The study: Common errors of reported speech made by grade 11 students at Doc Binh Kieu high school, Kien Giang province

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Aims of the study: Common errors of reported speech made by grade 11 students at Doc Binh Kieu high school, Kien Giang province to find out grade 11 students common errors in using reported speech; to suggest some solutions to help the students avoid these errors.

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Nội dung Text: The study: Common errors of reported speech made by grade 11 students at Doc Binh Kieu high school, Kien Giang province

1 INTRODUCTION There are six parts in the introduction. They are motivation for the study, aims of the study, scope of the study, significance of the study, related previous studies and organization of the study. 1. Motivation for the study Today English is the language widely used in the world. English is not only the national or official language of some countries, which have different cultures, but it is also the international language of communication in many fields including science, technology, business, entertainment and so on. Since Viet Nam joined World Trade Organization (WTO), the need for learning English has been considerably increasing among Vietnamese because their proficiency in English can help them get good jobs. Therefore, learning English is very necessary. However, it is not easy to master this language. In order to become good English learners, besides proficiency in listening, speaking, reading and writing skills, they must use grammar properly although English grammar can be difficult. Numerous studies show that the use of poor grammar in spoken and written statements reflects negatively on the speaker or author, and that people who use bad grammar are instantly perceived as being less intelligent, less reliable or less trustworthy than people who use proper grammar. Consequently, it is essential for English learners to master grammar. English grammar includes a lot of points. One of them is reported speech. Reported speech is important but rather difficult because it involves a lot of elements which causes students to feel confused and make many errors. Making so many errors of reported speech is not good because when someone reports incorrectly what someone else has said, it is difficult for listeners to understand or it is even easy for them to misunderstand, causing serious consequences. In addition, reported speech often appears on tests in class, final tests and tests in the entrance exams to universities and colleges. If students do not master this grammar point, they may lose marks relating to reported speech easily. For those reasons, the researcher decided to study the topic “Common Errors of Reported Speech Made by Grade 11 Students at Doc Binh Kieu High School, Tien Giang Province”. This study is aimed at searching for the
2 grade 11 students‟ common errors and suggesting some solutions to help the students use reported speech better. 2. Aims of the study - To find out grade 11 students‟ common errors in using reported speech. - To suggest some solutions to help the students avoid these errors. 3. Scope of the study The study is about common errors of reported speech based on the exercise the researcher gives grade 11 students at Doc Binh Kieu High School. 4. Significance of the study The study including the solutions suggested will help students avoid common errors of reported speech. Some solutions are suggested for teachers so that they can apply to help the students in learning reported speech. 5. Related previous studies Many theses relating to reported speech have been studied. The research “Teaching Reported Speech” done by Dan Rej Regmi was about the major mistakes made by the learners of Grade XII of Management stream. However, the researcher only gave suggestions for teachers to teach their Nepalese students in order to help them understand and use reported speech precisely. In Vietnam, Le Thi Thu Quynh, student of Ho Chi Minh University of Education did the research “Indirect speech in English and Vietnamese: A comparative contrastive analysis” in 2010. In this research, the researcher has pointed out basic similarities and differences in indirect speech between Vietnamese and English as well as some major mistakes made by Vietmanese. However, the subjects were Vietnamese learners in general and the researcher gave a general suggestion instead of specific ones to help them avoid those errors. The suggestion was that Vietnamese people have to pay more attention to grammar structure when they want to change an English indirect speech into the direct one.
