Pondok Aren)
By Alifia Noviani 108014000096
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TARBIYA AND TEACHERS’ TRAINING
SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY
JAKARTA
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Second Grade Students of SMP Mutiara Harapan Pondok Aren). ‘Skripsi’ of English Education Department at Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teachers’ Training of State Islamic University Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, 2015.
Advisors : 1. Drs.Syauki, M.Pd
2. Atik Yuliani, M.A. TESOL
Key Words : Error Analysis, Past Tense, Recount, Writing
The objective of this study is to know the most frequent type of error made by the second grade students of SMP Mutiara Harapan Pondok Aren in writing recount
and also the source of those errors. The writer used type of error of Betty Azar’s and
source of error of Rod Ellis’ and Gary Barkhuizen’s.
The method used in this study was descriptive analysis method to describe students’ errors and analyze the data. The data was taken from the test; it was written test.
The research findings showed that the most common type of error that the students made is verb tense error. The students made 63 errors of verb tense error out of 197 errors or 31.98%. The second common error is word choice error with the total number of error is 24 or 12.18%. Then with 21 errors or 10.66% is adding a word error which is followed by capitalization error with 16 errors or 8.12%. Spelling type of error is found as many as 11 errors or 5.58%. Singular plural, punctuation and run on sentence error have 10 errors found or 5.08% each. 9 errors or 4.56% found in meaning not clear error and incomplete sentence, and both omitting a word and word
order are found with 3 errors or 1.52%. The least type of error made in students’
recount writing is article error.
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Second Grade Students of SMP Mutiara Harapan Pondok Aren). ‘Skripsi’ Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Fakultas Ilmu Tarbiyah dan Keguruan, Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, 2015.
Pembimbing : 1. Drs. Syauki, M.Pd
2. Atik Yuliani, M.A. TESOL
Kata Kunci : Error Analysis, Past Tense, Recount, Writing
Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui tipe kesalahan yang paling sering dilakukan oleh siswa kelas 2 SMP Mutiara Harapan Pondok Aren dalam membuat teks recount dan juga untuk mengetahui sumber error dari kesalahan-keslahan tersebut.. Penulis menggunakan Tipe error menurut Betty Azar dan sumber error menurut Rod Ellis and Gary Barkhuizen.
Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah analisa deskriptif untuk menggambarkan kesalahan siswa serta untuk menganalisis data. Data tersebut diambil dari tes yang merupakan tes tertulis.
Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa tipe kesalahan terbanyak yang dibuat
oleh para siswa adalah verb tense. Para siswa membuat 63 verb tense error dari total
seluruh kesalahan 197 atau 31.98%. Tipe kesalahan terbanyak kedua adalah word choice error dengan kesalahan sebanyak 24 atau 12.18%. Selanjutnya dengan 10.66% atau 21 kesalahan adalah adding a word error yang diikuti oleh capitalization error sebanyak 8.12% atau 16 kesalahan. Spelling error ditemukan sebanyak 11 atau 5.58%. Singular plural error, punctuation dan Run-on sentence ditemukan sebanyak masing-masing 5.08% atau 10 kesalahan. Word form error ditemukan sebanyak 9 kesalahan atau 4.56%. Meaning not clear dan incomplete sentence error ditemukan sebanyak 8 atau 4.08%. Omitting a word dan word order error ditemukan sebanyak 3 kesalahan atau 1.52%. Article error merupakan kesalahan yang paling sedikit dibuat siswa dengan 1 kesalahan atau 0.51%.
Dari data-data yang penulis dapatkan, penulis juga menemukan bahwa
kesalahan-kesalahan tersebut paling banyak disebabkan oleh transfer intralingual
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writer could finish this skripsi. Peace and blessing be upon to our prophet
Muhammad Saw, his families, his companion, and all his followers.
This skripsi is presented to English Education Department, Faculty of
Tarbiyah and Teachers’ Training, Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University Jakarta as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of strata (S-1) in English Education Department.
On this occasion, the writer would like to express her great honor and deepest gratitude to her beloved parents, the most special persons in her life, Yanih and Misan who have educated, inspired, taken care, motivated, loved, and also have given moral encouragement to the writer to finish her study.
The great gratitude is dedicated to these amazing people, particularly to Drs.
Syauki, M.Pd and Atik Yuliani, MA. TESOL, the writer’s advisors, who have guided
her in writing this skripsi. Besides, all lecturers in English Education Department for
teaching precious knowledge, sharing philosophy of life and giving wonderful study experience.
The writer’s gratitude also goes to:
1. Nurlena, M.A., Ph.d., as the Dean of Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teachers’
Training of State Islamic University, Jakarta.
2. Drs. Syauki, M.Pd., the Head of English Education Department.
3. Zaharil Anasy, M.Hum., the Secretary of English Education Department.
4. Dea Kania, S.Pd. and Muinah, S.Pd., teachers of SMP Mutiara Harapan; and
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the making of this skripsi, Ummi Fadhilah, whose encouragement has become
writer’s great support and the writer’s friends of English Education
Department Class C for academic year 2008 and all the writer’s friends in her
working place.
7. To any other persons whose names cannot be mentioned one by one for their
contribution to the writer during finishing her skripsi.
The words are not enough to express and appreciate their dedication and contribution. The writer truly realizes that this skripsi cannot be considered perfect without critiques and suggestion from others. Therefore, the writer would like to
accept any construction to make this skripsi better.
