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THE USE OF TENSES IN READING TEXTS “LET’S TALK”

SMP TEXTBOOKS

THESIS

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Sarjana Pendidikan

Melisa Arimba Puspita

112007174

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

SATYA WACANA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY

SALATIGA

2013

P E R P U S T A K A A N U N I V E R S I T A S

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Jawa Tengah, Indonesia

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Email : [email protected] ; http://i ibrary.uksw.edu

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PERPUSTAKAAN UNIVERSITAS | UNIVERSITAS KRISTEN SATYA WACANA

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1

THE USE OF TENSES IN READING TEXTS “LET’S TALK”

SMP TEXTBOOKS

Melisa Arimba Puspita

112007174

Satya Wacana Christian University

Abstract

This study is about tenses that are used in reading texts “Let’s Talk” of SMP

textbooks. The samples of this study were reading texts. The data were collected from the

of SMP textbook grade VII, VIII, and IX. I choose 6 reading texts from each textbooks

randomly. To analyze the data, the sentences from each reading texts were labeled or

coded,classified and interpreted. This study used descriptive research to describe the

grammatical items used in Let’s Talk VIII, Let’s Talk VIII, and Let’s Talk IX. I found that

tenses were used in the reading texts of SMP textbook were the simple past, the simple

present, the simple future, the present perfect, and the past countinuous. The study also

found that the simple past tense was the most frequently used tense in all-reading texts. The

percentage of the simple past tense in the Lets Talk VII was 44%, in the Lets Talk VIII was

51% and in the Lets Talk IX was 49%.

Keywords: Reading texts, tenses (the present tense, the past tense, the future tense, the

present perfect tense and the present continuous tense)

Introduction

In the globalization era, using English is very important because English is an

International language. Ball and Culloch (1989) states that English as International

language is very important because of its function as a tool to establish social and

communication relationship with other people from all over the world. Besides it is used for

communication, it is also used for getting a lot of valuable information in the world.

2

In teaching English, the array of instructional materials available to elementary and

junior high school is amazing. Dahar and Faize (2011:7) as quoted by Nicholls (2000)

define instructional materials as printed and non-printed items designed to impart

information to the students in the educational process. They include items, such as kits,

textbook, magazine and pictures. Hunchinson and Torres (1994), classify textbook into two

types. The first type is streamlines. This textbook consists almost entirely of text questions

and substitution drill. These kinds of textbook only gives exercises and example, students

will always look for the reason why and how things could happen. The second type is

grapevine. This textbook consistst of an integrated video, information-gap activities, role-

plays, reading texts, songs, the development of reading, writing, listening skills, grammar

summaries, games ,etc. This kind of book is very complete and it gives more detailed

instructions.

The textbook chosen must have good quality because they have important roles to

the success in the teaching learning process. Britton, et all (1993:viii) point out that

textbook are an omnipresent part of classroom life. After that, they mention textbooks are a

feature and often a very important one, of instruction. Anthony (2005) says that Textbooks

provide organized units of work. A textbook gives students all the plans and lessons needed

to cover a topic in some detail.

In textbooks, tenses become one element that is important. According to Nunan

(1996) learning another language is like constructing a wall since the students will learn the

easy tenses as the bottom of the wall and proceed to learn the more difficult ones. For

example, they should master one tense form, such as simple present, before being

introduced to other forms, such as the present continuous or the simple past. Whydeck

3

(2003), also states that an understanding of tenses helps us to improve our writing and

speaking, and become more aware of the way other people use language to communicate. It

can also make it easier for us to learn a foreign language. Tenses is the fundamental heart of

language and a tool to help learners’ comprehension of the target language because tenses

provides systematic rules of structure and word order. After that, learners can create their

own spoken and written discourse using these grammatical rules (Kers,1996).

As the study of English recently continues to occupy an important place in our

educational curriculum, in order to learn the English language students are required not

only to know the vocabulary, but also the grammar. Allan (1995) state that grmmar is a

major component of any general language course,wheter it is acknowledged as such or

distinguised as something else.

Bosston (2001) identifies many of grammatical items which comprise Englsih:

Types of nouns

1. Proper nouns

Judge Thompson ruled against Dan.

2. Common nouns

The judge ruled against Dan.

3. Count nouns

Lois brought eighteen cups to the party.

4. Mass nouns

The air was fragrant with the smell of lilacs.

5. Concrete nouns

Please place the clock on the mantle.

4

Types of verbs

6. Transitive verbs

George built a treehouse for his son.

7. Intransitive verbs

Mona smiled slyly.

8. Linking verbs

Joan seems content in her new position.

9. Auxiliary verbs

I have gone to see the doctor.

10. Modal auxiliary verbs

I might go to France this summer.

Verbals

11. Gerund a. Parenting is a science and an art.

b. Roberto was weary of acting a false role.

12. Participle a. The edited manuscript was 700 pages.

b. The employee processing your request is named Sheila.

13. Infinitives a. To parent well requires endless patience.

b. The employee to process your request is Sheila.

5

Pronouns

14. Demonstrative a. These officials overcame partisan loyalties.

15. Intensive a. The president himself cannot control economic forces.

16. Indefinite a. Everybody who sees the movie will rave about it.

17. Reciprocal a. The justices implicated each other in the bribery scandal.

Prepositions

18. Single-word prepositions

a. We did not want to leave during the performance.

b. The students waited anxiously for their test grades.

