i

GRAMMATICAL ERRORS ON FACEBOOK POSTS

_______________________________

A Thesis Proposal
Presented to
The Faculty of COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
LAPU-LAPU CITY COLLEGE
Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines

_______________________________

In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
BACHELOR OF SECONDARY EDUCATION
MAJOR IN ENGLISH

____________________________

By

Aguilar, Jamiele
Carim, Alaysa
Cordon, Rexanne
De La Cruz, Zina Jane
Fidel, Joanna
Lucero, Jhane Errah
Pulgo, Hanz Uriel

May 22, 2021

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APPROVAL SHEET

This Design proposal entitled, “GRAMMATICAL ERRORS ON FACEBOOK

POSTS” prepared and submitted by Jamiele Aguilar, Alaysa Carim, Rexanne Cordon,
Zina Jane De La Cruz, Joanna Fidel, Jhane Errah Lucero, and Hanz Uriel Pulgo in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor in Secondary Education major
in English has been examined and is recommended for acceptance and approval for
Final Oral Defense.

RESEARCH ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Maria Noeleen M. Borbajo, Ed.D

Chairman

Ms. Vanessa Madelo, Ph.D. Ms. Carl Manila A. Pal

Adviser Member (Censor)

Ms. Eleonor E. Wagwag, M.A., J.D.

Member (Statistician)

PANEL OF EXAMINERS

Approved by the Committee on Oral Examination with a grade of __________.

Maria Noeleen M. Borbajo, Ed.D

Chairman

Ms. Vanessa Madelo, Ph.D. Ms. Carl Manila A. Pal

Adviser Member (Censor)

Ms. Eleonor E. Wagwag, M.A., J.D.

Member (Statistician)

ACCEPTED AND APPROVED in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

degree

Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSED)

MARIA NOELEEN M. BORBAJO, Ed. D

Dean, College of Education
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost, praises and thanks to God, the Almighty, for His

showers of blessing throughout my research work to complete the research

successfully.

It is a genuine pleasure to express my deep sense of gratitude to our

mentor, professor and guide Dr. Vanessa Madelo. Her dedication and keen

interest above all her overwhelming attitude to help us had been solely and mainly

responsible for completing our work. Her timely, scholarly advice, and meticulous

scrutiny have helped us to a very great extent to accomplish this study.

We owe a deep sense of gratitude to our panelists Ms. Carla Manila A. Pal,

Mrs. Eleonor Espinosa Wagwag and Dr. Ma. Noeleen Borbajo. Their dynamism,

vision, sincerity and motivation deeply inspired us. It was a great privilege and

honor to study under their guidance.

We would like to convey our heartiest thanks to Mr. James Liven B.

Amoro and Dr. Mary Jane Abadilla-Obispo who are the key persons in the

realization of this study. We researchers truly salute to their expertise surmounting

what seems to be an uphill task. Thank you for their time, suggestions and

encouragement. Allowing us to get the necessary information we need to make

this study possible.

Last but not the least, we are extremely grateful to our parents for their

love, prayers, support and sacrifices for educating and preparing us for our future.
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DEDICATION

This study is wholeheartedly dedicated to our beloved parents, who have

been our source of inspiration and gave us strength when we thought of giving,

who continually provide their moral, spiritual, emotional, and financial support.

To our brothers and sisters, relatives, mentor, friends, and classmates who

shared their words of advice and encouragement to finish this study.

Lastly, we dedicated this book to the Almighty God, thank you for the

guidance, strength, power of mind, protection and skills and for giving us a healthy

life. All of these. We offer to you.

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ABSTRACT

Research by Hopkins International Partners found that the English proficiency of

college graduates from the Philippines was lower than the English proficiency of high

school students in Thailand. It is well-established that writing skills in the study of a second

language can be defined as a means of measuring an individual's language proficiency.

Grammar as a major concern in writing skills is the most frequent error among students.

This study aims to identify and analyze the most common grammatical errors made by

first-year English major students at Lapu-Lapu City College found on their Facebook

posts. In this context, grammar errors refer to faulty usage which is divided into four

grammar errors such as omission, addition, formation, and order.

To answer the problem, a documentary analysis is used as the instrument. This

includes a review of the subjects' Facebook posts. The subjects were thirty-three (33)

English major students selected using purposive sampling. Data were analyzed using

Error Analysis which is developed by Pit Corder. The result showed that the total

grammatical error is 93. The error of Formation has the highest frequency of errors which

occurs 40 times followed by Omission which has a total of 35 errors, Addition with 14

errors, and lastly, Order with 4 errors. The sources of errors found on Facebook posts of

the students are absence of suffix -s or -es (noun), unneeded suffix -s or -es (verb), and

misuse of verbs which have a total of 10, 7, and 19 errors respectively.

These results suggest that the errors found in the students' Facebook posts

demonstrate that there is a need for grammatical improvement. On this basis, the students

still need to improve their understanding and mastery of grammatical rules by being more

conscious of the most challenging grammatical structures and raise their awareness of

them.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE i

ENDORSEMENT ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iii

DEDICATION vi

ABSTRACT v

TABLE OF CONTENTS vi

LIST OF TABLES viii

LIST OF FIGURES viii

CHAPTER PAGE

1 THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING 1

Rationale of the Study 1

Theoretical Background of the Study 4

Problem Statement 7

Significance of the Study 8

Scope and Limitation of the Study 9

Definition of Terms 10

2 REVIEW OF RELATED READINGS

Related Literature Reviewed 12

Related Studies Reviewed 20

3 LINGUISTIC RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Method Used 23

Environment of the Study 25

Subjects of the Study 26

Instrument of the Study 26

Data-gathering Procedures 26
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Data Analysis (Treatment of Data) 27

Statistical Treatment 28

4 PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS, AND INTERPRETATION

OF DATA 29

5 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION, AND

RECOMMENDATIONS 38

WORKS CITED 43

APPENDICES 45

Appendix A: Transmittal Letter 46

Appendix B: All of Students’ Facebook Posts 47

Appendix C: Sample Screenshot of Posts 60

CURRICULUM VITAE 61
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LIST OF TABLES

TABLE PAGE

1 Frequency of Each Type of Error 29

LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE PAGE

1 A Schematic Presentation of the

Theoretical Framework of the Study 5

2 Research process flow chart 24

3 Skeletal Map of Lapu-Lapu City College 25

4 The Source of Error in Omission 30

5 The Source of Error in Addition 32

6 The Source of Error in Formation 34

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CHAPTER 1

PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

Rationale

Grammar based on Philippine curriculum is considered as the most critical aspect

of language learning for second-language learners. In the Philippines, it is important for

learners to master the knowledge of grammar, as English has been commonly used as a

medium of instruction. Previous researchers cite that the most effective solution to

promoting learners' command of grammar in writing is to use student writing as a starting

point for the discussion of grammatical concepts.

According to Taher (2011), no matter how a teacher teaches grammar, one factor

must always be considered: the teacher must base his or her instruction on the knowledge

of the students. He asserted that analyzing students' writing to determine their grammatical

knowledge is critical for teachers to assist them in improving.

A research by Hopkins International Partners (2018) found that the level of English

proficiency of college graduates from the Philippines was lower than the target level of

English proficiency of high school students in Thailand. Jung (n.d.) claimed that writing

skills in the study of a second or foreign language can be defined as a means of

“measuring an individual's language proficiency.”

A college instructor who currently works at the College of Teacher Education of

Cebu Normal University concluded that grammar as a major concern in writing skills is the

most frequent error among students. However, competencies have not been thoroughly

mastered by the students. Others, however, are restricted only to those learned at school.

Even the ones taught are not fully applied in writing context (Sumalinog, 2018). As
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suggested by Chin (2000), a teacher who sees that many students are writing sentences

containing misplaced modifiers should offer a mini lesson on this concept, using examples

from student writing.

Writing is seen as a complex and daunting task for many students. Teachers

should concentrate on grammatical structures that are important for simple communication

of meaning. According to Corral (2017), teachers can use the grammar errors that students

make while learning grammar to help them create important materials for intervention and

reinforcement. Additionally, students should be able to investigate grammatical errors in

their own writing. Errors in the forms referring to Dulay, Burt and Krashen's Taxonomy are:

error of omission, error of inclusion, error of formation and error of order.

Learning a language cannot be isolated from making mistakes. Errors are seen

favorably during the second language learning process. It should be used as a way of

developing the abilities of learners, so they can learn anything from their errors. One type

of error that learners sometimes make, as described above, is grammatical error. These

mistakes can be found in student writings, such as writing their English status on their

Facebook account. Much of the Facebook activity is writing as an example of posting.

While Facebook is created by Americans, one of the top Facebook users is Filipino.

According to Statista (2019), the Philippines ranked sixth, with about 76 million

subscribers, topped the list with more than 100 million users each as of July 2020.

