Errors analysis on the usage of the English tenses of the second semester students of the English Departement of Petra Christian University

Haryono, Silvia Arista (2002) Errors analysis on the usage of the English tenses of the second semester students of the English Departement of Petra Christian University. Bachelor thesis, Petra Christian University.

Abstract

Acquiring a second language is not easy, and it also requires a process that takes some time. Moreover, often time, the research done t o reveal of how L2 learners do their acquisition focuses more on the grammar of the target language. Grammar usually related to the form-focus, although nowadays meaning-focus is considered to be more important. Actually, form-focused instruction is necessary, and it can assist interlanguage development. One way to investigate the acquisition of L2 is by analyzing the samples of learners? language. Therefore, I am interested to conduct a research of the errors analysis on English tenses produced by the second semester students of the English Department. The errors that the students make provide the evidence of the system of the language that the students are using (has learned) at a particular point in the course. Also, I want to know which tense(s) that is easier for the students to acquire and which one(s) seems more difficult to acquire. To support my argument theoretically, I make use of Ellis?s theory on errors analysis which includes three main procedure of analyzing errors, that is, the identification, the description, and the explanation of the errors. In addition, I also include the theories on the six tense that I study in this research. In order to elicit the data, I design a proficiency test to figure out the students? accuracy in using the English tenses. From the proficiency test, I know about the typical errors that the students produce in every six tense, such as subject-verb agreement, the wrong use of auxiliary. From the data analysis, I find that the students apparently are able to perform simple future and simple present tense easier than the other tenses. Then, it is present perfect tense that seems to create some difficulties for the students to acquire.

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