Mocanu Elena (2010) states that teaching grammar at school using theoretical

knowledge brought some critics and led to confusion. All the grammatical rules were

considered to be evil there were some steps to avoid using them at school. But when we

learns grammatical tems in models we use substitution such a type of training gets rid

grammar of neutralize it. Teaching the skills to make up sentences by analogy is step one

the way forming grammar skill. To form the grammar skill we must follow such step:

- Selection the model of sentences.

- Selection of the form of the word and formation of words forms

- Selection of the auxialry,words,prepositions,articles, and etc.

Brown (2007) also asserts that without grammatical items, the use of language

could easily become confusing and might not be understandable. Furthermore, Nunan

6

(1991) strongly support grammar teaching since tenses helps learners perform their target

language better. He also adds that students cannot communicative well if they do not have a

fundamental level grammar. Ur states that (1996), tenses can assist the students to produce

the structure correctly by themselves. In line with it, Close (1991) also implies that

communication can generally be achieved most efficiently by means of grammatical

sentences.

The current research has shown that grammar teaching is both necessary and

essential because grammar knowledge can affect learners’ capabilities to express

themselves in the target language (Nassaji and Fotos, 2004). Therefore, recent suggestions

strongly advocate focusing on form within communication approaches in second language

curriculum (Ellis, 2002a). This is because the concepts between the communication

teaching approach and the grammar teaching approach should not be separated.

There is a mixture of beliefs regarding grammar instruction. Some scholars support

the exclusion of grammar learning (e.g. Prabhu, 1987), while other researchers emphasize

the need to include grammar teaching in CLT (e.g. Lightbown & Spada, 1990; Nassaji,

2000; Spada & Lightbown, 1993). Olenka Bilash (2009) states that a strong emphasis on

inductive grammar teaching is particularly in communicative language teaching(CLT)

approaches, both inductive and deductive strategies are required in the classroom given the

many learning styles of students. The students can learn those strategies from some of the

reading text.

Roland Carter and Michael McCarthy (2006) say that a text is a stretch of language,

either is speech or in writing, that is semantically and pragmatically coherent in its real-

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word context. A text can range from just one word (e.g a SLOW sign on the road) to a

sequence of utterances or sentences in a speech, a letter, a novel and etc.

In Junior High School there are some types of reading text such as descriptive,

narrative, anecdote, procedure, recount and report. Those types are needed in reading

section skill. Reading skill is a skill that is expected to help the readingcomprehension of

other courses. It means students should be able to read different texts in literature,

science,social studies, etc. in order to transfer the information about modern science or

technology from other countries.They have to learn to read and have to read to learn.

Learning to read relates to reading for meaning or comprehension and also the grammatical

of the tenses are used in reading text. Reading for meaning is an important attempt to

comprehend texts, and reading to learn refers toreading for remembering or studying

(Hamra, 2003).

On the other hand the students also learn some tenses used in reading text , for

example in narrative text the students must understand about simple past tense first ,

because narrative text usally used simple past tense. Robert (2012) states that tense and

aspect have risen to some prominence within linguistics in recent decades as various

theories have taken first the verb and then the inflectional system associated with it to be

the central component of the clause. This has manifested itself most obviously in syntax

and morphology, but the effort to understand the meaning and use of time-related

expressions has coincidentally played a significant role in the development of new theories

of semantics and pragmatics, and those theories, in turn, have prompted further research

into tense and aspect.

http://grammar.about.com/od/il/g/linguisticsterm.htm

http://grammar.about.com/od/il/g/inflecterm.htm

http://grammar.about.com/od/c/g/clauseterm.htm

http://grammar.about.com/od/rs/g/syntax.htm

http://grammar.about.com/od/mo/g/morphologyterm.htm

http://grammar.about.com/od/rs/g/semanticsterm.htm

http://grammar.about.com/od/pq/g/pragmaticsterm.htm

8

In Junior High School ,the students learn about 5 tenses. They were the simple

preset tense, the simple past tense, the simple future tense, the present perfect tense and also

the present countinous tense. According to Betty Azar (1996) those tenses were called basic

tenses, which she defined as the following :

1. The simple preset tense is to express events or situations that exist

always,usually, and habitually. For example :

a. She goes to school everyday

b. The earth revolves around the sun

2. The simple past tense is used to talk about activities that began and ended in the

past. The simple past has time indicators such as yesterday,last night,a week

ago, etc. For example :

a. He went to Solo yesterday

b. We finished our final exam an hour ago

3. The simple future tense is used at one particular time in the future and it will

happen. For example :

a. You will win

b. He will come tommorow

4. The Present countinuous tense is used to emphasize an idea or an activity that us

in progress or an uncompleted activity and an event that is in the progress at the

time the speaker is stating the sentence. For example :

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a. We are going to Jakarta on Saturday

b. We are enjoying our holiday

5. The Present perfect tense is used to indicate that an action happened at an

unspecified time before now. For example :

a. I have read the book

b. I have cut my hair

Those tenses should be mastered by SMP students to underastand the reading texts

in the textbook. Besides tenses are important in understending reading texts, tenses are also

important for EFL learners to communicate in the target language. K Shayegh (2011) stated

that the most important elements for communication process in the English language are

tenses.

The textbooks are important source of input and great opportunity of EFL learners

to communicate in the target language. Dahar and Faize (2011:6) add another important

role of textbooks. They can enhance the memory level of the students since the teachers

have to use textbooks to make the teaching-learning process interesting. Tok (2010:508),

mentions textbooks serve as the mostly used teaching and learning materials for both

tecahers and the learners. He furthermore explains that textbooks do not only provide a

framework for teacher in achieving the aims and objectives of the course , but also guide to

the teacher when conducting lessons. On behalf of the learners, a textbook truly affect have

to use their attitudes and performance to the lesson throughout the course. It is a fact that

when learners like their textbooks, they like the course as well and become active

participants of lesson.