The popularity of Facebook as a writing medium has prompted the researcher to

identify the error in the writing of the first-year students of Bachelor of Secondary

Education Major in English at Lapu-Lapu City College, as these students have recently

graduated from various senior high schools with different writing skills in English. It is

necessary to identify and analyze the first-year students’ error in writing or posting for them
 3

to be aware of their typical types of grammatical errors and for teachers to know the errors

committed by students so that approaches to minimize them can be used. While writing

could also be used in essay test, short-answer response and the like, the researcher chose

Facebook as a means of recognizing students' grammatical error for a variety of reasons:

1) because it is the most common social network used by Filipinos; 2) because it is very

easy to reach to post content, thoughts and ideas; 3) because it captures spontaneous

postings or writings without students being aware of their own errors.

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Theoretical Framework

Theory of Error is part of Surface Strategy Taxonomy in the error categories of

Dulay, Burt, and Krashen. It is concerned with identifying cognitive processes that underlie

the learners' reconstruction of a second language. This also gives consideration that

students’ errors are not the result of laziness or sloppy thinking but is based on some logic

as the use of learners' use of interim principles to produce and acknowledge second

language acquisition. In addition, it reveals that learners' errors are not only because of

their native language but they reflect some universal strategies. It has four types of errors:

Error of Omission, Error of Addition, Error of Formation, and Error of Order.

The schematic diagram below shows the conceptual framework of the study titled

“Facebook Posts: An Analysis on English Grammatical Errors.”

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Theory of Error
(Dulay et al. 1982)

Error of Error of
Error of addition Error of formation
omission order

Students’ Facebook posts

Learners’ Packet:

Verb Tenses and Number

Figure 1: Schematic Diagram of the Theoretical Framework

The theory applied in categorizing the types of grammar error is that of Dulay et al.

(1982). They are as follows:

Errors of omission. According to Dulay et al. (1982, as cited in Novita, 2018),

omission happens when the learner has left a word out. The following sentence is one of

the examples: "She eat apple".

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Error of addition. As stated by Dulay et al. (1982, as cited in Novita, 2018), an

addition happens when the learner adds a word that is grammatically incorrect. The

following sentence is one of the examples: “He didn’t to come."

Error of formation. As characterized by Dulay et al. (1982, as cited in Novita,

2018), error of formation happens when the learner uses the wrong form of a morpheme

or structure. Specifically, when they use the wrong preposition in a sentence. The following

sentence is one of the examples: “She is so confidence”.

Error of order. Dulay et al. (1982, as cited in Novita, 2018) suggested that an error

of order occurs when a learner incorrectly places a morpheme in a grammatical

construction. One of the examples is as follows: "She fights all the time her brother"

Analyzing errors need a particular classification. According to Dulay et al. (1982),

there are four categories of classification in the theory of errors, i.e., error of addition, error

of omission, error of formation, and error of order. This is a preferred way to know the

types of errors the students make in their Facebook posts as well as leading them to

unlock the factors beyond those errors. Referring to the results of the study, it is suggested

to create a course packet as an output for the teachers' grammar instruction and learners'

grammar knowledge.
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Statement of the Problem

This study identified and analyzed the most common grammatical errors of

students’ Facebook posts. This was conducted among the first-year students of the

Bachelor of Secondary Education Major in English for the academic year 2020-2021.

Specifically, this study attempted to answer the following questions:

1. What are the frequency of grammatical errors made by first-year English major

students on their Facebook posts taken as an entire group and classified according

to:

1.1. error of omission;

1.2. error of addition;

1.3 error of formation; and

1.4 error of order?

2. What are the sources of errors made by first-year English major students on their

Facebook posts?

3. What course packet can be designed based on the findings?

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Significance of the Study

Whatever approaches a teacher uses to teach grammar, one aspect must always

be considered: the instruction must be based on the students' grammar knowledge. Thus,

researchers are prompted to investigate students’ grammatical knowledge through

identifying and analyzing English grammatical errors.

The findings of the study are beneficial to the following:

Students. The second language learners will become more aware of the grammar

errors in their Facebook posts. Specifically, it will help them to practice avoiding similar

errors. Moreover, it will contribute some insights into their committed grammar errors,

which may encourage them to practice correct grammar use.

Teachers. Teachers will use the findings of this study to determine what

grammatical difficulties their students face, to alter their teaching methods, to align their

instruction to their students' grammar knowledge, and to offer general guidance on which

grammar points to emphasize in their English grammar instruction.

Future researchers. Language researchers will be able to use this study as a

basis for their future studies. Specifically, they could aim to figure out if there would be an

improvement in the participant's grammar in the coming years when the result has been

given and applied by the beneficiaries.

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Scope and Limitation of the Study

This study uses mixed methods research design for understanding and interpreting

the grammar errors. The first-year with the thirty-six (36) English major students of Lapu-

Lapu City College will be the subject of the study located at Carajay, Gun-ob Lapu-Lapu

City. They are selected using the purposive sampling technique.

There is no concrete instrument to use since the data are found on the Facebook

posts of those who volunteered which will be analyzed using Error Analysis of Corder

(1981). According to Al-Khresheh (2016), “error analysis can provide a good methodology

for investigating learner’s second language errors because it plays a fundamental role in

investigating, analyzing, and categorizing errors made by learners.”

To get the data, the researchers will choose one or more sentences from the

Facebook posts of every students starting from 2018 to present. This indicated that

comments, my day posts, chats, and shared posts were not included in the research.

Thus, it only analyzes the students ' Facebook posts that are written entirely in English,

without the use of Cebuano, Filipino, or other languages.

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Definition of Terms

Error is defined as a deviation from or violation of a standard. The standard itself

refers to grammar rules, which are described as standard English by many experts. Only

grammar errors were examined in this study, and they were found in Facebook posts.

Since meanings of which are not certain, grammar errors and mistakes are not

distinguished. According to Ellis (1997), it may not be possible to distinguish between an

error and a mistake clearly.

Grammar is a set of structural rules governing the English language. Two

sentences below are examples of what is meant by a sentence that follows the rules and

a sentence that does not.

[1] [2]
I buy a book I buy a books.

The sentence [1] is considered to be grammatically correct since it follows the

rules, while the sentence [2] is not. It can be analyzed using either the suffix -s or the

determiner a in those sentences. In sentence [2], if adding suffix -s after a noun implies

plurality, then adding determiner a would not be appropriate since it can only be paired

with a singular noun.

Grammar error is a term used in prescriptive grammar to describe instances of

faulty, unconventional or controversial usage. If a grammatically correct sentence follows

the set of rules or principles in the language, then it is not considered ungrammatical. As

mentioned in sentence two of the preceding subsection, this is considered to be a

grammar error since it does not follow the rules.

Source of Errors is the classification of error based on error of omission, addition,

formation, and order. One example below is an example of source of error.

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[1]
I Absence of Suffix –s or –es [2]
I Unneeded presence of suffix –s or -es

[3]
I Misuse of verb

The numbers one, two, and three are examples of classification of error in error of

omission, addition, and formation respectively. Error belonging to order is not classified

unlike other types of error.

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CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Related Literature

Descriptive and Prescriptive Grammar

Linguists, anthropologists, ethnographers, psychologists, and other researchers

who seek to identify how the grammar of a language is actually used in various contexts

and for various purposes typically study descriptive grammar. The goal of a descriptive

grammar study is not to determine what constitutes good or bad language, correct or

incorrect structures, or grammatical or ungrammatical forms. In this light, sentences such

as Him and me, we are neighbors or I don't know nothing simply reflect how the language

is used by its speakers. A descriptive grammar, in anthropological terms, attempts to

formulate syntactic rules based on how a language is actually used for communication,

rather than what these rules should be.

Descriptive grammars are usually based on native speakers' grammaticality

judgments or language usage. This factor alone lends itself to the criticism that descriptive

grammarians must first establish who qualifies or does not qualify to make grammaticality

judgments in order to determine what constitutes grammatical versus ungrammatical

constructions. Furthermore, standard and prescriptive grammars are almost always used

as a starting point for grammar descriptions. Despite descriptive grammarians' claims that

all varieties are equal and equally valid, variations in grammar constructions are typically

examined as deviations from the standard. As a result, because explanatory grammars

must have some social and linguistic validity, much of what grammar descriptions actually

accomplish is rooted in grammar rules and structural grammar, at least to some extent
 13

(Cook, 2003). On the other hand, a prescriptive grammar specifies how a language should

be used and what grammar rules should be followed. A prescriptivist approach to

language implies a distinction between "good grammar" and "bad grammar," with the

emphasis on standard grammar and syntactic constructions. A prescriptivist approach to

grammar often encompasses many ideas, opinions, and judgments about how and when

grammar rules should be used among native speakers of practically any language. Thus,

for example, the sentence Him and me, we are neighbors would be considered

ungrammatical because it violates at least two grammar rules: (1) object forms of

pronouns "him and me" should not be used in the sentence-initial or subject-noun position,

and (2) only one noun or noun phrase can play the role of the sentence subject, and in

this case, "we" (Greenbaum, 1996). Prescriptive grammars can be thought of as guiding

principles of language style and standard usage that have become socially accepted as

communication norms (Hinkel, 2004). Prescriptive grammars are widely used in schooling,

teaching, testing, and assessment, as well as publishing and editing. The use of

prescriptive grammars is closely linked to social and value judgments, which can reflect a

speaker's or writer's social status, educational levels, professional aspirations, and social

and economic mobility opportunities. To put it another way, prescriptive grammars serve

as social class and status indicators, as well as gatekeepers for standardized and

language tests. Non-standard forms are rarely heard in university lectures or found in

conference papers, as Richard Hudson once stated in one of his lectures. That is, there

is a strong link between the use of standard prescriptive grammar and higher education.

