Professional Documents
Culture Documents
INTRODUCTION
A. Background
Mastering English is very useful and has a great role in many fields of life.
It is needed to make the communication process easier and it is used by many
people in this worldwide to communicate each other. Then, it is admitted to be an
international language. It has been seen in the educational books, international
meeting, international schools which used English. This facts show that English
becomes an important language facing the globalization. In Indonesia, English is
taught as a foreign language, that must be learned by the student at school.
Therefore, it is learned as a compulsory subject beginning from Junior high school
up to university level.
There are four skills in English that must be mastered by students, namely
speaking, writing, listening, and reading. Cumming and Riazi (2000:57 in Ferris
and Hedgcock, 2005:3) state that cautiously observed that the field currently lacks
a coherent understanding of "how people actually learn to write in a second
language" and of how teaching contributes to this learning. It means that writing is
one of the important skills that should be controlled by the students in all
education levels. The ability to write well is not a naturally acquired skill, It is
usually learned or transmitted of practices in formal instructional settings or other
environments. According to Zemach and Rumisek (2005:1), writing itself is very
important part of university study. It means that writing is a way to comprehend
masterfully English totality beside speaking.
In learning English, the students still make some errors in making the
English sentences. One of basic error that is often made by English foreign
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In fact, when learning writing the students sometimes feel difficult to write
well into a good order or to organize ideas in a good sentence. They are still
confused how to arrange their sentences into a good paragraph and how to express
their ideas in appropriate words. It is not easy for the students to do it although
they had learned the material previously in their lecturer, sometimes they did not
comprehend the material deeply yet. Kellog (2008:2) states that writing an
extended text at an advanced level involves not just the language system. It poses
significant challenges to our cognitive systems for memory and thinking as well.
Moreover, the students also must know about system of conventions in
arranging the elements of language. The convention of a language is created to
standardize the language usage and to connect between the content of the
language and the form of the language. In order to use language well, the students
should learn the conventions of a language to understand how to apply the system
in a sentence. Whereas, language learning is process that involves trial and error.
Thus, sometimes the students cannot avoid mistake in the study of language. By
making errors, the students will build their new knowledge to use the target
language. Making errors during studying the second language can be considered
as a means of building learners abilities because they can learn something from
making errors.
The writer chose the fourth semester students of English Education Study
Program of STKIP-PGRI Lubuklinggau by considering that they had learned the
word order in the subject of Grammar in the first, second, and third semester, and
whereas about descriptive paragraph, they had learned in the subject of writing
from the first until third semester too and in the fourth semester they learned
scientific writing subject. Finally, based on these reasons, the writer was
interested in conducting the research entitled An Error Analysis of Word Order in
Writing Descriptive Paragraph Made by The Fourth Semester Students of English
Education Study Program of STKIP-PGRI Lubuklinggau.
b. The component of writing that will be analyzed is word order construction and
word order distribution.
c. The material deals only with word order in writing descriptive paragraph.
gave advantages to the students, lecturers, the writer herself and the other
researchers. Specifically, the significances of this study are as follows:
a. For The Lecturer
The result of the study can show the students progress in learning word
order. Thus, it can be used as a reference for the lecturer about what technique or
strategy that should be applied in teaching English to improve the students ability
in writing so that the students produce a better writing.
b. For The Students
The result of this study can show to the students about the errors they
made. Thus, by reading the analysis the students can know their fault and know
the right pattern of word arrangement. It is expected that the result of the study
will be useful for the students in learning process, especially in writing a written
text. The students have to be greater motivation to write in English.
c. For The Writer
The result of this study provides evidence of how language is learned or
acquired and the strategies or procedures that used by students. By analyze the
study, the writer herself should get new experience and also can improve the
knowledge about the average of students ability in mastering English. Thus, the
writer can find the best way to teach English word order in the future.
d. To The Other Researchers
The other researchers can use this research as the reference. And then, for
further researchers would get kn. owledge of linguistics related to the errors of
word order in writing descriptive paragraph made by the fourth semester students
of English Education Study Program of STKIP-PGRI Lubuklinggau.
F. The Operational Definitions
CHAPTER II
LITERATURE REVIEW
A. Theoretical Descriptions
1) The Concept of Error
It is important to realize that error is a relative term. Therefore, when
handling teaching and instruction with respect to error, the differing theories by
expert must be kept in mind. Grammatical and surface-level errors are obviously
the most easily recognized when editing a paper but it should be kept in mind, by
both the writer and the editor/teacher that there may be errors in the content too.