10

To sum up, with the help of the textbooks, teaching can become more efficient and

diverse. Moreover , then textbooks are expected to have relevant materials and type of

activities. It means that textbooks should be able to help teachers to carry out a quality

language teaching and learning process. O’Neil (1990) states that textbook give the basis of

materials to the students. The most important work in class starts with the textbook but

outside it, a creativity and alteration, is spontaneous interaction in the class, development

arises from that interaction.

Given the centrality of grammar in English textbooks to teaching learning in Junior

high school, my research question are “What grammatical items are mostly used in the

readings text in Lets Talk VII, Lets Talk VIII and Lets Talk IX? Specifically in reading

texts, what tenses are mostly used ? “It is then a descriptive research since I will describe

the grammatical items applied in Lets Talk textbooks. Therefore, the aim of this study is to

examine the tenses of the reading texts in “Lets Talk” textbooks in helping the students

understanding texts in their target language properly.

It is hoped that this study will be beneficial in many ways. First, the description of

this data can improve better understanding on the English teaching, particularly in the

grammar part, for the teachers’ participant, the researcher and readers. As a result, in the

teaching itself, they as the teachers can make more sustainable improvement in teaching

learning. Second, the description of the data hopefully can be useful information for

teaching micro class or practicum programs in English Department students of Satya

Wacana Christian University in preparing the students-teachers in becoming professional

English teachers in the future.

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The study

This study used descriptive method. Descriptive method Involves gathering data

that describe events and then organizes, tabulates, depicts, and describes the data, use

description as a tool to organize data into patterns that emerge during analysis and often

uses visual aids such as graphs and charts to aid the reader (Connie McNabb 2011). It

analyzed the tenses used in the reading texts grade VII,VIII, and IX of SMP textbooks. The

study was aimed to find out what tenses were used in reading texts of SMP textbooks. The

data used in this study were primary data because the data were directly taken from the

textbooks.

Table 1. Samples of textbooks

Title Publisher Grade Year Authors

Let’s Talk Pakar Karya Pustaka VII 2005 Joko Siswanto

Yuniarti Dwi Arini

Wasi Dewanto

Let’s Talk Pakar Karya Pustaka VIII 2005 Bachtiar Bima M.

Andreas Winardi

Siti Nurmalina S.

Let’s Talk Pakar Karya Pustaka IX 2005 Bachtiar Bima M.

Cicik Kurniawati

There are indeed many more English textbooks for Junior High School that we can

find in the bookstore. However, selection is necessary even in this study, for some reasons:

1) The textbooks which are used in both private and publis Junior High School (Buku

pelajarn: SMP,2012) , 2) each book has about 20-25 texts for reading sections, 3) these

books have been aprroved by Indonesian Ministry of Education, 4) the texbooks are

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published and written by Indonesians, which means they represent the Indonesians’ English

proficiency.

The data collection procedure was conducted by reviewing the reading texts in the

Reading sections three – four times to get the data. In thid study , I used reading texts from

SMP textbooks as the sample. The titles of the textbooks were “Let’s Talk VII” ,”Let’s

Talk VIII” and “Let’s Talk IX”. Those textbooks were published by Pakar Karya. The

reading texts taken from the textbooks were chosen randomly. From the 18 chapters in each

book 6 reading text chosen randomly, so the total number of reading texts used in this study

was 18 the reading texts.

The first step in this analysis was identifying theg grammatical items are included in

Lets Talk VII, Lets Talk VIII, and Lets Talk IX. The second steps was identifiying types of

tenses in the reeading texts by labeling /coding the sentences in reading texts. The second

third was classifiying the sentences under the same tenses and counting their percentage to

see what tense was the most commonly used in “Let’s Talk” textbooks. Last step was

interpreting the data and writing the report.

Discussion

1. Textbook I

In this section, I present and discuss the grammar items were used in the

Lets Talk VII.

Table 1. Grammar Items Used in the Lets Talk VII

No. Unit Grammaticl Items

1. Unit 1

A. Spoken Question words

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B. Written

C. Listening

D. Reading

(what,how many,how much)

Question words

(what,how many,how

much)

Tense (Simple present)

Question words

(what,how )

Pronouns

2. Unit 2

A. Spoken

B. Written

C. Listening

D. Reading

Question words (what,how )

Auxiliary Verbs (to be)

Yes/no questions

Question words (what,how,where )


Tense (Simple present in

reading text)

3. Unit 3

A. Spoken

B. Written

C. Listening

D. Reading

Question words

(what,when)

Question words (what,how many,how

much)


Auxiliary Verbs

Question words (what)

4. Unit 4

A. Spoken

Tense (Simple present

and Simple past)


14

B. Written

C. Listening

D. Reading

much)

Noun phrases

Articles (using definite article the ,and indefinite

articles a ,an)


much)


Noun phrase

5. Unit 5

A. Spoken

B. Written

C. Listening

D. Reading


much)

Question words

(what,how many,how

much)

Adjective and noun phrases


much)

Modals appropriate the

types of expression listed

above, eg.

Could,must,may,might

Tense (simple future tense)

6. Unit 6

A. Spoken

B. Written

Question words (where,when, how)

Modals appropriate the types of expression listed

above, eg.

