CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

This study investigates the errors in essay writing made by English

Department students in academic year 2017/2018. This introductory chapter
covers the background of the study, research problem, theoretical framework,
significance of the study, scope of the study, limitation of the study, and the
definition of key terms.

1.1 Background of the Study

In this modern era, mastering a foreign language is really important. The
most widely taught foreign language is English. Mastering English can help us
to communicate with a lot of people from other countries because English is
considered as the global language (Crystal, 1997:1). English plays an
important role in many aspects of our life. Besides, English is used in many
fields such as politics, education, social, and culture. Mastering English gives
many benefits such as getting information from across the country.
In Indonesia, the aim of teaching English is developing students’ ability to
communicate both in oral and written form, including listening, speaking,
reading and writing. From the four language skills, writing is often considered
as the most difficult skill because writing in the second language needs high
creativity to form ideas, and higher complexity because it requires more
detailed organization. According to Klimova (2014), writing has a unique
position in language teaching because it involves practice and knowledge of
the other three language skills. In addition, students have to acquire the basic
rules of English grammar and the correct syntactic structure to compose a
good writing product (Nik, Hamzah, & Hasbulloh:5).
English has different grammar and syntactic structure from Indonesian. As
foreign learners, it makes the students have difficulty when they produce and
combine sentences in English. EFL students only learn the basic rule of
grammar in the classroom without practice it in real communication. It will
only force them to learn and memorize the pattern on how to construct

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sentences, regarding those facts, it can be concluded that students are lack
of English grammar exposure. It can be seen that many Indonesian students
make a lot of grammatical errors in their writing.
The reason why students get flustered in applying their grammatical
knowledge is probably they do not have the habit of reading and writing in
English. By having good reading and writing habit, students will have a lot of
vocabulary knowledge to help them organizing and generating ideas and also
they used to read some of the examples of writing outcome in a good
grammatical structure. Students will take a lot of time just to compose one
essay because they do not have fluency in English writing.
English Department students sometimes still have problems in
implementing grammar in their writing. The use of grammar in writing makes
their mind stuck. They cannot compose the sentences in the correct way. One
of the ways how to reduce the difficulty in writing is understanding the basic
system of a language. In composing English writing product, this includes
knowledge of grammar, punctuation, and organizing ideas. Many students
commonly make grammar mistakes in verb tenses, modal auxiliary, adjective
clause and so forth. Even though grammar is difficult, it keeps an important
role in writing because with a good grammar they can convey their message
clearly, precisely, and to be understood by others (Nurhikmah, 2011:2).
However, it is compulsory for students of the English Department to use the
correct grammar in writing.
Grammar is essential. One who does not know grammar will misinterpret
the meaning of a sentence. Students who learn English will face grammatical
problems namely tenses errors, clause errors and etc. According to Amelia
(2013), there are some errors made by EFL Students concerning the use of
Tense and Aspect, Noun, Pronoun, Adjective, Verb, Adverb, Preposition,
Conjunction, and determiner.
An adjective clause as a part of a complex sentence is one of the topics
that is taught in Intermediate English Grammar in the English Department.
Adjective clause plays an important role in the English Language. Azar (1999)
stated that the students who can employ the adjective clause correctly both
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written and oral can greatly increase their communicative competence in the
English language. Therefore, by understanding it, the students can produce a
complex sentence and understand the meaning of the sentence.
Since grammar is a very important component of language, the students
have to practice more to improve their grammar in all language skills.
Especially in writing, we can see students’ errors in applying their grammar
such as punctuation, tenses, and others. Here, the students of the English
Department have been studying for three semesters at the State University of
Malang. In the third semester, they get Intermediate English Grammar and
Essay Writing at the same time. It is expected that students can apply what
they get in the grammar class while they are writing an essay.
Basically all languages have their own patterns or “grammar” that include
the features of the language such as sounds, arbitrary symbols and words to
make up the language itself (DeCapua, 2008:6). So does English. As a foreign
language in Indonesian, it is very common that students make errors in
learning English because there is a cognitive process toward reconstruction
new language. The errors may also occur because the rules of L1, Bahasa
Indonesia, and English are different.
It becomes problematic because there found repeated errors in one of the
English major components which is grammar. The study uses the word “error”
instead of “mistake” because errors usually appear with ESL or EFL learners.
Errors are systematic and governed by rules (Keshavarz: 2012:60). They exist
because learners’ knowledge of the target language rules is incomplete. It is
known that language acquisition is occurring as the learners are learning a new
language. This, in addition, is in line with the statement of Ellis (2003) that
gaps in learners’ knowledge are reflected by experiencing errors. Meanwhile,
mistakes are random deviations and unrelated to any system. They can be in
the form of slip tongue or pen, false starts, and lack of concentration.
The difficulties of learning language sometimes bring errors. In language
learning, the study of students’ errors is needed because the result of the study
gives some contributions to help the students’ difficulties. Errors are evidence
about the nature of the process and the rules that are used by the students at a
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certain stage in the course. The teacher can infer the nature of the students’
knowledge and find what they still have to learn by analyzing the students’
errors.
Dulay et al, (1982) state that studying learner’s errors serves two major
purposes. First, it provides data from which inferences about the nature of the
language learning process can be made and indicates to teachers curriculum
developers which part of the target language students have most difficulty
producing correctly and which errors types detract most from a learners ability
to communicate effectively. It means that by looking over the students' errors,
the lecturer will be able to know how far the students have mastered the
writing and what the students’ difficulties are in writing.
Error in the learning process is natural for learners. People stated errors
can also be seen as learning development. Students should be encouraged to
experiment with language so that they can take more learning steps. Unless
students make errors, they cannot work out better rules for how to express, in
spoken or written form what they want to say.
Based on the background, in this present study, the researcher wants to
find out what errors that third-semester students make in their writing in the
class of essay writing.