3 6. Organization of the study INTRODUCTION Chapter 1 LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Definition of reported speech 1.2 Types of reported speech 1.2.1 Reported statements 1.2.2 Reported imperatives 1.2.3 Reported questions 1.2.4 Reported exclamations 1.2.5 Mixed types of reported speech 13. Changes of direct speech when turned into reported speech 1.3.1 Pronoun changes 1.3.2 Adjective changes 1.3.3 Tense changes 1.3.4 Modal verb changes 1.3.5 Adverb changes 1.3.6 Exceptions Chapter 2 METHODOLOGY 2.1 Research questions 2.2 Research participants 2.2.1 The researcher 2.2.2 The subjects 2.3 Data collection instruments 2.3.1 The questionnaire 2.3.2 The mini-test 2.4 Research procedure 2.4.1 The questionnaire 2.4.1 The mini-test
4 Chapter 3 RESULTS, DISCUSSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 3.1 Results 3.1.1 Results collected from the questionnaire 3.1.2 Results collected from the mini-test 3.2 Discussions 3.2.1 The questionnaire 3.2.2 The mini-test 3.3 Suggestions 3.3.1 For the teachers 3.3.2 For the students CONCLUSION AND LIMITATIONS REFERENCES APPENDIX 1 APPENDIX 2 APPENDIX 3
5 Chapter 1 LITERATURE REVIEW In this chapter, the theory of reported speech is presented including definition of reported speech, types of reported speech and changes of direct speech when turned into reported speech. 1.1 Definition of reported speech Reported speech or indirect speech refers to using a noun clause to report what someone has said. No quotation marks are used. ( 3 ) Example: Direct speech: She said, “She hasn‟t met Susan for two years.” Reported speech: She said (that) she hadn‟t met Susan for two years. 1.2 Types of reported speech 1.2.1 Reported statements Statements (“S + V”) Reported speech S + say / said /... + (that) + S + V tell + O / told + O /… think / thought /… hope / hoped /… ……………. Examples: Direct speech: “I‟m waiting for my mother,” he said. Reported speech: He said that he was waiting for his mother. Direct speech: Rick said to me, “Anne has written Jim a letter.” Reported speech: Rick told me that Anne had written Jim a letter. Direct speech: She hopes, “I will pass the exam.” Reported speech: She hopes that she will pass the exam. 1.2.2 Reported imperatives Affirmative imperatives (“V……”) Reported speech
6 S + tell / told /… + O + to + V ask / asked / … beg / begged / … order / ordered / … ……………. Examples: Direct speech: The teacher said to me, “Show me your notebook.” Reported speech: The teacher told me to show her my notebook. Direct speech: He said to me, “Remember to come here on time.” Reported speech: He asked me to come there on time. Direct speech: “Please give me some money,” said the old man to us. Reported speech: The old man begged us to give him some money. Direct speech: The boss tells me, “Come in!” Reported speech: The boss tells me to come in. Negative imperatives (“Don’t + V…/ Never + V…/ ”) Reported speech S + tell / told /… + O + not to + V never to ask / asked /… beg / begged / … order / ordered / … ……………. Examples: Direct speech: She said to her husband, “Don‟t drive too fast.” Reported speech: She told her husband not to drive too fast. Direct speech: The teacher says to her students, “Never go to school late.” Reported speech: The teacher tells her students never to go to school late.
7 1.2.3 Reported questions Yes-No Questions (“Auxiliary + S + …?” ) Reported speech S + ask / asked + ( O ) + if + S +V whether enquire / enquired /… wonder / wondered / … want to know / wanted to know / … ……………. Examples: Direct speech: She said to me, “Are you hungry?” Reported speech: He asked me if / whether I was hungry. Direct speech: He said to himself, “Will she arrive on time?” Reported speech: He wondered if /whether she would arrive on time. Direct speech: He enquires, “Does the train stop at York?” Reported speech: He enquires if / whether the train stops at York. Or-Questions (“Auxiliary + S …+ or + …? ” ) Reported speech S + ask / asked /… + (O) + if + S +V + or +… whether enquire / enquired /… wonder / wondered / … want to know / wanted to know /… ……………. Examples: Direct speech: Mary‟s mother said to her, “Do you like the blue hat or the green one?” Reported speech: Mary‟s mother asked her if/whether she liked the blue hat or the green one. Direct speech: “Would you rather travel by car or by train?” she asks me. Reported speech: She asks me if/whether I would rather travel by car or by train.
8 Wh-Questions ( “ Question words + auxiliary + S + …? ” ) Reported speech S + ask / asked /… + (O) + who +V enquire / enquired /… what wonder / wondered / … which want to know / wanted to know /… ……………. S + ask / asked /… + (O) + enquire / enquired /… who + S +V wonder / wondered / … what want to know / wanted to know /… which ……………. whom where when why how … Examples: Direct speech: “Who is going to live in the big house?” he enquired. Reported speech: He enquired who was going to live in the big house. Direct speech: “Who does English belong to?” our teacher has just said to us. Reported speech: Our teacher has just asked us who English belongs to. Direct speech: “How do you learn English?” she asks him. Reported speech: She asks him how he learns English. 1.2.4 Reported exclamations Exclamations(“ …!”) Reported speech S + exclaim / exclaimed /… + (that) + S + V say / said /... …………….