Can,must,may,might

Adverbs of manner

(slowly,fast ,etc),adverbs

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C. Listening

D. Reading

of place (preposition: on,under,etc), adverbs of

time (day,date)

Question words

(where,when, how)

Tense (Simple present in reading text)

7. Unit 7

A. Spoken

B. Written

C. Listening

D. Reading

Question words (what,why,when)

Connecting clauses using and ,or

Tense (simple present tense in questions)

Question words

(what,how ,how much)

Tense (Simple present in

reading texts)

8. Unit 8

A. Spoken

B. Written

C. Listening

D. Reading


much)

Possessive pronouns (mines,yours,etc)

Question words

(what,how many,how

much)

Tense (Simple past tense, present countinuous tense

in reading texts)

9. Unit 9

A. Spoken


much)

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B. Written

C. Listening

D. Reading

Tense (simple past tense

in questions)


Tense (simple past tense

in reading texts)

10. Unit 10

A. Spoken

B. Written

C. Listening

D. Reading


much)

Question words (,how many,how much)

Countable

noun/uncountable noun

Question words (,how many,how much)

Tense (Simple past tense in reading texts)

As can be seen in Table 1, the first column has list of skills in every unit of

textbook. The second column has the grammar items were included in Lets Talk VII. The

next step was identifiying the tenses were mostly used in reading text(Lets Talk VII) .After

choosing 6 reading texts from textbook I, the sentences were identified according to the

tenses and clasified under the same tenses. I found that the tenses used in the reading texts

were simple present, simple past, present continuous tense , present perfect tense and

simple future tenses. The precentages of the tenses used in the reading texts can be seen in

Table 1 and Figure below.

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Table 1. The tenses uses in Texbook I

No. Tenses Total Precentage

1 Simple Past Tense 85 44%

2 Simple Present Tense 49 25%

3 Present Perfect Tense 25 13%

4 Present Countinuous Tense 21 11%

5 Simple future Tense 15 7%

Figure 1. The proportion of tenses used in textbook I

We see in figure one, the simple past tense was most freqeuntly used in the reading

texts. The persentage of the simple past tense used textbook I was 44 % . According Betty

Azar(1996) the simple past tense is used to talk about activities that began and ended in the

past. Below are the examples of the simple past tense sentences in textbook I.

(1.) One day a Lion lay asleep in the jungle. A tiny Mouse, running about in the grass

and not noticing where he was going, ran over the Lion's head and down his nose.

The Lion awoke with a loud roar, and down came his paw over the little Mouse.

( Let’s Talk VII page 179 )

Simple PastTense

SimplePresentTense

PresentPerfect Tense

PresentCountinuous

Tense

Simple futureTense

85

49

25 21

15

44% 25% 13% 11% 7%

Tenses used in textbook I

18

The simple present tense was the second tense that was often used in the reading

texts. The percentage of simple present tense was 25% . According to Betty Azar (1996)

the simple preset tense is to expresses event or situations that exist always,usually, and

habitually. Below are the examples of the simple present tense.

(2) Today is my sister’s birthday. We will have a small party in our home. My mother is

preparing a big cake. Before the party, my father decorates the room with colorful

balloon. My sister wears a very beautiful dress in the party. My mother does her

make up for my sister properly. At about seven, my sister’s friends come. They

bring many beautiful give. ( Let’s Talk VII page 79 )

The third tense that was used in the reading texts was the present perfect tense. The

percentage of this tenses was 13%. According to Betty Azar (1996) the present countinous

tense is used to emphasize an idea of an activity in progress or an uncompleted activity and

the events in the progress at the time the speaker is stating the sentence. Below are the

examples of present perfect tense.

(3). Dr. Fernando has been in the office sinceearly this morning. He has already seen a

lot of patients, and he will certainly see many more before the day is over. Dr.

Fernando’s patients don’t know it, but he also isn’t feeling well. He has had a pain

in his back since last Thursday, but he hasn’t taken any time to stay at home and

rest. He has had a lot of patients this week, and he’s a very dedicated doctor.

( Let’s Talk VII page 160 )

The present countinuous tense was the fourth tense in the textbook I. The

percentage of this tense was 11%. According to Betty Azar (1996) the present countinuous

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tense is used to emphasize an idea of an activity in progress or an uncompleted activity and

the events in the progress at the time the speaker is stating the sentence.

(4.) Look! The man and the boys are working together. They are gardening in the school

garden. The boy in the left is painting the fence. He using a paint brush. The man is

digging the soil. The other boys are cutting some flowers and taking some

mannure. ( Let’s Talk VII page 153)

The last most commonly used tense was the simple future tense. The percentage of

the simple future tense was 7%. The simple future tense is used at one particular time in the

future and it will happen (Betty Azar 1996). Below are the examples of the simple future

tense.

(5.) Tomorrow is my sister’s birthday. We will have a small party at home. My mother

will prepare a big cake. Before the party, my father will decorate the room with

colorful balloons. My sister;s will wear a very beautiful dress in the party.

( Let’s Talk VII Page 95)

2. Textbook II

Table 2. Grammar Items Used in the Lets Talk VIII

No. Unit Grammaticl Items

1. Unit 1

A. Spoken

B. Written

C. Listen

Question words

(what,how many,how

much)

Comparatives and superlative of adjective


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D. Reading

much)

Tense (The simple past

tense in reading

text,question and

statement)

2. Unit 2

A. Spoken

B. Written

C. Listen

D. Reading


much)

Auxiliary Verb (Modal)

Tense (the simple past

tense and simple present

tense)


Tenses (the simple past tense and simple present

tense in reading

text,question and

statement)

3. Unit 3

A. Spoken

B. Written

C. Listen

D. Reading

Expressions of

congratuation and

complimenting.

