REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
The purpose of the chapter to review literature related to (a) errors and mistake, (b) errors analysis, and (c) English simple past tense.
2.1. Errors and Mistakes
Many linguists have defined differently what an error is based on their own concept. Vicki Fromkin and Robert Rodman (1978: 361) states that the human brain is able not only to acquire and store the mental grammar, but also access that linguistic store house to speak and understand what is spoken, meaning they are against the grammatical rule of the language and result in unacceptable utterances, in second language learning they occur because the learner has not internalized the grammar of the second language. In order words, the student arise out of lack of competence, therefore errors are systematical. Furthermore, they make a distinction between errors, mistakes, and lapses.
Mistakes arise when the speaker fails to match the language to the situation and result in appropriate utterances. Lapses, in the other hand, arise out tiredness, nervousness; or stain which result in slip of tongue, false starts confusion of structure, etc. Both mistake and lapses are not systematical and belong to phenomena of performance.
Unlike the two definitions mentioned above, Dullay in Brown (1987: 170¬) uses the term “errors” to refer to any deviations from a selected norm of language performance, and matter what the characteristics or causes of the definitions might be. They also explain that the norm used to identify the errors may be anyone of the dialect of other varieties of language the native speaker uses.
The terms errors, as noted by Dullay above is used for the systematic deviations due to the learners still developing knowledge of the target language rule, system or for idiosyncrasies in the inter language of the learner which are direct manifestations of system with which a learner is operating at the time.
In this present study the researcher prefer to use the definition of errors given by him on the consideration that this study is not intended to differentiate between errors and mistakes.
2.2. Error analysis
2.2.1. The Role of Error Analysis in Language teaching and Learning.
In language learning the study of the learners has become very important and has always been a cause of much concern to the teacher and text-book writers alike. It has been used as indicator of learning and guide in teaching. The study or learners errors are known as error analysis. Error analysis shows the significance of learner’s errors and three ways:
(1) They tell the teachers how far the learners have progressed and what remains for them to learn.
(2) They provide evidence to researchers of how language is learned of acquired and what strategy or procedure the learner is employing to learn the language, and
(3) They serve as feedback to the learner of hypothesis he is using
Further more, Sue loarch (1984: 11) states that error analysis is not confronted with the complex theoretical problem encountered by contrastive analysis, e/q/ the problems of equivalence.
According to Soetikno (1996: 187) contrastive analysis has in many case, failed to predict learning problems, despite the claim that contrastive analysis has not only predicated difficulties in the areas where the mother tongue and foreign differ but also in the case of linguistic features that are unknown in the sources language.
However, there are weaknesses of error analysis are also started by Zuchrudin Surya Winarta and Hariyanto in their book “Translation” (2003: 17)
The points out of their major weaknesses of error analysis are:
(1) The confusion of error description with error explanation (the process and product aspect of analysis).
(2) The lack of precision and specificity in the definition of error categories and
(3) Simplistic categorization of the causes or learning’s errors.
As stated by Baradja (1990: 96), there are three major difficulties in conducting error analysis. There are:
(1) Difficulty in giving meaning to the student utterances. If often happens that the researcher are usually and other activities that he does not have time to make reconstruction of students wring utterances or to return them to their original sentence or corpus, These often cause mistake and produce unmeaning finding.
(2) Difficulty in creating instrument, which can be used to obtain the information that we need. If the instrument we make is not good and systematic, we will get invalid and unmeaning data. In other words the information Data we do not contain error since students may avoid using difficult items.
(3) Difficulty in classifying the errors.
To classify errors into types is not easy work and it takes much time.
Sometimes students are wrong utterance cannot be regarded as ‘error’.
2.2.2. Categories of Errors in Error Analysis
To categorize error into classification based on the types or the sources of errors is not easy work. Many times error cannot be traced back into one source. More over, the boundaries between different sources of error many sometimes be unclear that the arbitrary classification decision unavoidable
According to the process editing written by Sue Loarch in her book (1984: 181) the writer concludes that there are two categories of errors, global and local errors.
Global errors are thus which affect the over all sentence organization significantly, while local errors are those affect single element (constituent) in a sentences.
Suotikno (1996: 181) made a classification of errors in comparative taxonomy based on comparisons between the structure of L2 errors and certain other types of constructions there comparisons result in four types of errors; developmental, inter-lingual, ambiguous and other errors Further more, based on surface strategy taxonomy, Soetikno (1996: 181) give emphasis on the ways surface structure is altered. Learners may omit necessary items or add unnecessary ones, they may misfire item or miss order them. Thus, the errors may be in the form of omission, addition, miss formation, and miss ordering errors types.