A lack of adherence to prescriptive grammar can – and frequently does – have social

consequences that are typically social or opinion-based, similar to the use of good

manners or etiquette (Hinkel, 2003). In language teaching, both prescriptive and

descriptive grammars have an important role to play. Realistically speaking, to be

rounded, effective, and practical, grammar teaching has to address both the prescribed
 14

rules of syntactic constructions to enable learners to succeed in education, employment,

or other civic contexts where formal uses of prescriptive grammars are often preferred (if

not required). In teaching English as a Foreign Language and outside English-speaking

contexts, the knowledge of grammar prescriptions is one of the top requirements in the

grammar-translation method of instruction. While many teachers trained in the

communicative teaching method have largely abandoned grammar instruction, teaching

English as a Foreign Language has remained dominant in many parts of the world.

Prescriptive grammars have dominated in such situations and are likely to continue to do

so. Grammar rules are important in developing learners' receptive skills in addition to

productive uses of language. Because virtually all academic reading is based on

prescriptive grammars and formal language, it may be difficult for many learners to

become proficient and fluent readers without a thorough understanding of standard

grammar rules. Learning to comprehend and analyze formal texts based on prescriptive

grammar rules is critical for developing effective reading skills in any type of schooling or

education, from stories, novels, and poetry to biology and economics textbooks.

Most linguists or language hobbyists are likely to be descriptive grammarians who

analyze and explain a language's uses, whereas most practicing teachers are likely to use

prescriptive grammars (Andrews, 2006). Knowing and applying prescriptive grammar

rules allows language learners to function and succeed in a wide range of situations, as

well as produce constructions that are widely accepted as the standard by most speakers

of the language. For learners of English, for example, using standard and prescriptive

grammar – rather than non-standard and conversational grammars – can open many

educational, professional, and social doors. As mentioned earlier, non-standard and

conversational grammar uses are often looked at judgmentally and prejudicially, linguistic
 15

reasons for such judgments notwithstanding. The rules of prescriptive grammar can

certainly be optional if and when language users know what they are.

Second Language Acquisition

Second Language Acquisition (SLA) is the term used to describe the process of

acquiring a language that is not your native tongue. While it is referred to as the acquisition

of a second language, it is also used to describe the acquisition of a third or fourth

language. There are generally two different categories in second language acquisition.

These are formal learning or instructed learning and informal learning or naturalistic

learning respectively. Formal learning is often practiced in classrooms with the aim of

teaching a second language and explicit language instructions. Informal learning, on the

other hand, takes place under more free and natural circumstances. To contextualize,

when someone visits another country and picks up new words and phrases from people

around him or her (Barto, 2006). Informal learning is frequently defined as focusing on

communicative ability, while formal learning is frequently described as focusing on some

part of the language system (Ellis, 1994, as cited in Anadulo University, 2009). However,

one cannot rule out the other since second language learning will take place in both formal

and informal environments.

The aim of SLA researchers is to identify learners' linguistic or communicative

competence and then to explain how and by what means they acquire and improve a

second language. Researchers must analyze learners' knowledge by gathering and

evaluating data in order to achieve these two goals.

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SLA research has evolved significantly over time. Researchers in early years of

SLA research focused on using Corder's Error Analysis to analyze learner errors. Despite

the fact that SLA research has developed, many researchers still regard Corder as the

founding father of the said discipline, and many continue to use his method to study

learners' SLA (Pica, 2005).

There are differing views as to whether SLA research will provide teachers with

valuable knowledge about how to teach a second language or not. Some scholars argue

against SLA research and assert that it does not provide teachers with knowledge on what

to teach, but rather acts as a guide on how to teach (Ellis, 1997, as cited in Taher, 2011).

Nonetheless, SLA research is important since it shows how learners acquire a second

language. Some L2 learners learn more quickly than others, but it is still worth looking into

SLA to see what methods can be used to make L2 learning more effective and efficient.

As claimed by Taher (2011) that investigating students’ grammatical knowledge

through “analyzing their writing is of great importance in order to help them improve” (p.

3). He asserts that if teachers are able to know what grammatical difficulties their students

have, they can change their way of teaching and adjust their teaching to their students’

knowledge.

Approaches to grammar teaching

As previously mentioned, there are two approaches to grammar instruction and

how it should be delivered. The first one is known as the form-focused approach which

consists of simple grammar instructions and the second is known as the Zero option which

favors untutored grammar acquisition. SLA researchers who advocate the Zero option
 17

oppose the concept of teaching grammar alone, arguing that second language learners

learn more grammar when they are involved in practices that do not cause them to worry

about their grammatical structures. The key point of many of the researchers is that we all

learned our first language without any formal grammar instruction and only by using it in

natural situations (Thornburry, 1999, as cited in Taher, n.d.). As a consequence, there is

no need for second language learners to undergo grammar instruction because they can

quickly learn it through real-life communication.

In contrast to proponents of the Zero option, some researchers claim that in order

to achieve a higher degree of grammatical knowledge and the ability to generate complex

grammatical constructions, second language learners must first obtain a more

comprehensive grammar introduction (Pinto, 1999). This implies that they assume L2

learners would be unable to use complex grammatical constructions unless they first

master the basics. As a consequence, grammar instruction is important for the

development of L2 learners.

Both methods have benefits and drawbacks. Several studies, however, have

shown that instructed learners who receive more form-focused grammar instruction obtain

better results and advance faster than those who do not receive the same grammatical

instructions. As a result, one can infer that grammar instruction is important for L2

acquisition. However, in order for grammar instruction to be successful, the teacher must

first understand which grammar points to emphasize and how to teach them to his or her

students. According to Ellis (2006, as cited in Taher, n.d.), consider the students' prior

knowledge and the most common errors when deciding which grammatical instructions to

teach. As a consequence, using error analysis to identify and analyze first-year students'

most common errors is crucial in helping them improve their English and achieve a higher

level of grammatical knowledge.

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Second language learner’s grammar knowledge

There is a lot of research on SLA because it is something that many second

language teachers are interested in. The majority of SLA research has concentrated on

English second language learners, which is understandable considering that English is

widely considered to be the lingua franca of the world and is the standard language in a

wide variety of fields, including computer coding, international business, and higher

education (Parupalli, 2019). Corder, who was included above as one of the founding

fathers of SLA, and Ellis, who has written several studies on SLA and was also mentioned

above, are two of the researchers. Majority of their studies concentrate on L2 learners'

general English knowledge rather than their grammatical knowledge. However, we found

one useful study written by Corral (2017) on a specific topic such as Filipino students'

English grammatical knowledge. By analyzing the students' written output, she analyzes

and focuses on English grammatical errors in Grade 8 sections of Sorsogon National High

School. Her aim is to identify the errors made by the students and explain why they

occurred. Her research also aims to explore various forms of pedagogical implications that

future English grammar teachers might use in their classrooms. She describes and

explains her findings using Error Analysis. The information for her study was obtained

from the students' Facebook posts and comments. The findings indicate that the most

common errors students make in terms of word class are related to verb tense, subject-

verb agreement, and the use of prepositions, all of which are known as errors of formation.

Furthermore, she found factors that contributed to the errors. Overgeneralization was one

of the most common factors. She concluded that students are susceptible to

overgeneralization as they attempt to generate the language. The value of providing useful

input to the students in order for them to improve in their learning is crucial. Giving

feedback, on the other hand, is not easy, and it is a contentious topic among educational
 19

researchers, with many believing that it can harm and deter students rather than

encourage them. According to Kohlmyr (2003, as cited in Anderson, 2011), continuously

correcting students' texts would make them more cautious and discourage them from

using more complex grammatical structures, obstructing their learning progress. He added

that continuously correcting students' grammatical errors results in little language

development. Instead of merely correcting mistakes, it is suggested that teachers make

students more conscious of the most challenging grammatical structures and raise their

awareness of them. In this way, teachers raise students' awareness without destroying

their confidence, and even if they do not instantly master the grammar point that was

taught, they will most definitely master it later on.

According to Carrol (2017), grammar instructions, feedback, and understanding

are all important for successful L2 learning. She added that knowing students’ common

errors serve as a basis in crafting of significant materials for intervention or reinforcement.