In my opinion error should not be viewed as completely negative but neither
should it be dismissed. The lecturer should, however, when addressing a students
error, make sure that they explain the reason for its being considered an error.
Error occurs in the interaction of the writer, the reader, and the formulators of
handbooks.
Corder (1981:36) said that errors are described by the application of
linguistic theory to the data of erroneous utterances produced by a learner or a
group of learners. Beside that, according to Harmer (2007:100)Errors are part of
the students interlanguage, that is the version of the language which a learner has
at any one stage of development, and which is continually reshaped as he or she
aims towards full mastery. According to Richards (2010:201), errors are the use of
linguistics item in a way which a fluent or native speaker of the language regards
as showing faulty or incomplete learning. Beside that, Brown (2000:222-223)
described a number of different categories for description of errors have been
identified in research on learner language:
a
omission,
substitution
and
ordering,
following
standard
mathematical categories.
b
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Errors may also be viewed as either global or local. Global errors hinder
communication, they prevent the hearer from comprehending some aspect of
the message. Local errors do not prevent the message from being heard.
Interlingual Transfer
Interlingual transfer is a significant source of error for all learners. The
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interlingual transfer from the native language. The native language is the only
previous linguistic system upon which the learner can draw. That is why, the
learners errors are the result of transfer from the native language to the second
and the third language.
b
Intralingual Transfer
Intralingual transfer is a major factor in second language learning. The
learners have begun to acquire parts the new system, more and more intralingual
transfer (generalization) within the target language is manifested. The learners
previous experience and existing subsumers influence the structure of the target
language itself.
c
Context of Learning
Context of learning is the third major source of error. It refers to the
classroom with its teacher and its materials in the case of school learning or the
social situation in the case of untutored second language learning. In classroom
context, the teacher or the textbook can lead the learner to make faulty hypothesis
about language.
d
Communication Strategies
Learners obviously use production strategies in order to enhance getting their
messages across, but at a time these techniques can themselves become a source
of error.
3) The Concept of Error Analysis
Learning foreign language is different from learning first language.
Children who learn foreign language always commit with the mistake that it
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caused by interference of native language and lack of knowledge about the target
language. Chomsky (1965) states that language that children hear is full of
confusing information, for instance false starts, incomplete sentences, slip of
tongue and it does not provide with the information they need. These incorrect
data cause the children can not understand the material and make some errors.
According to Crystal (1980:134-135), error is a term used in psycholinguistics
referring to mistakes in spontaneous speaking or writing attributable to a
malfunctioning of the neuromuscular commands from the brain. It is thus distinct
from the traditional notion of error, which was based on the language users
ability to conform a set of real or imagined standards of expression.
In other literature, Norrish (in Hasyim, 2002:45) states that error is a
systematic deviation, when a learner has not learnt something and consistently get
it wrong. Based on the explanation, can be concluded that error is related with the
knowledge and understanding of students about the target language. Errors show
conclusively that learners do not simply memorize target language rules and then
reproduce them in their own utterances. Richards et al (1974:173-181) divides
errors into three main categories which comprise with: interlanguage errors,
intralingual errors and developmental errors. Interlanguage errors refer to errors
which are caused by the interference of the learners mother tongue. Intralingual
errors refer to errors which reflect the general characteristics of rule learning.
In addition, developmental errors refer to errors which appear because the
learners try to build up hypotheses about the English language from his or her
limited experiences of it in the classroom or textbook. It refers to false concepts
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utilize a known system correctly by the native speakers; resulting from memory
mistakes, physical condition, such as tiredness and psychological condition, such
as strong emotion. A distinction is sometimes made between an error, which
results from incomplete knowledge, and a mistake made by a learner when
writing or speaking and which is caused by lack of attention, fatigue, carelessness,
or some other aspect of performance. Errors are sometimes classified according to
vocabulary (lexical error), pronunciation (phonological error), grammar (syntactic
error), misunderstanding of a speakers intention or meaning (inter-pretive error),
production of the wrong communicative effect, e.g. through the faulty use of a
speech act or one of the rules of speaking (pragmatic error).
In the study of second and foreign language learning, errors have been
studied to discover the processes learners make use of in learning and using a
language (Richards and Schmidt, 2010:201). Mistake is also characterized as
unsystematic deviation or inconsistent deviation. In this case the learner has been
taught the right form of the language, sometimes the students get it right but
sometimes he/she makes a mistake and uses the wrong form.
5) The Concept of Word Order
When creating a sentence, it is important to put the word in correct order.
Word order is the arrangement of words in a phrase, clause or sentence. In many
languages, including English, word order plays in important part in determining
meaning expressed by user. Therefore, understanding of rules in English syntax
becomes important thing to make a meaningful sentence.