Jakarta, January 26th 2015
The Writer
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ENDORSEMENT SHEET ... i
ENDORSEMENT SHEET BY THE EXAMINATION COMMITTEE ... ii
SURAT PERNYATAAN KARYA SENDIRI ... iii
ABSTRACT ... iv
ABSTRAK ... v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ... vii
TABLE OF CONTENT ... xi
LIST OF TABLES ... x
LIST OF APPENDICES ... xiii
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of Study ... 1
B. Identification of Problem ... 4
C. Limitation of Problem ... 4
D. Formulation of the Problem ... 5
E. Objectives of the Study ... 5
F. Significance of the Study ... 5
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK A. Error ... 6
1. Error and Mistake ... 6
2. Types of Error ... 7
3. Causes of Error ... 10
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C. Writing ... 16
1. The Purpose of Writing ... 17
2. Types of Writing ... 18
D. Types of Text ... 19
E. Recount ... 21
1. The Generic Structure of Recount ... 21
2. Linguistic Features of Recount ... 22
F. Past Tenses ... 23
1. Simple Past Tense ... 23
2. Past Progressive Tense ... 23
3. Past Perfect Tense ... 24
4. Past Perfect Progressive Tense ... 25
CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY A. Place and Time of the Study ... 26
B. Method of the Study ... 26
C. Population and Sampling ... 26
D. Instrument of the Study ... 27
E. Technique of Data Collection ... 27
F. Technique of Data Analysis ... 27
CHAPTER IV RESEARCH FINDINGS A. Data Description ... 28
1. The Result of Test ... 28
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CHAPTER V CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
A. Conclusion ... 66
B. Suggestion ... 67
BIBLIOGRAPHY ... 68
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[image:13.595.156.441.269.567.2]Table 4.2 Percentage of Students’ Types of Error...63
xii
Appendix 2 Student’s Writing Result ... 70
Appendix 3 Students’ Writing Test Form ... 85
Appendix 4 Structured Interview for Students... 86
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a.
Background of the Study
Communication is important in order to make other parties to understand our purpose, intention and ideas. There are many ways of communicating. We can communicate through music, dance, gesture, etc. However, the most common way of communicating is through language.
Among many languages that are available in the world, English has been used as the language of the global communication. We can say that to be part of the global world, we need to master English.
In today’s world, many countries have chosen to put English as their second language. Countries like Singapore, India, Nigeria, etc., have applied English in their countries together with their native language. It shows how they put great concern toward English.
In Indonesia, the importance of English is shown through the education of English language. From the junior high level to the university level, English has been taught in either public or private institution. In many majors in the universities in Indonesia, English has been one of the subject offered. The subject of English language is even included in the national examination held by the ministry of education every year for the ninth and twelfth graders.
The learning of English focuses into four main areas or skills that include speaking, writing, reading, and listening. In these four types of skills the writer finds that the writing skill is the hardest amongst the others. The idea is supported by Raymond that states the act of writing is difficult to do, that even an experienced writer will find it hard to just labour one paragraph, because it demands many ideas and research before the writing is begun.1 This fact is also supported by Gorrel and Laird that state:
”Writing requires thinking, and thinking is always complicated and hard. Writing is complicated also because the writer needs to do everything at once. A writer
produces words, sentences, paragraphs, and extended compositions all at the same time; words must be spelled, sentence punctuated, and paragraph unified.”2
As Raymond stated above together with Gorrel and Laird, the writing process takes a lot to do, from the idea of the writing to the research that might have to be conducted before even the writing began; to support our writing. This statement by Raymond is still lingering in the scope of ideas of the writing, as in Indonesia, where English is a foreign language, there is other thing to be considered as an obstacle in writing that is the grammatical rules. English has many rules of grammar, and that rules are required in order to make a good English composition. English and Bahasa Indonesia have similarities and differences. One most distinctive thing between English grammar and Indonesian grammar is the use of verbs.
Langan, in his book describes that English verbs state the time of the
action. This verbs in English shows the time that we called tense.3 This tenses’
form that we could find in English would not be found in Indonesian language. In Indonesia the time of the action will be visible only through the use of adverb of time. For example, in the English sentence, “I went to Bali”. We know the time of
the occurrence of this sentence is in the past from the use of the verb2 “went”. In
1
James C Raymond, Writing is Unnatural Act, (New York: Harper and Row Publisher, 1980), p. 7
2
Robert M. Gorrel and Charlton Laird, Modern English Handbook, (New Jersey: Englewood Cliffs N.J, 1962), p.1
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addition, in Indonesia, the exact same phrase will be, “Saya pergi ke Bali” that shows no time of occurrence. The possibility of this Indonesian clause to be in present time is the same with the possibility of it to happen in the past. The right
clause to describe the English “I went to Bali” will be “Saya dahulu pergi ke Bali”
or with the addition of the exact time of occurrence like, “Saya pergi ke Bali
tahun lalu”. Then, when an Indonesian student wants to write, “Saya pergi ke Bali liburan tahun lalu”, in English, she/he might write it to be “I go to Bali last holiday” which is grammatically wrong. It is only an example but it has a high probability of occurrence considering the whole distinct of verbal usage between the verbs of both languages.
As Raymond stated in the previous page that writing is not an easy activity from the idea and data gathering to the structural form of the sentences, the errors that might occur from this hard writing process has important role of discovering
many things. According to Al Badawi, “Learner’s errors reflect a gap in their
competence, orders of acquisition and accuracy in order of learning.” So by identifying these errors, the difficulties that are faced by the learners can be
revealed.4
Based on the writer experience in teaching writing, the writer found many students were making mistakes in the text structure and its language features. Most of them mention that they were confused because of many types of text available. In the grammatical area, occurences were when the text is using past tense. One of the text that uses past tense is recount writing.
Recount writing is a type of writing where one tells a story that has already happened in the past. In Indonesian curriculum, this type of writing is given in formal school starting from junior high level. Recount is pretty much useful because telling your past experience and feeling is something we often do during our everyday life. It is also useful if you want to write an English novel. This type
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of writing is quite easy to arrange because it is based on experience. The writer chooses recount is simply because the main concern of this research is the grammar, and recount does not requires complex ideas to be composed. So, based on this thought this research of “An Error Analysis on Students’ Recount Writing” is conducted.
b.
Identification of the Problem
The identifications of problem in this study are:
1. For most students, writing is difficult.
2. Due to the number of text types and rules of the text, students is having
difficulties in producing a good writing.
3. Students make some grammatical errors in writing.
c.
