VINH UNIVERSITY FOREIGN LANGUEAGE DEPARTMENT ******************** AN INVESTIGATION INTO ERRORS OF USING THE PRESENT PERFECT TENSE BY SECONDARY SCHOOL’S STUDENTS (điều tra lỗi sử Dụng hoàn thành học sinh trung học phổ thông) GRADUATION THESIS Field: linguistics Supervisor : Vũ Thị Việt Hương, M.A Student Class : : Phạm Thị Huyền 45E2 – English Vinh, 2009 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I have received great assistance from many people in the preparation of this thesis With out their assistance and support, this thesis might not have been finished Firstly, I would like to express my special words of thanks to M.A Vò Thị Việt Hương, my supervisor for the supporting to fulfill my thesis She has given me precious advices valuable materials and greatly essential corrections for accomplishment of this thesis Secondly, I should also like to extend my deep thanks to all my teachers in the Department of Foreign language, who did their best in helping me to finish the course as well as this thesis I repeat my thanks to the students who have participated in classes reported in this thesis as well as teachers of Hermann Gmeiner high school, if with out their cooperation the research will be far from perfect Finally, I wish to express my sincere thanks to my beloved family and close friends for their encouragement and support to my doing this thesis Vinh, May 2009 Phạm Thị Huyền List of abbreviations V : V(pII) : Verb Verb past participle S : Subject O : Object C : Complement Adj : Adjective Use : Duration of state up to the present moment Use : Indefinite past Use : Resultative perfect Use : Experiential perfect e.g : For example i.e : That is to say etc : et cetra L1 : The first language L2 : The second language OUP : Oxford University Press TESOL : * Teaching English to Speakers of Foreign Language : Incorrect sentence List of diagrams, tables and charts Diagram 1: Use (Duration of state up to the present moment) Diagram 2: Use (Indefinite past) Diagram 3: Use (Resultative perfect) Diagram 4: Use (Experiential perfect) Table 1.2.: Verbs and Particles Table 2.1: Results of section Table 2.2: Results of section Table 2.3: Results of section Table 3.1: Total number of errors and their causes in three sections Table 3.2: Total errors in four uses of three sections Table 3.3.1.3: A comparison of the four uses of the present perfect tense Chart 2.1: Results of section Chart 2.2: Results of section Chart 2.3: Results of section Pie chart 3.2: Total errors in four uses of three sections TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENT…………………………………………………… i LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS………………………………………………….ii LIST OF DIAGRAMS, TABLES AND CHARTS………………………… iii TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………………………… iv ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………….vii i PART I: INTRODUCTION……………………………………………… 1.1 Rational of the of the of the study……………………………………………….2 1.2 Aims study……………………………………………………2 1.3 Scope study………………………………………………… 1.4 Method of the of the study…………………………………………………2 1.5 Design study……………………………………………… PART II: CONTENTS…………………………………………………… CHAPTER I: THEORITICAL BACKGROUND…………………………….4 1.1 Tense and Aspect in Tense in Aspect in English……………………………………… 1.1.1 English…………………………………………………….4 1.1.2 English……………………………………………………6 1.1.3 Time reference…………………………………………………… 1.1.4 The present perfect tense in English……………………………… 1.1.4.1 Duration of state up to the present (USE 1) ……………………… 11 1.1.4.2 Indefinite past (USE 2) …………………………………………… 12 1.1.4.3 Resultative past (USE 3) (USE 4) Aspect in ……………………………………………13 1.1.4.4 Experiential perfect ……………………………………… 14 1.2 Tense Vietnamese………………………………… 14 and 1.3 Errors in language learning process……………………………… 18 1.3.1 The notion of errors…………………………………………………18 1.3.2 Errors and mistakes…………………………………………………19 1.3.3 Error analysis……………………………………………………… 20 1.3.4 Causes of errors in second language learning……………………….20 1.3.4.1 Interlingual errors ………………………………………………… 20 1.3.4.2 Intralingual errors………………………………………………… 21 1.3.4.2.1 Overgeneralization…………………………………………… …….22 1.3.4.2.2 Ignorance of rule restrictions……………………………………….22 1.3.4.2.3 Incomplete application of rules…………………………………… 23 1.3.4.2.4 False concepts hypothesized……………………………………… 23 CHAPTER II: THE STUDY………………………………………………….24 2.1 Research questions………………………………………………… 2.2 setting…………………………………………………… 24 Research 2.3 Instrumentation…………………………………………………… 24 2.3.1 Justification for the uses of the tests……………………………… 24 2.3.1.1 The grammar test……………………………………………………26 2.3.1.2 The Vietnamese-English translation test……………………………27 2.3.1.3 The syntax completion test………………………………………….27 2.3.2 The test process…………………………………………………… 27 2.4 Investigated procedure………………………………………………27 2.5 Preliminary results and data analysis……………………………… 28 2.5.1 Results of section – Grammar test……………………………… 28 2.5.2 Results of section – Translation test………………………………29 2.5.3 Results of section – Syntax completion test……………………….30 2.6 Errors and their causes………………………………………………32 2.6.1 Errors and their causes in section 1…………………………………32 2.6.2 Errors and their causes in section 2…………………………………35 2.6.3 Errors and their causes in section 3…………………………………38 CHAPTER III: FINDING AND DISCUSSION……………………………… 