1. Word Order in Declarative Sentence
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It can identify the verb of the sentence because it changes its form or
contains auxiliaries to express differences in time (for example, past and present)
or attitude (for example, possibility, permission, and obligation). Here are some
examples with the verb predict:
predicts
predicted
is predicting
was predicting
may predict
will predict
might predict
Most verbs in the present have a distinctive form ending in -s when the
subject is singular and refers to something or someone other than the speaker or
the person or persons being addressed:
construction called the indirect object, sometimes used after action verbs. It occurs
usually in sentences which already contain a direct object (Gucker, 1996: 26). The
indirect object is usually equivalent to a phrase introduced by to or for, but that
phrase normally comes after the direct object.
He gave me a story book. / He gave a story book to me.
He will save his friend a seat. / He will save a seat for his friend.
A subject may be compound:
Basketball and football are challenging baseball as the national sport.
A predicate may be compound:
We pushed and fought our way through the crowd.
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Pre-Modifiers
New
Popular
Noun
Books
Books
Post-Modifier
on astronomy
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- half a loaf
They also include the words all, both, such, and what:
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The central determiners fall into several subclasses. There are some kinds
of determiners that consist of :
1) Definite and indefinite article: the, a, an
Example: The wombats escaped.
2) Demonstrative pronoun: this, that, these, those.
Example: That vase is valuable.
3) Possessive pronoun: my, your, our, their, his, her, and its.
Example: Her serve is powerful.
4) Possessive noun: mother, name of person, etc.
Example: Aunt Audreys dog was die.
5) Indefinite pronoun: some, any, enough, every, each, either, neither etc.
Example: Some survivors remained.
6) Interrogative : what, which, whose, etc.
Example: Whose coat are you wearing?
7) Relative: which, whose, whatever, whichever, whenever, etc.
You can use it for whatever purpose you wish. We cannot combine two or more
central determiners to introduce the same noun phrase.
3. Post-determiners
Post-determiners can come after the central determiners. They include the
cardinal numerals and the ordinal numerals:
1) Numeral: one, two, three, four, etc.
Examples: - Seven boxes fell.
- The three rooms.
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Central determiner
A, an, the
Post-determiner
One, two
Both
First
Such
Second, third
what
What, which
Many
Double
Few
Much
Half
Whatever
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b) Pre-Modifier
The construction of a noun phrase is always recursive since a number of
dependents can be added to the head element. Some dependents may precede the
head and others may follow it. Dependent that precede headword, especially
modifier, called premodifier or left-handed noun phrase. A modifier is an element
that depends on the head. In pre-modifier, the modifiers that precede the head
word are determiner, adjective, verb, and noun. Beside determiners, the others
modifier that becomes important dependent to describe the head noun are
adjective, verb and noun. In pre- modifier, there are three major structural that
comprise with :
Attributive adjective : a special project
an internal memo
Participial adjective : hidden variables
detecting devices
Noun as pre-modifier : the bus strike
the police report
In other fact, pre-modifier can be multiple as like as Djuharie (2008:104) :
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Sometimes, the modifiers in a noun phrase consist of more than one adjective, so
the fixed arrangement of this order is :
Quality character+ size+ age+ participle+ shape+ color + origin+ occasion+ noun
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big
Old
Squar
e
hot
round
black
green
Classifying
Noun
Colour
beauti
ful
small New
HEAD
WORD
NOUN
Shape
Six
nice
Temperature
Age
most expen
sive
Size
Descriptive
Som
e
Ordinative.
Determiner.
The
EPITHET
Nokia
handphone
drinks
American
gardens
There are three function of pre-modifier that consist of classifying, identifying and
qualifying. These functions will be explained in the table below.
Table 2
The Function of Modifier
Determiner
This
Pre-modifier
Good
Cat
This
Identifying function
Expensive
Qualifying
Theatre
Classifying function
function
c) Post-Modifier
Head noun
Food
Ticket
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Post-modifier comprises words in the noun phrase that follow the head and
it usually called as right-handed modifier. These words usually consist of
prepositional phrases, participle, adjective, adverb, and noun. According to
Nichols (1965:64) there are some patterns of noun phrase modifier :
a. When infinitives modify noun, they regularly follow the head word.
Example: the guest to invite the guest to be invited
b. Adverbs always follow the nouns they modify.
Example: the party afterward, the table there
c. Prepositional phrases regularly follow the nouns they modify.
Example: the class on lower campus
If the phrase use of preposition, the form noun + noun is used, in this phrase and
the word before of becomes the head word.
