Luận án Common Errors of Reported Speech Made by Grade 11 Students at Doc Binh Kieu High School, Tien 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 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 S + say / said /... + (that) + S + V tell + O / told + O /… think / thought /… hope / hoped /… ……………. 6 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 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. S + tell / told / … + O + to + V ask / asked / … beg / begged / … order / ordered / … ……………. S + tell / told / … + O + not to + V never to ask / asked / … beg / begged / … order / ordered / … ……………. 7 1.2.3 Reported questions Yes-No Questions (“Auxiliary + S + …?” ) Reported speech 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 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. S + ask / asked + ( O ) + if + S +V whether enquire / enquired / … wonder / wondered / … want to know / wanted to know / … ……………. S + ask / asked / … + (O) + if + S +V + or +… whether enquire / enquired / … wonder / wondered / … want to know / wanted to know /… ……………. 8 Wh-Questions ( “ Question words + auxiliary + S + …? ” ) Reported speech 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 + ask / asked / … + (O) + enquire / enquired / … wonder / wondered / … want to know / wanted to know /… ……………. S + ask / asked / … + (O) + enquire / enquired / … wonder / wondered / … want to know / wanted to know /… ……………. who + V what which who + S + V what which whom where when why how … 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 Mary said, “I am a secretary.” Simple past Mary said that she was a secretary. Present continuous She said, “I am listening to music.” Past continuous She said that she was listening to music. Present perfect She said, “I have been to Da lat.” Past perfect She said that she had been to Da lat. Present perfect continuous The clerk said, “I have been learning English for ten years.” Past perfect continuous The clerk said that she had been learning English for ten years. Simple past My friend said, “My brother bought a computer yesterday.” Past perfect My friend said that his brother had bought a computer the day before. Past continuous He said, “We were having dinner at 7 p.m yesterday.” Past perfect continuous He said that they had been having dinner 7p.m the day before. Past perfect He said, “I had turned off the TV before 8 a.m.” Past perfect (unchanged) He said he had turned off the TV before 8 a.m. Past perfect continuous Past perfect continuous (unchanged) 13 He said, “I had been waiting for ten minutes when the bus arrived.” He said that he had been waiting for ten minutes when the bus arrived. Simple future My mother said to me, “I will buy you a new watch tomorrow.” Simple future in the past (Conditional) My mother told me that she would buy me a new watch the following day. Future continuous My friend said, “I will be watching TV at 8 o‟clock tomorrow.” Future continuous in the past (Conditional continuous) My friend said that she would be watching TV at 8 o‟clock the following day. 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) Ex: She said to me, “Can you swim?” could 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) Ex: Our parents said to us, “You may watch TV in your free time.” could Ex: Our parents told us that we could watch TV in our free time. must (obligation, present) Ex: “Need I eat it all, mummy?” said the child. “Yes, dear, you must,” she said. must/had to Ex: The child asked his mother if he had to eat it all and she said that he must/had to. must (obligation, future) Ex: My father said to me, “You must work harder next term.” must/would have to Ex: My father told me that I must/would have to work harder the next term. needn’t (necessity, present) Ex: He said, “I needn’t be in the room till 5 p.m.” needn’t/didn’t have to Ex: He said that he needn’t / didn’t have to be the room till 5 p.m.” needn’t (necessity, future) Ex: I said, “If you can lend me the money, I needn’t go to the bank.” needn’t / wouldn’t have to Ex: I said that if he could lend me the money, I needn’t / wouldn’t have to go to the bank. shall ( future) Ex 1: I said, “I shall buy a new bicycle if I have enough money.” Ex 2: He said, “I shall buy a new bicycle if I have enough money.” (I/we + should / would), (You/he/she/it/they + would) Ex 1: I said that I should / would buy a new bicycle if I had enough money. Ex 2: He said that he would buy a new bicycle if he had enough money. 16 shall ( o