. An analysis on Grammatical Errors in the Spoken
Language Made by the Students of Business Communication Class at Wisma
Bahasa Yogyakarta. Unpublished Thesis. Yogyakarta.
Sanata Dharma
University.
In learning a language, it is common for the students to make errors
(Dulay, 1982). Errors in spoken language vary and include errors in grammar,
pronunciation and word choice. In this study, the researcher focused on how
grammar plays an important role in language learning. It is the basis for making a
sentence. Therefore, applying the knowledge of grammar to the production of
utterances is necessary. However, more people nowadays learn English for
communication purposes with less attention to the grammar points.
Concerning this issue, this study was designed to look thoroughly at the
grammatical errors made by 10 (ten) people who were in Business
Communication class at Wisma Bahasa. There are two problems to be solved in
this study: (1) What kind of grammatical errors are produced by the participants in
the spoken language? (2) What are the possible causes of errors produced by the
participants?
The study itself has two objectives. The first is to find out kinds of
grammatical errors produced by the participants in the spoken language. The
second is to figure out the causes of grammatical errors produced by the
participants.
To solve the problems, the researcher utilized descriptive statistic study
that were intended to investigate the 10 participants’ grammatical errors in spoken
language. The data were gathered by conducting a series of interviews. The results
of the interviews were transcribed into written form. Then, they were analysed by
using two checklists, i.e. grammatical error types checklist and causes of errors
checklist.
The findings show that the most frequent errors were errors in tenses.
Then it was followed by other findings in which the researcher found 8 (eight)
other kinds of errors. They were errors in redundancy, nominalization, missing
subject, object or noun, non sequiturs, pronouns, word order, sub-clause
construction errors, and adjective clause connectors. Errors in concords, finite
verbs, prepositions, articles, verb groups, adjectives and possessive cases came
with fewer numbers. On the other hand, the results of the causes of errors
checklist shows that almost all of the errors made in the learners’ spoken language
were caused by ignorance of English rules.
Finally, two conclusions were drawn from this study. First, all participants
made grammatical errors in their spoken language and the most occurring errors
were those related to tenses. Second, almost all of the errors made by the learners
were caused by less attention to the rule restriction.
The researcher also provided suggestions intended for the English teachers
and learners at Wisma Bahasa, and the English Language Program at Sanata
Dharma University, and future researchers.
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ABSTRAK
YANNY, RUSI. 2006. An analysis on Grammatical Errors in the Spoken
Language Made by the Students of Business Communication Class at Wisma
Bahasa Yogyakarta .Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.
Membuat kesalahan dalam mempelajari suatu bahasa adalah hal yang
umum terjadi (Dulay: 1982). Kesalahan dalam bahasa berbicara ada berbagai
macam seperti tata bahasa, pelafalan dan pemilihan kata. Tata bahasa berperan
penting dalam mempelajari suatu bahasa. Tata bahasa merupakan dasar untuk
menghasilkan suatu kalimat. Dengan demikian sangatlah penting untuk
menerapkan ilmu tata bahasa dalam ucapan. Akan tetapi, saat ini lebih banyak
orang mempelajari Bahasa Inggris untuk tujuan komunikasi dan kurang
memperhatikan penggunaan tata bahasa.
Menanggapi hal tesebut, penelitian ini bertujuan untuk melihat lebih
menyeluruh kesalahan-kesalahan tata bahasa yang dilakukan oleh 10 (sepuluh)
pelajar di kelas Bisnis Komunikasi di Wisma Bahasa. Ada dua permasalahan yang
harus dipecahkan dalam penelitian ini: (1) Kesalahan tata bahasa jenis apa yang
dihasilkan oleh partisipan dalam bahasa berbicara? (2) Apa saja penyebab
kesalahan tata bahasa yang dihasilkan oleh partisipan tersebut?
Ada dua tujuan dalam penelitian ini. Yang pertama, penelitian ini
bertujuan untuk menemukan jenis-jenis kesalahan tata bahasa yang dihasilkan
oleh partisipan dalam bahasa berbicara. Yang kedua bertujuan untuk mengungkap
penyebab kesalahan tata bahasa yang dihasilkan oleh partisipan tersebut.
Untuk memecahkan permasalahan tersebut, peneliti menggunakan
deskripsi statistik. Data dikumpulkan dengan cara mengadakan serangkaian
wawancara. Hasil wawancara kemudian diubah menjadi bentuk tertulis.
Kemudian data tersebut dianalisa dengan menggunakan dua jenis cheklist yaitu
grammatical error types checklist dan causes of errors checklist.
Penemuan-penemuan dalam penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa kesalahan
yang paling sering terjadi adalah kesalahan dalam tenses. Kemudian diikuti oleh
kesalahan dalam other findings yang mana terdapat 8 jenis kesalahan lain yaitu
redundancy, nominalization, missing subject, object or noun, non sequiturs,
pronouns, word order, sub-clause construction errors, dan adjective clause
connectors. Sementara itu terdapat lebih sedikit kesalahan dalam concords, finite
verbs, prepositions, articles, verb groups, adjectives dan possessive cases. Di sisi
lain, hasil dari causes of errors cheklist menunjukkan bahwa hampir semua
kesalahan yang dihasilkan oleh pelajar dalam bahasa berbicara dikarenakan oleh
ignorance of English rules.
Akhirnya, ada dua kesimpulan dalam penelitian ini. Yang pertama, semua
partisipan membuat kesalahan tata behasa dalam bahasa berbicara dan kesalahan
yang paling sering terjadi adalah kessalahan dalam tenses.Yang kedua, hampir
semua kesalahan-kesalahan yang dihasilkan disebabkan oleh kurangnya perhatian
terhadap batasan rumusan yang ada.
Peneliti juga memberikan saran yang ditujukan kepada guru-guru dan
pelajar di Wisma Bahasa, Program Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Universitas Sanata
Dharma dan peneliti-peneliti yang akan datang.
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background
Along with the expanding number of countries using English, many
people regard English as a very important language to learn. For most people,
English is considered important as a means to bridge the communication gap.
They need English as a means to communicate with others. One learns English
not only to be able to write something down on paper, but also to speak in order to
communicate with others. As a result, spoken language becomes really important
among the people because speaking is a completely practical activity which
requires the learners to practise conversing in more real situations as in real life.
Therefore, a lot of people learn English in order to communicate with other people
around the world.
In learning a language, it is common for the learners to make errors
(Dulay, 1982). Therefore, it is obvious that the learners make errors in producing
sentences. The errors in learning a language usually can be identified in both
written language and spoken language. To know the differences between the oral
and written language is obviously important for English teachers. Therefore, the
researcher found some differences in the nature of written and spoken language.
First, written language is one way in which people transfer their ideas, opinions,
and feelings in the written forms such as in novels, poems, books and diaries. In
contrast, spoken language is another way to express ideas using verbal language
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2
in direct conversation between people. Besides, the language applied in written
language is more formal compared to the spoken language.
Second, spoken language demands the speakers to respond immediately
right after the other speakers finish their speech. Meanwhile in writing language,
the writers have a range of time to think and revise what they want to say. Thus,
when the learners face written works, they can be really good at it since they have
time to think before they write it down. Besides, they can even revise it. However,
when they face the real speech production, they do not have time to think or even
revise it. A message must be shaped as it is uttered. Along with this, errors are
commonly found since the learners can not formulate what they want to say in
English. The errors in spoken language vary, namely: word choice, pronunciation
and grammar. The researcher in this study did not work on the first two types. The
third type became the focus of this study.
As stated by Celce-Muria (1992), grammar seems to be crucial if advanced
proficiency is desired and a high level of literacy is required. She also stated that
grammatical accuracy is very important because it marks a second language
learner as competent: for instance, it helps open academic, social, and economic
doors for them. Therefore, grammatical errors are not desirable because they may
result in misunderstanding or misinterpretation and miscommunication and of
course it makes the communication ineffective.
Brooks (1964) states that grammar is an important element in learning a
language because it is the basis for making a sentence. A person who builds a
house needs scaffolding to make it become a real house so that other people will
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3
recognise that it is a house. Therefore, the scaffolding becomes really important.
