16 November 2019, Bandar Lampung, Indonesia 182
8 Capitalization 55 3,7%
Total 1462 100%
Chart 1. Frequency of Errors
Based on the table and chart above, it can be seen that the most-frequently made error types are article (22,8%), subject-verb agreement (17,3%) , spelling (15,5%), punctuation (14,1%), word choice (9,1%), plurality (8,6%), preposition (8,6%) and capitalization (3,7%). A deeper analysis toward each type of errors will be presented on the explanations below.
Article
The first committed error done by the students is article. Most of students got difficulties to differentiate the use of ‘a’ an’, the’ and even ‘no article’. The errors are mostly done in terms of omission and addition. Omission is the term used to explain that students omit article which is actually necessary for completing the noun(s). The analysis can be seen on the table 2.
Table 2. Article Omission
Examples Original Sentence(s) Corrected Sentence(s) Sample 1 They need books or more time to
study with teacher.
They need books or more time to study with the teacher.
Sample 2 I want to every child has same opportunity to get better life....
I want to every child has the same opportunity to get a better life...
Sample 3 According to ministry of agriculture....
According to the ministry of agriculture...
Sample 4
The strategy is we make our product with a best seller taste that the customers want it.
The strategy is we make our product with the best seller taste that the customers want it.
Sample 5 .... I am a 1st winner in my school. ....I am the 1st winner in my school Sample 6 ....if they have a many customers.. ....if they have many customers..
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
16 November 2019, Bandar Lampung, Indonesia 183 Another term used in analyzing errors in using article is addition. Some students add article before noun. The articles added are not necessary. The examples can be seen on table 3.
Table 3. Article Addition
Examples Original Sentence(s) Corrected Sentence(s) Sample 7
...with wonderful design and the design related to the game mobile, anime, cartoon and characters like a teenagers nowadays..
...with wonderful design and the design related to the game mobile, anime, cartoon and characters like teenagers nowadays..
Sample 8 The another problem is their patterns economy is not too good.
Another problem is their patterns economy is not too good.
Based on the analysis above, it can be seen that the formulas used in target language are not applied correctly by the students. Intralanguage interference could possibly affect the students’
acquisition toward English. For Indonesian learners, article is one of English area that is difficult to discuss. It is due to Indonesian does not have article (Hamzah, 2016). It is confusing when learners have to put article before noun in learning English. The Indonesian learners do not get accoustomed on it.
Subject-Verb Agreement
The second most-frequently-made error done by students is subject-verb agreement. It is an error frequently made by other EFL students from other different countries (Huang, 2006; Wu &
Garza, 2014). At this point, the errors are related to the use of tenses in writing sentences. Most students can’t classify verbs matching to the subject in some different tenses. The errors are classified on the use of simple past tense, simple present tense, and simple future tense. In using simple past tense, it is found that those time signals that indicate past event is not considered by students during producing English sentences. Last week, last month and last year belong to past time signal. Thus, the tense used should be past tense, forming subject followed by Verb-2 (past verb). The data can be seen below.
Table 4. Errors in using Simple Past Tense
Examples Original Sentesnce(S) Corrected Sentence(s) Sample 9 The customer call me last week. The customer called me last
week.
Sample 10 The shop close last month... The shop closed last month...
Sample 11 I plan my business last year. I planned my business last year.
In using simple present tense, verbal and nominal sentences are identified. However, some students’ writing indicate that there were misunderstanding in differentiate verbal and nominal sentences in simple present tense. For example, the verbal sentence requires subject (she, he it) followed by Verb-1 added by s/es. While subjects ‘I’, you, they we) requires Verb-1. The gaps in it can be seen on the table below.
Table 5. Errors in Verbal Sentences used in Simple Present Tense
16 November 2019, Bandar Lampung, Indonesia 184 Examples Original Sentesnce(S) Corrected Sentence(s) Sample 12
Banana sweet bakery offer the product made by banana and banana peel.
Banana sweet bakery offers the product made by banana and banana peel.
Sample 13 ... my company have a bigger opportunity.