Limitation of Problem
The research will be limited to singular-plural, word form, word choice, verb tense, adding a word, omitting a word, word order, incomplete sentence, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, article, meaning not clear, run-on sentence;
using the error classification by Betty Azar5in analysing students’ recount writing
academic year 2014/2015.
d.
The Formulation of the Problem
Based on what has been discussed before in the background and the limitation of problem. The writer would formulate the problem as follow:
1. What types of errors are commonly made by the second grade students of
SMP Mutiara Harapan, Pondok Aren in writing recount text?
2. What causes them to make those errors?
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e.
The Objective of the Study
The objectives of the study conducted by the writer are:
1. To find the type of errors that shows the biggest interference in the recount
writings of SMP Mutiara Harapan students.
2. To find out the cause of error appearance in the recount writing of SMP
Mutiara Harapan students.
f.
The Significance of the Study
The significance of this study has two different roles. The first one is for the students. For the students, this research is expected to encourage students to commit less error in writing recount text. On the teacher side, this research can hopefully help the teacher as future recommendation in delivering past tense and recount writing.
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CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
A.
Error
1. Error and Mistake
Errors and mistakes during the learning process of a language are both representing an incorrect grammatical usage. Pit Corder distinguishes error and mistake as competence versus performance. He maintains that mistakes do not hold any significance to the process of language learning since their appearance ‘do not reflect a deflect in our knowledge’ but are performance failure, such as memory lapses, spelling pronunciations, tiredness, strong emotion, etc. The learner commonly are aware of them and can correct them with more or less complete assurance. On the contrary, errors are everything that mistakes are not: they are significant; they reflect knowledge; they are not self-correctable; and only
learners of an L2 make them.1
In addition, Carl James states that an error arises only when there is no intention to commit one. He also draws a distinction between error and mistake, he says, error that is created by a student, if this error is then can be corrected by the student means it is a mistake, but if the students cannot in any way correct this
then the error is not intended, and this is the real error.2
Moreover, Corder defines an error as some breach of language code that creates a result of wrong sentence whereas in the learner of the second language is shown to have not fully acquired the rules of the code. A mistake by Corder is defines as a more of performance failure whereas the occurrence is because the
learner makes a slip such as false start and a confusion of a structure.3
From the variation of definition of error provided above, we can conclude that an error is an unintended incorrectness where the learner who did this incorrect form is creating it because he or she has not fully understood the correct
1
Carl James, Errors in Language Learning and Use, (New York: Longman, 1998), p. 78-79 2
James, loc. cit 3
usage of the language code. Mistake on the other hand is more of an incorrectness that happens not because the learner who did the mistake does not know the right form of the sentence(s), but because he or she is not in the perfect condition that then creates a failure in his or her performance.
2. Types of Error
According to Betty Azar, types of errors are divided into thirteen types; singular-plural, word form, word choice, verb tense, adding a word/omitting a word, word order, incomplete sentence, spelling, punctuation, capitalization,
article, meaning not clear, and run-on sentence.4
a. Singular-plural
Example of this error
*She have been here for three
b. Word form
Example of this error:
*I saw a beauty picture.
c. Word choice
Example of this error: *She got on the taxi.
d. Verb tense
Example of this error:
*She is here since August.
The correct form will be she has been here since August.
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e. Adding a word
Example of this error: *I want go to the zoo.
It should be I want to go to the zoo.
Omitting a word Example of this error:
*He entered to the university.
The correct sentence is he entered the university.
f. Word order
Example of this error:
*I saw five times that movie.
The sentence should be I saw that movie five times.
g. Incomplete sentence
Example of this error:
*I went to bed. Because I was tired.
The correct form should be I went to bed because I was tired.
h. Spelling
Example of this error:
*The accident occured.
The correct form should be the accident occurred.
i. Punctuation
Example of this error: *What did he say.
j. Capitalization
Example of this error: *I am studying english.
The correct form is I am studying English.
k. Article
The example of this error: *I had a accident.
The correct form is I had an accident.
l. Meaning not clear
Example of this error: *He borrowed some smoke.
In this sentence, the structure is correct, however the meaning is unclear.
m.Run-on sentence.
Example of this error:
*My roommate was sleeping, we didn’t want to wake her up.
The correct form of this sentence is my roommate was sleeping. We didn‟t want
to wake her up.
The category proposed by Betty Azar is used by the writer in classfiying the errors for this research. The reason for this decision is because the writer
wants to know the grammatical features that hamper the students’ progress in
3. The causes of Error
Errors can occur for many reasons. One of the strategies to prevent students from making the same error is by looking at the cause of the error itself.
Pit Corder claims that there are three major causes of error, which he
labels ‟transfer error‟, „analogical error‟, and „teaching-induced errors‟. On the
other hand, Hubbard proposes the same categories of error with a different names they are: mother-tongue interference, overgeneralization and errors encourage by
teaching materials or method.5
a. Mother- tongue interference.
Although young children appear to be able to learn a foreign language quite easily, older learners experience considerable difficulty. The sound system (phonology) and the grammar of the first language lead to different pronunciation, faulty grammar pattern, and occasionally, the wrong diction.
b. Overgeneralization
The mentalist theory claims that errors are inevitable because they reflect various stages in the language development of the learner. It claims that the learner processes new language data in his mind and produces rules for its production. By which the data is inadequate, or the evidence only partial, such rules may produce incorrect pattern.
c. Errors encourage by teaching materials or method.
The teaching material or method can also contribute to the students errors. Behaviorism says error is evidence of failure, or ineffective teaching or lack of control. If material is well chosen, graded and presented with meticulous care, there should never be any error.
5
Rod Ellis and Gary Barkhuizen classify the source of errors into two: interlingual
and intralingual transfer.6 Here is the brief explanation:
a. Interlingual Transfer
Errors that are caused by interlingual transfer include the errors that are
caused by the interference of the students’ native language or mother tongue.