Likewise in producing a sentence, grammar is a really important element in order
to make a sentence meaningful. The importance of grammar is also admitted by
Littlewood (1983). He states that the mastery of grammar is important to support
communication. Further, he says that the knowledge of grammar is a basic
requirement for using a language since the language learners are provided with the
frames, rules, and patterns for constructing sentences as well as understanding
others. To support this idea, Fromkin and Rodman (1990) believe that knowing a
language means knowing how to combine words to form phrases and phrases to
form sentences. To conclude, applying the knowledge of grammar in producing
utterances is necessary. Changing the form or order of words alters the meaning.
On other hand, there are two points which need to be underlined. First, as
Streven (1982) points out, with there being so many versions of English around
the world, English users neglect grammar instruction in order to achieve fluency
in communicating. Second, there have been various emphases that emerged in
particular times throughout the history of English teaching. By the nineteenth
century, the Grammar-Translation Method emerged as an influential way of
studying a language. At that time, the grammar was the focus of learning a
language and accuracy was emphasized to achieve the mastery of language
(Chomsky, 1966). By the mid-nineteenth century, Europeans demanded oral
proficiency in learning a language. This demand created a rejection of the
grammar translation method. Oral proficiency was stressed more than grammar
point. After that some other methods emerged to enrich the world of language
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teaching until it came to the year of 2005. Communicative Language Teaching
appeared to be improved in Indonesian education. This language teaching stressed
the learners’ competence as well as the learners’ performance as the target.
However, the reality showed that the application stressed more on the learners’
performance.
The above phenomena have had an impact on the less attention of
grammar application. Regardless of those phenomena, most English learners do
not pay attention to their grammar when they produce utterances. As a matter of
fact, one can produce utterances without correct grammar. Consequently, his or
her grammar is so ‘messy’ that other people may find it difficult to comprehend
the message he or she delivered. As a result, the communication is not successful
since communication is said to be successful when the receiver decodes the same
message as the speaker encodes. Thus, when the hearer can not decode the
message, the communication will come to a halt (Akmajian, Demers, and Harnish:
1988). To conclude, grammar in spoken language is important.
As an English teacher, the researcher realized that more students have
grammatical problems in their spoken language. In order to avoid, or at least
lessen, the grammatical errors in the spoken language, the English teachers should
recognize what grammar problems the learners usually face. Knowing this will
lead the English teachers to pay more attention on the difficult parts of grammar
which the learners face. Since grammar plays an important role in language
learning, the researcher as an English teacher found that it is beneficial to have a
study on grammatical errors in the spoken language.
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Reviewing the existing undergraduate theses of the English Language
Education Study Program at Sanata Dharma University, the researcher found
some studies that investigated grammatical errors. Among them were Rahardjo’s
research (1999) about The Grammatical Errors made by the Indonesian Advanced
EFL Learners in Writing at Sanata Dharma University, and Putranti’s research
(2006) about An Analysis on the Errors in the English Composition. The first
study investigated the grammatical errors made by 30 semester-eight-students of
English department in their written test. Rahardjo (1999) found that the
Indonesian advanced EFL learners at Sanata Dharma still made grammatical
errors in their writing and the most frequent errors were errors in the use of nouns
and then verbs, prepositions, articles, agreement, and sentences. On the other
hand, Putranti conducted an analysis on grammatical errors in the composition
made by the students of SMU Stella Duce 1 grade 11 Yogyakarta from academic
year 2005/2006. Putranti (2006) figured out that the students of Stella Duce 1
grade 11 Yogyakarta made grammatical errors in their English composition. As a
result, most errors produced by the students were errors the area of finite verbs
and tenses.
Both studies above focused on the participants’ writing works. Likewise,
Abisamra (2003) conducted a study on English grammatical errors made by the
Arabic students in the written language. The result of the study showed that all the
participants made grammatical errors in their written works. Along with this, the
researcher rarely saw other researchers devote their attention to studying
grammatical errors focusing on the oral production area.
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Regardless of the phenomenon above, the researcher thinks that the
research that investigates the grammatical errors taken from the oral production is
still lacking. Therefore, it is important to have a study that investigates the
grammatical errors taken from the oral production since English is nowadays used
by a lot of people mostly for communicative purpose of oral production. This
study was devoted to seeing more thoroughly the grammatical errors by focussing
on a small group of people who are in Business Communication class at Wisma
Bahasa. This thesis sets out to investigate the grammatical errors of 10 (ten)
students taking business communication English class at an English institution in
which the researcher is teaching now.
B. Problem Limitation
This study was a case study done on 10 people from non English
department who study English at Wisma Bahasa in Business Communication
class. These people are chosen because they are learning English for
communication purposes. Since in this study the researcher needs to do a series of
interviews, the researcher chose the class which demands the students to talk a lot.
In addition, they are Indonesians who have learned English for quite some time
before they joined this course.
This study investigates the students’ grammatical errors in language
production. The grammatical errors are to be categorised into 9 (nine)
grammatical error types which are tenses, finite verbs, possessive case,
prepositions, articles, verb groups, adjectives, concords and other findings. In
turn, the researcher also seeks to find the factors that can influence the learners to
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7
produce errors. There are four categorizations of causes of errors that are assumed
to influence the learners to produce errors. The four categorizations are ignorance
of rule restriction, falsely hypothesized concepts, incomplete application of rules,
and overgeneralization
However, this study has some limitations. First, this study is a case study
on a small group of people in a single English institution. Thus, the results of this
study can not be generalised. Second, this study is limited to investigating the
grammatical errors and the causes of errors produced by ten people in a Business
Communication class at Wisma Bahasa. However, it does not discuss more about
the speech intelligibility level of the participants as the researcher lacks expertise,
experience and supporting resources to do this.
There is no doubt that pronunciation is also important in spoken language.
It should not be neglected but taken into account seriously. However, the
researcher realised that it is beyond the capability to have the study on that aspect
at the same time as the other aspect which is grammar. To conclude, it is assumed
to belong to a different study.
C. Problem Formulation
There are two main problems which guide the researcher in conducting the
study:
1. What kinds of grammatical errors are produced by the participants in the
spoken language?
2. What are the possible causes of errors produced by the participants?
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8
D. Research Objectives
Based on the problems formulated above, the researcher has formulated
two objectives of this study. All of them are to answer the questions in the
previous part.
Therefore, the objectives of this research are stated as follows:
1. To know kinds of grammatical errors produced by the participants in the
spoken language.
2. To know the possible causes of errors produced by the participants.
E. Research Benefits
By doing this study, the researcher expects the results will contribute some
benefits to:
1. Wisma Bahasa-English Division Teachers
In the past one year, the researcher has taught a lot of classes at Wisma
Bahasa both related to spoken and written language. However, the researcher
found that this institution has big expectations from the students’ performance in
spoken language. For this reason, the researcher sets up a study to find out what
the difficult parts of the grammar are, so that the teachers, in the future, can pay
more attention to the difficult part in which the learners make more errors. In
addition, the results of this study offer an improvement in teaching grammar by
providing valuable input to English teachers in teaching English, especially in
finding the strategies to teach grammar. Since grammatical errors are found, some
possible ways will be suggested to overcome these problems. Besides, the results
of the error analysis could provide adequate information about the students’ errors
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
9
in learning English grammar. Therefore the teachers could conduct the teachinglearning more effectively.
2.
Students
This study is hopefully able to improve the learning of grammar. From the
errors the students made, they will recognize the difficult parts of grammar they
face. As a result, they can learn something from their errors and give more
attention to learning about those difficult parts without neglecting other parts.
Furthermore, this study provides a discussion on each error so that it will help the
students to enrich their grammar knowledge. Besides, it is hoped that the teachers
can help the learners improve their proficiency to facilitate acquiring grammatical
competence so that they can produce good spoken English or at least, reduce these
errors in speech production.
3. English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University
(EESP) and Further researchers
The researcher found out that the study on grammatical errors dealing with
oral production is lacking at English Language Education Study Program of
Sanata Dharma University (EESP). Just like the other studies, it is hoped that this
study will expand the English learning knowledge. Likewise, this study is a study
on ten learners of Business Communication class in an English institution in
Yogyakarta. Since it is a case study, the researcher pays more attention to the
details of these ten people. By doing this research, the results can elicit other
studies in this area. Besides, the researcher hopes that the results will
acknowledge the other learners from non English department with structure
knowledge.