Omission errors are characterized by the absence of an item that must appear in a well-formed utterance. Although any morpheme or word in a sentence is a potential candidate for omission, some types of morpheme are omitted than others.
Additional errors are the opposite of omission. They are characterized by the presence of an item, which must not appear in a well-formed utterance. Additional errors include double marking, regularization and simple addition that is an addition that is not double marking or regularization.
Misformation errors are characterized by the use of the wrong from of morpheme or structure, while in omission errors the items is not supplied at all, in miss-formation errors the learners. Supplies something although it is in correct.
Misordering errors are characterized by the incorrect placement of a morpheme or group morphemes in a utterance.
This study has the same purpose as Dulay’s statement in the classification of error types. The error classification is intended as an aid to present data rather than to create a basic for extensive speculating concerning the source of errors.
2.3. English simple past tense
The simple past tense indicates that on activity or situation began and ended at a particular time in the past.
Example:
- I walked to school yesterday.
- He bought a new car three days ago.
Sentence pattern of simple past tense:
Affirmative (+): S + V11 + c (complement).
Example:
- He saw a film at Jaya theatre last night
- I played piano yesterday.
Negative (-): S + did not + infinitive +c.
Example:
- He did not see a film at Jaya theatre last night
- I did not play piano yesterday.
Interrogative (?): Did + S + infinitive + c?
Example:
- Did he see a film at Jaya theatre last night?
- Did you play piano yesterday?
The use of this tense is limited to indicate that an activity, state or occurrence in the past without indicate any connection with the “yesterday” is one of the safe time signals for this tense.
In the simple past tense we must use verb II for all subjects.
The verbs in the simple past tense there are of two forms:
1) Regular verbs:
a. The simple past tense is regular verb is formed by adding “ed” to the infinitive:
Work _ Worked
Cook _ Cooked
b. Verbs ending in “e” add “d” Only
Love-Loved
c. Verbs ending in “y” following consonant change the “y” into “I” before adding “ed”:
Stop - Stopped
Admit - Admitted
Travel – Traveled
2). Irregular Verbs
These very considerably in their simple past form:
Speak - spoke
Eat - Ate
See - Saw
Leave - Left
Come - Came
Fight - Fought
Find - Found
Hold - Held
Make - Made, etc
The simple past form of each irregular verb must therefore be learnt, but once this is done there is no other difficulty, as irregular verb no inflections in the past tense.
2.1. Errors and Mistakes
Many linguists have defined differently what an error is based on their own concept. Vicki Fromkin and Robert Rodman (1978: 361) states that the human brain is able not only to acquire and store the mental grammar, but also access that linguistic store house to speak and understand what is spoken, meaning they are against the grammatical rule of the language and result in unacceptable utterances, in second language learning they occur because the learner has not internalized the grammar of the second language. In order words, the student arise out of lack of competence, therefore errors are systematical. Furthermore, they make a distinction between errors, mistakes, and lapses.
Mistakes arise when the speaker fails to match the language to the situation and result in appropriate utterances. Lapses, in the other hand, arise out tiredness, nervousness; or stain which result in slip of tongue, false starts confusion of structure, etc. Both mistake and lapses are not systematical and belong to phenomena of performance.
Unlike the two definitions mentioned above, Dullay in Brown (1987: 170¬) uses the term “errors” to refer to any deviations from a selected norm of language performance, and matter what the characteristics or causes of the definitions might be. They also explain that the norm used to identify the errors may be anyone of the dialect of other varieties of language the native speaker uses.
The terms errors, as noted by Dullay above is used for the systematic deviations due to the learners still developing knowledge of the target language rule, system or for idiosyncrasies in the inter language of the learner which are direct manifestations of system with which a learner is operating at the time.
In this present study the researcher prefer to use the definition of errors given by him on the consideration that this study is not intended to differentiate between errors and mistakes.
2.2. Error analysis
2.2.1. The Role of Error Analysis in Language teaching and Learning.
In language learning the study of the learners has become very important and has always been a cause of much concern to the teacher and text-book writers alike. It has been used as indicator of learning and guide in teaching. The study or learners errors are known as error analysis. Error analysis shows the significance of learner’s errors and three ways:
(1) They tell the teachers how far the learners have progressed and what remains for them to learn.
(2) They provide evidence to researchers of how language is learned of acquired and what strategy or procedure the learner is employing to learn the language, and
(3) They serve as feedback to the learner of hypothesis he is using
Further more, Sue loarch (1984: 11) states that error analysis is not confronted with the complex theoretical problem encountered by contrastive analysis, e/q/ the problems of equivalence.