Example: Application letter = letter of application
d. Adjectives follow the nouns they modify.
Example: something wonderful, something interesting.
c. Functions of noun phrases
1. subject
The people in the bus escaped through the emergency exit.
2. direct object
They are testing some new equipment.
3. indirect object
The bank gave David a loan.
4. subject complement
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1. Decide on how teaching a specific set of writing skills can fit into and reinforce
the larger objectives for the content course.
2. Decide on a rhetorical situation and an identifiable genre used outside the
classroom that will give students practice using these skills. Such rhetorical
situations give students a potential audience, real or imagined; a genre, such as
a business letter or a report, with a set of conventions that must be modified in
each new context; and a role to play therefore they can think about matters of
style, tone, and evidence when addressing a specific audience.
3. Give students opportunities to reflect on audience, genre, and context during
the writing process. Direct their attention to how their style, organization, and
evidence should be based on the knowledge and expectations of their audience
and the conventions of the chosen genre.
4. Create one or more focused activities that require students to demonstrate the
course objectives. Put the requirements for the activity on an evaluation form
or checklist so that students can see what they must accomplish.
5. Help students through the writing process as necessary. This might involve
something as simple as checking an early plan to make sure that students are on
the right track. It might mean devoting a class period to small-group workshops
in which students read and respond to each others work. It might involve
individual conferences with students to go over early drafts.
6. Grade, evaluate, or respond to the writing by commenting on what the writer
did well and by concentrating on two or three ways that the writer could most
improve the paper. Avoid long lists of errors.
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Identification
30
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CHAPTER III
METHOD OF RESEARCH
A. Research Design
In this research, the writer used descriptive method. According to
Anderson and Arselnaut (1998: 107), Descriptive methods are introduced here
because accurate description is fundamental to all research, although description is
not really a method by itself. Isaac and Michael (1985:46) state that the purpose of
descriptive method is to describes systematically the fact and characteristics of a
given population or area if interest factually and accurately descriptive method is
suitable for the topic. While, according to Kumar (2012:30) descriptive method
attempts to describe systematically a situation, problem, phenomenon, service or
program, or provide information about, say, the living conditions of a community,
or describes attitudes towards an issue. Descriptive method is suitable for this
topic because it supports the writer intends to describe the data systematically and
then to analyze them as accurately as possible.
In this research, the writer would take the data concerning with the fourth
semester students word order errors in writing descriptive paragraph at English
Education Study Program of STKIP-PGRI Lubuklinggau. The writer would give
the test item directly and analyze the students composition, after that the writer
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will describe the students errors of word order in writing descriptive paragraph.
The steps of doing this research are as follows:
1. Defining the objectives clearly;
2. Designing technique for collecting the data;
3. Selecting the population and sample;
4. Measuring the validity and realibility of the test items;
5. Collecting the data;
6. Analyzing the data;
7. Classifying the errors;
8. Drawing conclusion;
9. Proposing suggestions;
10. Reporting the result.
B. Population and Sample
1) Population
Arikunto (2006:107) says that population is a set or collection all elements
possessing one or more attributes of interest. In addition, Fraenkel and Wallen
(2009:105) state that the term population, as used in research, refers to all the
members of a particular group. It is the group of interest to the researcher, the
group to whom the researcher would like to generalize the results of a study.
In educational research, the population of interest is usually a group of
persons (students, teachers, or other individuals) who possess certain
characteristics. In some cases, however, the population may be defined as a group
of classrooms, schools, or even facilities. For example,
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The population of the research was taken from all the fourth semester
students of English Education Study Program of STKIP-PGRI Lubuklinggau. The
population of this study was 57 students (see table 3).
Table 3
Population of the Study
No
1
2
Semester/Class
IV.A
IV.B
Total
Students
33
24
57
34
In this study, the writer used a written test for collecting the data. The test
was used to know the students word order errors. Heaton (1988:8), writing ability
usually is in the form of letters, reports, memos, messages, instructions, and
accounts of past events, etc. Based on the statement above, the writer got
instruction as the suitable form of the test.
Arikunto (2006:150) said that test is a set of question or exercise or other
ways that is used to measure skills, knowledge, intelligence, ability or talent that
possessed by individual or group. In using this technique, the students wrote a
descriptive composition that has been provided by the writer. The writer asked the
students to write a descriptive paragraph 150 words in a paper with time
allocation 45 minutes. The test is used to identify the errors made by the students
in writing descriptive paragraph.
