RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
A. Data Presentation
1. The Test
The test consisted of two parts and each part consisted of fifteen items. In the first part, the students were required to put the given verbs into the correct forms. The objective of this part was that the students were able to recognize which type of conditional sentences used in the questions and demonstrate the correct pattern of conditional sentences. In the second part, the students were required to make conditional sentences based on the given facts. The objective of
this part was that the students were able to recognize the correlation between the fact and the conditional sentences and demonstrate the correct pattern of conditional sentences based on the given facts. The detailed information about the students’ achievement in the test was presented as follows.
a. The Students’ Achievement in Each Part of the Test
The data of the students’ achievement in Part A of the test was presented in Table 4.1. The score was determined from the total correct answer and then it was divided by the total number. After that, the result was multiplied by 100.
Table 4.1: The Students’ Scores in Part A
Range of Scores Number of Students Achieving Range of Scores 90-100
From Table 4.1, it can be seen that the seventeen students achieved 40-49.
The highest range of score was only achieved by one student. On the other hand, there was the lowest range of scores which was 0-49 and it was achieved by one
36 student. From Table 4.1, it can be seen that there were many students who still made errors and those were shown by achieving the low range of scores.
Table 4.2: The Students’ Score in Part B
Range of Scores Number of Students Achieving Range of Scores 90-100 was 80-89 and there were only two students. In the lowest range of scores, there were three students. Most of the students achieved the range of scores 20-29 and there were nineteen students. It means that there were only two students who understood and were able to produce the conditional sentences based on the given fact. From Table 4.2, it can be seen that there are many students still made errors which are shown by achieving the low range of scores.
b. The Students’ Total Scores of the Whole Part of the Test
The total scores were obtained by counting the total number of the correct answers and then it was divided by the total number of the item. After that, the result was multiplied by 100. It means that the total score was achieved by counting the total number of the correct answers and then it was divided by thirty and the result was multiplied by 100.
Table 4.3: Students’ Score in the Whole Part of the Test
Range of Scores Number of Students Achieving Range of Scores 90-100 achieved the range of scores 20-29.
38 There was the minimum standard of mastery. It means that someone masters the topic if he obtains the score above the minimum standard. Based on the minimum standard score of mastery as written in academic regulation of Sanata Dharma University (2002: 14), it should be 56% of the total score. The scoring level was presented as follows.
Score Category
80-100 very good (A)
70-79 good (B)
56-69 sufficient (C)
50-55 insufficient (D)
≤49 poor (E)
Based on that category, the students’ achievement in the test was classified into five categories. The first category was very good (A), which was obtained by the students who achieved the range of scores 80-100. The second category was good (B). This category was obtained by the students who achieved the range of scores 70-79. The third category was sufficient (C), which was obtained by the students who achieved the range of scores 56-69. The students who obtained this category of score were still considered as passing the exam or mastering the topic.
The fourth category was insufficient, which was obtained by the students who achieved the range of scores 50-55. The last category was poor (E), which was obtained by the students who achieved the range of scores bellow 50. The students who obtained the last two categories of score were considered failed. The classification of the students’ achievement was presented as follows.
Table 4.4: The Students’ Scores Based on the Score Category
Score Category
Number of Students’
Achieving the Category
80-100 A 3
70-79 B 4
56-69 C 10
50-55 D 4
≥49 E 36
From Table 4.4, it can be seen that there were three students (5.26%) who got score A. On the category B, there were four students (7.02%). Ten students (17.54%) fell on the category of score C. The next score category was category D and there were four students (7.02%). The last category was E and most of the students fell on this category. There were thirty six students (63.16%) on the last category. From the data, it can be seen that there were only seventeen students who fulfilled the minimum standard score of mastery. It means that there were less than 50% of the total students who could pass it.
c. The Questionnaire
The questionnaire consisted of two parts. In the first part, it consisted of thirty items of close ended responses. In this part, the students were required to circle the number which represented their real experience. Meanwhile, the second part consisted of two items of open-ended responses. In this part, the students were required to share their problems in learning conditional sentences and give
40 the suggestion to teach conditional sentences clearly. Their answers in the questionnaire are presented in the Appendix 7.
B. Discussion
This part deals with the research question. The research question is (1) What are the errors made by the fifth semester students of the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University in the use of conditional sentences?, and (2) What are the factors which cause the students to make errors in the use of conditional sentences? Those questions will be discussed based on the collected data.
1. The Errors Made by the Students on the Use of Conditional Sentences