Grammatical Errors in Students Speaking English: An Error Analysis on Indonesian Maritime Students

Abstract

The objectives of this research were: (1) to find out the grammatical errors commonly occur when students are speaking in English; and (2) to find out the pattern of errors made by the students when they are speaking in English. This research employed a quasi-experimental design. The sample consisted of 120 nautical students in the academic year 2015, classified by their TOEFL scores. The data on the students’ grammatical errors were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results of the research showed that: (1) students with above 400 TOEFL score were reasonably fluent in responding but still tend to make grammatical errors; (2) Errors in using simple past tense were mostly occurred when they were speaking or responding.