1.2 Research Problem

Based on the background of the study, the research problems are
formulated as follows.
1. What types of adjective clause errors do the students make in their essay
writing?
2. What types of an adjective clause errors mostly occur in the students’
essay writing?
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1.3 Theoretical Framework

1.3.1 Error Analysis
Definition of Errors
In language learning, there must be a long time process in a way to
acquire it and it is normal when someone makes a mistake. By these
mistakes, a language learner will get some feedback and the result is the
learners can learn how to produce acceptable speech (Brown, 2000:27).
Errors are the flawed side of learner speech or writing (Dulay et al
1982). Those are part of a writing or speech composition that deviates
from some selected norm of mature language performances. During the
language learning, learners are very common to make errors because their
competence of the language is still being improved (Ellis, 1994: 48). On
the other hand, Brown (2007) stated that an error is a noticeable deviation
from adult grammar of native speaker. Concluding the definitions above, it
could be said error is something happen when the students unsuccessful in
determining a new language or second language. The students have a lack
of knowledge of it because they do not realize what they did is an error
unless other people explain about it. They cannot correct that error by
themselves. Analysis of errors made by the learners is important to give
them constructive input of language learning.
According to Crystal (1992), error analysis in language teaching
and learning is the study of the unacceptable forms produced by someone
in learning a language, especially foreign language. Moreover, Sharme
(1982) stated that error analysis is defined as a process based on analysis
of learners’ error with one clear objective which is evolving a suitable and
effective teaching-learning strategy and remedial measure necessary in the
certain clearly marked out area of the foreign language. From the
explanation above, the researcher concludes that error analysis is the study
that gives a teacher the way how to correct the students’ errors in order to
improve the effectiveness of their teaching-learning.
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The Sources of Error

Error analysis sees the error as inevitable part in the process of

language learning. These are the source or the factors are found in some
books related to error analysis. Noris (1983) stated in his book that there
are three factors of errors:

a. Carelessness
Carelessness is often closely related to a lack of motivation. Many
teachers will admit that it is not always the learners’ fault if the learner
loses his interest. Perhaps the material or the style of presentation does
not suit the learner

b. First Language Interference

First language interference is also called mother tongue
Interference. Language is a set of habits makes the first language of
learner interfere with him when the learner tries to learn a new
language or second language.

c. Translation

Different from Norrish, Brown (2000) suggest that there are four
causes of error namely interlingual transfer, intralingual transfer, the
context of learning and communication strategies.

a. Interlingual Transfer
Erdogan (2005) defines interlingual errors as being the result
of the transfer, which is caused by the learners’ first language.

b. Intralingual Transfer
Intralingual Transfer us a major factor in second language
learning. It happened as learner progress in the second
language, their previous experience and their existing
subsumes begin to include structures within the target language
itself.
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c. Context of Learning
Students often make errors because of misleading explanation
from the teacher, faulty presentation of a structure or word in a
textbook or even because of improperly contextualize pattern.

d. Communication Strategies
Communication strategies are expressing the concept
indirectly, by allusion rather than by direct reference.