Tense( the past continous tense in question)


much)

Tenses (Simple present

and Tense( the past

continous tense in

question and reading text)

4. Unit 4

A. Spoken



21

B. Written

C. Listen

D. Reading

above, eg. Could,must,may,might

Modals (Will referring the

future)

Question words (what,how

many,how much)

Tense (Simple future tense)

5. Unit 5

A. Spoken

B. Written

C. Listen

D. Reading

Auxiliary verbs


much)


much

Tenses(Simple present

and past tense in reading

text)

6. Unit 6

A. Spoken

B. Written

C. Listen

D. Reading


much)

Modals appropriate the types of expression listed

above, eg.


Tenses (Simple present and past tense in

questions)



above, eg.


Tenses (Simple present and past tense in reading

22

text)

7. Unit 7

A. Spoken

B. Written

C. Listen

D. Reading

Question words

(what,how many,how

much)

Pronoun (It’s)

Tense (simple past tense and simpe present tense in

questions)

Question words

(what,how many,how

much)

Tense (simple past tense and simpe present tense in

reading text)

8. Unit 8

A. Spoken

B. Written

C. Listen

D. Reading


much)

Question words

(what,how many,how

much)

Adverbs of manner and frequency


much)

Yes/no questions

Tense (simple past tense in reading texts)


textbook. The second column has the grammar items were included in Lets Talk VIII. The

next step was identifiying the tenses were used tenses were mostly used in reading text(Lets

Talk VIII). In the textbook II I also chose 6 reading texts. The sentences were identified

23

according to the tenses and clasified under the same tenses. I found that the tenses used in

the reading texts were simple present, simple past, present continous tense, present perfect

tense and simple future tenses. The precentages of the tenses used in the reading texts can

be seen in Table 2 and Figure below.

Table 2. The tenses used in Texbook II




3 Present Continous Tense 23 12%



Figure 2.The proportion of tenses used in textbook II

From the diagram we can see that the tenses commonly used were simple past tense;

the persentage was 51%. According to Kent Uchiyama (2006) The Simple past is correct

Simple PastTense

Simple PresentTense

PresentContinous

Tense


Simple futureTense

96

41

23 20 16

51% 22% 12% 11% 8%

Tenses used in textbook II

24

for most actions in the past. There are only a few times when we absolutely need to use

other past tenses. Below the examples of simple past tense sentences from textbook II.

(1) Last moth, I flew from Denpasar to Makasar. I went with Kevin and Katryn. The

flight was only about an hour. We started to descend and landing gear made a loud

POP sound. I was little worried. The pilot said something over intercom in Bahasa

Indonesia. I didn’t understand him. I asked someone sitting near me for clue.

( Let’s Talk VIII page 68 )

The second tense that was most frequently used was the simple present tense. In

textbook II the persentage was 41%. According to Kent Uchiyama (2006) the simple

present tense is used to describe an action or habitual action that's happening at present and

does not indicate when the action is expected to end. The simple present tense is used

when: the action is not only occurring now; but repeats after regular intervals of time,or

indicates when it facts that are generally true. It can also be used to express an action for

relating habits and routines that happen all the time, be it in the future, past or present.

Below are the examples of the simple present tense sentences in the textbook II.

(2) Dengue fever is one of the most dangerous diseases in the world. Dengue fever is

endemic in most tropical countries od the South Pasific, Asia, the Caribbeans, the

Americas and Africas. This disease rapidly in most tropic urban areas of the world.

Dengue fever is caused by virus. (Let’ Talk VIII page 115)

Next, the third tense that was commonly used was the present countinuous tense.

The presentage was 23%. Kent Uchiyama (2006) says that the present continuous usually

defines an action that is going on at the time of speaking. The sentences with present

countinuous tense are used when:

25

Something is taking place now, while speaking and has a definite end as well.

When something is already decided and arranged as well to perform it.

To indicate an undesirable habit

Below are the examples of the present countinuous tense sentences in textbook II :

(3) Today they are wearing T-shirt because today is very hot. Everybody is feeling

happy. Look the sun is shining brightly, too. (Let’s Talk VIII page 80)

The present perfect tense was the fourth tense that was used in the reading text. The

persenatge was 20%. The present perfect tense according to Kent Uchiyama (2006) is

probably the most used tense form in English Grammar and is also considered difficult to

understand. The Present Perfect Tense explains the incident that has happened in the past

and that continues until the present time.Below are the examples of present perfect tense

sentences in the reading text from textbook II.

(4) The Indonesian government has become more interested in education.

( Let’s Talk VIII page 140 )

The last tense that the reading text used in the textbook II was the future tense; that

was 16%. The future tense is used for those sentences which refer to the actions which will

occur later, in the future. Below are the examples of future tense sentences from textbook

II.

(5) I will go to the movie next Saturday evening. I will go with my friend Ratih. We

will watch the movie we buy some snacks. ( Let’s Talk VIII page 79 )

26

3. Textbook III

Table 3. Grammar Items Used in the Lets Talk VII

No. Unit Grammatical Items

1. Unit 1

A. Spoken

B. Written

C. Listen

D. Reading

Question words

(what,how many,how

much)

Pronoun

Nouns in singular and plural

Tense (Simple present

and simple past tense in

questions)


much)

Tense (Simple present and simple past tense in

reading text)

2. Unit 2

A. Spoken

B. Written

C. Listen

D. Reading


much)

Modals appropiae the


above, eg.