During the process of acquiring the language, the only ‘linguistic system‟ that can
be used by the students’ is their own native language before they get familiar with the second language, and that is why native language can be a big interference for the process of acquiring the second language. For example an Indonesian learner say *I like colour blue where the arrangement is taken from Indonesian language structure. It is shown from how the learner put the adjective blue after the word colour. It is exactly using the structure of the Indonesian version Saya suka warna biru.
b. Intralingual transfer
This source of errors is called by Brown in his book as generalization. The generalization is a matter of error where it is created because learners are doing
generalization over the structure given to them. The example for this is *I
swimmed with my family last week. In this case, the learner has known that in English, an action done in the past should be written in the past form which is
usually characterized by the use of suffix –ed. However, He has not known that
swim is an irregular verb. Therefore, he simply put –ed after the verb swim.
In addition, intralingual error, which is caused by intralingual transfer, potrays the learning strategies used by L2 learner regardless of their native language. The main strategies are explained by James, as cited by Ellis and
Barkhuizen.7
1) False analogy (a kind of ‘over-generalization’). Overgeneralization is the use
of previously acquired rule in a new situation. It is associated with
6 Rod Ellis and Gary Barkhuizen, Analysing Learner Language, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), p. 65.
redundancy reduction. 8For example, the learner has learned that the suffix –s
is used as a marker for plural noun. Hence, he incorrectly adds suffix –s after
the word sheep→ sheeps.
2) Misanalysis. For example, a learner wrongly assumes that children is singular
because there is no suffix –s which is usually used as a marker for plural noun.
3) Incomplete rule application (a kind of under-generalization). For example,
when a teacher asks,“How much does it cost?”, the student may answer “*It
cost five dollars”. From the example, it can be seen that the student does not
apply the rule of constructing a simple present tense sentence completely. He
does not use the suffix –s after the verb cost. It may happen because the verb
cost does not use the suffix –s when it is used in the question by the teacher.
4) Exploiting redundancy. It means that learners omit certain grammatical
features which do not influence the meaning of an utterance. For example,
when a learner says, “I have two *book”. The student omits the suffix –s after
the noun book because he already mentions the number of books he has;
therefore, the suffix –s does not influence the meaning of the sentence
whether or not he puts it in the sentence.
5) Overlooking co-occurence restrictions. It means that learners apply certain
rules to the context where they do not apply. For example when a learner wants to make a sentence containing an adjective clause from these two
constructions (The man; I saw him yesterday), he may make “*The man
whom I saw him yesterday”.
6) System simplification. It means that learners simplifying the burden of
learning by substituting a single form where the target language uses two or
more. An example of system simplification is the use of that as a ubiquitous
relative pronoun.
The writer uses Rod Ellis and Gary Barkhuizen’s classification in
analyzing the sources of error. It is because, as mention at the front, the main
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objective of this study is to provide data to the teacher whether the teaching method has been successful in providing knowledge to the students or it needs some modification in the future, and the classification can provide the data.
B.
Error Analysis
Error is a common occurrence during learning process. Despite its negative image of being incorrect, producing errors can be perceived as an important part of learning, particularly, foreign language. It is not possible, as
Dulay said, to learn something without making any error and mistake.9 These
errors can help to understand how far the learners have mastered the language. Learners’ errors give measurement do not only on the students’ part, but
on the teacher’s teaching method as well. Corder as mentioned in Brown states
that the production of errors by the students is important that it provided the researcher with a trace of how language is learned or acquired by the students, and also the type of strategies or procedures the learner is employing in the discovery
of the language.10
The analysing process by the researcher mentioned by Corder is called the error analysis. Through error analysis, teacher or researcher is expected to find out more of the question why students make error and how to prevent it in the future.
1. Definition of Error Analysis
Douglas Brown mentions, “…an error is noticeable deviation from adult
grammar of a native speaker reflecting the inter-language competence of the
learner”.11
This statement tells that the proficiency level of a learner in learning the target language can be identified from the errors they make. If learners know the errors they made then they can identified their level of proficiency. Brown also states that the errors that appeared enable us to identify the system operating
9
Heidi Dulay, et. Al., Language Two, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1982), p. 138. 10
H. Douglas Brown, Principles of Language Learning and Teaching, (New Jersey: Prentice Hall Regents, 1994), Third Edition, p. 205.
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inside the learners. To identify it, the process that is called error analysis is required. Error analysis consists of identifying, analyzing, and classifying the errors appeared.
Another definition comes from Pit Corder. He mentions, “Error analysis is
the process of determining the incidence, nature, causes and consequences of
unsuccessful language.”12
Showing that the level of proficiency we want to know through the process of error analysis is going to go through finding the incidence, nature and consequences of unsuccessful language.
Based on these two experts it can be concluded that error analysis is the process of identifying, analyzing, and classifying errors that occurred because of unsuccessful language which is important in obtaining the knowledge of learners’ target language proficiency.
2. The Purpose of Error Analysis
During the process of learning second language, errors are unavoidable. These errors for a long time had been seen as a faulty in learning the language. However, this errors are actually has its own function. The errors appeared can be analyzed and classified into groups based on the similarity they have within them. This classification, later, will show the proficiency level of learners that create the errors.
Heidi Dulay, et al. serve two major purposes in studying learners’ errors; they are:
a. It provides data from which we can make inferences about the nature of
language learning process.
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b. It indicates to language teachers and curriculum developers which part of the target language students have most difficulty producing correctly and which
errors type detract most from a learner’s ability to communicate effectively.13
3. Procedure of Error Analysis
In conducting error analysis, several procedures are required to conduct the research correctly. Here, Carl James provides us with five steps in analyzing the
learners’ errors: error detection, error location, error description, error
classification, and error count.
a. Error Detection
In detecting errors, James states that one thing required is the ability to spot the errors, and it is usually easier to spot the errors of other people than our own errors. In this first step, we use sentence as our unit of analysis, and use our knowledge to detect it.
b. Error Location
Errors can be located simply by pointing on it, like to the quantifier ‘some’,
preposition in, or verb2 went by simply saying here is the error, or by
describing its place in the sentence. However, there are some errors that are
not so ‘straightforward’. There is this type of errors called global errors where
its occurrence is diffused into a larger text that contain them (Burt and Kiparsky, 1972). The sentence does not simply contain an error, but it is erroneous or flawed as a sentence.
c. Error Description
In describing learners’ errors, the system used must have two essential characteristics. First, the system must be well-developed and highly elaborated, since many complex errors made not only by advance learners but
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also the beginner ones. The second characteristic is that the description must be as simple and comprehensive as possible.