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F. Definition of Terms
To make a clear understanding of this study, the researcher includes some
definitions of important terms:
1. A Case Study
A case study is a study which focuses on an instance or an event, or upon a
particular entity. In this study, the term refers to a study of 10 people from non
English department who learn English at Wisma Bahasa in Business
Communication class.
2. Interview
Interview is a meeting at which an interviewer asks somebody questions in order
to collect data from that person. In this study, this term refers to the oral
production made by the 10 people in business communication class that are
recorded.
3. Error Analysis
In this study, error analysis refers to an attempt to provide data about which
grammatical error types occur in the learners’ oral production and the cause of the
errors.
4. Students of Business Communication Class at Wisma Bahasa
The students in this case are those who are taking business communication class
at Wisma Bahasa. They are Indonesian learners who are taking this class for 30
hours.
5. Errors
In this study, this term refers to all inaccurate phrases or clauses that are produced
by the learners in speech production.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
CHAPTER II
LITERATURE REVIEW
In this chapter, the researcher discusses some theories related to the
research problems. This chapter is divided into two parts. They are theoretical
description and theoretical framework. In the theoretical description, some related
theories concerning speaking skills, errors and error analysis as well as the
importance of grammar will be discussed further. The Theoretical Framework
summarizes all relevant theories, which help the researcher to solve the research
problems.
A. Theoretical Description
Theoretical description discusses some related theories concerning
speaking skills as well as the importance of grammar, errors and error analysis.
1. Speaking
The following discussion covers theory of spoken English and the
differences between spoken and written English
a. Theory of Spoken English
The word “speak”, as Hornby (1994: 1140) defines, means making use of
words in an ordinary voice (not singing); utter words; know and able to use (a
language); make a speech. Speaking, as conveyed by Ur (1996: 48), is a
productive aural or oral skill. It consists of producing systematic verbal utterances
to convey meaning. Widdowson (1978: 58) added similar meaning of speaking as
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
12
“an active and productive interaction” using oral cavities in the “usage sense”. It
is a part of reciprocal exchange in which the reception and production play a part.
To conclude, speaking needs face-to-face interaction that emphasized on the
dialogue, or discussion.
In general, speaking is defined as an oral communication or an activity
that involves two or more people as the participants to react to what they are and
make their contributions at high speed (Johnson and Morrow: 1983). In other
words, if the number of people talking is only one, it is not a communication
because interaction needs an interaction between the speakers.
Besides, speaking has a close relationship with the linguistic components
such as grammar, pronunciation, and many more. As Hughes (2002: 7) argues,
“… a niche for speaking in its own right whilst breaking it down into three
distinct areas: the global or discourse level, the structural level, and the level of
speech production.”
Foreign language learners may find it difficult to learn speaking a
language since effective oral communication requires the ability to use the
language appropriately in social interaction as when the Paulstan and Bruder
(1976) state that speaking needs a competence to communicate in the target
language.
To conclude, speaking is an oral interaction produced ‘on line’ by more
than one person in which the speakers have to decide what is to be delivered
without taking time to check it over and correct it. It is totally natural in producing
the verbal utterances to convey meaning. Thus, the process of speaking involves
linguistic components such as grammar, pronunciation, etc.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
13
b. Spoken English versus Written English
Spoken and written languages are different in some characteristics. As
stated by Reid (159) in his article, there are 9 (nine) points which underline the
differences between spoken and written language.
1) Permanence
The written language is fixed and stable. In that case, people can read at whatever
time, speed, and level of thoroughness they wish. In contrast, the spoken one is
more impermanent as it moves on in direct conversation.
2) Explicitness
In written text, it is very important for the researcher to explain all the things
clearly so that the reader can get the writer’s ideas. For instance, the researcher
needs to provide clear examples to make it clear. On the other hand, only some
important information is required to be explained in spoken since some messages
are probably already clear by the knowledge shared by both the speaker and the
listener.
3) Density
The messages presented in writing are much denser whereas in spoken the
messages are conveyed through words which are sometimes repeated by the
speaker for some times.
4) Detachment
The readers of writing may not be acquainted with his or her readers since the
researcher and the readers are separated by the time and space. In contrast, the
listeners, by an immediate interaction, with or without the mediator (telephone for
example) can conduct alive interaction with the speaker.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
14
5) Organization
The researcher has time to provide an organized and well formulated writing since
she or he has time to edit it before it is available for the readers while the
corrections take place whenever it is needed in the middle of direct interaction in
speech. Thus a written text is well-governed with the conventional rules of
grammar and the vocabulary is somehow more precise and formal compare to the
spoken one.
6) Slowness of production, speed of reception
It is obviously shown that writing is much slower in case of production since it
takes time to think and revise it. However, the readers can comprehend it easier
when they read than they have to listen to someone speaking in live talk.
7) Standard language
Acceptable standard variety of the language is used in writing while in spoken,
speech may sometimes be in a regional or other limited-context dialect.
8) A learnt skill
Spoken skill, at least mother tongue, is mostly acquired automatically, while the
writing skill in most cases is deliberately taught and learned.
9) Sheer amount and importance
Redundancy makes spoken language is far longer compare to written which is
well governed.
Those nine points obviously show the nature of spoken language is
completely different from the written language. Meanwhile, the differences
between spoken and written are also figured out in 5 (five) significant ways as
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
15
quoted by Ven Lier (1995:88). He differentiates spoken from written language as
follows:
Spoken language
1. Auditory
2. Temporary; immediate reception
3. Prosody (rhythm, stress intonation)
4. immediate feedback
5. planning and editing limited by
channel
Written language
Visual
Permanent; delayed reception
Punctuation
Delayed; no feedback
Unlimited planning, editing, revision
Table 2.1 Differences between Spoken and Written language (Ven Lier: 1995)
Brown and Yule, as stated by Nunan (1995), distinguish spoken and
written language into different concepts. The written language is characterized by
well-formed sentences that are integrated into highly structured paragraph. In
contrast, spoken language consists of short, often fragmentary utterances in a
range of pronunciation.
The similar issue argued by Leech (1975). He explains that the spoken
language is different from written language in some fairly obvious ways. He states
what makes spoken and written English different is the use of effective time. In
writing, message is delivered after a person takes time to think about it and even
revise it if necessary. While in speech, the speaker does not have time to do this.
Message must be shaped as it is uttered. He also adds that the words like
“well”,”you see”, “okay” add little information about the speaker’s attitude to the
listeners. Hesitation fillers like “um”, “er”, “em” sometimes fill the gaps which
lose tracks of sentences in spoken language, but these do not normally occur in
writing. This theory is also strengthened by Nourish (1983: 48) that says
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
16
“hesitations, both silent and sounded, are an almost essential part of normal
speech.”
On the other hand, there are four ways in which spoken language is “prior
to” the written as stated by Palmer (cited by Richards, 1974: 8). They are:
1) Human beings used speech long before they had writing and they are still
many languages that have no written form.
2) The children learn to speak first before they learn to write
3) Speaking takes more time in humans’ live than writing does.
4) It is possible to convert the writing language into speech without loss, but to
write down something that is said sometimes lose a great deal.
2. Grammar
The following discussion covers the theory of grammar, the importance of
grammar, and grammar in spoken and written English.
a. Theory of Grammar
The common definition of grammar, as stated in Advanced Learner’s
Dictionary of Current English, is “the study of the forms and how they are put
together in the statements; the rules about the use of words; as to study English
grammar; a grammar lesson mistakes in English” (Hornby, 1974:543). In other
words, it is said that grammar is the study or science of rules for forming words
and combining them into sentences.
Discussing the term “grammar” will lead to the words structure rules
which exist in sentences. Many linguists propose numerous definitions of
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
17
grammar. Lado (1977:141), for instance; he found that for common people,
“grammar has been the study of the rules of correctness, that is, rules that claimed
to tell the students what they should not say in order to speak the language of the
society educated classes.”
On the other hand, grammar is said as the basic units of meaning such as
words, and the rules to combine them to form new sentences (Fromkin et
al.:1990). Meanwhile, Richards, Platt, and Weber as quoted by Nunan (1999)
suggest that grammar is a description of the way language structure produces
sentences.
The understanding of grammar is, later, broadened by Lado (1977) into:
1)
Grammatical structure which means the pattern of arrangement of words in
sentences and the pattern of arrangement of parts of words.