The most important thing is to understand how and when to do things. Understanding

how and when to provide feedback can be extremely beneficial to L2 learners'

development.
 20

Related Studies

Grammar Errors

Taher (2017) revealed that the most prevalent grammatical errors in Swedish

junior high school students' written output was an error of formation based on his

study. This may be because the majority of the errors concerned verb tense with students

substituting one form of a verb for another. It is difficult to say what causes students to

make this type of error, but one explanation is that they have not yet mastered the use of

various tenses, which contributes to these kinds of error. What should be noted, though,

is that although the analysis finds few grammar errors on error of order, this does not imply

that the students have mastered these grammatical structures. According to Ellis and

Barkhuizen (2005), Error Analysis only shows what students do wrongly, not what they do

correctly.

According to Puspari et al. (n.d.) in their study titled “Grammatical Error Made by

Facebook Users,” the most frequent grammatical errors made by Indonesian students

were errors in forming the correct formulation of the sentence. The students were unsure

whether to use the present or past form of the verb and whether to use the plural or

singular form of the subject or pronoun. They stated that the potential error was caused

by the students' first language, Bahasa Indonesia, which differs from English in grammar,

especially in the use of tenses. For instance, “I did not know before” in English language

will be translated in Indonesian language as “sayatidaktahusebelumnya”. The sentence

was in the past tense of English grammar, so the pronoun should be in the past form.

However, the student made the sentence "I do not know before" in his or her Facebook

posts.
 21

According to Novita (2018), even though students learned English grammar in

many series of grammar classes and exercised their writing skills in writing courses, their

written work was still filled with grammar errors. He indicated that students need to learn

and master the grammar at a deeper level. Improved teaching and learning strategies,

whether performed separately or jointly, is one of the keys to solve the problem. Teachers

should not only modify their teaching strategies, but they should also focus on materials

that are difficult for students to understand. For example, since the results show that the

most prevalent error of omission in students' writings is the absence of articles, teachers

should emphasize this subject in their grammar lesson. Students can be unaware that a

single article may make a significant difference in identifying nouns; therefore, they need

a deeper understanding of the problem. As a result, the right language learning strategy

and the most effective teaching technique must be used in class.

Grammar

Noun. Noun is one of the parts of speech that identifies a person, a place or a

thing, such as dog. A regular plural noun is formed by adding the suffix –s, -es or –ies, as

in pencils, foxes, and ladies. The absence of required suffix -s or -es has the biggest

contribution to the errors belonging to omission

Verbs. Verbs are the action words in a sentence that describe what the subject is

doing. Along with nouns, verbs are the main part of a sentence or phrase, telling a story

about what is taking place. In fact, without a verb, full thoughts cannot be properly

conveyed, and even the simplest sentences.

 22

Subject-Verb Agreement. Subject-Verb Agreement means that subjects and

verbs must always agree in number. Not only does a verb change its form to tell time, but

it also can change its form to indicate how many subjects it has. For example, take the

verb “run.” When we are in the present tense, the verb “run” changes form to show that

its subject is singular when its subject is anything but “I” or “you.”
 23

CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This study used both qualitative and quantitative methods, as well as a

combination of primary and secondary sources, to address the research problems. The

quantitative data analysis and results were supported by qualitative data. This chapter

presented the research design, research environment, research respondents, research

instrument, research procedure, and data gathering procedure.

Research Method Used

Descriptive research designs were used in this study. First, a descriptive

qualitative method was used to collect data, with Facebook posts acting as the instrument.

According to Sugiyono (2014) that descriptive qualitative method was the effort to

observe, notify, analyze, and interpret the condition happening. This study adopted a

descriptive qualitative method for analyzing grammatical error based on the student's

Facebook posts. Second, the descriptive quantitative method, which is a systematic

process in which numerical data are controlled and calculated to resolve the accumulation

of evidence and then used to obtain information (Nunan, 2001). As a consequence, this

study was designed to allow the researcher to collect and analyze data from first-year

student Facebook posts.

The overall design and flow process were depicted on the following page.
 24

Figure 2: Research method and processes

 25

Environment of the Study

The social networking site particularly Facebook was where the sources of data

will be accumulated. The researchers selected the first year English major Facebook

users of Lapu-Lapu City College (LLCC) who have posted statuses using English

language. The college is located in Carajay, Gun-ob, Lapu-Lapu City. It has three colleges

such as College of Education, College of Technology and College of Hospitality and

Tourism Management. The courses offered are Bachelor of Science in Industrial

Technology, Bachelor of Secondary Education, Bachelor of Elementary Education, and

Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management and Bachelor of Science in Tourism

Management. LLCC currently has a total student population of 1,186 of which 411 are

from the College of Education which is the target population. The total number of first year

enrollees in BSEd English is 33. Cebuano-Visayan is the dominant language of the said

college.

Figure 3: The Skeletal Map of LLCC

 26

Subjects of the Study

Thirty-three (33) first-year Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSEd) students

majoring in English were the study's informants. The researchers used a non-probability

sampling method called purposive sampling. The researchers asked the students who

volunteered to confirm the researcher's Facebook request to collect their Facebook posts.

The respondents were selected based on the following criteria: (1) they must be first-year

students; and (2) they must be English majors.

Instrument of the Study

Documentary analysis was used as the instrument. This included a review of the

target informants' Facebook posts. The researchers were able to determine the types and

frequency of grammar errors produced by first-year students using their Facebook posts.

Furthermore, the researchers were able to determine the implications of the identified and

analyzed Facebook writing errors on the teaching and learning of the target language as

a result of this instrument.

Data-gathering Process

To collect the data, the researchers first obtained permission from the

administrator of the College of Education at Lapu-Lapu City College to conduct the study

with first-year English major students as their informants. Second, the researchers

created a group chat in which the thirty-six (36) first-year students were invited. Third, the

researchers introduced themselves, described their purpose, and ensured that the
 27

informants' permission was obtained prior to using their data for study. During data

gathering, each researcher had a specific task, which was to screenshot the posts, rewrite

and arrange them according to the assigned students' code, put them in a tabular format

and placed them in a word document. After data gathering, an error analysis method was

used which has four stages: identification of error, description of error, explanation of

error, and evaluation of error. The result was presented using the PowerPoint

presentation. The proposal hearing took place in the third or fourth week of March 2021.

Data Analysis

As mentioned earlier, this study applied the stages of error analysis suggested by

Ellis and Barkhuizen (2005). In identifying errors, the free version of Grammarly was used.

Grammarly's free version is an open-access browser. It is accessible with restricted

features, however, aligned with the needs of this study, which was to find grammatical

errors. Despite its limitations, the free version of Grammarly was selected because it

outperformed Microsoft Word grammar checkers. Grammarly, in fact, highlighted

particular mistakes. Furthermore, it was convenient to use. To operate, Grammarly was

installed on a laptop in order to perform. It necessitated the use of Microsoft Word

Document files. The browser with which it was installed could then be used to open it. The

button appeared in the bar of the browser where it was placed after it has been installed.

After checking the button, it was required to select the Grammarly for Chrome option to

open a new tab. The document was then uploaded to Grammarly one by one. It was later

determined whether or not the document contains any grammatical errors. If it does, it will

show the errors along with a brief explanation of each error, as well as word suggestions

to replace the errors. Since the free edition of Grammarly has minimal features, the writer's
 28

linguistic abilities were used to double-check the Grammarly-confirmed errors as well as

any errors that could not have been found, such as the misuse of definite or indefinite

articles. The errors was confirmed by other source, including grammatical rules theory. To

prevent bias and maintain objectivity, all of the results were validated by one of our English

subject teachers after they are analyzed.

Statistical Treatment

The researchers use the following formula to answer one of the problems of the

study.

Formula:
𝑛
P = ∑ x 100%
𝑁

Where:

P = percentage of each error

n = total of the given error or frequency

N = total of whole errors

 29

CHAPTER 4

PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

This chapter deals with the presentation, analysis and interpretation of data which

answer the corresponding problem raised in this study. The results are presented in a

tabular form.

Frequency of Grammatical Error of First Year Students

Table 1.1 shows how frequent a certain grammatical error occurs on the Facebook

posts of the English major students. The researchers selected any number of lines from

each target subject. The highest number of errors would determine the most common

grammatical error.

Table 1. Frequency of Each Type of Error

No. TYPE OF ERROR FREQUENCY (n) PERCENTAGE

1 Error of Omission 35 38 %

2 Error of Addition 14 15 %

3 Error of Formation 40 43 %

4 Error of Order 4 4%

TOTAL 93 100%

1.1.) Error of Omission and Its Source of Errors

Based on the research findings, omission is the type of grammatical error that

comes in second place among the others. There were 35 (38%) found on the students’

Facebook posts. The bar graph below presents the classification of errors in omission.
 30

Error of Omission
Absence of Suffix -s/es (noun)
Absence of Verb
Absence of Suffix -s/es (verb)
Absence of Suffix -d/ed
Absence of Apostrophe
Absence of Article
Absence of Preposition
Absence of Subjective…
Absence of Relative Pronoun
0 2 4 6 8 10 12

Figure 4 The Sources of Errors in Omission

Omission is the second most common occurrence in student Facebook posts in

the year 2018-2021. The absence of the suffix -s or es (noun) is the most common source

of errors in omission, accounting for 10 of the total 35 errors, see Appendix B.1. The

samples of errors discussed below is the absence of the suffix -s or es (noun).