There are three main purposes of describing learners’ errors. The first is to
make learners’ errors explicit. The next is that error description is the
prerequisite for counting errors. And the last purpose is to createcategories.
d. Error Classification.
Classifying errors means that we put the errors into categories.
e. Error Count.
Counting errors is the last step to do in error analysis procedure. The analyst
count the errors made by the students. 14
C.
Writing
Writing is one of the four skills of English that has to be mastered. The mastery of English would not complete without the mastery of writing. Students who learn writing during the learning process of English language will find many things that should be mastered in order to master the skill of writing. The two requirements of a good writing are the grammatical structure, and the structure of ideas.
Jack C Richard identifies writing as an act that does not only a way of communication but also a way to remember and a way of thinking. It is because writing is, in opposite with speaking, a freeze thought of ours that is visible,
permanent that the quality can be examined and tested.15
Based on the experts mentioned above, we can find that writing is an
expression of the writer’s soul and knowledge that is arranged in good and correct
grammatical structure, in which the quality is able to be tested and examined as it can be seen and permanent.
14
James, op. cit., p. 91-114.
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1. The Purpose of Writing
In the book Reasoning and Writing Well by Dietsch, Dietsch defines the
purpose of writing in general are to inform, to persuade, to express, or to
entertain.16 On the other hand, Penny Ur describes the purpose of writing as a way
of conveying the feeling and ideas of the writer to the reader that she argues the
ideas of the writing is the most important aspect of the writing.17
In the teaching learning activity, the main reason of teaching writing is to help students to learn in a way where writing is connected to another skill like grammar and to know the progress of the students. Raimes states that the main reason of teaching writing can be classified as below:
a. To reinforce the grammatical structure, idioms, and vocabulary that has
been given to the students during our teaching.
b. To give the students a chance to be more creative with their language, to go
beyond the given materials, and to take risk in expressing their ideas that they have not understand how to express.
c. To reinforce the learning in which the sense, knowledge, and feeling are
connecting to each other is a unique way of developing one self.18
Based on the explanation, writer takes a conclusion that the purpose of writing is to express the ideas that the writer wanted to scream about in a way where the reader will feel something from it, like entertained, persuaded, or got informed. The learning of writing would also gives reinforcement to the learning process in which the materials given before like grammar, vocabulary, etc., could be applied during writing and could be explored even more in order to find a
better way of expressing the writer’s ideas.
16
Betty Mattix Dietsch, Reasoning and Writing Well: A Rhetoric, Research Guide, Reader, and Handbook, (Ohio: McGraw-Hill, 2003), p. 10.
17
Penny Ur, A Course in Language Teaching: Practice and Theory, (Melbourn: Cambridge University Press, 1996), p. 163.
18
2. The Types of Writing
There are a number of types of writing based on different kind of classification. Based on McDonough and Shaw there are three types of writing,
they are free composition, controlled sentence construction and guided writing.19
a. Free Composition
Free composition is writing without stopping. It is done through the way in which the writer writes whatever in their mind without worrying about the grammatical rules or coherence of the writing, and other rules of writing. The aim is to free up the mind so that the ideas can be connected and associated.
Apparently at the other end of the spectrum, a ‘free writing’ task requires learners to create an essay on a given topic, often as part of a language examination. Sometimes students are simply invited to write on a personal topic-their hobbies, what they did on holiday, interesting experiences and the like. Other materials provide a reading passage as a stimulus for a piece of writing on a parallel topic, usually with comprehension questions interspersed between the two activities.
b. Controlled Sentence Construction
If the focus of a language program is on accuracy, then schemes for controlling learners’ writing output will obviously predominate. The learners will focus to practice on getting words down on their paper and they have to concentrate on one or two problems at the time.
Controlled writing focuses the learners’ attention on specific features of the written language. It is a good method of reinforcing grammar, vocabulary, and syntax.
The range of activity types is considerable, and the typical approaches include:
1. Providing a model sentence and asking to construct a parallel sentence with
different lexical items.
19
2. Inserting a missing grammatical form.
3. Composing sentence from tabular information, with a model provided.
4. Joining sentence to make a short paragraph, inserting supplied conjunctions
(but, and, however, because, although, etc.).
c. Guided Writing
It is the extension of controlled writing; however, it is less controlled than the controlled writing. In using this kind of writing to teach writing skill, learners are given a first sentence, a last sentence, an outline to fill out, a series of question to respond to, or information to include in their piece of writing.
Students should be able to discuss, make notes, and share finding together before they start to write. In guided writing, the students will not make serious errors if they follow the instruction, which are given by their teacher.
D.
Types of Text
There are eight types of writing text taught in school; they are: narrative,
descriptive, recount, news item, procedure, report, spoof, and exposition.20 Here is
the brief explanation:
1. Narrative
Narrative text always deals with some problems which lead to the climax and
then turn the readers with actual or imaginary experience in different ways. 21
2. Descriptive
Descriptive text is a text used to describe a particular person, place or thing. Its purpose is to tell about the subject by describing its features without including
personal opinions. 22
20
Anonymous, Silabus Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan (KTSP) 2006, (Jakarta: Departemen Pendidikan Nasional, 2006), p. 35
21
ArtonoWardiman, Masduki B. Jahur, and M. Sukirman Djusna, English Focus for Grade VIII Junior High School, (Jakarta: Pusat Perbukuan Departemen Nasional, 2008), p. 116.