D. Technique for Analyzing the Data
In analyzing the data of the test, the writer focused on error analysis in the
usage of word order in descriptive paragraph. In order to know the individual
errors, the writer described the students errors in writing descriptive paragraph
based on the following steps:
a) Correcting the students descriptive paragraph and find out what are kinds
their errors in writing descriptive paragraph.
b) The writer classified the students word order errors in using declarative
sentence and noun phrase based on students composition. Therefore, the
data will be categorized into each kind of error.
c) Indentifying the students word order errors into declarative sentence and
noun phrase.
d) Describing the students word order errors made by the students in writing
descriptive paragraph based on kinds of error.
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e) The writer calculate the percentage of errors that made by the students.
Based on the classifying of the errors in using declarative sentence and
noun phrase, the writer wants to percentage the students errors by using
the formula below :
P=
F
x 100
N
In which :
P
: Percentage of Students Error
F
: The Frequency of Being Sought Percentage
N
: Number of Case (Total Frequency/Total of individual)
(Sudijono, 2004:43)
In this case, P refers to the percentage of classification error. Classification
of errors is based on word order in declarative sentence and noun phrase. F refers
to the frequency of being sought percentage. It means that F is frequency of total
errors in each kind. N refers to number of case, it means that N is total of errors.
e. Accountability of the research
1) Validity
Kothari (2004: 73) state that validity is the most critical criterion and
indicates the degree to which an instrument measures what it is supposed to
measure. Validity can also be thought of as utility. According to Fraenkel and
Wallen (2009:147), validity is the most importance idea to consider when
preparing or selecting an instrument for use. More than anything else, researchers
want the information they obtain through the use of an instrument to serve their
purposes. In addition, Marcyzk, DeMatteo, Festinger (2005:106) state that the
concept of validity refers to what the test or measurement strategy measures and
how well it does so. It means that the instrument can be valid if the instrument
can measure what measured.
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Material Tested
Indicator
Total
Item
Test
Type
The students
are able to
write
descriptive
paragraph.
Descriptive
paragraph: My
Lovely Pet/ My
Best Friend, My
Favourite
Actress/Actor,
My Interesting
Place
To write one
descriptive
paragraph correctly
at least in 150 words
by choosing one of
three titles.
Essay
Total Item
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CHAPTER IV
FINDING AND DISCUSSION
A. Findings
Chapter IV explains the analysis data and discussion of the finding of
study. This chapter aimed to answer the question of problem statement in chapter
I. In the previous chapter, the writer state that the data of the study are about the
erroneous word order committed by the fourth semester students of English
Education Study Program of STKIP-PGRI Lubuklinggau. The findings of this
study deal with the result of the data analyzed. The findings of this study were
described on several points; they are (1) the kinds of word order errors in writing
descriptive paragraph, (2) the percentage of word order errors in writing
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descriptive paragraph, (3) the dominant word order errors in writing descriptive
paragraph.
A. The kinds of word order errors made by the fourth semester students of
English Education Study Program of STKIP-PGRI Lubuklinggau
In this research, there were 51 students as the sample. The writer got the
data by giving written test. The data was taken by giving written test. Students
were asked to write a descriptive paragraph in 150 words about some themes that
had been provided by the writer in a paper. The writer found the kinds of word
order errors and correcting the students descriptive paragraph that students made.
And the writer classified the students word order errors based on students
composition. Therefore, the data was identified into two categorized, they are
declarative sentence and noun phrase.
Table 5
The Error Analysis of Word Order
Nu.
1.
beach
interesting
very
beach,
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4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
He always be there if I
40
with
her
brown skin.
11.
12.
13.
my friend.
I first met him on a
school exchange trip to
14.
pasar satelit.
I asked him the to the
country library and we
15.
started talking.
He study in STKIPPGRI
fourth
now
Lubuklinggau
semester
at
right
English
Program Study.
16.
17.
16.
17.
18.
41
This beach very interesting beach, because the visitors just need 10-15
minutes to arrive there.
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a. Descriptive + noun
Her skin is white, her body is slim and tall. She is from simple family and
happy.
b. Shape + noun
She have white skin, high body, hair straight, good person and muslim
woman.
c. Colour + noun
Her fur have 2 kind of color, in the head side the color of black and white
in the bottom side nearby her feet.
e. Central Determiners
But he is far now, for continue education her but I am stay here.
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f. Post-modifier
g.
h.
i.
44
Nu
Items
Percentage
.
1.
Declarative Sentence
40%
15%
10%
the Verb
c. When there is an indirect object
and also direct object, the indirect
precedes the direct
2.
Noun Phrase
a.
b.
c.
15%
Frequency
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B. Discussion
46
47
48
49
50
51
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