The Simple Past Tense Errors in Young Writers—An Error Analysis of English Short Stories

Lusiana Kartika; Noor Malihah

doi:10.70062/incoils.v5i1.431

Authors

Lusiana Kartika UIN Salatiga
Noor Malihah UIN Salatiga

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.70062/incoils.v5i1.431

Keywords:

bilingual instruction, error analysis, narrative writing, simple past tense, young learner

Abstract

This study addresses a persistent academic concern in English language learning: young learners’ difficulty in producing accurate simple past-tense forms in narrative writing. The research aims to identify the types and distribution of simple past-tense errors committed by elementary school students whose school employs English as a medium of instruction. Using a quantitative descriptive design, the study analyzed 17 short stories selected from the student anthology My Dream Life. Data were collected through documentation and examined using Dulay, Burt, and Krashen’s Surface Strategy Taxonomy, supported by Ellis’s four-step error-analysis procedure. A total of 44 verb errors were identified and categorized. The findings reveal that misformation overwhelmingly dominates the dataset (95.5%), particularly involving irregular verbs, while omission accounts for only a small portion of errors (4.5%); no addition or misordering errors were found. These patterns suggest that students understand the narrative requirement for past-tense usage but have not yet internalized correct morphological forms, especially for irregular verbs. The results underscore the influence of Bahasa Indonesia’s tenseless structure on learners’ interlanguage and highlight the need for explicit instruction, guided practice, and focused corrective feedback to strengthen young bilingual learners’ grammatical accuracy in narrative writing.

Author Biographies

Lusiana Kartika, UIN Salatiga

This study addresses a persistent academic concern in English language learning: young learners’ difficulty in producing accurate simple past-tense forms in narrative writing. The research aims to identify the types and distribution of simple past-tense errors committed by elementary school students whose school employs English as a medium of instruction. Using a quantitative descriptive design, the study analyzed 17 short stories selected from the student anthology My Dream Life. Data were collected through documentation and examined using Dulay, Burt, and Krashen’s Surface Strategy Taxonomy, supported by Ellis’s four-step error-analysis procedure. A total of 44 verb errors were identified and categorized. The findings reveal that misformation overwhelmingly dominates the dataset (95.5%), particularly involving irregular verbs, while omission accounts for only a small portion of errors (4.5%); no addition or misordering errors were found. These patterns suggest that students understand the narrative requirement for past-tense usage but have not yet internalized correct morphological forms, especially for irregular verbs. The results underscore the influence of Bahasa Indonesia’s tenseless structure on learners’ interlanguage and highlight the need for explicit instruction, guided practice, and focused corrective feedback to strengthen young bilingual learners’ grammatical accuracy in narrative writing.

Noor Malihah, UIN Salatiga

This study addresses a persistent academic concern in English language learning: young learners’ difficulty in producing accurate simple past-tense forms in narrative writing. The research aims to identify the types and distribution of simple past-tense errors committed by elementary school students whose school employs English as a medium of instruction. Using a quantitative descriptive design, the study analyzed 17 short stories selected from the student anthology My Dream Life. Data were collected through documentation and examined using Dulay, Burt, and Krashen’s Surface Strategy Taxonomy, supported by Ellis’s four-step error-analysis procedure. A total of 44 verb errors were identified and categorized. The findings reveal that misformation overwhelmingly dominates the dataset (95.5%), particularly involving irregular verbs, while omission accounts for only a small portion of errors (4.5%); no addition or misordering errors were found. These patterns suggest that students understand the narrative requirement for past-tense usage but have not yet internalized correct morphological forms, especially for irregular verbs. The results underscore the influence of Bahasa Indonesia’s tenseless structure on learners’ interlanguage and highlight the need for explicit instruction, guided practice, and focused corrective feedback to strengthen young bilingual learners’ grammatical accuracy in narrative writing.