22
3. Recount
A recount is a piece of text that retells past events, usually in the order in which they happened. The purpose of a recount is to give the audience a
description of what occurred and when it occurred.23
4. News Item
The function of news item is to inform readers or listeners about events of the day which are considered newsworthy or important.
5. Procedure
Procedure text is a text having a function to help us do a task or make something. They can be a set of instructions or directions.
6. Report
Report text is a text that describes the way things are, with reference to a range of natural, man-made and social phenomena in our environment.
7. Spoof
Spoof text is a text containing a humorous twist in the end of the story to amuse the readers.
8. Exposition
a. Analytical Exposition
Analytical exposition has a function to persuade the readers or the listeners that something in the case, to analyze or to explain something.
b. Hortatory Exposition
Hortatory exposition is a text to persuade the readers or the listeners that something should or should not be the case. Hortatory exposition is more forceful than analytical exposition.
23
E.
Recount
Recount is the type of writing whereas its purpose is to retell the event(s) that has happened in the past. Furthermore, recount writing is also retelling author’s or other people’s experiences, feeling, and responses toward those experiences.
The purpose of recount writing is to entertain or to inform the
reader(s). As what is stated by Wardiman, “A recount text is a text that telling the
reader about one story, action, and activity. Its goal is to entertain or inform the
reader.”24
From the above explanation we can conclude that recount writing is a non-fictional text that has purpose of entertaining or informing some past experience of the author or other people, and it is arranged in a chronological order. The characteristic of this text are the factual event or experiences being told and the chronological description about the event and the time of occurrence.
1. Generic Structure of Recount
The basis recount consists of three parts: orientation, events and reorientation,25 as follows:
a. Orientation
It tells who was involved, what happened, where the events took place, and when it happened. Example: Last night, I read an article about adolescence in a magazine.
b. Events
It tells what happened and in what sequence. Example: After I finished reading the article, I remembered my own adolescence; to divert my emotions, I took many extra-curricular activities.
24
Wardiman., op. cit. P.61.
25
c. Reorientation
It consists of optional-closure of events/ ending. Example: I was able to control my emotions to have a place where I could express my creativity in positive ways.
2. Linguistic Features of Recount
The language features usually found in a recount text are:
a) Proper noun to identify those involved in the text.
b) Descriptive words to give details about who, what, when, where, and
how.
c) The use of the past tenses to retell the events.
d) Words that show the order of events. For example: first, next, then)26
Example of Recount Text
Last summer holiday, my family and I spent one night at the countryside. We stayed in a small house. It had a big garden with lots of colorful flowers and a swimming pool.
First, we made a fire in front the house. Then, we sat around the fire and sang lots of songs together. After that, we came into the house and had dinner. Next, we sat in the living room and watched a movie. Finally, everybody fell asleep there.
We woke up very late in the morning and had breakfast. In the afternoon we went home. We were all very happy.
26
F.
Past Tense
Betty Schrampfer Azar divides past tense into: Simple past, past
progressive, past perfect, past perfect continuous.27
1. Simple Past Tense
Simple past tense indicates an activity or a situation that eneded at a particular time in the past. The structure is:
The examples of simple present tense are:
I walked by Ria‟s house this morning.
Rina went to my house with her new bicycle yesterday.
I bought a new phone last week.
If a sentence contains when and has the simple past in both clauses, the action in
the when clause happens first. For example:
Mitha stood under a tree when it began to rain.
When Mrs. Lachata heard a strange noise, she got up to investigate.
When I dropped my cup, the coffee spilled on my lap.28
2. Past Progressive Tense
Past progressive tense tells about a specific moment in the past. The structure of past progressive tense (verbal) is:
27
Betty Schrampfer Azar, Understanding and Using English Grammar: 3rd Ed, (New York: Pearson Education, 1999), p. 6-7.
28
Ibid., p. 27.
Subject + Verb 2 + Object
The past progressive shows the two actions, both occurred at the same time, but one action began earlier and was in progress when the other action occurred. For example:
I was riding my motorcycle around the neighbourhood, when it began
to rain.
At eight o‟clock last night, I was working on an English exercise in my
book.
Last year at this time, I was attending school.
Sometimes the past progressive is used in both parts of a sentence when two actions are in progress simultaneously. For example:
While I was studying in one room, of our apartment, my roommate
was having a party in the other room.
I was sleeping so tight while my brother was working on his
homework.
While she was running down the street to see him, Jun was watching
TV at home.29
2. Past Perfect Tense
The structure of past perfect tense (verbal) is:
The past perfect tense expresses an activity that was completed before another activity or time in the past. For example:
Jun had already gone by the time Sakura arrived there.
After the guests had left, I went to bed.30 3. Past Perfect Progressive Tense
The structure of past perfect progressive tense (verbal):
29
Ibid., p. 28.
30
Ibid., p. 45.
The past perfect progressive emphasizes the duration of an activity that was in progress before another activity or time in the past. For example:
The police had been looking for the criminal for two years before they
caught him.
Jun had finally arrived at six o‟clock. I had been waiting for him since
four-thirty.
This tense also may express an activity in progress close in time to another activity or time in the past. For example:
When Jun got home, his clothes was still wet because he had been
running in the rain.
I went to Jun‟s house after the funeral. My eyes were red because I
had been crying.31
G.
Previous Studies
This study of error analysis had been done before and is still done until now to find information from students errors. Al Badawi from King Khalid University was once conducted an error analysis study in phonetics (Morphological and syntactical error. Using BA students of King Khalid University students as the sample of the research, this study confirms El Hibir and El Thaha finding in 1995 about the use of /b/ to replace /p/. In a thesis written by Saara Sirkka Mungungu in 2010 about error analysis in Namibian learners’ writing which is an ongoing research to find out the teaching and learning process.
In 2013 Rini Meliyanti from the State Islamic University conducted a reseach in students descriptive writing using Betty Azar classification and resulted with word choice errors domination over students writing.
31
Ibid., p. 47.
26
CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
1.
Place and Time of the Study
The writer conducted the research at SMP Mutiara Harapan which is located at Jl. Pondok Kacang Raya No. 2, Tangerang Selatan. The research
started at 27th of March 2014 and ended at 25th of August 2014.