... my company has a bigger opportunity.
Sample 14
My business have several topping.
My business has several topping.
Nominal sentences in simple present tense require the use of to be (is, am, are). Students’ errors are mostly done by mismatching the subject and to be. To be ‘is’ must be following pronoun ‘she’,
‘he’, ‘it’, while ‘am’ must be following ‘I’. At last, ‘are’ must be following ‘you’, ‘they’, and
‘we’. These terms seem unclear to students’ understanding. It can be seen from their writings.
Table 6. Errors in Nominal Sentences used in Simple Present Tense
Examples Original Sentesnce(S) Corrected Sentence(s) Sample 15 The rules is we must be made a
health food from plants
The rules are we must be made a health food from plants Sample 16 Everything not always
successful.
Everything is not always successful.
Sample 17 The customers is happy with the products.
The customers are happy with the products.
Another subject-verb agreement error is the use of future tense. Some writings do not use proper grammar of simple future tense. Modal ‘will’ and ‘can’ must be followed by base verb.
Unfortunately, some students’ writing do not meet the formula. The example of can be seen as follows.
Table 7. Errors in using Simple Future Tense
Examples Original Sentence(S) Corrected Sentence(s) Sample 18
I have a good idea to increase my products that is I will upgrading the design...
I have a good idea to increase my products that is I will upgrade the design...
Sample 19 I will changed my mindset... I will change my mindset...
Sample 20
Our company can decorating the box with a beautiful decoration.
Our company can decorate the box with a beautiful decoration.
Sample 21 The café will be open every day start from 10AM-11PM.
The café will be opened every day start from 10AM-11PM.
The errors in subject-verb agreement occur since there are different rules used in English and Bahasa Indonesia. The verbs following subject in Bahasa Indonesia do not change. For example, the sentence‘Saya makan siang setiap hari’ in Bahasa Indonesia can be translated as ‘I have lunch everyday’. Yet, when the sentence is given time signal that indicate past event, such as ‘Saya
16 November 2019, Bandar Lampung, Indonesia 185 makan siang kemarin’, the English version will be ‘I had luch yesterday’. These two examples explain that verbs used in Bahasa Indonesia do not depend on the time signal, but English sentence does. So, intralingual interference might affect the students in using target language. Heydari and Bagheri (2012) also state that interlingual interference and intralingual interference are the two sources of errors committed by EFL and ESL learners.
Spelling
The third category of student-made errors is spelling. The frequency of errors in spelling is 227 or 16% of the total errors. Spelling errors occur by using an incorrect letter, omitting a letter, or adding a letter when unnecessary. The errors can be seen on the table below.
Table 8. Errors in Spelling
Examples Original Sentence(S) Corrected Sentence(s) Sample 22 ...permission letter because this
s the regulation...
...permission letter because this is the regulation...
Sample 23
....social media such as intagram, whatsapp, line, and other e-commerce....
....social media such as instagram, whatsapp, line, and other e-commerce....
Sample 24
... on target market and agressively marketing full range...
... on target market and aggressively marketing full range...
Sample 25
....developing parnerships with both industry leaders and competitors.
....developing partnerships with both industry leaders and competitors.
Sample 26
...a relationship-oriented bussiness that foster long term customer relationship.
...a relationship-oriented business that foster long term customer relationship.
Sample 27 In ruinning the bussiness,.... In running the business....
Sample 28 ....adverstisment facilities... ....advertisement facilities...
Sample 29 Furhermore, by using this kind of media...
Furthermore, by using this kind of media...
These spelling errors happen when the students have mispronunciation, lack of awareness of spelling rules and irregular spelling patterns. It will strongly contribute to spelling errors.
Punctuation
Another type of errors made by students is punctuation. The total error is 207 or 14%. The use of comma and fullstop is the most noticeable errors on the students’ writing. It shows that students are weak in using punctuation marks. As the fifth semester students, they should have been familiar in using proper punctuation marks in writing English. Based on the data tabulated below, comma and fullstop seem neglected by the students. The errors in punctuation can be seen as follows.