2)
Grammatical pattern which means an arrangement of words that has a
meaning.
Fries, on the other hand, (1945:28) proposes grammar as a more specific
definition. Grammar is stated as “the pattern of form and arrangement by which
the words are put together.” To add, he defines grammar into:
1)
For those English speaking children who have studied English by
diagramming sentences, by parsing, by memorizing logical definitions of the
parts of speech and the rules by which to measure the “correctness” of every
construction, grammar is remembered as highly abstract and intricate subject
that has never had any really vital relation to their natural way of talking and
makes them feel that neither they nor the people about them speak “correct”
English.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
18
2)
Grammar is regarded as a body of philosophical material equally applicable
to all languages-universal grammar, the grammar of any languages.
As it can be lined that most discussed element in grammar is the rules of
correctness in general. However, those rules are not fixed. Rivers (1968:56) states
that, “To most people, grammar is the rules of language set out in a terminology
which is hard to remember, with many exceptions, appended to each rules.” Thus,
it means that there are many exceptions in grammar.
Likewise, Burton (1982:128) adds that “grammar of language is not a
recollection of hard and fast rules. It is more flexible (and, therefore, more useful)
than that.” It can be said that grammar is applicable to any sentence in a language
and it gives an account of the way in which a language is used by those who use it
well.
From the definitions above, it can be concluded that grammar covers
several elements, namely rules, patterns, forms, and words arrangements.
b. The Importance of Grammar
According to Colburn (1949:31), grammar is not merely the names of
parts of speech and parts of a sentence. Grammar is the knowledge of some
principles governing the way words work in group to give certain effects. As a
result, changing the form or order of words will alter the meaning too. Since
human beings live in varied circumstances, it is important to apply the knowledge
of grammar to use and choose the form of language best suited to each particular
situation (Burton, 1982).
Brooks (1964:153) illustrates the importance of grammar by saying:
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
19
In any discussion, we must recognise that grammar is to language what
anatomy is to the human body…. To say that grammar can be brushed
aside as inconsequential or irrelevant is of course nonsense. The question
to ask is rather to what degree we must be aware of the grammar we use,
just as we may ask to what extent we must be aware of the anatomy of our
bodies as we act and play and think and work.
This means that in producing a sentence, grammar is a really important
element in order to make a sentence meaningful. Therefore, English users must be
aware of the grammar use in producing a sentence. In addition, Brooks (1964)
also stated that rules of grammar are very important to be applied especially in
formal education. Therefore, it can be said that it is necessary for the school
learners to learn the rules of grammar in the very earliest of school.
Since grammar plays an important role in language learning, Krashen
(1982) proposes two roles of grammar in language learning. The first is grammar
roles as a monitor. The second is as a subject matter.
Grammar as a monitor is used to correct the learners’ mistakes when
producing output in writing and speaking. Knowledge of grammar rules is used to
raise the learners ‘awareness of grammatical accuracy. The learners are led to
think first whether their outputs are grammatically correct or not. For those who
have acquired language well, grammar as a monitor is not essential. Hence,
thinking about grammar when producing speech may bother the fluency of
speech.
Grammar as a subject matter is functioned as the knowledge which must
be learned. The students learn the forms, patterns, and arrangement of words or
phrases consciously in order to acquire the knowledge to be able to comprehend
the language.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
20
The definitions of grammar as stated above clearly define that grammar is
useful to help the language learners or users make use of words. English grammar
leads the learners or users to make use of the English language in a proper
manner. Moreover, an understanding of grammar speeds up the language learning.
Although it is possible to speak or to write without any knowledge of grammar,
indeed, learning grammar gives some benefits.
c. Grammar in Spoken and Written English
Like other languages, English has two channels, speech and writing. One
is transmitted by sound-waves, originated in speaking and received in learning.
Another is transmitted by some visible marks like letters and others as produced
in writing and received in reading. However, spoken and written English, as
argued by Leech (1995) share the same grammar but is used differently in these
two channels. Grammar in written English tends to be more specified and formal
compared to that in the speech. On the other hand, as Burton (1982) states,
grammar in spoken English is more flexible and thus more useful).
3. Theory of Errors
The following discussion covers the definition of error, the differences
between errors and mistakes, the source of errors, and the types of errors.
a. Definition of Error
Referring to some good pedagogical reasons, errors made by the learners
of a foreign language, the error may actually be a necessary part of learning a
language. The term “error” is defined variously by linguists and scholars. Error,
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
21
according to Corder, as cited by Fisiak (1981: 224), is “systematic deviation
characteristic of the learners’ linguistic system at a given stage of learning.” In
other words, the learners are using a definite system of a language at every point
in their development. In this case, the learners’ errors are the evidence of this
system and are themselves systematic. Corder, as stated by Dulay (1982)
concludes errors as systematic deviations due to learners’ developing knowledge
of the second language rule syst
AN ANALYSIS ON GRAMMATICAL ERRORS
IN THE SPOKEN LANGUAGE MADE BY THE STUDENTS OF
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION CLASS AT WISMA BAHASA
YOGYAKARTA
A Thesis
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
RUSI YANNY
Student Number: 021214040
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2007
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
Serenity sets up as the result of
an awareness of
appreciating other people
…. (rusi)
A dedication for:
mama
papa
sisters
brothers
iv
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My endless thank is dedicated to the Lord for allowing me to get along
with my diary of life until now. The last earth quake tragedy in Jogjakarta
reminded me that He still loves me so much that He gives me a chance to step on
my stairs again. I Thank Him for this precious chance.
Completing my study after five years, finally I come to the gate of my
future life. When I step forward, I remember the words that always remind me
that I go to school not for academic purposes but for my life. I realized that the
completion of this thesis would never have been done without the help of the
following people.
The marvelous help of Markus Budirahardjo S.Pd., M.Ed. as my thesis
sponsor was really important for me. I thank him for leading me to accomplish
this thesis. I believe that I was not able to finish this without his sincerity.
Lots of thanks are addressed to my beloved family for supporting me in
this study. My mother and father, Rita and Cui Tien, are two important people in
my life. I would never have been like this if they had neglected me in the past
fifteen years. I am really indebted to them for the whole of my life time. The good
will never return for the evil. I promise this to myself and they can keep these
words. My eternal indebtedness also goes to my three sisters, Fani, Henni, and
Leni, for supporting me with any kinds of supports including the financial one. I
believe there is no sacrifice without love. In that way I know they love me very
much. I really appreciate that. Brothers, Hendri and Herman, who also support
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PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
me in any kinds of condition will never lose their part in my acknowledgement.
That’s what brothers are for.
I cherish someone who becomes a part of my life now. The words he
always gives to me lead me to be better and will never be forgotten. I deeply
grateful for all decrees and experience he has given to me and I would like it be
immortal now and forever. I hope he can always be part of my life.
My gratitude also goes to my comrades in arms, Anna, Vera, Dy, Leny,
Lucia, Dewi, Fifi, Rina. Nevertheles, Op, Eny, Yali and also Eka. I thank them
for the days that we had together. Unforgettable thanks go to the people in former
boarding house, Kos SUBOROK, for supporting me and being parts in my boat
so that I could sail it to an island now. Last but not least, I would also like to
express my gratefulness to my crazy, cool, narcissist and inspiring friends in
Wisma Bahasa, Mas Boel, Cici’e, Prima, Ette, Fajar, Lety, Lila, Gelar,
Mawar, Niken,Tiwuk, Mas Sugeng , Mas Iman, Pak Omar and my language
consultant, Adrian Coen. It is a great time to have them in my life. I thank them
for teaching me how to live in society, to make me “crazy”, and to be my family.
Finally, I would like to thank all people who have given me supports, love,
guidance, and prayers who I cannot mention one by one.
RUSI YANNY
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PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
TITLE PAGE ................................................................................................
i
APPROVAL PAGES ....................................................................................
ii
PAGE OF DEDICATION ............................................................................
iv
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ...........................................
v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .........................................................................
vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................. viii
LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................
xi
LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................
xii
ABSTRACT .................................................................................................. xiii
ABSTRAK ......................................................................................................
xiv
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
A. Background .........................................................................................
1
B. Problem Limitations ............................................................................
6
C. Problem Formulations .........................................................................
7
D. Research Objectives ............................................................................
8
E. Research Benefits ................................................................................
8
F. Definition of Terms .............................................................................
10
CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW
A. Theoretical Description ......................................................................
11
1. Speaking ........................................................................................
11
a. Theory of Spoken English .........................................................
