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An Error Analysis of Students' Grammar in Writing

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An Error Analysis of Students' Grammar in Writing AN ERROR ANALYSIS OF STUDENTS’ GRAMMAR IN WRITING (A Mix Method at Darul Ulum, A Private Islamic Boarding Senior High School in Lhokseumawe) Helmiyadi STKIP Bumi Persada Email: [email protected] Abstract The aim of the research is to find out the grammar errors which are commonly made by the students of Darul Ulum Islamic Boarding Senior High School in their writing and to find out the causes of grammar errors which are commonly made by the students of Darul Ulum Islamic Boarding Senior High School in their writing. This research uses a qualitative and quantitative approach and its type is a mix study. The population is the total object of the research. In this research, the population was all the students of the first year students of MAS Darul Ulum in academic year 2015/2016, they are 120 students and divided into 56 male students and 64 female students. Result of the research from test most of the first year students of MAS Darul Ulum Lhokseumawe made many errors in grammatical aspects in writing, a high percentage of errors was found in one out of three categories. The highest error category was tense errors. They occurred 88 errors, while article is 19 time of errors and sentence 10 of errors. Total of all errors found in these three categories are 117 errors occurring in whole categories. Moreover, the students felt difficult in getting ideas to begin free writing. The causes of errors were made by the students because of lack of interactive facilities is one of the problems to develop interactive classroom activities. The errors made by students were influenced by their mother tongue, and were also caused by the difficulties of the students in learning the second language. Keywords: Error Analysis, Grammar, Writing INTRODUCTION universities includes English as one of the It has been known that language is a obligatory subjects in their curriculum. In means of communication to convey our this context, students are supposed to be ideas, opinions, and feelings. This indicates able to apply English to interact and to use that language has an important role in many it to get more knowledge as much as parts in human life which is particularly possible since the world of knowledge is realized in communication activities. commonly written and spoken in English. According to Lazaraton (2001:19), This indicates that mastering English is a knowing the language well is indicated by must for students to actively engage in their abilities to speak the language because international relationships and to gain more speech is the most means of human knowledge about the world. communication. One of important aspects in In the context of language teaching, language teaching is grammar because it English as a foreign language for helps students to combine words to be a Indonesian students have become a good sentence or paragraph. However, compulsory subject in the school students need to increase the knowledge curriculum. Every level of education about grammatical concepts before starting starting from kindergartens up to learning any skills in English. Regarding Getsempena English Education Journal (GEEJ) Vol.5 No.2 November 2018 I 65 this, Made (2000: 20) states that whether not understand about the grammar so that students are conscious or not they will deal they cannot analyze sentences correctly. with grammar orally or written. It means Rodney (2002: 1) states the that grammar has an important role in description of a language comprises three language. This statement is in line with major components: phonology, grammar Chomsky et al. (1965: 94) who states that and lexicon. The phonology describes the grammar is one aspect necessary to be sound system: consonants, vowels, stress, mastered by learners to enable themselves intonation, and so on. The two most basic to use the target language. units grammar are the word and the In teaching grammar the teachers sentence: one subcomponent of grammar should have interesting ways to prevent called morphology, deals with the form of students from getting bored. According to words, while the other called syntax, deals Sudjana (2004:47), teaching grammar by with the way words are combined to form asking students to remember the pattern of sentences. The lexicon-or dictionary, to use grammar generally is not the good point to a more familiar term- list the vocabulary help the students to develop their language items, mainly words and idioms (such as competences. Therefore teachers should red herring, give up, and so on), specifying find out the appropriate teaching aids to how they are pronounced, how they be help students in mastering grammar have grammatically, and what they mean. without making them feel suppressed. This research focused on subcomponent of Nunan (1995: 39) believes that in order to grammar called morphology because the make grammar lesson effective and researcher only focuses with the form of interesting, teachers should develop some word or word structure. techniques in the classroom. Grammar was integrated in other Many students found some four skills, in this research the researcher difficulties while learning a foreign wants to analyze the students‟ errors in language, especially grammar, Nunan writing skill. Based on the curriculum, it (1995: 117) states that one of the obstacles has been mentioned that the first level that the students face in learning English is students of senior high school was required grammar lesson because it is difficult and to be able to understand and express boring. Besides the other reasons why meaning in short functional text and simple students have difficulties in learning written monologue in forms of descriptive grammar are students learn more slowly in their daily life context. and forget things quickly, get bored easily, It is true that grammar is not only may not be motivated to learn if they are aspect that the teacher focuses on when not interested (Ellis, 1997:27). grading students‟ writing, but basic They usually make mistakes in grammar is the most important thing to grammar. Grammar is one of English check before other aspects such as diction components that play an important role to or relation between paragraphs. Teachers‟ avoid misunderstanding in communication. feedback on students‟ grammatical and In senior high school, the students are lexical errors resulted in a significant usually confused to write correct grammar improvement in both accuracy and fluency although they can speak English. They do in succeeding writing of the same type over the same semester (Chandler, 2003: 113). Getsempena English Education Journal (GEEJ) Vol.5 No.2 November 2018 I 66 In order to make students‟ grammar in teaching- learning process. Based on the exercise better than the previous one the preliminary observation result the researcher should remind them researcher can identify that the students got simultaneously about the mistakes they some difficulties in constructing the have made and tell them how to avoid their sentences in a good grammar. Firstly, the mistakes in order to make the next writing students cannot differentiate the verbs that better than before, nevertheless, the result is should be added “s” and the verbs that not always satisfied. should not be added “s” in simple present Based on the preliminary tense sentences. Observation in May 2013, the researcher found that the students at MAS Darul Ulum Examples: Lhokseumawe are so hard to master writing My mother cook every morning (wrong) so that they got the lower scores. Many My mother cooks every morning (right) students got the scores under 70 the criteria of success (KKM) which has been From these examples the students do not determined by the school, 70 % to 80 % the add “s” after “cook”. students got the score under 70, and only Secondly, the students cannot use 20% to 30% students got the score up to 70, “to be” correctly, they often used “to be” this information based on the teacher after subject in verbal sentences in simple explanation. Their abilities in present tense, and they are difficult to understanding and mastering writing were differentiate “to be” that should be used low, and in fact the teachers when teach the after subject in nominal sentences in simple material to the students they do not care present tense. about these problems, they do not try to overcome these problems. The researcher Examples: tries to find out the causes from this I am go to school everyday (wrong) problem, what the problems are faced by I go to school everyday (right) the students when they learn writing. Rina and Winda is the students (wrong) It is a serious problem and impact to Rina and Winda are the students (right) the student‟s achievement, especially in English subject and also gives a bad effect Based on the examples above, the students to school development, in this private are still confused in using the suitable “to boarding school all of the students be”. communicate in English language in their Thirdly, the students cannot daily life, they always speak in English but differentiate when to use do or does in in fact their grammar scores especially in interrogative sentences in simple present writing skill were low. Based on this tense. reason, the researcher interested to conduct a case study to find out the causes and to Examples: analyze their grammar errors in writing. In Do Rina buy a new dress? (wrong) conclusion, understanding the grammar is Does Rina buy a new dress? (right) very important to have a good score in students‟ grammar mastery that is relevant Lastly, the students cannot identify to the students‟ need in order to be success the past verb when they make a sentence in Getsempena English Education Journal (GEEJ) Vol.5 No.2 November 2018 I 67 simple past tense, and they also cannot above.
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