1.1.1) Absence of Suffix -s or es (noun)

The absence of required suffix -s or -es is the source of error belonging to

omission. It occurred 10 times in the Facebook posts out of 35 errors. Here are

three samples of the errors taken from the research findings.

Fb Post # 31.1: They are one of the reason* why I graduated.

Fb Post # 10.2: Snapchat and Instagram filter* always saves me for*
being ugly.
Fb Post # 14.1: One of my favorite*.

Those are three samples of the absence of suffix -s or es (noun) found in

the Facebook posts of English major students. As explained in Chapter 2, nouns

have singular and plural forms. A regular noun is formed by adding -s or -es. All
 31

of the sentences above lack the suffix s- or -es. First, in Fb Post # 31.1, the

sentence requires -s since the word reason is countable and the speaker has one

reason out of two or more reasons. Second, in Fb Post # 10.2, the noun filter

should be added with -s since conjunction “and” were used in the sentence. Lastly,

similar to Fb Post # 31.1, Fb Post # 14.1 also lacks suffix -s. It is incorrect to say

that person has one favorite out of one favorite. It would require an -s to logically

represent that there exist one out of many.

This denotes that English language teachers should use the students’

grammar knowledge on singularity and plurality of regular nouns specifically when

to add suffix -s or -es.

According to Corral (2017), grammar knowledge allows teachers to use

various forms of pedagogical implications that English teachers might apply in their

classrooms. Kohlmyr (2003) also claimed that teachers should make students

more conscious of the most challenging grammatical structures and raise their

awareness of them. In this case, these include the absence of suffix -s and -es

(noun) which belongs to Error of Omission as already explained above.

It is affirmed by Theory of Grammar Error by Dulay et al. that error of

omission occurs when the learner has left a word out. It is difficult to say what

causes students to make this type of error, but one explanation is that they have

not yet mastered the grammar, which contributes to these kinds of error.
 32

1.2.) Error of Addition and Its Source of Errors

Addition was ranked third in terms of the number of errors found on Facebook

posts made by students. There are a total of 14 errors associated with addition. Addition

is the presence of a form that is not supposed to appear in a well-formed sentence. The

following chart displays the sources of errors as well as the frequency of the errors.

Error of Addition
Unneeded Suffix -s / es (verb)
Unneeded Suffix -d / ed
Unneeded Suffix -s / es (noun)
Unneeded Apostrophe ' / 's
Unneeded Preposition
Unneeded Verb (modal)
Unneeded Article
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Figure 5 The Sources of Errors in Addition

The source of error in terms of addition found on the students Facebook posts is

the unneeded presence of suffix -s or -es (verb), which occurred 7 times. While one of the

least frequent sources of errors is the unneeded verb (modal), which occurred only once.

Addition is the third most common error in student Facebook posts in the year

2018-2021. From the total 14 errors, the most frequent source of error found in addition is

the presence of suffix -s or es (verb) that occurred 7 times while one of least frequent

sources of errors is the unneeded verb (modal) that occurred only once. To discover more
 33

about errors of addition found in Facebook posts, see Appendix B.2. The following

subsection discusses unneeded suffix -s and -es (verb).

1.2.1) Unneeded Suffix -s / es (verb)

This category includes the presence of suffix -s or -es that were unnecessary

in the students' writing which appeared 7 times in the Facebook posts. As explained

in Chapter 2, the subject should agree with the verb. It is necessary to identify whether

the subject or the verb is singular or plural. Here are some samples of unneeded suffix

-s or -es (verb) taken from the research results.

Fb Post # 6.4: Those challenging times makes me a better person.

Fb Post # 17.2: Relatives only accepts* you when you're successful.

Fb Post # 24.3: They always helps the people who’s in need.

Those are three examples of unneeded suffix -s or -es (verb) found in the

Facebook posts. All of the sentences consist of unneeded suffix -s or -es. The suffix

must be used by identifying first whether the subject is singular or plural. In Fb Post #

6.4., the subject is plural which means the verb must also be plural. Similar to Fb Post

# 6.4, both Fb Post # 17.2 and Fb Post # 24.3 do not require the addition of -s because

relatives and they are both plural in which verbs must agree. The plural of verb does

not end with -s. However, the sample above uses accepts instead of accept or helps

instead of help, making the sentence incorrect.

This implied that English language teachers should use the students’ grammar

knowledge on singularity and plurality of verbs specifically when not to add suffix -s or

-es.
 34

Taher (2011) stated that if teachers know what grammatical difficulties of their

students have, they can change their way of teaching and adjust their teaching to students’

knowledge. In this case, these grammar difficulties include the unneeded suffix -s and -

es (verb) as already explained above.

As stated by Dulay et. al in the Theory of Errors, this type of error is characterized

by the presence of an item, which must not appear in a well-formed utterance. It means

that learners not only omit elements, which they regard as redundant, but they also add

redundant elements. It is difficult to say what causes students to make this type of error,

but one explanation is that they have not yet mastered the subject and verb agreement,

which contributes to these kinds of error.

1.3.) Error of Formation and Its Source of Errors

Based on the research findings, formation is a type of error that occurred more

frequently compared to other types. The error of formation which is ranked first occurred

40 times. The following graph shows the classification or sources of error found in the

Facebook posts of English major students from 2018- 2021.

Error of Formation
Misuse of Verb
Misuse of Preposition
Misuse of Contraction
Misuse of Article
Misuse of Demonstrative…
Misuse of Personal Pronoun
Misuse of Relative Pronoun
Word choice Error
0 5 10 15 20

Figure 6 The Sources of Errors in Formation

 35

From the total 40 errors, the most frequent sources of error occurred in error of

formation is the misuse of verbs which occurred 19 times. In contrast, the least frequent

source of errors in this category are many. It includes demonstrative, personal and relative

pronouns, and word choice error. To discover more information about error of formation,

see Appendix B.3. In the discussion below, the samples of errors are those of the misuse

of verb.

2.3.1.) Misuse of verb

The misuse of verbs occurred 18 times out of 35 errors of formation in the

Facebook posts. As explained in Chapter 2, the subject is who or what a sentence is

about. Verb is the action in the sentence. The subject and verb must agree in number

to make the sentence grammatical. The following three samples were taken from the

research findings.

Fb Post # 24.4: Our leader don’t* deserve this cruelty and barbaric act.
Fb Post # 7.1: The* sad person always have* a beautiful smile.
Fb Post # 27.2: Regrets has* no excuses.

Those are three samples of the error of formation found in the Facebook posts

of English major students. First, in Fb Post # 24.4, the subject of the sentence is the

leader, not the cruelty and barbaric act. Thus, the verb don’t must be changed into

doesn’t to agree with the subject. Another misuse of verb related to subject-verb

agreement was found in Fb Post 7.1. The student failed to use the correct singular

verb. One of the rules of subject-verb agreement is that if the noun is singular, then

the writer should add an s to the verb at the end. The verb have must be changed into

has to agree with the subject. Lastly, the writer of Fb Post # 27.2 failed to agree with

the verb of the subject. The word has is not matched with regrets since the former is

singular and the latter is plural.

 36

This implied that English language teachers should use the students’ grammar

knowledge on subject and verb agreement. It is important to make the students more

aware of their errors and emphasize that subject and verb must agree in number to

make the sentence grammatical.

In order for grammar instruction to be successful, the teacher must first know

that these grammar points are one of the students’ weaknesses which should be given

more emphasis. According to Ellis (2006, as cited in Taher, n.d.), consider the

students’ prior knowledge and the most common errors when deciding which

grammatical instruction to teach. In this case, these include the misuse of verb as

already discussed above.

As specified by Dulay et. al in the Theory of Errors, this is a kind of error when the

morpheme or structure is incorrectly used. It is characterized by the use of the wrong form

of the morpheme or structure. The findings affirm the research of Taher which revealed

that the most prevalent grammatical errors were an error of formation. This may be

because the majority of the errors concerned verb tense with students substituting one

form of a verb for another. It is difficult to say what causes students to make this type of

error, but one explanation is that they have not yet mastered the use of various tenses,

which contributes to these kinds of error.

1.4.) Error of Order

Unlike other types of errors, the error belonging to order is not classified into certain

sources of error. The error of order occurred four times or as much as 4 % of the whole

93 errors. Compared to other types, it was the least frequent type of error that occurred

on Facebook posts. Here are three samples of the error of order.