Tense (Tense (Simple present tense in questions)


much)



above, eg.


Tense (Tense (Simple present tense in reading

27

text)

3. Unit 3

A. Spoken

B. Written

C. Listen

D. Reading

Question words

(what,how many,how

much)

Yes/No questions


much)



above, eg.

Can,must,may,might,will

Question words

(what,how many,how

much)

Tense (Tense Simple present tense in reading

text)

4. Unit 4

A. Spoken

B. Written

C. Listen

D. Reading


much)

Noun as athing and Noun

as a person

Question words (what,how

many,how much)

Tense (Simple past tense in reading text)

5. Unit 5

A. Spoken

B. Written

C. Listen

Question words

(what,how many,how

much)

Comparatives and superlatives of ajdective

Similarity of quantity

Question words

(what,how many,how

much)

28

D. Reading

Tense (Simple past tense

in reading text)

6. Unit 6

A. Spoken

B. Written

C. Listen

D. Reading


much)


much)

Auxiliary verbs


much)

Tense (Simple past tense in reading text)

7. Unit 7

A. Spoken

B. Written

C. Listen

D. Reading

Question words

(what,how many,how

much)



above, eg.

Can,must,may,might,will

Possible condition of present or future time

Question words

(what,how many,how

much)

Tense (Simple present, simple past and present

countinuous in reading

text)

8. Unit 8

A. Spoken

B. Written


much)

Expressions using past time

Connecting clauses using

29

C. Listen

D. Reading

and,but, because

Question words

(what,how many,how

much)

Tense ( Simple past tense in reading text)


textbook. The second column has the grammar items were included in Lets Talk IX. The

next step was identifiying the tenses were mostly used in reading text (Lets Talk IX) .From

textbook III, I also analyzed 6 reading texts. The sentences were identified according to the

tenses and clasified under the same tenses. I found that the tenses used in the reading texts

were simple present, simple past, present continuous tense , present perfect tense and

simple future tenses. The precentages of the tenses used in the reading texts can be seen in

Table 3 and Figure below.

Table 2. The tenses used in Texbook III






5 Present Countinuous Tense 15 7%

30

Figure 3.The proportion of tenses used in textbook III

From the diagram we can see that the tense most frequently used was the simple

past tense. According Raymond Murphy (2005) the simple past tense is used to express the

idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past. Sometimes, the speaker

may not actually mention the specific time, but they do have one specific time in mind.

Below are the examples of simple past tense sentences found in textbook III.

a. Once upon a time in Lombok, there was a kingdom named Kuripan. The

king or Kuripan was very wise. He had a daughter, named. Mandalika. She

was so beautiful. Many princes wanted to marry her. To choose the one that

would be his son-in-law, the king had an arrow shooting competition. The

best one would be Mandalika's husband. ( Let’s Talk IX page 17 )

Next, the second tense that was used in the reading text from textbook III was the

simple present tense; that was 24%. The simple present tense is used to talk about things in

Simple PastTense

Simple PresentTense

Simple futureTense


PresentCountinuous

Tense

98

47

20 18 15

49% 24% 10% 9% 7%

Tenses used in textbook

31

general. We use it to say something happens all the times or repeatly (Raymond Murphy

(2005)). Below the example of simple present tense sentences found in textbook III.

b. Radio is a form of communication in which intelligence is tarnsmitted

without wires from one point to another by means of electromagneticwaves.

Early forms of communication over great distances were the telephone and

telegraph. They requires wires between the sender and the receiver.

( Let’s Talk IX page 47 )

The simple future tense was the third tense that the reading text from the textbook

III used. The percentage was 10%. Raymond Murphy (2005) states that we use the simple

future tense to talk about things that will happen at a time later than now. In some

situations, like when you're making a prediction about the future, you can use either “be

going to” or “will”. But to talk about something that's already planned or decided, it's best

to use “be going to.”

c. My father will going to Denpasar next week to meet his partner business. He

will stay in a hotel for some day. He will busy a long day in Denpasar.

( Let’s Talk IX page

The fourth tense was the present perfect tense. The percentage was 18%. Raymond

Murphy (2005) says that we use the present perfect tense for an action that happens for a

period of time that coutinues until now. The present perfect tense used with certain

adverbials, such as: till now, by now, this week, since, in the last few years, and up to the

present. Below is an example of the present perfect tense sentence found in textbook III.

(4) Since 1962, important events have been organized in Gelora Bung Karno.


32

The present countinuous tense was the last tense that textbooks III used. The

percentage of this tenses was 15%. We use present countinuous forms for actions and

happenings that have started but have not finished yet (Raymond Murphy 2005). Below are

the examples of present countinuous tense sentences found in textbook III.

(5) Riko is walking home from school. He saw a man coming out of a shop. The

man carrying a lot of things. He is walking toward his car.


Conclusion

Overall, this study is about the tenses used in the reading texts in the Let’s talk

texbook grade VII,VIII,and IX. Regarding the research questions are are “What

grammatical items are mostly used in the readings text in Lets Talk VII, Lets Talk VIII and

Lets Talk IX? Specifically in reading texts, what tenses are mostly used ?“,the study shows

that the tenses that were most freqeuntly used in the textbooks were the simple past tense.

