1 CHAPTERI
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Backgroundof theStudy
Languageisthebestmeansofcommunicationtointeractamongpeopleand
tocreateagoodrelationshipbetweentheminsociety.Withoutlanguage,theywill notableto
expressand share theirideas, thoughts,feelings,stories,experiences,etc that
isreallyneeded to build agood relationship in life.
Inthisworld,everycountry hasitsownlanguageorlanguages.But,they
cannotusetheirownlanguagesiftheyareincountrywheretheirlanguageisnot understood.
For example, generally Indonesian people cannot use Indonesian languagewhenthey
areinGermanorothercountriesthatdonotunderstand
Indonesianlanguage.Theyshouldusealanguagethatisunderstoodbyeach.Itis English.
English is an internationallanguagethatis used as astandard languagein
internationallevel.Therefore,inordertocreatearelationshipinternationally,they have to
use English.
InIndonesia,EnglishhasbeenlearntfromKindergarten,Primary School, Junior
HighSchool, Senior High School, until University. However, stillmany
peoplewhohavenotbeen able touseEnglishbecauseEnglishissodifficult to be learnt
andunderstood.Oneofthedifficultpartstobelearntisgrammarbecauseit creates
somewordsto becomeagood sentence, paragraph, etc.
If we talk aboutgrammar, we can notbeseparate itfrom tenses. In thisthesis,
2
SMAN21Medan,Thewriterwantstomakesurestudents’ability tousesimplepast
tense.That’swhythewriterwantstodescribeandanalyzethestudents’abilityin using
simplepasttenseatSMAN21Medan.Thestudentshavestudiedsimplepast tensein
Englishsubjectwhich istwiceaweekfor each classand the time2x 40
minutesforonemeeting wasallotted.Furthermore, thewriterneedsfurther some
evaluation of thegravityfrom each typeof abilityin a communicativeor pedagogical
pointofview.Thewriterchoosesthisschoolaslocationof theresearch becausethe termsof
accessibilityand thesameresearchsarenever conducted there.
1.2 Problem of theAnalysis
Basedonthedescription above,theproblemsofthisresearcharestated in the
formof questions:
a.TowhatextentthetenthyearstudentsinSMAN21Medanareabletouse
simplepasttense?
b.Whatarethecausesforstudentswhoobtainedlowestscorefornotbeen able to
usesimplepast tense?
1.3 Objectiveof theAnalysis
Theobjectiveof thisresearchare:
a. To find outto what extentthetenth year studentsof SMAN21 Medan able to
usesimplepast tensein sentencesthatincludestheir score.
b.Tofindoutthecausesforstudentswhoobtainedlowestscorefornotbeen able to
3 1.4 Scopeof theAnalysis
ThescopeofthisanalysisisontheabilityofthestudentsofSMAN21
Medan in usingsimplepast tense.In aresearch, it isveryimportant to limit thescope
ofanalysistogettherelevantdata.Itwillbebetterby limitingtheanalysisintothe abillity
ofusingtenses.TensesareoneoftheimportantpartswhenweuseEnglish languageorallyor
in writing.
1.5 Significanceof theAnalysis
Thisresearchisastudy onstudents’ability inusingsimplepasttense.Ithas
muchpositivesignificancenotonlyforthestudents,but alsoforthe Englishteachers intheir
attemptstoimprovetheirteaching andlearning techniquesofEnglish grammar,especially
simplepasttense.Specifically,thesignificanceofthisresearch arestated asfollow:
a.Itis expected thattheresultof this research canprovidesomevaluableand
usefulinformationaboutthestudents’ability inusingsimplepasttenseforthe English
teachers so thattheteachers can motivatetheirstudents to improvetheir abilityin
usingsimplepast tense.
b.Itisalsoexpectedthatthethesis canbeareferenceforotherresearchers who are