 37

Fb Post # 19.1: It is not always how much money you spent, but how
much thought you put it into*.
Fb Post # 17.3: I thought I was all the time late*.
Fb Post # 10.4: I am happy and fulfilled with the person who brings
me that everything I need on a daily basis.

Those are the three samples of error of order found in the students’ Facebook

posts. In Fb Post # 19.1, the word it and into is inverted, it must be written put into it since

put into is an example of phrasal verb. In phrasal verbs, the verb is always combined with

a preposition. In Fb Post # 17.3, the word all the time and late are inverted. Based on the

sentence, all the time, which is a phrase of time, is incorrectly modified by the word late

making the sentence ungrammatical. The late must come first before it is modified by the

right modifier all the time. In terms of Fb Post # 10.4, the words that and everything are

inverted. The word that must be placed after everything since it provides specification of

what everything is meant by the student.

This denotes that, despite the fact that error of order is the least frequent, English

language teachers should still include it in grammar instruction. According to Taher (2017),

the least common error made by learners does not indicate that they are knowledgeable

about the grammar aspect. Thus, this error still serves as a basis in crafting of significant

materials for reinforcement. The most important thing is to understand how and when to

do things.

In accordance with the Theory of Errors of Dulay et. al, this type of error is

characterized by the incorrect placement of a morpheme in an utterance. It has no specific

sub-types since it is clear that if it deals with placement, then it belongs to this type of

error.
 38

CHAPTER 5

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

Summary of Findings

This study was conducted for the purpose of identifying and analyzing the most

common grammatical errors of the first-year English major students in Lapu-Lapu City

College. The mixed method of research was utilized and the Facebook posts is where the

sources of data are gathered. The 33 first-year students were the participants. The

research study was conducted during the school-year 2020-2021.

1. The most common grammar error made by first-year English major students on their

Facebook posts taken as an entire group and classified according to error of omission;

error of addition; error of formation; and error of order are the following:

1.1 Error of Omission and Its Source of Error

Of the 35 errors committed by the students which belongs to Omission,

10 were absence of suffix s- or es (noun), 7 were absence of verb, 6 were

absence of suffix -s or -es (verb), 4 were absence of suffix -d or -ed, 2 were

absence of article, and 1 were absence of apostrophe, absence of preposition,

absence of subjective personal pronoun, and absence of relative pronoun.

1.2 Error of Addition and Its Source of Error

There were 14 errors discovered on Error of Addition. These errors were

related to unneeded suffix -s or -es (verb) which has total of 7 errors and

unneeded suffix -s or -es (noun) which has 2 errors. The other errors have the

same number of errors. These are unneeded apostrophe ’ or ’s, unneeded

 39

preposition, unneeded verb (modal), and unneeded article which has a total of

1 error each.

1.3 Error of Formation and Its Source of Error

The results showed that there were 40 or 43 percent error found in terms

of formation. This includes the misuse of verb which occurred 19 times. It is

followed by misuse of preposition which occurred 8 times, misuse of

contractions which occurred 7 times, and misuse of article which occurred 2

times. The rest, 1 error was found on their sources of errors which are misuse

of demonstrative pronoun, misuse of personal pronoun, misuse of relative

pronoun, and word choice error.

1.4 Error of Order and Its Source of Error

The error of order has a total of 4 or percent. Unlike other types of errors,

the error belonging to order is not classified into certain sources of error.

Overall, 4 errors were found on the students’ Facebook posts.

2. The most common source of errors found on Facebook posts of the students are

absence of suffix -s or -es (noun) which has a total of 10 errors, unneeded suffix -s or -es

(verb) which has a total of 7 errors, and misuse of verb which has a total of 19 errors.

3. The course packet that can be designed based on the data analysis is about the

grammatical errors of students. It will help the students who want to improve their

grammatical skills by being aware and reflecting from their errors. The topics covered is

the error of formation specifically on the misuse of verbs which has the most frequent error

committed by the students. Each topic begins with a short explanation and examples
 40

followed by a practice exercise. Study the explanations first, and then do the exercises.

For teachers, they have the answer key at the last page of the course packet.

Conclusion

Based on the findings of the study, it can be concluded that Error of Formation is

the most common grammatical error. All of which are related to misuse of verb specifically,

subject-verb agreement in the Facebook posts of the students starting from the year 2018

to present.

Regarding the error of omission, the most frequent source of error was absence of

suffix -s or -es. While the majority of source of errors related to addition is unneeded suffix

-s or es. In contrast with addition, the most frequent source of error in formation was the

misuse of verbs as already mentioned above.

The errors found in the Facebook posts of the students show that there was a

room of improvement that was seen through their posts. It can be concluded that they still

need to achieve a deeper understanding and mastery of grammatical rules.

 41

Recommendations

Based on the findings of this study, the researcher presents the following

recommendations:

1. The pre-service teachers should be careful on their grammar when posting. Before

they post on Facebook, it is advised that it is properly reviewed to avoid being humiliated

since people have high regards of English major students.

2. The students should familiarize the rules of grammar and know how grammar works,

so they can avoid or minimize further errors.

3. Second language students must read the course packet to learn about the correct

grammatical structures and to be more aware of their errors. In that way, others will not

misunderstand their message. In terms of the English grammar teaching staff, they can

use this course packet as a reference to improve their teaching strategies and focus on

the materials which are difficult for students to understand.

Further Recommendations for Future Researchers

The following suggested topics for further studies may be of use to some linguistic

researchers or to any related fields.

1. The effect of error correction on L2 grammar knowledge and oral proficiency

2. The Effect of Bilingualism on Filipino Pre-University Students’ English Grammar

Proficiency

3. Error Analysis of the Written English Essays of College Students

4. Student’s Attitudes towards Learning English Grammar

5. Grammar in Student Books vs. Grammar that Students Need

6. Comparative Study: Free and Controlled Written Production

 42

7. A Study on the Interference of Native Language Vowels Pronunciation Towards the

Pronunciation of English Vowels.

8. The Influence of Using Direct Method Toward English Learning Achievement.

9. The Correlation Between Students’ Learning Style and Their English Proficiency.

10. The Analysis of Using Lexical Cohesion on the Abstract of Undergraduate Thesis.
 43

REFERENCES
 44

Amiri, F. (2017, August 31). Error analysis in academic writing: A case of inter
national postgraduate students in Malaysia.
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1153766.pdf

Anadulo University. (2009) Comparing and contrasting first and second langu
age acquisition: Implications for language teachers.
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1082388.pdf

Anderson, Lisa. (2011). Errors made in time and tense. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/1

6323077.pdf

Barli, B., Ginting, A.A., & Hapsari, A.G. (2020) Grammatical errors in written
reflections of English education master’s program students.
https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/322580153.pdf

Barto, K., & Saville-Troike, M. (2016). In introducing second language acquisition (pp 1-6)
http://doi.org/10.1017/9781316569832.002 (2016)

Carrol, J. (2017). Facebook posts: Error analysis on English grammar and usage. http://
www.multidisciplinaryjournals.com/wpcontent/uploads/2017/05/Abstract-
FACEBOOK-POSTS-ERROR-ANALYSIS-ON-ENGLISH-GRAMMAR.pdf

Hinkel, E. (n.d.) TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching. https://www.elihinke

l.org/downloads/Descriptive%20v%20Prescriptive.pdf

Novita, V. (2018). An error analysis on undergraduate thesis abstracts of English language

education students of Sanata Dharma University.
http://repository.usd.ac.id/32689/2/141214021_full.pdf

Pica, T. (2005). Second Language Acquisition Research and Applied Linguistics. https://
. core.ac.uk/download/pdf/76379378.pdf

Pinto, D. (1999). SLA research and language teaching by Rod Ellis. https://escholarship.
org/content/qt7m98r12h/qt7m98r12h.pdf

Parupalli, R. (2019). The Role of English as a global language https://www.researchgate.n

et/publication/334282978_THE_ROLE_OF_ENGLISH_AS_A_GLOBAL_LANGU
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Taher, A. (2011) Error analysis: A study of Swedish junior high school students’ text and
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APPENDICES
 46

Appendix A

Transmittal Letter

Republic of the Philippines

City of Lapu-Lapu
LAPU-LAPU CITY COLLEGE
Carajay Rd, Gun-ob, Lapu-Lapu City

Transmittal letter
March 15, 2021
Dr. Maria Noeleen M. Borbajo
Dean, College of Education
Basak, Lapu-Lapu City

Dear Maria Noeleen M. Borbajo:

Warm greetings!
The undergraduate students are currently finishing their Language Research in Lapu-
Lapu City College (LLCC) located at Gun-ob, Lapu- Lapu City. In compliance for the
requirements of the course, the students are now working on the language research
entitled,

“Facebook Posts: An Analysis on English Grammatical Errors”

In this connection, the undergraduate students are asking for your permission and
approval to conduct their study among your students, specifically the 1st year Bachelor of
Secondary Education major in English who can help us answer the problem of our
research.