41 3.1 Major findings……………………………………………………… 41 3.2 Comparing the number of errors in four uses of the present perfect tense……………………………………………………………………………… 43 3.3 Implications for teaching and learning the present perfect tense in English…………………………………………………………………………… 43 3.3.1 Suggestions for teaching the present perfect tense in English………44 3.3.1.1 Teaching meaning based on and L2 context……………………………… 45 3.3.1.2 A comparison of L1 grammar……………………………….45 3.3.1.3 Teaching each use with different duration of time………………… 46 3.3.2 Suggestions for learning the present perfect tense………………… 47 3.4 Suggestions for further research…………………………………… 47 PART CONCLUSION………………………………………………….48 III: REFERENCES APPENDIX Abstract This thesis is an investigation into the use of the present perfect tense by second language learners at secondary school with the following aims: (1) To find out the errors made by students in using of the present perfect tense and their causes: (2) To provide some suggestions for teaching and learning the present perfect tense effectively school For instance, teachers present a situation and explain the grammatical rules: The present perfect tense is used to express an action or state which began in the past and continues to the present with its results, then give the form and example on the blackboard S + has/have + V(pII) +… E.g I have eaten Trang Tien ice cream since I was in Hanoi Or: She has read this book for a year When students have a basic knowledge of this tense, some types of exercise will be given for practicing Students are required to make sentences with given contexts; applying the newly learned rules to translation; and doing exercises of tense by types of tests such as multiple choice, gap-filling However, in order to avoid and prevent their errors (interlingual and intralingual errors) that they committed, there are some suggestions will be given for teaching this tense 3.3.1.1 Teaching meaning based on context The present perfect tense in English is one of the difficult tenses for Vietnamese students to learn The learners can be aware of the form of this tense but they are puzzled to apply it in L2 production In order to help students to have a sufficient knowledge of the meaning of this tense, teachers should try to show the meaningfulness of it with creativity and carefulness by giving contexts Teachers should explain to students how the present perfect tense is required in a particular context or not in the other one Students will have an opportunity to discover how to use the present perfect tense to express different meanings and how different language features compare and contrast in normal language use Example: You went out last Sunday Now, you come back The house is very dirty You say I have not cleaned it since last Sunday (A resultative sentence) 3.3.1.2 A comparison of L1 and L2 grammar In the theoretical background chapter that has mentioned that in English, there is the grammatical category of tense but there is no one in Vietnamese In English the present perfect tense means “past-time-related-to-present-time” The form of main verbs changes depending on the subjects and the tense choice However, in Vietnamese the particles as “đ·”, “rồi”, “vừa mới”, etc, are used to show a perfect action or a past action and the form of verbs never changes In many cases, the particles are not used but time reference is understood by context or paralinguistic elements Hence, there is a difference to express the perfect aspect between English and Vietnamese that is in English it can be found in both semantic and syntactic features while in Vietnamese it is only from the semantic feature Example: Anh đà học Tiếng Anh đợc hai năm He has learnt English for two years Anh đà ăn cơm cha? Have you had the meal? 3.3.1.3 Teaching each use with different duration of time There are four uses of the present perfect tense in English and it is an abstract tense for learners of second language Up to now, teacher cannot teach all of the uses at the same duration of time In order to teach this tense getting best results as well as easier, a comparison of the four uses should be given as follows: Uses Past Present Adverbs Duration Began in the Continue up to Since, for of state up past the present moment Indefinite Began at Leading up to Never, past unspecified the present ever, to the present time within a before, time already, period(may be once, completed or twice,… not) A completed or The result with yet Just, Resultative recently some present already, perfect completed importance yet action A completed The experience Ever, experiential action(not or knowledge never perfect recent) Table 3.3.1.3: A comparison of the four uses of the present perfect tense With a comparison of the four uses of the tense students will understand better, and avoid some errors that they usually commit in learning process 3.3.2 Suggestions for learning the present perfect tense In learning English, students partially depend on the teachers’ teaching methods In this part of the thesis, the researcher would like to give some suggestions for students In order to help them mastering the rules of English grammar in general and the uses of the present perfect tense in special The researcher hopes that the following