2.
The Method of the Study
The method used in this study is descriptive qualitative method. The writer conducted the research using some steps of procedure. It was started by giving a
test paper to the students; the paper contained questions that guide students’
writing content. After the writing finished the data was collected. The writings were then checked, to find the faulty grammar. The papers were then given back to the students, and the writer asked them to find the mistakes they made and write their correction. This way the errors and mistakes were separated. The errors were then classified into several categories based on the similarities they had. The classification used was Betty Azar’s error classification that classified the errors into 14 types of errors in a detail grammar classification. The result of all those steps was stored and analyzed to find the source of the errors. Last, the writer interpreted the result and concluded the research.
3.
Population and Sampling
4.
The Instrument of the Study
The instrument was in the form of writing test. The teacher gave the
assignment about “My Best Ramadhan Moment” with the questions to guide the
writing of the students.
The data to support the idea of the source of the study was taken through interview on the students.
5.
The Technique of Data Collection
The data for the research was collected through three steps.
a. Writing Test
During the process of learning English in the classroom, the writer gives assignment about recount writing, and explains the direction of the writing assignment.
b. Interview.
The writer also used an interview to analyze the source of error more accurately.
6.
The Technique of Data Analysis
The writer used the descriptive analysis technique to analyze the data. The formula being used is as follow:
P=
P = Percentage
F = Frequency of error’s occurrence
N = Number of total errors1
28
CHAPTER IV
RESEARCH FINDINGS
A.
Data Description
The technique of data collecting has been clearly described in the design of the research on chapter III. Furthermore the result of the research is as the following:
1. The Result of the Test
The test included 31 students of grade VIII SMP Mutiara Harapan Islamic
Bi-Lingual School on 19th of August 2014. In the test the students were required to
write a recount test about their best Ramadhan memory.
Included in the test were some questions to lead their writing, and some instructions. One of the instructions is to write at least 50 words. For the text that are below 50 words than the text are not included as part of the sample.
After the writing test was conducted, the writings were being examined.
The writer found that almost all the students’ writing met the requirement except
one. Then, she gave the writing back to the students to separate errors and mistakes. The data that had been gathered then being described using the error classification from Betty Azar that includes: singular-plural, word form, word choice, verb tense, adding a word, omitting a word, word order, incomplete sentence, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, article, meaning not clear, and run-on sentence. After classifying the errors, she counted them to find the frequency of each type of error. Then, she analyzed the possible cause of each occurrence in the writing. After finding the most frequent error, she did an interview to determine the cause of errors.
2. The Result of Interview
interview was aimed to know the fact about the causes of error or why the
students made many errors. She conducted it on Wednesday, 3rd of September
2014 at 10.30 – 11.00 a.m in grade 8 classroom. The questions of the interviewed
were divided into three categories. The first category of questions was asking
about students’ interest in English writing. The next category was about their
experience in learning recount writing, and the last category was about their difficulties in writing recount text.
From the interview, the writer found some causes influencing the students in making errors in their writing. First, in intralingual transfer, the students assumed that writing in English is very difficult because they did not understand the rule, and lack of vocabularies. Second, in interlingual, the students said that when they faced some difficulties in writing English, they would translate the
words from Bahasa Indonesia into English directly, or looked up the dictionary,
or asked their friends.
B.
Error Identification
In this section of the chapter, the writer identified the errors found in the recount text written by the students into fourteen categories based on Betty Azar classification. The writer presented the identification of errors in the form of tables below:
[image:43.595.106.516.280.617.2]Table 4.1
Recapitulation of the Students’ Recount Writing Error
No. Type of Errors Student’s error Source total
1 Singular-Plural
Student 8:
*there aremany delicious food
Student 9:
*we went to buy a clothes Student 16:
*I slept for about a hours.
Interlingual
Intralingual
Student 20:
*after 5 minute playing chess
Student 23:
*because my THRit’s so
many
Student 28:
*the person who played more
than 12
*after the groups
performance
Student 29:
*On Ramadhan month,
moslem peoples fasting
*I got many lesson
Interlingual Interlingual Intralingual Intralingual Intralingual Interlingual
2 Word Form
Student 12:
*first bite of its deliciousness Student 14:
*we had to gathered on my
second grandma’s house
Student 15:
*I would rather took a nap Student 19:
*I went to sport station to saw adidas body pack
Student 20: *I so exciting
*after 5 minutes play chess
Student 22:
*I’m sure some people get
that feeling oftenly
Student 25:
*the activity we dolike play game
Student 27:
*total boring Ramadhan
Interlingual
Intralingual
3 Word Choice
Student 3:
*we performed the shout
Student 4:
*me and my friends involved
in class performance
Student 6:
*After that me, my mom and my aunt went home
Student 11:
*Me and my family went to
my grandma’s house
*However, me, my brothers,
and male cousin watched the
show from the 2nd floor
Student 12:
*I have this special memory
in last Ramadhan,
*It happened in the third day
Student 13:
*Me and my parents want to go to the village
Student 14:
*I have been gathering in a
*In that time
*I gathered with my cousin
Student 18:
*I went to Surabaya with a
plane
Student 19:
*In the 23rd of Ramadhan Student 20:
*Me and my family Student 21:
*Me and my familywanted to cancel our fasting
Student 23: *in that time
Student 24:
*When the way to Solo
*me and my father
*in the way to Solo
*I was jealous to my mother
and sister
Student 25:
*When Pesantren Ramadhan my favorite activity was play
futsal
Student 26: *On the evening
*Tomorrow, we had the usual
activities
Student 27:
*all students going to stay on
4 Verb Tense
Student 1:
*pesantren Ramadhan
happen on 17 July 2014
*we come to school
*we pray dluha
*we are the second winner
Student 2:
*we do packing to prepare for went home
Student 4:
*we have problem at 17 July 2014
*the first winner is grade 5
Student 6:
*my aunt is pregnant Student 8:
*I feel that Ramadhan is
happiness
Student 9:
*I and my family want to go *I help my mother to make food
Student 10:
*My best memory of Ramadhan is happened on
Pesantren Ramadhan
*I’ve get back to my own house
*I’m happy because I’ve
already leave my own house
*I’ve stay in my grandpa’s
house
*I’m not just directly stay in my own house
*I’m having a couple of
nights in my mother’s aunt
house
Student 13:
*Me and my parents want to go to the village
*the day is nearing from Eid
Fitri
Student 16:
*Me and my cousin take selca *I’m sick
Student 20: *I always wait
*when I wait
*Mario Goetze make a goal
*I feeling so happy
*my family is shalat Ied Student 21:
*Me and my family want to cancel our fasting
* we go to the mall
*we just walk around the
mall
*I see the one that sell PS4
*we buy PS4
* I seethe one that sell PS4 Student 22:
*It wasn’t new, but it doesn’t
happen often
*I’ve searched on the internet
*I wish it does
*it seems like the sign are
happening
*I stuck with my feeling.