Rest assured that the findings will be utilized for the improvement of our college and
benefit of the people in our community.

Thank you very much.

Respectfully yours,

AGUILAR, JAMIELE Y. CARIM, ALAYSA M. CORDON, REXANNE JADE N.

DE LA CRUZ, ZINA JANE C. FIDEL, JOANNA G. LUCERO, JHANE ERRAH O.

PULGO, HANZ URIEL R.

Recommended by: Approved by:

VANESSA MADELO DR. MARIA NOELEEN M. BORBAJO

Research Teacher Dean, College of Education
 47

Appendix B

All of Students’ Facebook Posts

Appendix B.1 Classification of Errors in Omission

Appendix B.1.1 Absence of suffix -s or -es (Noun)

No. FB Absence of suffix -s or -es Grammatical Construction

Post (Noun)
No.

1 3.3 One of the saddest movie I've ever One of the saddest movies I've
watched. ever watched.

2 8.3 Teaching yourself to be happy is Teaching yourself to be happy is

one of the greatest thing* in life. one of the greatest things in life.

3 10.1 We we're* like sister*. We were like sisters.

4 10.2 Snapchat and Instagram filter* Snapchat and Instagram filters

always saves me for being ugly. always save me from being ugly.

5 11.1 Kick their ass. Kick their asses.

6 14.1 One of my favorite*. One of my favorites.

7 19.3 All of these powerful character* All of these powerful characters

were trained by this man. were trained by this man.

8 23.4 One of the saddest movie* I've One of the saddest movies I've
ever watched is Wolf Children. ever watched is Wolf Children.

9 31.1 They are one of the reason* why I They are one of the reasons why I
graduated. graduated.
 48

10 32.1 I dont* need any clothes, gadgets, I don’t need any clothes, gadgets,
packages from other country, all I packages from other countries, all
need is the presence of my dad I need is the presence of my dad.

Appendix B.1.2. Absence of Verb

No. FB Absence of Verb Grammatical

Post
No.

1 3.1 My face burning My face is burning.

2 4.2 I* used to it. I’m used to it.

3 5.2 We may not always there for We may not always be there for
each other physically. each other physically.

4 6.1 You should * been better than You should have been better than
that. that.

5 12.1 This * probably me. This is probably me.

6 26.3 Be a diamond esteemed and Be a diamond esteemed and rare,

rare, not a stone that * found not a stone that is found
everywhere. everywhere.

7 8.2 I* cut ties if you weren’t* deserve I will cut ties if you don’t deserve
me anymore. me anymore.
 49

Appendix B.1.3. Absence of Suffix -s or es (Verb)

No. FB Absence of Suffix -s or es Grammatical

Post (Verb)
No.

1 15.2 He dance* freely in the air like a He dances freely in the air like a
butterfly. butterfly.

2 24.2 He deserve justice. He deserves justice.

3 30.1 Facebook keep* on reminding Facebook keeps on reminding us

us how flirt we were back then. how flirt we were back then.

4 30.3 Choose a man that make* you Choose a man that makes you feel
feel important and enough. important and enough.

5 32.2 Beauty attract* heart, but Beauty attracts heart, but character
character attract* soul. attracts soul.

6 25.2 If you really love the* person, If you really love a person, you will
you will take risk*. take risks.

Appendix B.1.4. Absence of Suffix -d or ed

No. FB Post Absence of Suffix -d or ed Grammatical

No.

1 2.2 I remember someone I fix* then I remember someone I fixed then

after that he broke me. after that he broke me.

2 14.2 Don't worry nayott, everything Don't worry nayott, everything will
will be fix* and settle*. be fixed and settled.

3 23.2 I am happy that I actually I am happy that I actually

graduate* in* senior high. graduated in* senior high.
 50

4 31.2 Treasured words and moments Treasured words and moments

will be remember*. will be remembered.

Appendix B.1.5. Absence of Apostrophe ‘ or ‘s

No. FB Absence of Apostrophe ‘ or ‘s Grammatical

Post
No.

1 24.1 Free yourself from society* Free yourself from society’s

expectations and live life on your expectations and live life on your
terms. terms.

2 32.1 I dont* need any clothes, I don’t need any clothes, gadgets,
gadgets, packages from other or packages from other countries,
country, all I need is the presence all I need is the presence of my
of my dad. dad.

3 17.1 The sunshines* on* my pocket The sunshine’s in my pocket

Appendix B.1.6. Absence of Article

No. FB Post Absence of Article Grammatical

No.

1 2.3 You will always be our rock You will always be our rock and the
and the person we run to person we run to when we need a
when we need * shoulder to shoulder to lean on.
lean on

2 20.2 Let the refining and * Let the refining and the improving
improving of your life keep of your life keep you so busy that
you so busy that you have you have little time to criticize
little time to criticize others others

Appendix B.1.7. Absence of Preposition

 51

No. FB Post No. Absence of Preposition Grammatical

1 19.2 I am not saying this * me. I am not saying this for me.

Appendix B.1.8. Absence of Subjective personal pronoun

No. FB Post Absence of Subjective Grammatical

No. personal pronoun

1 1.1 Wearing a face shield is now Wearing a face shield is now

mandatory. So, what are * mandatory. So, what are you
waiting for? waiting for?

Appendix B.1.9. Absence of relative pronoun

No. FB Post Absence of relative Grammatical

No. pronoun

1 23.3 When I find* out * my family When I found out that my family ate
ate something good while I something good while I was not
was not around around

Appendix B.2 Classification of Errors in Addition

Appendix B.2.1. Unneeded Suffix -s or -es (Verb)

No. FB Post Unneeded Suffix -s or -es Grammatical

No. (Verb)
 52

1 1.2 I will delete it immediately but I will delete it immediately but

makes* sure you’ll do the make sure you’ll do the same.
same.

2 3.2 Facebook memories reminds Facebook memories remind me

me how stupid I am years ago. how stupid I was years ago.

3 6.4 Those challenging times Those challenging times make

makes me a better person. me a better person.

4 15.1 There are some people who There are some people who
follows* the term follow the term "discontentment".
"discontentment".

5 17.2 Relatives only accepts* you Relatives only accept you when
when you're successful. you're successful.

6 10.2 Snapchat and Instagram filter Snapchat and Instagram filters

always saves* me for being always save me for being ugly.
ugly.

7 24.3 They always helps the people They always help people who’s
who’s in need. in need.

Appendix B.2.2. Unneeded Suffix -d or -ed

No. FB Post Unneeded Suffix -d or -ed Grammatical

No.
 53

1 4.1 Now, I know why does a writer Now, I know why a writer needs
needed a peaceful place to a peaceful place to write.
write.

2 8.1 Enough to admired too many. Enough to admire too many.

Appendix B.2.3. Unneeded Suffix -s or -es (Noun)

No. FB Post No. Unneeded Suffix -s or -es (Noun) Grammatical

1 31.3 A persons brings it. A person brings it.

Appendix B.2.4. Unneeded Apostrophe ‘ or ‘s

No. FB Post No. Unneeded Apostrophe ‘ or ‘s Grammatical

1 10.1 We we're* like sister*. We were like sisters.

Appendix B.2.5. Unneeded Preposition

No. FB Post Unneeded Preposition Grammatical

No.

1 33.3 You can find someone who really You can find someone who really
accepts of* who you are. accepts who you are.
 54

Appendix B.2.6. Unneeded Verb (Modal)

No. FB Post Unneeded Verb (Modal) Grammatical

No.

1 2.4 So, this is what can* self-love can So, this is what self-love can
do. do.

Appendix B.2.7. Unneeded Article

No. FB Post Unneeded Article Grammatical

No.

1 1.3 Happy thoughts with a happy Happy thoughts with happy

vibes. vibes

Appendix B.3 Classification of Errors in Formation

Appendix B.3.1. Misuse of Verb

No. FB Post Misuse of Verb Grammatical

No.

1 6.3 Yet worthy to be keep*. Yet worthy to be kept.

2 7.1 The* sad person always have* The sad person always has a
a beautiful smile. beautiful smile.

3 7.2 Don’t judge those persons who Don’t judge those persons who
doesn’t* judge your don’t judge your personality.
personality.
 55

4 7.3 Some of my friends now Some of my friends now don’t

doesn’t want my attitude. want my attitude.

5 8.2 I* cut ties if you weren’t* I cut ties if you don’t deserve me
deserve me anymore. anymore.

6 9.1 I still hidden* along the cove of I still hide along the cove of your
your shadows shadows

7 10.3 She slept deep after her She slept deep after her
exhausting day, and dealing* exhausting day, and dealt with all
with all the tasks in our house. the tasks in our house.

8 11.2 Still, congratulations to us even Still, congratulations to us even if

if we doesn't experience we won’t experience marching
marching through the wide through the wide stage.
stage.

9 12.2 Days and nights was* not Days and nights were not easy.
easy.