11
b. Spoken English versus Written English ....................................
13
2. Grammar ........................................................................................
16
a. Theory of Grammar ...................................................................
16
b. The Importance of Grammar .....................................................
18
c. Grammar in Spoken and Written Language ..............................
20
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PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
3. Theory of Error .............................................................................
20
a. Definition of Error .....................................................................
20
b. Errors Versus Mistakes .............................................................
22
c. The Source of Errors ..................................................................
23
d. Type of Errors ...........................................................................
26
4. Theory of Error Analysis ..............................................................
29
B. Theoretical Framework .......................................................................
30
CHAPTER III : RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
A. Research Methods ...............................................................................
32
B. Research Participants ..........................................................................
33
C. Research Settings ................................................................................
35
D. Research Instruments ..........................................................................
35
E. Data Gathering ....................................................................................
39
F. Techniques of Data Analysis ..............................................................
40
G. Research Procedures ...........................................................................
41
CHAPTER IV: RESEARCH RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
A. Data Presentation ...............................................................................
43
1. Frequency Distribution of the Error Types Based on
the Grammatical Error Types Checklist ......................................
44
2. Frequency Distribution of the Error Types Based on
the Causes of Errors Checklist .....................................................
47
B. Data Discussion ..................................................................................
49
1. Discussion on Each Error Produced by the Participant ................
49
a. Tenses (Te) ...............................................................................
50
b. Finite Verbs (Fv) .......................................................................
51
c. Concords (Co) ...........................................................................
52
d. Prepositions (Pe) .......................................................................
55
e. Articles (Ar) .............................................................................
56
f. Verb Group (Ve) .......................................................................
57
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PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
g. Adjectives (Adj) ........................................................................
58
h. Possessive Case (Pos) ..............................................................
59
2. Discussion on Each Cause of Errors Produced by the Participant ..
60
a. Ignorance of Rule Application .................................................
60
b. Falsely Hypothesized Concepts ................................................
61
c. Incomplete Application of Rules (Inc) .....................................
63
d. Overgeneralization (Ov) ...........................................................
64
C. Other Findings ....................................................................................
65
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
A. Conclusions .........................................................................................
69
B. Suggestions .........................................................................................
70
BIBLIOGRAPHY .........................................................................................
73
APPENDICES ..............................................................................................
76
Appendix 1. Minimum Requirements
Appendix 2. Questions Used for the Interviews
Appendix 3. Interviews Transcripts
Appendix 4. The Result of Grammatical Error Types Checklist
Appendix 5. The Result of Causes of Errors Checklist
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LIST OF TABLES
page
Table 2.1 Differences between Spoken and Written Language ........................ 15
Table 3.1 Personal Data of the Participants ...................................................... 34
Table 3.2 Grammatical Error Types Checklist .................................................. 38
Table 3.3 Causes of Errors Checklist ................................................................ 38
Table 3.4 Frequency Distribution of the Error Types ....................................... 39
Table 3.5 Frequency Distribution of the Causes of Errors ................................ 39
Table 4.1 Frequency Distribution of the Error Types ....................................... 46
Table 4.2 Frequency Distribution of the Causes of Errors ................................ 48
xi
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LIST OF FIGURE
Page
Figure 2.1 Psycholinguistic Sources of Errors .................................................. 29
xii
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
ABSTRACT
YANNY, RUSI. 2007. An analysis on Grammatical Errors in the Spoken
Language Made by the Students of Business Communication Class at Wisma
Bahasa Yogyakarta. Unpublished Thesis. Yogyakarta.
Sanata Dharma
University.
In learning a language, it is common for the students to make errors
(Dulay, 1982). Errors in spoken language vary and include errors in grammar,
pronunciation and word choice. In this study, the researcher focused on how
grammar plays an important role in language learning. It is the basis for making a
sentence. Therefore, applying the knowledge of grammar to the production of
utterances is necessary. However, more people nowadays learn English for
communication purposes with less attention to the grammar points.
Concerning this issue, this study was designed to look thoroughly at the
grammatical errors made by 10 (ten) people who were in Business
Communication class at Wisma Bahasa. There are two problems to be solved in
this study: (1) What kind of grammatical errors are produced by the participants in
the spoken language? (2) What are the possible causes of errors produced by the
participants?
The study itself has two objectives. The first is to find out kinds of
grammatical errors produced by the participants in the spoken language. The
second is to figure out the causes of grammatical errors produced by the
participants.
To solve the problems, the researcher utilized descriptive statistic study
that were intended to investigate the 10 participants’ grammatical errors in spoken
language. The data were gathered by conducting a series of interviews. The results
of the interviews were transcribed into written form. Then, they were analysed by
using two checklists, i.e. grammatical error types checklist and causes of errors
checklist.
The findings show that the most frequent errors were errors in tenses.
Then it was followed by other findings in which the researcher found 8 (eight)
other kinds of errors. They were errors in redundancy, nominalization, missing
subject, object or noun, non sequiturs, pronouns, word order, sub-clause
construction errors, and adjective clause connectors. Errors in concords, finite
verbs, prepositions, articles, verb groups, adjectives and possessive cases came
with fewer numbers. On the other hand, the results of the causes of errors
checklist shows that almost all of the errors made in the learners’ spoken language
were caused by ignorance of English rules.
Finally, two conclusions were drawn from this study. First, all participants
made grammatical errors in their spoken language and the most occurring errors
were those related to tenses. Second, almost all of the errors made by the learners
were caused by less attention to the rule restriction.
The researcher also provided suggestions intended for the English teachers
and learners at Wisma Bahasa, and the English Language Program at Sanata
Dharma University, and future researchers.
xiii
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
ABSTRAK
YANNY, RUSI. 2006. An analysis on Grammatical Errors in the Spoken
Language Made by the Students of Business Communication Class at Wisma
Bahasa Yogyakarta .Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.
Membuat kesalahan dalam mempelajari suatu bahasa adalah hal yang
umum terjadi (Dulay: 1982). Kesalahan dalam bahasa berbicara ada berbagai
macam seperti tata bahasa, pelafalan dan pemilihan kata. Tata bahasa berperan
penting dalam mempelajari suatu bahasa. Tata bahasa merupakan dasar untuk
menghasilkan suatu kalimat. Dengan demikian sangatlah penting untuk
menerapkan ilmu tata bahasa dalam ucapan. Akan tetapi, saat ini lebih banyak
orang mempelajari Bahasa Inggris untuk tujuan komunikasi dan kurang
memperhatikan penggunaan tata bahasa.
Menanggapi hal tesebut, penelitian ini bertujuan untuk melihat lebih
menyeluruh kesalahan-kesalahan tata bahasa yang dilakukan oleh 10 (sepuluh)
pelajar di kelas Bisnis Komunikasi di Wisma Bahasa. Ada dua permasalahan yang
harus dipecahkan dalam penelitian ini: (1) Kesalahan tata bahasa jenis apa yang
dihasilkan oleh partisipan dalam bahasa berbicara? (2) Apa saja penyebab
kesalahan tata bahasa yang dihasilkan oleh partisipan tersebut?
Ada dua tujuan dalam penelitian ini. Yang pertama, penelitian ini
bertujuan untuk menemukan jenis-jenis kesalahan tata bahasa yang dihasilkan
oleh partisipan dalam bahasa berbicara. Yang kedua bertujuan untuk mengungkap
penyebab kesalahan tata bahasa yang dihasilkan oleh partisipan tersebut.
Untuk memecahkan permasalahan tersebut, peneliti menggunakan
deskripsi statistik. Data dikumpulkan dengan cara mengadakan serangkaian
wawancara. Hasil wawancara kemudian diubah menjadi bentuk tertulis.
Kemudian data tersebut dianalisa dengan menggunakan dua jenis cheklist yaitu
grammatical error types checklist dan causes of errors checklist.