References

Agustinasari, Evi, Tiur Simanjuntak, and Muhammad Bambang Purwanto. 2022. “A Review on Error Analysis Stages in Teaching English Structure.” Pioneer: Journal of Language and Literature 14 (1): 253. https://doi.org/10.36841/pioneer.v14i1.1702. (Article in online journal)

Almelhes, Sultan A. 2023. “A Review of Artificial Intelligence Adoption in Second-Language Learning.” Theory and Practice in Language Studies 13 (5): 1259–69. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1305.21. (Article in online journal)

Anakampun, Rizky Ananda, and Rahmah Fithriani. 2023. “AN ERROR ANALYSIS OF ENGLISH RECOUNT TEXTS WRITTEN BY INDONESIAN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS Rizky Ananda Anakampun , Rahmah Fithriani” 7 (1): 177–85. https://doi.org/10.30743/ll.v7i1.7149. (Article in online journal)

Apriyanti, Fitri -, and Rahmi Aulia Nurdini. 2021. “Error Analysis on Using Simple Past Tense in Diary Writing Made By Efl Students.” Globish: An English-Indonesian Journal for English, Education, and Culture 10 (2): 33. https://doi.org/10.31000/globish.v10i2.4688. (Article in online journal)

Ary, Donald, Lucy Cheser Jacobs, and Chris Sorensen. 2010. Introduction to Research in Education, 8th Edition. 8th ed. Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. (Book)

Creswell, John W., and J. David Creswell. 2018. Fifth Edition RESEARCH DESIGN Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. Writing Center Talk over Time: A Mixed-Method Study. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429469237. (Book)

Dalilan, Dalilan, Noka Romadona, and Roma Nur Asnita. 2023. “ERRORS IN USING SIMPLE PAST TENSE IN NARRATIVE COMPOSITIONS MADE BY ENGLISH NON-NATIVE STUDENTS” 2 (4): 31–41. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.19109/literal.v2i1.17050. (Article in online journal)

Desnaranti, Laila, and Febby Pratama Putra. 2024. “Implementing Surface Structure Taxonomy in Analyzing Undergraduate Students’ Business E-Mail Errors.” Research and Development Journal of Education 10 (2): 1078. https://doi.org/10.30998/rdje.v10i2.23360. (Article in online journal)

Dulay, Heidi, Marina Burt, and Stephen Krashen. 1982. Language Two. Oxford University Press. New York: Oxford University Press. (Book section)

Ellis, Rod. 1997. Second Language Acquisition (Oxford Introduction to Language Study Series). (Book)

Fitria, Tira Nur. 2020. “Error Analysis in Using Simple Past Tense Found in Students’ Writing of Recount Text.” Ahmad Dahlan Journal of English Studies 7 (1): 39. https://doi.org/10.26555/adjes.v7i1.12238. (Article in online journal)

M.R.F Nashfa, MJF Sujani, MB Nowzath, and MR. Rishad Muhammed. 2025. “Investigating Errors in Past Simple Tense Usage Among English Language Learners As a Second Language : A Contemporary Analysis.” Beginner: Journal of Teaching and Education Management 3 (1): 77–90. https://doi.org/10.61166/bgn.v3i1.82. (Article in online journal)

Marbun, Paulina, Rina Octavia Simarmata, and Ernawati Tampubolon. 2025. “AN ERROR ANALYSIS OF ACTION VERB USAGE IN NARRATIVE WRITING OF ELEVENTH GRADE STUDENTS OF SMKS IMMANUEL MEDAN.” Pendas: Jurnal Ilmiah Pendidikan Dasar 10 (September): 315–30. (Article in online journal)

Nahak, Yulia Ningsi, Anselmus Sahan, and Yanuarius Seran. 2024. “AN ERROR ANALYSIS OF EFL STUDENTS ’ USE OF SIMPLE” 06 (02): 240–50. (Article in online journal)

Putri, Dwi Megista, and Asma Alhusna. 2025. “Error Analysis of Simple Past Tense in Recount Text” 9:11367–70. (Article in online journal)

Schmidt, T., and T. Strassner. 2022. “Artificial Intelligence in Foreign Language Learning and Teaching.” Anglistik 33 (1): 165–84. https://doi.org/10.33675/angl/2022/1/14. (Article in online journal)

Situmorang, Komilie, and Santa Maya Pramusita. 2024. “Errors Analysis in Using Simple Past Tense in Nursing Students’ Writing Assignments.” ETERNAL (English Teaching Journal) 15 (1): 144–55. https://doi.org/10.26877/eternal.v15i1.357. (Article in online journal)

Susilowati, Endang, Etika Dewi Kusumaningtyas, and Zaenul Wafa. 2024. “Surface Strategy Taxonomy on EFL Learners’ Oral Presentation: A Study of Grammatical Error Analysis.” English Education and Literature Journal (E-Jou) 4 (02): 79–90. https://doi.org/10.53863/ejou.v4i02.1105. (Article in online journal)