suggestions would be partially contribute to the studying of students - Be aware the uses of the tense as well as the adverbs of each use, know what functions it has, and how it is used in different contexts - Practice a lot with different types of exercise on the tense such as multive choices, gap-fillings, translations, syntax completions, etc, and try to make an habit of using the present perfect tense naturally in real situations - Detail discussions about the similarities and differences between the uses of the present perfect tense in English and in Vietnamese - Share knowledge, experience, difficulties, etc, with partners and teachers 3.4 Suggestions for further research The investigation has not been carried out broadly and deeply because of the time limit and scope of the study The study has done only with two classes 11A and 11D at Hermann Gmeiner high school In order to ensure a higher validity of investigation as well as to help Vietnamese students to acquire good knowledge of the uses of the present perfect tense and good ability to use the tense The researcher would like to give suggestions for further study such as: An analysis of errors in using the present perfect tense with the participation of a greater number of students at different levels of English from different learning backgrounds With these suggestions, the researcher hopes that it will benefit for those who concern about teaching English in general and teaching the present perfect tense in special as well as who wish to carry on a research in this field PART III: CONCLUSION An investigation into errors of the use of the present perfect tense by the learners at the secondary school has shown that students at Hermann Gmeiner high school often confuse the present perfect tense with the past simple tense or the present tense, and also commit other types of errors on their productions The study is also a partial analysis of errors made by secondary school students in four main areas of the uses including: Duration of state up to the present (Use 1); Indefinite past (Use 2); Resultative past (Use3); Experiential perfect (Use 4) The study is carried out by investigating errors of students’ productions in order to know how the uses of the present perfect tense is used by secondary school students, how it is taught at secondary schools and then some suggestions are given to avoid errors committed in using these uses of this tense by the students From the study, which has proved that Vietnamese students at secondary school have a lot of difficulties in using the present perfect tense correctly By qualitative and quantitative methods, all of the errors collected have been classified into two types: Interlingual errors and Intralingual errors The causes of these errors also revealed that the causes of interlingual errors are mother tongue interference (Negative transfer) The causes of intralingual errors are over-generalization, incomplete application of rules, ignorance of rule restrictions and false concepts hypothesized Other noticeable cause that leads to commit errors is poor knowledge of the learners In order to limit the errors that the learners often commit, there are some suggestions, which have been raised for teaching the present perfect tense to Vietnamese learners Teaching based on contexts, this method will help students to discover the ways how to use the present perfect to express different meanings correctly A comparison of L1 and L2 grammar and each use with different duration of time should also be applied to teach English at secondary schools Besides, some suggestions for learning are also presented to students of English These suggestions have been given with a hope that the learners will get mastering in using this tense and avoid the errors that they commit in their English learning Finally, in order to ensure the validity of investigation, there are some suggestions for further research have also been raised With these suggestions, the writer hopes that it will be useful to people who wish to carry on research in this area and one who concern about this field of investigation REFERENCES Azar, B S (2004) Understanding and Using English Grammar Nhµ Xuât Tuổi Chomsky, N (1965) Aspect of the theory of Syntax Cambridge MA: M.I.T Press Doff, A (1988) Teach English A training Course for teacher Cambridge University Press Jacobs, R A (1995) English Syntax A Grammar for English language professionals Oxford University Press Jacobovits, L A (1969) A psycholinguistic Analysis of Second Language Learning and Bilingualism Illinois James, C (1980) Contrastive Analysis Longman Group Limited Hewing, M (1999) Advanced Grammar in Use Cambridge University Press Kathleen S and Kenji (1996) Teaching Grammar The international TESL Journal, Vol 2, No from the World Wide Web: http://iteslj.org/articles/kitao-Testing Grammar htlm Leech, G (1987) Meaning and the English Verb Longman Group Limited 10 Liz and Soars, J (1987) Headway Elementary Oxford University Press 11 Murphy, R (2005) English Grammar in Use A self-study reference and practice book for intermediate students of English Nhµ XuÊt Giáo Dục Thành Phố Hồ Chí Minh 12 Richards, J C (1992) Errors Analysis: Perspective on Second Language Acquisition Longman Group Limited 13 