Penemuan-penemuan dalam penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa kesalahan
yang paling sering terjadi adalah kesalahan dalam tenses. Kemudian diikuti oleh
kesalahan dalam other findings yang mana terdapat 8 jenis kesalahan lain yaitu
redundancy, nominalization, missing subject, object or noun, non sequiturs,
pronouns, word order, sub-clause construction errors, dan adjective clause
connectors. Sementara itu terdapat lebih sedikit kesalahan dalam concords, finite
verbs, prepositions, articles, verb groups, adjectives dan possessive cases. Di sisi
lain, hasil dari causes of errors cheklist menunjukkan bahwa hampir semua
kesalahan yang dihasilkan oleh pelajar dalam bahasa berbicara dikarenakan oleh
ignorance of English rules.
Akhirnya, ada dua kesimpulan dalam penelitian ini. Yang pertama, semua
partisipan membuat kesalahan tata behasa dalam bahasa berbicara dan kesalahan
yang paling sering terjadi adalah kessalahan dalam tenses.Yang kedua, hampir
semua kesalahan-kesalahan yang dihasilkan disebabkan oleh kurangnya perhatian
terhadap batasan rumusan yang ada.
Peneliti juga memberikan saran yang ditujukan kepada guru-guru dan
pelajar di Wisma Bahasa, Program Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Universitas Sanata
Dharma dan peneliti-peneliti yang akan datang.
xiv
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background
Along with the expanding number of countries using English, many
people regard English as a very important language to learn. For most people,
English is considered important as a means to bridge the communication gap.
They need English as a means to communicate with others. One learns English
not only to be able to write something down on paper, but also to speak in order to
communicate with others. As a result, spoken language becomes really important
among the people because speaking is a completely practical activity which
requires the learners to practise conversing in more real situations as in real life.
Therefore, a lot of people learn English in order to communicate with other people
around the world.
In learning a language, it is common for the learners to make errors
(Dulay, 1982). Therefore, it is obvious that the learners make errors in producing
sentences. The errors in learning a language usually can be identified in both
written language and spoken language. To know the differences between the oral
and written language is obviously important for English teachers. Therefore, the
researcher found some differences in the nature of written and spoken language.
First, written language is one way in which people transfer their ideas, opinions,
and feelings in the written forms such as in novels, poems, books and diaries. In
contrast, spoken language is another way to express ideas using verbal language
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2
in direct conversation between people. Besides, the language applied in written
language is more formal compared to the spoken language.
Second, spoken language demands the speakers to respond immediately
right after the other speakers finish their speech. Meanwhile in writing language,
the writers have a range of time to think and revise what they want to say. Thus,
when the learners face written works, they can be really good at it since they have
time to think before they write it down. Besides, they can even revise it. However,
when they face the real speech production, they do not have time to think or even
revise it. A message must be shaped as it is uttered. Along with this, errors are
commonly found since the learners can not formulate what they want to say in
English. The errors in spoken language vary, namely: word choice, pronunciation
and grammar. The researcher in this study did not work on the first two types. The
third type became the focus of this study.
As stated by Celce-Muria (1992), grammar seems to be crucial if advanced
proficiency is desired and a high level of literacy is required. She also stated that
grammatical accuracy is very important because it marks a second language
learner as competent: for instance, it helps open academic, social, and economic
doors for them. Therefore, grammatical errors are not desirable because they may
result in misunderstanding or misinterpretation and miscommunication and of
course it makes the communication ineffective.
Brooks (1964) states that grammar is an important element in learning a
language because it is the basis for making a sentence. A person who builds a
house needs scaffolding to make it become a real house so that other people will
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3
recognise that it is a house. Therefore, the scaffolding becomes really important.
Likewise in producing a sentence, grammar is a really important element in order
to make a sentence meaningful. The importance of grammar is also admitted by
Littlewood (1983). He states that the mastery of grammar is important to support
communication. Further, he says that the knowledge of grammar is a basic
requirement for using a language since the language learners are provided with the
frames, rules, and patterns for constructing sentences as well as understanding
others. To support this idea, Fromkin and Rodman (1990) believe that knowing a
language means knowing how to combine words to form phrases and phrases to
form sentences. To conclude, applying the knowledge of grammar in producing
utterances is necessary. Changing the form or order of words alters the meaning.
On other hand, there are two points which need to be underlined. First, as
Streven (1982) points out, with there being so many versions of English around
the world, English users neglect grammar instruction in order to achieve fluency
in communicating. Second, there have been various emphases that emerged in
particular times throughout the history of English teaching. By the nineteenth
century, the Grammar-Translation Method emerged as an influential way of
studying a language. At that time, the grammar was the focus of learning a
language and accuracy was emphasized to achieve the mastery of language
(Chomsky, 1966). By the mid-nineteenth century, Europeans demanded oral
proficiency in learning a language. This demand created a rejection of the
grammar translation method. Oral proficiency was stressed more than grammar
point. After that some other methods emerged to enrich the world of language
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4
teaching until it came to the year of 2005. Communicative Language Teaching
appeared to be improved in Indonesian education. This language teaching stressed
the learners’ competence as well as the learners’ performance as the target.
However, the reality showed that the application stressed more on the learners’
performance.
The above phenomena have had an impact on the less attention of
grammar application. Regardless of those phenomena, most English learners do
not pay attention to their grammar when they produce utterances. As a matter of
fact, one can produce utterances without correct grammar. Consequently, his or
her grammar is so ‘messy’ that other people may find it difficult to comprehend
the message he or she delivered. As a result, the communication is not successful
since communication is said to be successful when the receiver decodes the same
message as the speaker encodes. Thus, when the hearer can not decode the
message, the communication will come to a halt (Akmajian, Demers, and Harnish:
1988). To conclude, grammar in spoken language is important.
As an English teacher, the researcher realized that more students have
grammatical problems in their spoken language. In order to avoid, or at least
lessen, the grammatical errors in the spoken language, the English teachers should
recognize what grammar problems the learners usually face. Knowing this will
lead the English teachers to pay more attention on the difficult parts of grammar
which the learners face. Since grammar plays an important role in language
learning, the researcher as an English teacher found that it is beneficial to have a
study on grammatical errors in the spoken language.
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5
Reviewing the existing undergraduate theses of the English Language
Education Study Program at Sanata Dharma University, the researcher found
some studies that investigated grammatical errors. Among them were Rahardjo’s
research (1999) about The Grammatical Errors made by the Indonesian Advanced
EFL Learners in Writing at Sanata Dharma University, and Putranti’s research
(2006) about An Analysis on the Errors in the English Composition. The first
study investigated the grammatical errors made by 30 semester-eight-students of
English department in their written test. Rahardjo (1999) found that the
Indonesian advanced EFL learners at Sanata Dharma still made grammatical
errors in their writing and the most frequent errors were errors in the use of nouns
and then verbs, prepositions, articles, agreement, and sentences. On the other
hand, Putranti conducted an analysis on grammatical errors in the composition
made by the students of SMU Stella Duce 1 grade 11 Yogyakarta from academic
year 2005/2006. Putranti (2006) figured out that the students of Stella Duce 1
grade 11 Yogyakarta made grammatical errors in their English composition. As a
result, most errors produced by the students were errors the area of finite verbs
and tenses.
Both studies above focused on the participants’ writing works. Likewise,
Abisamra (2003) conducted a study on English grammatical errors made by the
Arabic students in the written language. The result of the study showed that all the
participants made grammatical errors in their written works. Along with this, the
researcher rarely saw other researchers devote their attention to studying
grammatical errors focusing on the oral production area.
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6
Regardless of the phenomenon above, the researcher thinks that the
research that investigates the grammatical errors taken from the oral production is
still lacking. Therefore, it is important to have a study that investigates the
grammatical errors taken from the oral production since English is nowadays used
by a lot of people mostly for communicative purpose of oral production. This
study was devoted to seeing more thoroughly the grammatical errors by focussing
on a small group of people who are in Business Communication class at Wisma
Bahasa. This thesis sets out to investigate the grammatical errors of 10 (ten)
students taking business communication English class at an English institution in
which the researcher is teaching now.
B. Problem Limitation
This study was a case study done on 10 people from non English
department who study English at Wisma Bahasa in Business Communication
class. These people are chosen because they are learning English for
communication purposes. Since in this study the researcher needs to do a series of
interviews, the researcher chose the class which demands the students to talk a lot.
In addition, they are Indonesians who have learned English for quite some time
before they joined this course.