According to Soetikno (1996: 187) contrastive analysis has in many case, failed to predict learning problems, despite the claim that contrastive analysis has not only predicated difficulties in the areas where the mother tongue and foreign differ but also in the case of linguistic features that are unknown in the sources language.
However, there are weaknesses of error analysis are also started by Zuchrudin Surya Winarta and Hariyanto in their book “Translation” (2003: 17)
The points out of their major weaknesses of error analysis are:
(1) The confusion of error description with error explanation (the process and product aspect of analysis).
(2) The lack of precision and specificity in the definition of error categories and
(3) Simplistic categorization of the causes or learning’s errors.
As stated by Baradja (1990: 96), there are three major difficulties in conducting error analysis. There are:
(1) Difficulty in giving meaning to the student utterances. If often happens that the researcher are usually and other activities that he does not have time to make reconstruction of students wring utterances or to return them to their original sentence or corpus, These often cause mistake and produce unmeaning finding.
(2) Difficulty in creating instrument, which can be used to obtain the information that we need. If the instrument we make is not good and systematic, we will get invalid and unmeaning data. In other words the information Data we do not contain error since students may avoid using difficult items.
(3) Difficulty in classifying the errors.
To classify errors into types is not easy work and it takes much time.
Sometimes students are wrong utterance cannot be regarded as ‘error’.
2.2.2. Categories of Errors in Error Analysis
To categorize error into classification based on the types or the sources of errors is not easy work. Many times error cannot be traced back into one source. More over, the boundaries between different sources of error many sometimes be unclear that the arbitrary classification decision unavoidable
According to the process editing written by Sue Loarch in her book (1984: 181) the writer concludes that there are two categories of errors, global and local errors.
Global errors are thus which affect the over all sentence organization significantly, while local errors are those affect single element (constituent) in a sentences.
Suotikno (1996: 181) made a classification of errors in comparative taxonomy based on comparisons between the structure of L2 errors and certain other types of constructions there comparisons result in four types of errors; developmental, inter-lingual, ambiguous and other errors Further more, based on surface strategy taxonomy, Soetikno (1996: 181) give emphasis on the ways surface structure is altered. Learners may omit necessary items or add unnecessary ones, they may misfire item or miss order them. Thus, the errors may be in the form of omission, addition, miss formation, and miss ordering errors types.
Omission errors are characterized by the absence of an item that must appear in a well-formed utterance. Although any morpheme or word in a sentence is a potential candidate for omission, some types of morpheme are omitted than others.
Additional errors are the opposite of omission. They are characterized by the presence of an item, which must not appear in a well-formed utterance. Additional errors include double marking, regularization and simple addition that is an addition that is not double marking or regularization.
Misformation errors are characterized by the use of the wrong from of morpheme or structure, while in omission errors the items is not supplied at all, in miss-formation errors the learners. Supplies something although it is in correct.
Misordering errors are characterized by the incorrect placement of a morpheme or group morphemes in a utterance.
This study has the same purpose as Dulay’s statement in the classification of error types. The error classification is intended as an aid to present data rather than to create a basic for extensive speculating concerning the source of errors.
2.3. English simple past tense
The simple past tense indicates that on activity or situation began and ended at a particular time in the past.
Example:
- I walked to school yesterday.
- He bought a new car three days ago.
Sentence pattern of simple past tense:
Affirmative (+): S + V11 + c (complement).
Example:
- He saw a film at Jaya theatre last night
- I played piano yesterday.
Negative (-): S + did not + infinitive +c.
Example:
- He did not see a film at Jaya theatre last night
- I did not play piano yesterday.
Interrogative (?): Did + S + infinitive + c?
Example:
- Did he see a film at Jaya theatre last night?
- Did you play piano yesterday?
The use of this tense is limited to indicate that an activity, state or occurrence in the past without indicate any connection with the “yesterday” is one of the safe time signals for this tense.
In the simple past tense we must use verb II for all subjects.
The verbs in the simple past tense there are of two forms:
1) Regular verbs:
a. The simple past tense is regular verb is formed by adding “ed” to the infinitive:
Work _ Worked
Cook _ Cooked
b. Verbs ending in “e” add “d” Only
Love-Loved
c. Verbs ending in “y” following consonant change the “y” into “I” before adding “ed”:
Stop - Stopped
Admit - Admitted
Travel – Traveled
2). Irregular Verbs
These very considerably in their simple past form:
Speak - spoke
Eat - Ate
See - Saw
Leave - Left
Come - Came
Fight - Fought
Find - Found
Hold - Held
Make - Made, etc
The simple past form of each irregular verb must therefore be learnt, but once this is done there is no other difficulty, as irregular verb no inflections in the past tense.