According to Raymond Murphy (2005) the simple past tense is to express the idea that an

action started and finished at a specific time in the past. Sometimes, the speaker may not

actually mention the specific time, but they do have one specific time in mind. Based on the

finding of this study I hope teachers give more attention to the students about the simple

past tense , because to help the students understanding texts in their target language

properly.

According to the result data, the precentage from each tenses in the textbook I were

the simple past was 44%, the simple present was 24 %, the present perfect was 13%, the

33

present countinuous tense was 11% and the simple future was 7%. In the textbook II , the

simple past was 51%, the simple present was 22%, the present perfect was 12%, the present

countinuous tense was 11% and the simple future was 8 %. In the textbook III , the simple

past was 49%, the simple present was 24%, the present perfect was 10%, the present

countinuous tense was 9% and the simple future was 7%. From the result we can see that

the tenses were most frequently used were the simple past tense.

Recommendations

Based on the findings, this study suggests the following recommendations. First ,

the teacher should give more disscussions on the past tense. Teachers should explain that

the simple past tense is used to talk about activities that began and ended in the past. The

simple past has time indicators such as yesterday,last night,a week. Second, teachers also

give more attention to the students about the simple past tense, because this is the tense that

student would find most in the reading texts in this textbooks.

Pedagogical Implication

From the result of the study, some implication can be observed. First, the data can

improve better understanding on the English teaching, particularly in the grammar part, for

the teachers’ participant, the researcher and readers. Second, after knowing the result of the

study, as a result, in the teaching itself, they as the teacher can improvement in teaching

learning to get the target language.

34

Limitation of the Study

Limitations of this study were chose 6 reading texts from each textbook randomly

which is many different tenses. I found that tenses used in the reading text of SMP textbook

were the simple past, the simple present tense, the simple future tense, the present perfect

and the past countinuous. I should analyzed the data , the sentences from each reading texts

were labeled or coded, classified and interpreted one by one.

The Future Researcher

My study hopefully can also improve the understanding on the English teaching,

particularly in the grammar part, for the teacher’s participant, the researcher and readers. As

a result, in the teaching itself, they as the student-teacher can make more sustainable

improvement in teaching learning. Second, the description of the data hopefully can be

useful information for teaching micro class or practicum programs for the English

Department students of Satya Wacana Christian University in preparing the students-

teachers in becoming professional English teachers in the future.

35

Acknowledgement

I would like to express my gratitude to Allah S.W.T who gave many bounties to me

to finish this thesis. I submit my highest appreciation to my supervisor, Dra. Martha

Nandari, M.A whose expertise, guidance, patience, and her assistance in writing this thesis.

Without her guidance, I would never have been able to finish my thesis, despite her

extremely busy schedule. I would like to thank Athriyana Pattiwael,M.Hum for examining

my thesis and giving a lot of suggestion. I also wish to express my love and gratitude to my

beloved families; my boyfriend for their understanding and endless love,through the

duration of my study. I also would like to thank to Adisti, Deby and Fatra for assistance in

the data collection. Special thanks also to all my seveners family, I Love you all!!

20

References

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Education Company

Murphy, Raymond. (2005). English Grammar in Use. Cambridge : Cambridge University

Press.

Dahar,MA., & Farze, F.A. 2011. Effect of avalability and the use of instructional material

on academic performance of students in Punjab (Pakistan). Journal of Middle

Eastern Finance and Economics, No.11, pp 6-8. Retrieved from

http://www.aerojournals.com/MEFE.htm/

Jeyaschandra, S. (2009). Textbook Analysis of English for Engineers. Department of

English School of Science and Humanities Karunya University: Coimbator (641-

114)

Britton, B , Woodward A and Binkley, M. 1993. Learning from textbook. Theory and

practice. New Jersey:Lowrence Erlbaun Associates. Inc.

Issitt, John (2004). Reflections on the Study of Textbooks, History of Education, 33(6),

683-697.

McConnell, Cheryl and Gail Hoover (2008). Strategies to Get Students to Read the

Textbook before Class. Accounting Education News, Winter 2008, 5-6.

Brown (2007). The Role of Textbooks and Reading in Content Area Classrooms: What are

Teachers and Students Saying, in Linek and Sturtevant (eds.)

Ackert, P., & Lee, L. (2005). Reading and vocabulary development 3: Cause and effect.

Boston, MA: Thom-son Heinle.

Ching, Chyi Kao. (2009:258) .Reading and vocabulary development 4: Concepts and

comments. Boston, MA: Thomson Heinle.

Anderson, N.J. (2003). Active skills for reading 3. Boston, MA: Thomson Heinle.

Graber, B., & Babcock, P. (2004). Reading for the real world 3. Sachse, TX: Compass.

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Kirn, E., & Hartmann, P. (2007). Interactions 1: Reading. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Lee, L., & Gundersen, E. (2004). Select readings-intermediate. Oxford: Oxford University

Press.

Fredericks, D. Anthony. 2005. The Complate Guied to Success as a teacher. Penguin Group

(USA)

Nunan, D. (1996). Langauge teaching methodology: A textbook for teachers.

Hemel,Hemsted: Prentice Hall

Whydeck, Kanthi. (2003). Everyday spelling and Grammar. Sidnet NWS: Pascal Press.

Kerr, P. (1996). Grammar for trainee teacher. In J. Willis, & D. Willis (Eds.). Challenge

and change in language The textbook as agent of change Education: Cambridge

University Press.

O’Nentil, R. 1990. “Why use textbooks?”. Currentiof Change in English Language

Teaching. Eds. R. Rossner and R. Bolitho. Oxford: Oxfordf University Press. 148-

156.