9 Examples: Direct speech: He said, “What a dreadful idea!” Reported speech: He exclaimed that it was a dreadful idea. Direct speech: She says, “What a beautiful dress!” Reported speech: She says that it is a very beautiful dress. 1.2.5 Mixed types of Reported Speech Direct speech may consist of statement + question, question + imperative, imperative + statement or all together. * Rule1 Often each type requires its own introductory verb and the conjunction „and‟ is used to link them. Examples: Direct speech: “ I‟m a stranger. Can you tell me how to get to the post office?” she said. Reported speech: She said she was a stranger and asked if I could tell her how to get to the post office. * Rule2 When the second clause is a statement explaining the first, the conjunction „ as‟ can be used instead of a second introductory verb Examples: Direct speech: “Don‟t turn off the light. It is dark here.” my sister said. Reported speech: My sister told me not to turn off the light as it was dark there *Rule3 Sometimes the second introductory verb can be a participle Examples: Direct speech: “Please, please don‟t smoke. Remember that it is harmful to your health,” his wife said. Reported speech: His wife begged him not to smoke reminding him that it was harmful to your health
10 1.3 Changes of direct speech when turned into reported speech 1.3.1 Pronoun changes  Personal, reflexive and possessive pronoun changes * Rule1: First person pronouns in the direct speech change from the first person to the person of the subject of the reporting verb in the reported speech. Example: Direct speech: He said, “I am a student.” Reported speech: He said that he was a student. * Rule2: Second person pronouns in the direct speech change from the second person to the person of the object of the reporting verb in the reported speech. Example: Direct speech: She said to me, “You are very kind.” Reported speech: She told me that I was very kind. * Rule3: Third person pronouns in the direct speech will not change in the reported speech. Example: Direct speech: The manager said, “They are hard workers.” Reported speech: The manager said that they were hard workers. * Notes: - The new (changed) pronoun will have the same case and number as the original one. Example: Direct speech: He said, “This book is mine.” Reported speech: He said that that book was his. - In some cases, to avoid confusion, we can use the former and the latter instead of the pronouns mentioned in the rules above. Examples: Direct speech: Tom said to Peter, “Miss White wants to meet me in the office.” Reported speech: Tom told Peter that Miss White wanted to meet the former in the office. Direct speech: Tom said to Peter, “Miss White wants to meet you in the office.”
11 Reported speech: Tom told Peter that Miss White wanted to meet the latter in the office.  Demonstrative pronoun changes this  that these  those Examples: Direct speech: She said, “This is Tom‟s house.” Reported speech: She said (that) that was Tom‟s house. Direct speech: He said, “These are my new pens.” Reported speech: He said that those were his new pens. 1.3.2 Adjective changes  Possessive adjective changes The rule of possessive adjective changes in reported speech is the same as that of possessive pronoun changes mentioned above. Examples: Direct speech: He said, “I haven‟t finished my work.” Reported speech: He said that he hadn‟t finished his work. Direct speech: My sister said to me, “Don‟t put your bag here.” Reported speech: My sister told me not to put my bag there. Direct speech: Alice said, “I don‟t know their names.” Reported speech: Alice said that she didn‟t know their names.  Demonstrative adjective changes The rule of demonstrative adjective changes in reported speech is the same as that of demonstrative pronoun changes mentioned above. Examples: Direct speech: He said, “This room needs painting.” Reported speech: He said that that room needed painting. Direct speech: She said, “These books are mine.” Reported speech: She said that those books were hers.
12 1.3.3 Tense changes * Rule 1 If the reporting verb is in the past tense, tenses of the verbs in the direct speech will be changed into their corresponding past tenses in the reported speech. The changes are shown in the following table. Direct speech Reported speech Simple present Simple past Mary said, “I am a secretary.” Mary said that she was a secretary. Present continuous Past continuous She said, “I am listening to music.” She said that she was listening to music. Present perfect Past perfect She said, “I have been to Da lat.” She said that she had been to Da lat. Present perfect continuous Past perfect continuous The clerk said, “I have been learning The clerk said that she had been learning English for ten years.” English for ten years. Simple past Past perfect My friend said, “My brother bought a My friend said that his brother had bought a computer yesterday.” computer the day before. Past continuous Past perfect continuous He said, “We were having dinner at 7 He said that they had been having dinner p.m yesterday.” 7p.m the day before. Past perfect Past perfect (unchanged) He said, “I had turned off the TV He said he had turned off the TV before 8 before 8 a.m.” a.m. Past perfect continuous Past perfect continuous (unchanged)
13 He said, “I had been waiting for ten He said that he had been waiting for ten minutes when the bus arrived.” minutes when the bus arrived. Simple future Simple future in the past (Conditional) My mother said to me, “I will buy you My mother told me that she would buy me a a new watch tomorrow.” new watch the following day. Future continuous Future continuous in the past (Conditional continuous) My friend said that she would be watching My friend said, “I will be watching TV at 8 o‟clock the following day. TV at 8 o‟clock tomorrow.” But note that there are some exceptions: - There are no tense changes in the reported speech if the reported words are true at the time of reporting. Example: Direct speech: He said, “I am 24 years old.” Reported speech: He said that he is 24 years old. (Now he is 24 years old.) - There are no tense changes in the reported speech if the reported words express a general truth. Example: Direct speech: Our geography teacher said, “The Earth revolves around the Sun.” Reported speech: Our geography teacher said that the Earth resolves around the Sun. - There are no tense changes in reported speech if the reported words refer to unreal situations. Examples: Direct speech: My sister said, “If I were a billionaire, I would help the poor.” Reported speech: My sister said that if she were a billionaire, she would help the poor. Direct speech: He said, “If I had worked hard, I would have passed the exam.”