This study investigates the students’ grammatical errors in language
production. The grammatical errors are to be categorised into 9 (nine)
grammatical error types which are tenses, finite verbs, possessive case,
prepositions, articles, verb groups, adjectives, concords and other findings. In
turn, the researcher also seeks to find the factors that can influence the learners to
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
7
produce errors. There are four categorizations of causes of errors that are assumed
to influence the learners to produce errors. The four categorizations are ignorance
of rule restriction, falsely hypothesized concepts, incomplete application of rules,
and overgeneralization
However, this study has some limitations. First, this study is a case study
on a small group of people in a single English institution. Thus, the results of this
study can not be generalised. Second, this study is limited to investigating the
grammatical errors and the causes of errors produced by ten people in a Business
Communication class at Wisma Bahasa. However, it does not discuss more about
the speech intelligibility level of the participants as the researcher lacks expertise,
experience and supporting resources to do this.
There is no doubt that pronunciation is also important in spoken language.
It should not be neglected but taken into account seriously. However, the
researcher realised that it is beyond the capability to have the study on that aspect
at the same time as the other aspect which is grammar. To conclude, it is assumed
to belong to a different study.
C. Problem Formulation
There are two main problems which guide the researcher in conducting the
study:
1. What kinds of grammatical errors are produced by the participants in the
spoken language?
2. What are the possible causes of errors produced by the participants?
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
8
D. Research Objectives
Based on the problems formulated above, the researcher has formulated
two objectives of this study. All of them are to answer the questions in the
previous part.
Therefore, the objectives of this research are stated as follows:
1. To know kinds of grammatical errors produced by the participants in the
spoken language.
2. To know the possible causes of errors produced by the participants.
E. Research Benefits
By doing this study, the researcher expects the results will contribute some
benefits to:
1. Wisma Bahasa-English Division Teachers
In the past one year, the researcher has taught a lot of classes at Wisma
Bahasa both related to spoken and written language. However, the researcher
found that this institution has big expectations from the students’ performance in
spoken language. For this reason, the researcher sets up a study to find out what
the difficult parts of the grammar are, so that the teachers, in the future, can pay
more attention to the difficult part in which the learners make more errors. In
addition, the results of this study offer an improvement in teaching grammar by
providing valuable input to English teachers in teaching English, especially in
finding the strategies to teach grammar. Since grammatical errors are found, some
possible ways will be suggested to overcome these problems. Besides, the results
of the error analysis could provide adequate information about the students’ errors
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
9
in learning English grammar. Therefore the teachers could conduct the teachinglearning more effectively.
2.
Students
This study is hopefully able to improve the learning of grammar. From the
errors the students made, they will recognize the difficult parts of grammar they
face. As a result, they can learn something from their errors and give more
attention to learning about those difficult parts without neglecting other parts.
Furthermore, this study provides a discussion on each error so that it will help the
students to enrich their grammar knowledge. Besides, it is hoped that the teachers
can help the learners improve their proficiency to facilitate acquiring grammatical
competence so that they can produce good spoken English or at least, reduce these
errors in speech production.
3. English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University
(EESP) and Further researchers
The researcher found out that the study on grammatical errors dealing with
oral production is lacking at English Language Education Study Program of
Sanata Dharma University (EESP). Just like the other studies, it is hoped that this
study will expand the English learning knowledge. Likewise, this study is a study
on ten learners of Business Communication class in an English institution in
Yogyakarta. Since it is a case study, the researcher pays more attention to the
details of these ten people. By doing this research, the results can elicit other
studies in this area. Besides, the researcher hopes that the results will
acknowledge the other learners from non English department with structure
knowledge.
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10
F. Definition of Terms
To make a clear understanding of this study, the researcher includes some
definitions of important terms:
1. A Case Study
A case study is a study which focuses on an instance or an event, or upon a
particular entity. In this study, the term refers to a study of 10 people from non
English department who learn English at Wisma Bahasa in Business
Communication class.
2. Interview
Interview is a meeting at which an interviewer asks somebody questions in order
to collect data from that person. In this study, this term refers to the oral
production made by the 10 people in business communication class that are
recorded.
3. Error Analysis
In this study, error analysis refers to an attempt to provide data about which
grammatical error types occur in the learners’ oral production and the cause of the
errors.
4. Students of Business Communication Class at Wisma Bahasa
The students in this case are those who are taking business communication class
at Wisma Bahasa. They are Indonesian learners who are taking this class for 30
hours.
5. Errors
In this study, this term refers to all inaccurate phrases or clauses that are produced
by the learners in speech production.
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
CHAPTER II
LITERATURE REVIEW
In this chapter, the researcher discusses some theories related to the
research problems. This chapter is divided into two parts. They are theoretical
description and theoretical framework. In the theoretical description, some related
theories concerning speaking skills, errors and error analysis as well as the
importance of grammar will be discussed further. The Theoretical Framework
summarizes all relevant theories, which help the researcher to solve the research
problems.
A. Theoretical Description
Theoretical description discusses some related theories concerning
speaking skills as well as the importance of grammar, errors and error analysis.
1. Speaking
The following discussion covers theory of spoken English and the
differences between spoken and written English
a. Theory of Spoken English
The word “speak”, as Hornby (1994: 1140) defines, means making use of
words in an ordinary voice (not singing); utter words; know and able to use (a
language); make a speech. Speaking, as conveyed by Ur (1996: 48), is a
productive aural or oral skill. It consists of producing systematic verbal utterances
to convey meaning. Widdowson (1978: 58) added similar meaning of speaking as
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
12
“an active and productive interaction” using oral cavities in the “usage sense”. It
is a part of reciprocal exchange in which the reception and production play a part.
To conclude, speaking needs face-to-face interaction that emphasized on the
dialogue, or discussion.
In general, speaking is defined as an oral communication or an activity
that involves two or more people as the participants to react to what they are and
make their contributions at high speed (Johnson and Morrow: 1983). In other
words, if the number of people talking is only one, it is not a communication
because interaction needs an interaction between the speakers.
Besides, speaking has a close relationship with the linguistic components
such as grammar, pronunciation, and many more. As Hughes (2002: 7) argues,
“… a niche for speaking in its own right whilst breaking it down into three
distinct areas: the global or discourse level, the structural level, and the level of
speech production.”
Foreign language learners may find it difficult to learn speaking a
language since effective oral communication requires the ability to use the
language appropriately in social interaction as when the Paulstan and Bruder
(1976) state that speaking needs a competence to communicate in the target
language.
To conclude, speaking is an oral interaction produced ‘on line’ by more
than one person in which the speakers have to decide what is to be delivered
without taking time to check it over and correct it. It is totally natural in producing
the verbal utterances to convey meaning. Thus, the process of speaking involves
linguistic components such as grammar, pronunciation, etc.
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13
b. Spoken English versus Written English
Spoken and written languages are different in some characteristics. As
stated by Reid (159) in his article, there are 9 (nine) points which underline the
differences between spoken and written language.
1) Permanence
The written language is fixed and stable. In that case, people can read at whatever
time, speed, and level of thoroughness they wish. In contrast, the spoken one is
more impermanent as it moves on in direct conversation.
2) Explicitness
In written text, it is very important for the researcher to explain all the things
clearly so that the reader can get the writer’s ideas. For instance, the researcher
needs to provide clear examples to make it clear. On the other hand, only some
important information is required to be explained in spoken since some messages
are probably already clear by the knowledge shared by both the speaker and the
listener.
3) Density
The messages presented in writing are much denser whereas in spoken the
messages are conveyed through words which are sometimes repeated by the
speaker for some times.
4) Detachment
The readers of writing may not be acquainted with his or her readers since the
researcher and the readers are separated by the time and space. In contrast, the
listeners, by an immediate interaction, with or without the mediator (telephone for
example) can conduct alive interaction with the speaker.
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14
5) Organization
The researcher has time to provide an organized and well formulated writing since
she or he has time to edit it before it is available for the readers while the
corrections take place whenever it is needed in the middle of direct interaction in
speech. Thus a written text is well-governed with the conventional rules of
grammar and the vocabulary is somehow more precise and formal compare to the
spoken one.
6) Slowness of production, speed of reception
It is obviously shown that writing is much slower in case of production since it
takes time to think and revise it. However, the readers can comprehend it easier
when they read than they have to listen to someone speaking in live talk.
7) Standard language
Acceptable standard variety of the language is used in writing while in spoken,
speech may sometimes be in a regional or other limited-context dialect.
