English is an important language in educational life since it is an international language. Many books are written using English. In this globalization era, people need to communicate with foreigners who have different language. Therefore, people are expected to master the English language so that they can communicate well.
Based on that requirement, many schools provide English as one of the subject matters in order to make their students able to master English and communicate using English well. Reaching that goal is not easy. Schools must provide very good facilities including the teachers. A good English teacher who masters English well is needed very much in order to reach that goal.
As candidates of English teachers, the English Language Education Study Program students are supposed to master all the things related to the English language as the subject matter, including the skills and the language elements. In the English language, there are four skills which have to be mastered by learners and teachers. Those are listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Beside those
2 four skills, the English language also has the language elements such as grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary. In order to be good teachers, the teacher candidates should master those things because good teachers are not only able to understand the English language for themselves, but also must be able to help their students, especially in using English grammar.
Indonesia has English language as their foreign language and the pattern of the sentences in Indonesian and English language are different. Therefore, they have to know well the pattern of each language which they learn. For example, when people use Indonesian language, they use the same verb to show the actions which have been done, is being done, and will be done. Another example is when people want to use conditional sentences. When they use Indonesian language, they also use the same verb and pattern without caring about the fact. Thus, foreign language learners should pay attention to those things. In this case, based on the writer’s experience, many students still have difficulties in understanding and using the correct grammar. Hence, this is a challenge for teachers and teacher candidates to overcome this problem, where the role of teachers is needed. They have to be able to give good explanation and examples so students will understand well. Therefore, teachers and teacher candidates should master grammar, so they can be good teachers.
Mastering foreign language, in this case is English language, is not easy.
Many people have problem to do that. One of the problems is the grammar mastery. Besides having sixteen tenses, the English language also has many other topics, and one of them is conditional sentences. Many students find the
difficulties in understanding this topic. Therefore, teacher should be able to give such clear explanations and examples in delivering this topic. In order to do that, a good preparation is inevitably needed for the teacher candidates.
The teacher candidates have to master this topic, especially for senior high school teacher candidates because they have to explain this topic. This topic is one of difficult topics in school faced by students. Many students need repetition and clear explanation to this topic. A clear explanation can only be transferred by a teacher who understands the topic well. In this case, the teachers must be competent in mastering conditional sentences so as to be able to explain it to their students. As a matter of fact, it is important for the teachers to understand the conditional sentences.
Based on the writer’s experience, she chooses conditional sentences because this topic has three types which are difficult to learn. Those three types have different pattern and different meaning. The meaning or the fact of the conditional sentences can be true in the present or future, untrue in the present or future and also untrue in the past. Each pattern should correspond with the fact and it can make them difficult to be differentiated and composed. It can also be easily forgotten by the language learners.
Furthermore, by conducting some informal interviews on the conditional sentences, the writer also found that some of the senior students of the English Language Education Study Program are still confused to differentiate the types of conditional sentences and they still produce errors in the use of conditional
4 sentences. Moreover, some of them forget what conditional sentences are and how to produce them.
Beside those reasons, the writer also empirically finds that it is very difficult to make the students really understand the use of conditional sentences.
When the students learn each type separately, they can understand better, but they still have difficulties and make mistakes when those three types in conditional sentences are combined. In this case, the teachers’ knowledge is challenged. They should master the topic, so that they are able to find a good way in teaching conditional sentences to overcome the students’ problems.
Since the conditional sentences should be mastered by the teachers, the English language Education Study Program students, as the teacher candidates, should be tested on their understanding and mastery in the use of conditional sentences. The results of this research can show their capability to use conditional sentences and their understanding in using them. In this research, the writer chooses the fifth semester students of the English Language Education Study Program, with the consideration that they have learnt conditional sentences in semester three in their Structure III course. Therefore, they are supposed to use conditional sentences correctly. The result of the research is employed to come up with the suggestions for the lecturers and the students in learning conditional sentences.