14 Reported speech: He said that if he had worked hard, I would have passed the exam. - There are no tense changes in reported speech if the reported words contain unreal past tenses after wish, would rather/sooner and it is time. Examples: Direct speech: Tom said, “I wish I could travel around the world.” Reported speech: Tom said that he wished he could travel around the world. Direct speech: She said to him, “I would rather you did not smoke here.‟ Reported speech: She told him that she would rather he did not smoke there. Direct speech: He said, “It‟s time the government did something to save the environment.” Reported speech: He said that it was time the government did something to save the environment. * Rule 2 If the reporting verb is in simple present, present continuous, present perfect and future tenses, tenses of the verbs in the direct speech will not be changed in the reported speech. Example: Direct speech: He says, “I listen to the radio every day.” Reported speech: He says that he listens to the radio every day. 1.3.4 Modal verb changes * Rule 1 Modal verbs in the direct speech will be changed into the corresponding past forms in the reported speech if the reporting verb is in the past tense. The changes are shown in the following table. Direct speech Reported speech can (ability) could Ex: She said to me, “Can you swim?” Ex: She asked me if I could swim. may (possibility) might
15 Ex: He said, “It may rain.” Ex: He said that it might rain. may ( permission) could Ex: Our parents said to us, “You may Ex: Our parents told us that we could watch TV in your free time.” watch TV in our free time. must (obligation, present) must/had to Ex: “Need I eat it all, mummy?” said Ex: The child asked his mother if he had to the child. eat it all and she said that he must/had to. “Yes, dear, you must,” she said. must (obligation, future) must/would have to Ex: My father said to me, “You must Ex: My father told me that I must/would work harder next term.” have to work harder the next term. needn’t (necessity, present) needn’t/didn’t have to Ex: He said, “I needn’t be in the room Ex: He said that he needn’t / didn’t have till 5 p.m.” to be the room till 5 p.m.” needn’t (necessity, future) needn’t / wouldn’t have to Ex: I said, “If you can lend me the Ex: I said that if he could lend me the money, I needn’t go to the bank.” money, I needn’t / wouldn’t have to go to the bank. shall ( future) (I/we + should / would), (You/he/she/it/they + would) Ex 1: I said that I should / would buy a Ex 1: I said, “I shall buy a new bicycle new bicycle if I had enough money. if I have enough money.” Ex 2: He said that he would buy a new Ex 2: He said, “I shall buy a new bicycle if he had enough money. bicycle if I have enough money.”
16 shall ( offers, requests for advice and should confirmation) Ex: He asked his wife, “Where shall I Ex: He asked his wife where he should put put this box?” that / the box. will would Ex: She said, “They will come in time.” Ex: She said that they would come in time. * Rule 2 In the reported speech, such words as had better, would rather/sooner, ought to, used to, should, would, could, might remain unchanged. Examples: Direct speech: “The children had better/ should go to bed early,” the doctor said. Reported speech: The doctor said that children had better/should go to bed early. Direct speech: He said, “I would rather travel by car.” Reported speech: He said that he would rather travel by car. Direct speech: “They ought to widen this road,” she said. Reported speech: She said that they ought to widen that road. Direct speech: “I used to play marbles when I was young,” he said. Reported speech: He said that he used to played marbles when he was young. Direct speech: “It might be colder,” she said. Reported speech: She said that it might be colder. Direct speech: “I couldn’t stand on my head,” he said. Reported speech: He said that he couldn’t stand on his head. Direct speech: She said to her boyfriend, “If I were you, I would apply for the job.” Reported speech: She told her boyfriend that if she were him, she would apply for the job.