10 16.1 I wish I was* pretty like them I wish I were pretty like them

11 23.1 We must never gave* up. We must never give up.

12 23.3 When I find* out * my family When I found out that my family
ate something good while I ate something good while I was
was not around not around.

13 24.4 Our leader don’t* deserve this Our leader doesn’t deserve this
cruelty and barbaric act. cruelty and barbaric act.

14 27.2 Regrets has* no excuses. Regrets have no excuses.

15 30.2 Be with someone who knows Be with someone who knows all
all your good and bad sides but your good and bad sides but still
still choosing* you. choose you
 56

16 30.4 I pray that my brother don't* I pray that my brother doesn't

bring an over acting sister-in- bring an over-acting sister-in-law.
law.

17 33.1 Not everything we see are* Not everything we see is* real.
real.

18 33.2 Others tries* to talk to them. Others try to talk to them.

19 3.2 Facebook memories reminds Facebook memories remind me

me how stupid I am* years how stupid I was years ago.
ago.

Appendix B.3.2. Misuse of Preposition

No. FB Post Misuse of Preposition Grammatical

No.

1 1.4 Be confident on* your own Be confident in your own beauty.

beauty.

2 5.1 Amidst the sad turn of events Amidst the sad turn of events this
this month, something really month, something really great
great awaits on* February. awaits in February.

3 9.2 I don't have the time on* this I don't have the time in this world.
world.

4 23.2 I am happy that I actually I am happy that I actually

graduate* in* senior high. graduated from senior high.

5 27.1 I still remember how excited I still remember how excited she is
she is to have this tattoo in* to have this tattoo on her leg.
her leg.
 57

6 33.4 Don't try to be fooled on* what Don't try to be fooled by what you
you see. see.

7 10.2 Snapchat and Instagram filter Snapchat and Instagram filter

always saves* me for* being always save me from being ugly.
ugly.

8 17.1 The sunshines* on* my The sunshine’s in my pocket.

pocket.

Appendix B.3.3. Misuse of Contraction

No. FB Post Misuse of Contraction Grammatical

No.

1 13.1 I’m not short, your* just tall. I’m not short, you’re just tall.

2 18.1 Its* better that you unwind. It’s better that you unwind.

3 20.1 Its* a matter of who’s there It’s a matter of who’s there when
when no one did. no one does.

4 25.1 Youre not always right. You're not always right

5 26.1 Lets* create more memories Let's create more memories in

in 2020. 2020.

6 26.4 Once I delete our Once I delete our conversation, it

conversation, it means your* means you’re no longer part of my
no longer part of my life. life.

7 29.1 You will never forget how a You will never forget how a man
man treats you while your* treats you while you’re sad.
sad.
 58

Appendix B.3.4. Misuse of Article

No. FB Post Misuse of Article Grammatical

No.

1 1.7 The* sad person always have* a A sad person always has a
beautiful smile. beautiful smile.

2 25.2 If you really love the* person, If you really love a person, you
you will take risk*. will take risks.

Appendix B.3.5. Misuse of Demonstrative Pronoun

No. FB Post No. Misuse of Demonstrative Pronoun Grammatical

1 28.1 People this days. People these days.

Appendix B.3.6. Misuse of Personal Pronoun

No. FB Post Misuse of Personal Grammatical

No. Pronoun

1 25.3 You cannot break a person You cannot break a person who
who gets their* strength gets his or her strength from God.
from God.

Appendix B.3.7. Misuse of Relative Pronoun

 59

No. FB Post Misuse of Relative Pronoun Grammatical

No.

1 26.2 Thank you to my friends whom* Thank you to my friends who

always cheer me up. always cheer me up.

Appendix B.3.8. Word Choice Error

No. FB Post Word Choice Error Grammatical

No.

1 6.2 Despite your imperfections and Despite your imperfections and

lackness* of being a father to shortcomings of being a father to
us, we do still respect and love us, we do still respect and love the
the way you deserve. way you deserve.

Appendix B.4 Errors in Order

No. FB Post Mis-order Grammatical

No.

1 8.4 One thing you most* must One thing you must treasure most
treasure is your family. is your family.

2 10.4 I am happy and fulfilled with I am happy and fulfilled with the
the person who brings me person who brings me everything
that* everything I need on a that I need on a daily basis.
daily basis.

3 17.3 I thought I was all the time I thought I was late all the time.
late*.

4 19.1 It is not always how much It is not always how much money
money you spent, but how you spent, but how much thought
much thought you put it into*. you put into it.
 60

APPENDIX C

Sample Screenshot of Posts

 61

CURRICULUM VITAE
 62

JAMIELE Y. AGUILAR

Basak, Lapu-Lapu City

[email protected]

PERSONAL BACKGROUND:

Date of Birth : October 17, 1999

Place of Birth : Lapu-Lapu City
Age : 21 years old
Citizenship : Filipino
Religion : Roman Catholic
Marital Status : Single

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND:

TERTIARY
Bachelor of Secondary Education major in English
Lapu-Lapu City College
2018-Present

SECONDARY
Bankal National High School
Bankal, Lapu-Lapu City
2012-2016

ELEMENTARY
San Vicente Elementary School
Masbate, Cebu City
2006-2012
 63

ALAYSA M. CARIM

Basak, Lapu-Lapu City

[email protected]

PERSONAL BACKGROUND:

Date of Birth : April 15, 1998

Place of Birth : Agusan del Norte
Age : 22 years old
Citizenship : Filipino
Religion : Islam
Marital Status : Single

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND:

TERTIARY
Bachelor of Secondary Education major in English
Lapu-Lapu City College
2018-Present

SECONDARY
Science and Technology Education Center
Basak Lapu-Lapu City
2016-2018

ELEMENTARY
Basak Elementary School
Basak Lapu-Lapu City
2005-2012
 64

REXANNE JADE N. CORDON

Bankal, Lapu-Lapu City

[email protected]

PERSONAL BACKGROUND:

Date of Birth : August 22, 1999

Place of Birth : Antique
Age : 21 years old
Citizenship : Filipino
Religion : Roman Catholic
Marital Status : Single

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND:

TERTIARY
Bachelor of Secondary Education major in English
Lapu-Lapu City College
2018-Present

SECONDARY
Bankal National High School
Bankal, Lapu-Lapu City
2012-2016

ELEMENTARY
Bankal Elementary School
Bankal, Lapu-Lapu City
2006-2012
 65

ZINA JANE C. DE LA CRUZ

Bankal, Lapu-Lapu City

[email protected]

PERSONAL BACKGROUND:

Date of Birth : July 15, 2000

Place of Birth : Lapu-Lapu City
Age : 20 years old
Citizenship : Filipino
Religion : Roman Catholic
Marital Status : Single

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND:

TERTIARY
Bachelor of Secondary Education major in English
Lapu-Lapu City College
2018-Present

SECONDARY
Bankal National High School
Bankal, Lapu-Lapu City
2012-2018

ELEMENTARY
Bankal Elementary School
Bankal, Lapu-Lapu City
2006-2012
 66

JOANNA G. FIDEL

Pilipog, Cordova City

[email protected]

PERSONAL BACKGROUND:

Date of Birth : May 27, 1999

Place of Birth : Lapu-Lapu City
Age : 21 years old
Citizenship : Filipino
Religion : Roman Catholic
Marital Status : Single

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND:

TERTIARY
Bachelor of Secondary Education major in English
Lapu-Lapu City College
2018-Present

SECONDARY
Pajo National High School
Pajo, Lapu-Lapu City
2012-2018

ELEMENTARY
Lapu-Lapu City Elementary School
Polacion, Lapu-Lapu City
2006-2012
 67

JHANE ERRAH O. LUCERO

Pilipog, CordovaMactan, Lapu-lapu City

[email protected]

PERSONAL BACKGROUND:

Date of Birth : May 21, 2000

Place of Birth : Lapu-Lapu City
Age : 20 years old
Citizenship : Filipino
Religion : Christian
Marital Status : Single

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND:

TERTIARY
Bachelor of Secondary Education major in English
Lapu-Lapu City College
2018-Present

SECONDARY
Mactan National High School
Mactan, Lapu-Lapu City
2012-2018

ELEMENTARY
Mactan Elementary School
Mactan, Lapu-Lapu City
2006-2012
 68

HANZ URIEL R. PULGO

Bankal, Lapu-Lapu City

[email protected]

PERSONAL BACKGROUND:

Date of Birth : May 5, 2000

Place of Birth : Lapu-Lapu City
Age : 20 years old
Citizenship : Filipino
Religion : Roman Catholic
Marital Status : Single

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND:

TERTIARY
Bachelor of Secondary Education major in English
Lapu-Lapu City College
2018-Present

SECONDARY
Bankal National High School
Bankal Lapu-Lapu City
2012-2018

ELEMENTARY
Soong Elementary School
Soong 1, Lapu-Lapu City
2006-2012