Hutchinson, T & Torres, E. 1994.. ELT Journal Volume 48/4. Oxford: Oxfordf University

Press.

Uchiyama, Kent. (2006). English Verb Tenses: An informal but extensive reference for

ESL students, the good folks who teach them, the idly curious, and the linguistically

perplexed

Cunningsworth, Allan. 1995. Coosing Your Coursebook.Magcmillan Heinemann. English

Language Teaching

Lunsford,A.A, Boston : Bedford. 2001. The Elements of English Grammar. Illinois

Wesleyan University .Bloomington. Illinois.

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Sturcture in the 8th grade. Chisinau

38

APPENDIX

Samples of Reading Texts

Siswanto, Joko., Arini, Yuniarti Dwi., & Dewanto, Wasi. (2005) . Let’s Talk VII. Pakar

Karya. Bandung

The Lion and The Mouse

One day a Lion lay asleep in the jungle. A tiny Mouse, running about

in the grass and not noticing where he was going, ran over the Lion's head

and down his nose.

The Lion awoke with a loud roar, and down came his paw over the

little Mouse. The great beast was about to open his huge jaws to swallow

the tiny creature when "Pardon me, O King, I beg of you," cried the

frightened Mouse. "If you will only forgive me this time, I shall never

forget your kindness. I meant no harm and I certainly didn't want to disturb

Your Majesty. If you will spare my life, perhaps I may be able to do you a

good turn, too." The Lion began to laugh, and he laughed and laughed.

"How could a tiny creature like you ever do anything to help me? And he

shook with laughter.

"Oh well," he shrugged, looking down at the frightened Mouse,

"you're not so much of a meal anyway." He took his paw off the poor little

prisoner and the Mouse quickly scampered away.

Some time after this, some hunters, trying to capture the Lion alive so

they could carry him to their king, set up rope nets in the jungle. The Lion,

who was hunting for some food, fell into the trap. Her roared and thrashed

about trying to free himself but with every move he made, the ropes bound

him tighter.The unhappy Lion feared he could never escape, and her roared

pitifully. His thunderous bellows echoed through the jungle.The tiny

Mouse, scurrying about far away, heard the Lion's roars. "That may be

there very Lion who once freed me," he said, remembering his promise.

And he ran to see whether he could help.

Discovering the sad state the Lion was in, the Mouse said to him,

"Stop, stop! You must not roar. If you make so much noise, the hunters

will come and capture you . I'll get you out of this trap."

With his sharp little teeth the Mouse gnawed at the ropes until they

broke. When the Lion had stepped out of the net and was free once more,

the Mouse said, "Now, was I not right?""Thank you, good Mouse," said

the Lion gently. "You did help me even though I am big and you are so

little. I see now that kindness is always worth while."

39

M, Bachtiar Bima., & Kurniawati, Cicik . (2005) . Let’s Talk VIII. Pakar

Karya. Bandung

Rapunzel

A long time ago there lived a young couple, a man and his wife. His wife

expecting their baby. She wanted a plant that only grew in her neighbor’s garden. She

wanted it so much. She even intended to steal it herself, but later on, she sent her husband

to steal it.

Unfornunately, Mother Gothel, of the, caught him doing it. She was a witch. Then, Mother Tothel forced the couple to give their first baby to her.

A few months later, the baby was born. It was a girl and named Rapunzel. Soon,

shit baby was taken away to live with Mother Gothel. Rapunzel grew to be a beautiful

young girl with her long golden hair.

At first she was cared for in a normal way. When she rached puberty, she was

locked in a tower so that she would never leave Mother Gothel. The tower stood in the

forest. It could only be entered by climbing on Rapunzel’s longhair. To cheer herself up,

she loved to sing.

One day, a young prince was out hunting. He stumbled upon the tower. He heard

Rapunzel’s beautiful voice. He decided that he must meet her. He spied and, by watching

Mother Gothel, learned the words he had to say to have Rapunzel drop her hair. The

prince visited her often and the two fell in love.

Then, Rapunzel made a plan to escape from the tower. She wanted to be with the prince. She asked the prince to bring her a skein of silk each time he visited.

She might weave a ladder for her escape. Unfortunately, Mother Gothel caught on. Then,

she banished Rapunzel to the desert. She threw the prince from the tower into a thorny

bsh. The thorns made the prince blind and he roamed the earth searching for his love.

Eventually, they found each other, and the prince’s eyes were healed by Rapunzel’s tears

of happiness.

40

M, Bachtiar Bima., Winardi, Andreas., & S, Siti Nurmalina. (2005) . Let’s Talk IX. Pakar

Karya. Bandung

Princess Mandalika

Once upon a time in Lombok, there was a kingdom named Kuripan. The king or

Kuripan was very wise. He had a daughter, named. Mandalika. She was so beautiful. Many

princes wanted to marry her. To choose the one that would be his son-in-law, the king had

an arrow shooting competition. The best one would be Mandalika's husband.

One the day of the competition, those princes shot their arrows. All of them did it perfectly.

The king found it difficult to choose. Therefore, the princes began to fight and kill each

other.

Princes Mandalika was so desperate. She didn't want anyone killing each other because of

her. That's why she decided to go to the sea. She died in the south sea of Lombok. The king

and princes were sad and felt guilty. They regretted and stopped fighting.

Untill now, one day in every year, usually in February or March, people in to the south sea.

On that day, great numbers of worms come out from the sea. People calls there worms

'NYALE'. People believe that those nyales are princess Mandalika's hair.

Documents

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