17 1.3.5 Adverb changes Adverb changes in the reported speech are shown in the following table: Direct speech Reported speech here there Ex: He said, “Put the desk here, Peter.” Ex: He told Peter to put the desk there. this that Ex: She said, “I met him this morning.” Ex: She said that she had met him that morning. these those Ex: He said to me, “Don‟t put your Ex: He told me not to put my books on books on these tables.” those tables. now / at present then Ex: She said, “He is working now.” Ex: She said that he was working then. Ago before Ex: He said, “I graduated from high Ex: He said that he had graduated from school 4 years ago.” high school 4 years before. Today that day Ex: She said, “We study geography Ex: She said they studied geography today.” that day. yesterday the day before/ the previous day Ex: He said, “I went swimming Ex: He said that he had gone swimming yesterday.” the day before/ the previous day. the day before yesterday/ two days two days before/two days earlier ago Ex: She said that her mother had taken
18 Ex: She said, “My mother took me to her to the zoo two days before/ two the zoo the day before yesterday.” days earlier. last night the previous night /the night before Ex: He said, “I stayed up late last Ex: He said that he had stayed up late night.” the previous night / the night before. Tomorrow the following day/ the next day Ex: He said, “It may rain tomorrow.” Ex: He said that it might rain the following day/ the next day. the day after tomorrow/in two days in two days’ time / two days later Ex: She said, “I will return home the Ex: She said that I would return home day after tomorrow.” in two days’ time/ two days later. tomorrow evening the following evening / the next evening Ex: She said that we were going to Ex: “We are going to have a party have a party the following evening/ tomorrow evening,” she said. the next evening. But note that there are some exceptions: - If the speech is made and reported on the same day, these time changes are not necessary. - If the speech is made and reported at the same place, these place changes are not necessary. Examples: Direct speech: At breakfast this morning he said, “ I‟ll be very busy today” Reported speech: At breakfast this morning he said that he would be very busy today. Direct speech: In this room he said, “ I will have a meeting here.” Reported speech: In this room he said that he would have a meeting here
19 1.3.6 Exceptions In reality, direct speech is sometimes turned into reported speech according to the meaning instead of the structures mentioned above. The exceptions fall into such groups as thanks, advice, encouragement, congratulation, compliment, wish, dream, promise, request, suggestion, insistence, admission, denial, apology, blame, accusation, warning , prohibition and so on. For example: * Thanks: Direct speech: “ It was nice of you to visit me. Thank you,” Mary said to me  Reported speech: Mary thanked me for visiting her. * Advice: Direct speech: “You‟d better not swim too far from the shore,” he said to us.  Reported speech: He advised us not to swim too far from the shore. * Encouragement: Direct speech: “ You should take part in the English Speaking Competition,” said the teacher to us .  Reported speech: The teacher encouraged us to take part in the English Speaking Competition. * Congratulation: Direct speech: “I hear you passed your exams. Congratulations!” Peter said to us.  Reported speech: Peter congratulated us on passing our exams. * Compliment: Direct speech: “ What a beautiful hat you have!” said Tom to Alice.  Reported speech: Tom complimented Alice on her beautiful hat * Wish: Direct speech: He said, “Happy Christmas!”  Reported speech: He wished me a happy Christmas. * Dream: Direct speech: “ I‟ve always want to be healthy ” Alice said.  Reported speech: Alice has always dreamed of being healthy. * Promise: Direct speech: He said to me, “ I will send you details of the competition ”
20  Reported speech: He promised to send me details of the competition. * Request: Direct speech: “Could you send me details of the competition?” I said to him.  Reported speech: I asked him to send me details of the competition. * Suggestion: Direct speech: Mary said, “ Let‟s talk about the General knowledge Quiz ”  Reported speech: Mary suggested talking about the General knowledge Quiz. * Insistence: Direct speech: “ We must be given every detail of the contest, ” they insisted.  Reported speech: They insisted on being given every detail of the contest. * Admission: Direct speech: She said, “ To tell the truth, I haven‟t participated in a singing contest”  Reported speech: She admitted not having participated in a singing contest * Denial: Direct speech: “ Me? No, I didn‟t take your pen,” said Tom to Mary.  Reported speech: Tom denied having taken Mary‟s pen. * Apology: Direct speech: “I‟m sorry, I didn‟t phone you earlier.” Mary said.  Reported speech: Mary apologized for not phoning me earlier. * Blame: Direct speech: He said to me, “ It was your fault. You ignored the notice.”  Reported speech: He blamed me for ignoring the notice. * Accusation: Direct speech:, “You didn‟t pay attention to the lesson,” the teacher said to Paul.  Reported speech: The teacher accused Paul of not paying attention to the lesson * Warning: Direct speech: She said to us, “ Don‟t go alone in the dark.”  Reported speech: She warned us against going alone in the dark. * Prohibition: Direct speech:She said to her children, “ You can‟t go out after dark.”  Reported speech: She prevented her children from going out after dark.