Student 23: *I get THR *I play game
*I visit my other cousins
Student 24:
*I was go to my granmother’s
house in Solo
*I ride
*Me and my father is fasting
*I wasn’teat
*they are eating
Student 25:
*who was involved in pesantren Ramadhan are my
friends
*we can take a rest *we can sleep. Student 26:
*I’m also happy that my bestfriend could come to
school
Student 27:
*I and my friends coming back to school
*where people goes to their hometowns
*we have been studying for three days
Student 29:
*This event is not happened
in the exact month
*I was just went to Pesantren
Ramadhan
Student 30:
*I go to my uncle’s wedding *my uncle is getting married
*he want his family to come
to his wedding
*the bride’s family is not
coming
*the bride apply to her family
*marriage doesn’t come *the bride’s family come
*the wedding running
smoothly Intralingual Intralingual Intralingual Intralingual Intralingual Intralingual Intralingual Intralingual Interlingual Intralingual Intralingual Intralingual
5 Adding a Word
Student 8:
*I sad when Ramadhan is
gone
*I like my hometown because
many delicious food there
*If it mudik time, me and my
family went to my hometown
*it’s so crowded because in Jakarta is for work
Interlingual
Interlingual
Interlingual
Student 9:
*I and my family want go to mall
Student 16:
*I waited my cousin *my mom took me the food *My auntie flies to America, all my family cry
*After I get up from my bed, my body feels well, we went
to airport because my aunt
flies to America
Student 17:
*I also sad because my sister was not home
*when we fasting, I join Sahur on the Road (SOT)
Student 20:
*the first half extra time still same
Student 21:
*my father said “We see later Student 23:
*I so happy
*I back to the home Student 24:
*In the way to Solo, it was very traffic
Student 25:
*Who was involved in Pesantren Ramadhan are my
friends
Student 28:
*but because the big futsal field used by teachers to play
*my best Ramadhan memory
when I played futsal
*when I pesantren
Ramadhan
*the person who played more
than 12 Intralingual Interlingual Interlingual Intralingual
6 Omitting a Word
Student 13:
*there was a traffic until entering Jakarta – Cikampek
toll
Student 25:
*Ramadhan on this year we went to Pesantren Ramadhan
Student 28:
*We finished itat 10 o’clock
Intralingual
Interlingual
Intralingual 3
7 Word Order
Student 8:
*I like my hometown because
many delicious food there
Student 16:
*my mom took me the food Student 24:
*It was very traffic in the way to Solo
Interlingual
Interlingual
Intralingual 3
8 Incomplete
Sentence
Student 9:
*But my grandma went to umrah
Student 10: *After I arrived. Student 17:
*But this Ramadhan I more hang out with my friends than
my family
Student 20:
*When I went for adzan Maghrib.
Student 21:
*Then I see this gameshop that sell PS4
Student 24:
*But me and my father
wasn’t eat
Student 26:
*And of course fun! Student 29:
*Except the woman who gets period Intralingual Intralingual Interlingual Intralingual Intralingual Intralingual Intralingual
9 Spelling
Student 3:
*we played religeon quiz Student 9:
*at the beggining
*whit my family Student 10: *untill maghrib Student 12: *accidently Student 20:
*after 5 minuteplaying chest
Student 21: *we arive Student 22: *altough *precisly *diffrent Student 23: *littel Intralingual Intralingual Intralingual Intralingual Interlingual
10 Punctuation
Student 11:
*Me, my brothers, and my cousin watched from the 2nd
floor and my grandma, sister,
and female cousin watched
from the lower ground
*I feel happy, because I can spend more time with my
cousin, Student 12:
*I cried but my nanny said
it’s okay
Student 14:
*it was extremely boring,
because I cannot meet my
cousin
Student 18:
*my family at Surabaya went to Jakarta and we went to
Bandung together
Student 19:
*It was 30% discount so the price was 559.000
Student 21:
*I asked my dad if I can buy a PS4?
Student 22:
*I stuck with my feeling,
Because,I’ve searched on the
internet
Student 25:
*At noon we prayed Dzuhur
and we can take a rest
Student 27:
*We finished it at 10 o’clock
and we slept in the class
Intralingual
Intralingual
Intralingual
Intralingual
11 Capitalization
Student 8: *asia plaza *mayasari plaza Student 9:
*at my home I helped my mother make food.
Student 10:
*on the first sunday of Ramadhan I went to my
grampa’s house.
*i like staying at my aunt
house
Student 19: *adidas body pack Student 20:
Student 22:
*something Different
happened.
*I Felt something
*I stuck with my feeling
*that’s My story.
*special Feeling
Student 23:
*My best Experience Student 27:
*after five weeks we would go back to school.
*My best memory was on
Idul fitri
Student 28:
*my best ramadhan memory
Intralingual Intralingual Intralingual Intralingual Intralingual Intralingual Intralingual Intralingual Intralingual
12 Article Student 16:
*I slept for about a hours