Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
PREPARED BY
MATRICULATION TELEPHONE
NAME GROUP
NUMBER NUMBER
Grammar is said to be the heart of any language. Learning the correct grammar is very
important in order to produce proper sentence structures. The rules of these structures are known
as grammar. They are the buildings blocks which a language learner must know how to use when
he or she constructs sentences in order to communicate effectively and be understood.
Individuals with writing problems may have difficulties in one or more aspects of writing skill
such as proper use of grammar, conventions, punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and some of
the basic and initiating aspects of writing. Very often, students use the wrong form of verb in a
sentence which does not agree with the subject as well as the tense.
This error analysis is done with my Year 6 (Level 2) pupils. They are from medium and
low proficiency levels. Less than 25% pupils attended tuition classes because of the
unavailability of such services or their parents cannot afford to send them to one. A combination
of factors such as poverty, unavailability of tuition services / centers, social environment, interest
and attitude contributes to the pupils inability to acquire the target language, which is English.
2. Examine the errors that your pupils make when using the part of speech in their
written work. Group the errors into different types.
a. When I read my pupils written work, I find out that the one of the highest errors
when using the part of speech is concerning the verb. They are not very sure and
not confident with the usage of the verb. These pupils are confused when using
certain types of verbs which is not likely the same with their mother tongue,
Bahasa Melayu / Bahasa Malaysia. For instant, in Bahasa Malaysia, they dont
have auxiliary verbs (or helping verbs), regular and irregular verbs and
changes in verb forms when the tense is different. Based on these observation, I
will group the pupils errors as follow:
1
Error groups:
i. Auxiliary verbs
a. wrongly used auxiliary verbs (wrong type, wrong place)
b. over-used of auxiliary verbs (putting them unnecessarily)
c. omission of auxiliary verbs (leaving out auxiliary verbs)
3. Describe each type of error thoroughly. Provide examples of the errors as used by
the pupils.
i. Auxiliary Verbs.
a. Wrongly used auxiliary verbs (wrong type, wrong place)
2
partly since he managed to use was which agrees with the subject Encik
Jasin and the pronoun He. However, he may overlooked the tense of the
sentence, which is in the Present Tense. So, he should have written is in
place of was.
Supporting resource:
3
b. Over-used of auxiliary verbs (putting / placing them unnecessarily)
Thus, he may not know what to choose and simply write the above sentence.
Example 1: One day, three boys had saw a young boy grabbed a tin of
biscuits.
4
Supporting Resource:
The most possible explanation for the pupils error is quite similar to (i) b,
which is possibly caused by interference of the pupils mother tongue. The pupil
might be influenced by the Bahasa Malaysia sentence structure which may look
like this,
The auxiliary verb was should be used since the sentence is in the Past Tense.
5
The second type of error that the pupil has done is,
a. Pupils are confused with the changes in verb forms (spelling) between regular
and irregular verbs
Example of error:
Supporting resource:
6
A brief example showing that two of the three forms of the Irregular Verbs
mentioned by Peggy Chan is shown below,
The pupil once again is influenced by his mother tongue, Bahasa Malaysia
which possibly says,
Another possible explanation is that the pupil may not know or simply has
forgotten the simple basic rule of an English sentence which says that every
sentence must have a verb /main verb. According to this simple basic structure of
an English sentence,
7
Subject + Object + Object
(S) + (V) + (O)
Supporting resource:
The fourth and final type of error made by the pupil is,
Possibly, the pupil has forgotten the rule which says that in certain
parts of sentences , the main verb written after the infinitive to should
be in the base form (original form). Another explanation is perhaps due
to the verb took which is in the Past Tense. He is influenced by this
and simply write meet as met, thinking that it is in the Past Tense.
8
Example of error:
Supporting resource:
Examples:
9
CONCLUSION
One of the main constraints of English acquisition among Malaysian students is the
differences of syntactical structures between the Malay and English language. Syntax is one of
the main areas of linguistics in which sentence structures and patterns are analyzed. Although
Malay and English share the same basic structure, that is subject-verb- object (SVO), there are
numerous other differences between the two languages such as the usage of copula be, subject-
verb agreement, articles, determiner and relative pronouns.