Swam, M (1992) Practical English Usage Oxford University Press 14 Spanda, N and Lightbown (2002) How Languages are Learned Oxford University Press 15 Thomson, A and Martinet, A (1986) A Practical English Grammar of English Oxford University Press 16 Quirk, R and Green Baum, S (1976) A University Grammar of English Longman Group Limited 17 Ngo Van Trong (2008) English Object – An analysis of errors made by high school students Vinh University 18 Nguyen Thi Van (2005) English coordinators: And, but, or as cohesive devices: An analysis of errors made by secondary students Graduation thesis.Vinh University 19.Tran Thi Anh Thi (2007) An error analysis of using reference in written English by secondary-school students Graduation thesis Vinh University 20 Diep Quang Ban (1992) Ngữ Pháp Tiếng Việt, tập 1+2 Nhà Xuất Giáo Dục 21 Hoang Van Hanh Et, al (2008) Tõ TiÕng ViƯt, Nhµ Xt Văn Hoá Sài Gòn 22 Nguyen Kim Than (1997) Ngữ Pháp Tiếng Việt Nhà Xuất Giáo Dục 23 Website: http://www.Google.com.vn 24 Website: http://en.wikipedia.org.vn 25 Website: http://iteslj.org/articles/kitao-Testing APPENDIX ENGLISH TEST Time allowed: 90 minutes Full name:…………………………………… Class:…………………………………… I Grammar: Put the verbs in the blankets in to the correct tense John (be) absent from class for nearly a week now On the way to school, I always (meet) people who (go) to work Terry (give) up playing football since he (break) his ankle That man who (walk) before my house, (be) my neighbor My mother (go) to Hanoi on business and she (not return) yet Can I borrow your bicycle for a day? My (break) down Look! A man (run) after the bus, he wants to catch it Natasa (be) in Vietnam many times She (say) Vietnam is a beautiful country You (hear) anything? I can hear nothing 10 I (see) you in Royal hotel last night No, it (not be) me I (never be) there 11 I (never read) an article as shocking as this before 12 They (just see) their friend off Answers: 1:…………… 2:…………./………… 3:……………/ …………… 4:……… /………… 5:………… /……… …… 6:………………… 7:…………… 9:………………… 8:……………./……………… 10:……… / … ……/… …… …… 11:…… ……… 12: ……………… II Vietnamese-English translation: Translate the following sentences into English Tôi đà đọc tiểu thuyết Vũ Phụng Bây đêm Có lẽ chúng đà ngủ Mình đà không gặp Lan từ năm 2005, nhớ cô Anh ta vừa với ngời bạn Khi ngồi quán thấy cô ta ngang qua Tôi không gặp Ba đà lâu Lần cuối gặp anh Hà Nội HÃy đến thăm bạn có thời gian rỗi Tôi phân vân trớc không thăm Bạn đà tng đến nớc Anh cha? 10 Họ đến thăm Việt Nam nhiều lần Hä cã thĨ nãi tiÕng ViƯt Nam …………………………………………………………………………………… 11 MĐ anh đà chuẩn bị xong bữa tra à? 12 Chúng đà gặp mẹ Nam vài lần råi …………………………………………………………………………………… III Syntax completion Write one sentence in English for what you or the person in the following situations say about, using the words in the blankets (H·y viÕt điều mà bạn ngời nói dựa vào tình dới đây, sử dụng từ ngc) Example: John was hit by car He cannot go to school by himself He says about his legs (Break) ………… I have broken my legs……………………………………………… A foreigner wants to go to Ho Chi Minh Square He does not know the way He meets you He asks (tell) …………………………………………………………………………………… You had a cell-phone last year Now, you still have it You say about owning this phone with the time of your ownership (have) …………………………………………………………………………………… Lan wants to ask you to go swimming, but she does not know if you can swim She asks you.(ever/swim) …………………………………………………………………………………… A guest buys a hat in your shop He asks you its price (cost) …………………………………………………………………………………… Kathi is your closest friend She left town and began living in Hue two years ago You say about her living with the duration of time in Hue (be) …………………………………………………………………………………… Your sister learned cooking when she was 20 years old Now, she cooks well She says about this (I/learn) …………………………………………………………………………………… It’s a nice day You want to go shopping, but you not have enough money You ask your mother for money (give) …………………………………………………………………………………… Your ankle is still bad because you had an accident yesterday You say about your ankle (I/injure) …………………………………………………………………………………… You have just written a letter Now, you want your brother to send your letter You say (help) …………………………………………………………………………………… 10 Minh finished his lunch five minutes ago When his father arrives at home, Minh tells about this (just/have) …………………………………………………………………………………… 11 Your friend tells you about his trip to countryside He asks you if you know there You answer (come/once) …………………………………………………………………………………… 12 Dung read the story “Chi Pheo” five years ago She still finds it is interesting now She talks to you (I/read) …………………………………………………………………………………… ... example: T«i giúp anh với điều kiện anh phải cố gắng …………………………………………………………………… …… (Nguyen Thi Van, 2005) Chó Nam lµ mét cảnh sát giỏi đến tất đồng nghiệp phải khâm phục (Tran Thi Anh Thi, 2007)... usage: (Resultative perfect) perfect aspect refers to a present state as the result of a past event (4) The current usage: Perfect aspect is used with predicates that refer to actions that are habitual... are: (1) Duration of state up to the present moment; (2) Indefinite past; (3) Resultative perfect; (4) Experiential perfect The first uses are the same to those of Azar, Thomas – Matinet, and Jacobs