8) A learnt skill
Spoken skill, at least mother tongue, is mostly acquired automatically, while the
writing skill in most cases is deliberately taught and learned.
9) Sheer amount and importance
Redundancy makes spoken language is far longer compare to written which is
well governed.
Those nine points obviously show the nature of spoken language is
completely different from the written language. Meanwhile, the differences
between spoken and written are also figured out in 5 (five) significant ways as
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
15
quoted by Ven Lier (1995:88). He differentiates spoken from written language as
follows:
Spoken language
1. Auditory
2. Temporary; immediate reception
3. Prosody (rhythm, stress intonation)
4. immediate feedback
5. planning and editing limited by
channel
Written language
Visual
Permanent; delayed reception
Punctuation
Delayed; no feedback
Unlimited planning, editing, revision
Table 2.1 Differences between Spoken and Written language (Ven Lier: 1995)
Brown and Yule, as stated by Nunan (1995), distinguish spoken and
written language into different concepts. The written language is characterized by
well-formed sentences that are integrated into highly structured paragraph. In
contrast, spoken language consists of short, often fragmentary utterances in a
range of pronunciation.
The similar issue argued by Leech (1975). He explains that the spoken
language is different from written language in some fairly obvious ways. He states
what makes spoken and written English different is the use of effective time. In
writing, message is delivered after a person takes time to think about it and even
revise it if necessary. While in speech, the speaker does not have time to do this.
Message must be shaped as it is uttered. He also adds that the words like
“well”,”you see”, “okay” add little information about the speaker’s attitude to the
listeners. Hesitation fillers like “um”, “er”, “em” sometimes fill the gaps which
lose tracks of sentences in spoken language, but these do not normally occur in
writing. This theory is also strengthened by Nourish (1983: 48) that says
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16
“hesitations, both silent and sounded, are an almost essential part of normal
speech.”
On the other hand, there are four ways in which spoken language is “prior
to” the written as stated by Palmer (cited by Richards, 1974: 8). They are:
1) Human beings used speech long before they had writing and they are still
many languages that have no written form.
2) The children learn to speak first before they learn to write
3) Speaking takes more time in humans’ live than writing does.
4) It is possible to convert the writing language into speech without loss, but to
write down something that is said sometimes lose a great deal.
2. Grammar
The following discussion covers the theory of grammar, the importance of
grammar, and grammar in spoken and written English.
a. Theory of Grammar
The common definition of grammar, as stated in Advanced Learner’s
Dictionary of Current English, is “the study of the forms and how they are put
together in the statements; the rules about the use of words; as to study English
grammar; a grammar lesson mistakes in English” (Hornby, 1974:543). In other
words, it is said that grammar is the study or science of rules for forming words
and combining them into sentences.
Discussing the term “grammar” will lead to the words structure rules
which exist in sentences. Many linguists propose numerous definitions of
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17
grammar. Lado (1977:141), for instance; he found that for common people,
“grammar has been the study of the rules of correctness, that is, rules that claimed
to tell the students what they should not say in order to speak the language of the
society educated classes.”
On the other hand, grammar is said as the basic units of meaning such as
words, and the rules to combine them to form new sentences (Fromkin et
al.:1990). Meanwhile, Richards, Platt, and Weber as quoted by Nunan (1999)
suggest that grammar is a description of the way language structure produces
sentences.
The understanding of grammar is, later, broadened by Lado (1977) into:
1)
Grammatical structure which means the pattern of arrangement of words in
sentences and the pattern of arrangement of parts of words.
2)
Grammatical pattern which means an arrangement of words that has a
meaning.
Fries, on the other hand, (1945:28) proposes grammar as a more specific
definition. Grammar is stated as “the pattern of form and arrangement by which
the words are put together.” To add, he defines grammar into:
1)
For those English speaking children who have studied English by
diagramming sentences, by parsing, by memorizing logical definitions of the
parts of speech and the rules by which to measure the “correctness” of every
construction, grammar is remembered as highly abstract and intricate subject
that has never had any really vital relation to their natural way of talking and
makes them feel that neither they nor the people about them speak “correct”
English.
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18
2)
Grammar is regarded as a body of philosophical material equally applicable
to all languages-universal grammar, the grammar of any languages.
As it can be lined that most discussed element in grammar is the rules of
correctness in general. However, those rules are not fixed. Rivers (1968:56) states
that, “To most people, grammar is the rules of language set out in a terminology
which is hard to remember, with many exceptions, appended to each rules.” Thus,
it means that there are many exceptions in grammar.
Likewise, Burton (1982:128) adds that “grammar of language is not a
recollection of hard and fast rules. It is more flexible (and, therefore, more useful)
than that.” It can be said that grammar is applicable to any sentence in a language
and it gives an account of the way in which a language is used by those who use it
well.
From the definitions above, it can be concluded that grammar covers
several elements, namely rules, patterns, forms, and words arrangements.
b. The Importance of Grammar
According to Colburn (1949:31), grammar is not merely the names of
parts of speech and parts of a sentence. Grammar is the knowledge of some
principles governing the way words work in group to give certain effects. As a
result, changing the form or order of words will alter the meaning too. Since
human beings live in varied circumstances, it is important to apply the knowledge
of grammar to use and choose the form of language best suited to each particular
situation (Burton, 1982).
Brooks (1964:153) illustrates the importance of grammar by saying:
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19
In any discussion, we must recognise that grammar is to language what
anatomy is to the human body…. To say that grammar can be brushed
aside as inconsequential or irrelevant is of course nonsense. The question
to ask is rather to what degree we must be aware of the grammar we use,
just as we may ask to what extent we must be aware of the anatomy of our
bodies as we act and play and think and work.
This means that in producing a sentence, grammar is a really important
element in order to make a sentence meaningful. Therefore, English users must be
aware of the grammar use in producing a sentence. In addition, Brooks (1964)
also stated that rules of grammar are very important to be applied especially in
formal education. Therefore, it can be said that it is necessary for the school
learners to learn the rules of grammar in the very earliest of school.
Since grammar plays an important role in language learning, Krashen
(1982) proposes two roles of grammar in language learning. The first is grammar
roles as a monitor. The second is as a subject matter.
Grammar as a monitor is used to correct the learners’ mistakes when
producing output in writing and speaking. Knowledge of grammar rules is used to
raise the learners ‘awareness of grammatical accuracy. The learners are led to
think first whether their outputs are grammatically correct or not. For those who
have acquired language well, grammar as a monitor is not essential. Hence,
thinking about grammar when producing speech may bother the fluency of
speech.
Grammar as a subject matter is functioned as the knowledge which must
be learned. The students learn the forms, patterns, and arrangement of words or
phrases consciously in order to acquire the knowledge to be able to comprehend
the language.
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20
The definitions of grammar as stated above clearly define that grammar is
useful to help the language learners or users make use of words. English grammar
leads the learners or users to make use of the English language in a proper
manner. Moreover, an understanding of grammar speeds up the language learning.
Although it is possible to speak or to write without any knowledge of grammar,
indeed, learning grammar gives some benefits.
c. Grammar in Spoken and Written English
Like other languages, English has two channels, speech and writing. One
is transmitted by sound-waves, originated in speaking and received in learning.
Another is transmitted by some visible marks like letters and others as produced
in writing and received in reading. However, spoken and written English, as
argued by Leech (1995) share the same grammar but is used differently in these
two channels. Grammar in written English tends to be more specified and formal
compared to that in the speech. On the other hand, as Burton (1982) states,
grammar in spoken English is more flexible and thus more useful).
3. Theory of Errors
The following discussion covers the definition of error, the differences
between errors and mistakes, the source of errors, and the types of errors.
a. Definition of Error
Referring to some good pedagogical reasons, errors made by the learners
of a foreign language, the error may actually be a necessary part of learning a
language. The term “error” is defined variously by linguists and scholars. Error,
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
21
according to Corder, as cited by Fisiak (1981: 224), is “systematic deviation
characteristic of the learners’ linguistic system at a given stage of learning.” In
other words, the learners are using a definite system of a language at every point
in their development. In this case, the learners’ errors are the evidence of this
system and are themselves systematic. Corder, as stated by Dulay (1982)
concludes errors as systematic deviations due to learners’ developing knowledge
of the second language rule syst