The Types of Errors

Besides discussing the definition of error and what cause of the

error, this subchapter will also discuss types of errors. Errors become an
important part in language learning and it must be identified and also be
described. Dulay (1982) in lengthy consideration of errors described three
major types of taxonomy, such as error types based on linguistic category,
surface strategy taxonomy, error types based on comparative taxonomy.

In this research, the writer classifies the students’ error based on the
surface strategy taxonomy. The surface strategy taxonomy highlight the
ways surface structures are altered. According to Dulay (1982) analyzing
errors from surface strategy perspective help researchers with identifying
cognitive processes of the learners’ reconstruction of the new language.
On Surface Strategy Taxonomy, errors are classified into four, including
omission, addition, and misinformation and misordering.

a. Omission
Omission errors are characterized by the absence of an item that
must appear in a well-formed utterance.
For Example : Jennie the president of the new company.
It should be : Jennie is the president of the new company.
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b. Addition
The addition is characterized by the presence of an item which
must not appear in a well-formed utterance.
For example : She does not wants to study.
It should be : She does not want to study.

c. Misinformation
Misinformation errors are characterized by the use of the wrong
form of the morpheme or structure.
For example : We sang with the childs.
It should be : We sang with the children.

d. Misordering
Misordering errors are signed with the false placement of a
morpheme or group morphemes in an utterance.
For example : I want to know who are you.
It should be : I want to know who you are.

1.3.2 Adjective Clause

Definition of Adjective Clause
Learning about the adjective clause is essential because, in the
English textbook, magazines, newspaper frequently use the adjective
clauses. Wren and Martin (1979) stated that the adjective clause is a group
of words that contains a subject and a predicate of its own, and does the
work of an adjective. An adjective clause is used to describe a noun. As
Wishon (1980) stated that an adjective clause is a dependent clause used as
an adjective, it modifies a noun or a pronoun. Similarly, the adjective
clause is also called a relative clause. We use relative pronouns to combine
two statements that refer to the person or a thing. The relative pronouns
that refer to a person or a thing are who, whom, which, that, and whose.
From the definitions explained above, the writer can take summary
that adjective clause is a clause which modifies a noun or pronoun as
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antecedent that uses relative pronouns as subordinator conjugation,

describing people and thing whose position as the subject, object and
possessive.

1.3.3 Writing
Definition of Writing
Writing is one of the best media of communication because people
can express their ideas or convey the messages that will be received by the
readers. To make readable text, it requires some particular aspects such as
when they produce letters, words, phrases, clauses, sentences, then
arranges them into a good paragraph. Writing also has an important role as
a tool for clear thinking, solving problems, and shaping arguments.
Martin (1998) stated that writing is a process of discovery. In writing, the
students learn how to communicate when the other person is not around
them, listening to the words they said and looking at the gesture and facial
expressions. It means that writing is an example of the action process of
human information.

1.3.4 Grammar
Definition of Grammar
Penny (1996) stated that grammar is defined as words that are put
together and combined it in order to make correct sentence and also affects
their meaning. In other word, grammar is a structure in linguistics that has
functions to organize the sentence well.

1.4 Significance of the Study

The result of this study is intended to provide literature related to adjective
clause errors and in hopes it improves the quality of teaching learning process,
especially related to essay writing including the grammar. This study will be
beneficial for lectures to provide evidence what difficulties the students with
different learning styles have so that they can implement and modify a suitable
strategy to make students able to write an essay better.
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1.5 Scope of The Study

This study will be conducted in the English Department of State
University of Malang. It will be analyzed the adjective clause errors found in
the students Essay writing. The subject will be the third semester students of
English Language Teaching Study program of academic year 2017/2018. The
analysis attempt to view the most dominant adjective clause made by the
English Department students in their own essay writing.

1.6 Limitation of the Study

This study is focused on the adjective clause errors made by third semester
English Department students in essay writing. The errors then will be analyzed
and classified using The Surface Strategy Taxonomy promoted by Dulay et
al., 1982.

1.7 Definition of Key Terms

To avoid misconception about this study, the researcher provides some
definition of key terms are defines as follows:
Errors are defined as an instance of language that deviates from Standard
English Grammar. Errors are the flawed side of learner speech and writing.
They are those part of conversation or composition that deviated from selected
norm of mature language performance (Dulay et al 1982)
Error Analysis is the process of analyzing and investigating students’
deviations of the language learning process in the second language.
Adjective Clause is a clause which modifies or describes noun or pronoun as
antecedent.
Writing is one of the skill in language learning and also a medium to
communicate or express the idea that will be received accurately by the
readers.
Essay Writing is a short of piece of writing that expresses information as well as
the writer’s opinion.