10
Also, there have been studies that analyze the structural differences between the Malay
and English language. The studies revealed that differences between the two language structures
interfere in the learning of English grammar, which consequently will hinder the acquisition of
English as a second language. A review of the related studies on English language learning in
Malaysian schools context indicates that the first language (Bahasa Malaysia) interferes
considerably with the second language learning.
Then, it was claimed that using the correct form of English grammar is the main problem
with Malaysian students writing. The three recurrent grammatical errors were the misuse of
articles, to be verb, and subject-verb agreements. Finally, the researchers concluded that the
majority of the grammatical errors are due to the first language interference which is Malay
language or Bahasa Melayu.
SUGGESTIONS
The following suggestions and remedies have been proposed by some experienced
teachers and the researchers based on their experience to reduce the problems in conventions,
punctuation, and language use.
They are:
Writing classes must witness more practice than delivering lectures
The teacher must explain the use of all the punctuation marks
The teacher must explain the rules of capitalization
The teacher must engage the learners in memory/vocabulary games
The teacher must motivate and encourage the learners before the actual writing
The teacher must provide the language support on every single topic
The teacher must act as a prompter to assist the student at times
Students should be encouraged to do home assignment as much as possible
11
Remedial Exercises
A. Conventions
Copy and dictation
Jumbled words exercise, and peer editing.
B. Punctuations
Storytelling (melody of speech),
Editing, and
Loud reading with proper punctuation awareness
C. Language use
Form and functions exercises,
Sequence of tenses exercises, and
Gap filling/story writing exercises.
Therefore, all ESL teachers are suggested to deeply give attention to their students errors
and practice innovated styles to face these complexities in writing classes. Further studies can
also measure the effect of teachers feedback and teaching style of writing errors changes.
12
REFERENCES
Betty Schrampfer Azar (2003) , Understanding and Using English Grammar Second Edition,
New Jersey: Prentice Hall Regents.
E.W. Roberts & Martins (2000), Practical Approach to English Grammar and Composition for
High Schools, Kuala Lumpur, Golden Books Centre Sdn Bhd.
Magdalene Chew, Surinder Kaur (2003), The New Students Companion For Malaysian
Students, Cheras: System Publishing House Sdn Bhd.
Marian Tan (1989) Basic Grammar 3, Petaling Jaya, Longman Malaysia Sdn Bhd.
Peggy Chan (2012), English Grammar- A Malaysian Student Guide, Petaling Jaya, Sasbadi Sdn
Bhd.
Richard Hughes, Carmel Heah(1989), Common Errors in English Grammar Exercises for
Malaysians, Petaling Jaya, Penerbit Fajar Bakti Sdn Bhd.
13
APPENDICES
Students written work based on Question 3, Section C of the UPSR English Language format.
14
Student A
Encik Jasin was a kind man. He had a business. He was an owner of a foodstuff in his
village. Every day, his villagers, young or old went to his shop to buy for some food. They
maked a long line in front of the counter. Some of his customers talked each other happily. He
talked to his customers politely and smiled. His customers were very satisfied with the service
quality of his job that he gave to them.
One day, three boys had saw a young boy grabbed a tin of biscuits from Encik Jasins
shop. They chased after him. The young boy felt worried and he ran more faster than them but
suddenly, he knocked on a stone and fell on the ground. He was lucky because he was not
injured. They taked him to met Encik Jasin.
Encik Jasin mad of him. The young boy told that he not had enough money to buy for it.
Encik Jasin pity of him. He gave the boy advice and also took the boy to work with him. The boy
was very grateful and promised not to do it again. The three boys got some present from Encik
Jasin for their help and them thanked him.
Students B
Encik Jasin was the owner of a foodstuff shop. He did his work with his household. They
cooperate together.
Last Sunday evening, young boy went to Encik Jasins shop. He was so hungry. That
time, Encik Jasin was talking to his customer.
Suddenly, Encik Jasins assistant saw the grabbed a container of biscuits. He ran away
with the container. Encik Jasins assistant chased the young boy.
After Encik Jasin knew that the young boy stole his biscuits, he pity because the young
boy was jobless. The young boy was grateful.
15