A.

STUDENTS’ PROBLEMS ON SELECTING GRAMMAR

MATERIALS IN DESIGNING SYLLABUS IN ENGLISH FOR
SPECIFIC PURPOSES (ESP) OF THE FIFTH SEMESTER
STUDENTS AT IAIN MADURA
B. Research Context
English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is based on designing courses
to meet learners’ need.1 Brian state that ESP is a subject of English as a
second or foreign language where the goal of the learner is to use English
and particular domain. The teaching of English for Specific Purposes in its
early day was largely motivated by the need to communicate across
languages in areas such as commerce and technology.2 Learners were seen
to have different needs and interests, which would have an important
influence on their motivation to learn and therefore on the effectiveness of
their learning.3 In general, it can be concluded that the ESP is a new
approach to teaching and using English for specific fields and studies that
are in line with the needs of the field of science and the profession of
English users. Fields of science and professions such as English for
Information Technology, accounting, medicine, animal husbandry,
agriculture and so on.
Materials writing is one of the most characteristic features of ESP
in practice.4 In ESP subject, material is very important. Therefore the
teacher who teaches will provide material in accordance with a specific
goal or department because ESP's goal is for students to be able to master
English in the fields they study. For example, information technology
students, they must know English for information technology. In this ESP
teacher provided subject matter or sub topics that will be discussed next.
Previously, students are asked to create a syllabus devised in accordance
with the respective content. For example, students will discuss about
Information Technology, therefore in the syllabus to be made must be
1 Tom Hutchinson and Alan Waters, English for Specific Purposes A Learning-Centred Approach
(New York: Cambridge University Press, 1987), page. 3.
2 Brian Paltridge and Sue Starfield, The Handbook of English for Specific Purposes (Malden
USA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2013), page. 2.
3 Tom Hutchinson and Alan Waters, English for Specific Purposes A Learning-Centred Approach
(New York: Cambridge University Press, 1987), page. 7.
4 Ibid. 106.

1
 appropriate to the content of that is information technology. In the
syllabus, students must enter the fourth skill i.e. Reading, writing,
speaking and structure. After completing the preparation of the syllabus,
students will be asked to create a book in accordance with sub topics that
have been given.
From the experience of the researcher, students have many
problems or difficulty in selecting the material that must be appropriate to
the topic/content has been given and it’s not easy because it should be
composing words, grammatical and need some references that appropriate
with the students need materials. In this case, the researcher will examine
how students have difficulty in choosing grammar material to design
syllabus because most of the students who still do not understand and lack
mastering the material about grammar. Designing syllabus of grammar
materials of English for Specific Purposes is one of assignment of TBI
students in the fifth semester IAIN Madura. So the researcher will make
the fifth semester of TBI students, especially A-class as an object of
research.
Based on the statements above the researcher is interested to
research the “Students’ Problems on Selecting Grammar Materials in
Designing Syllabus in English For Specific Purposes (ESP) of the Fifth
Semester Students at IAIN Madura”
C. Research Problem
Research problem is a complete and detailed statement of the scope
of the problem to be investigated based on the identification and limitation
of the problem.5 Research problems in qualitative research are tentative,
meaning that refinement of focus or problem formulation can still be done
while the researcher is in the field. In other words, although the research
focus has been well formulated, but because the situation on the ground
does not allow researchers to collect data, the focus may change.6

5 Tim STAIN Pamekasan, Pedoman Penulisan Karya Ilmiah (Pamekasan: STAIN Pamekasan
Press, 2015), page. 10.
6 Ibid.18.

2
 Therefore, the researcher should make inquiries in accordance with
the conditions in the field or study location with the above context and can
set the focus in this study are:
1. What are the problems in selecting grammar materials in designing
syllabus of ESP subject at A-Class students the fifth semester IAIN
Madura?
2. How the solutions to overcome the problem on selecting grammar
materials in designing syllabus of ESP subject at A-Class students the
fifth semester IAIN Madura?
D. Research Objective
Research objective is a statement of intent for the study that
declares specific goals that the investigator plans to achieve in a study.7
The objective of this study can be state as follows:
1. To find out students’ problems in selecting grammar materials in
designing syllabus of ESP subject at the fifth semester IAIN Madura.
2. To explain the solutions to overcome the problem on selecting
grammar materials in designing syllabus of ESP subject at A-Class
students the fifth semester IAIN Madura.

E. Significance of Study
The significance of this study is hopefully providing benefits in
theoretically and practically.
1. Theoretically, this study will give and serve a good contribution to
discover new knowledge and useful for many people.
2. Practically, the researcher hopes the result of the study is valuable in
giving contributions to the English learners, especially in the A-Class
the fifth semester of TBI students. The research also significant for:
a. The Students
With this research students can overcome the difficulty and
students more active, creative and interested in selecting grammar
materials in designing syllabus of ESP subject.
b. The Teacher
The researcher expects the result can add new knowledge and new
information for the teacher.
c. Further Researcher

7 John W. Creswell, EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH at fourth edition (Boston: Pearson Press, 2012),
page. 627.

3
 This study is as contributions of opinion or inspiration for further
researcher if they decide to research in the same areas.

F. Scope and Limitation of Study

1. Scope of Study
Scope is the range of things that the subject organization.8 The
purpose of the scope is to make it as clear as possible with explanations of
the research. The scope of this research is to solve the students’ problems
on selecting grammar materials in designing syllabus on ESP subject.
2. Limitation of Study
Limitation is potential weaknesses or problem with the study
identified by the researcher.9 The limitation of this research focused on
A-Class TBI students the fifth semester at IAIN Madura because when
the fifth semester the students had problems on selecting grammar
materials in designing syllabus on ESP subject.
G. Definition of Key term
Definition of Key terms is needed to avoid misunderstanding
meaning for the readers. Creswell suggests us to begin our research by
narrowing our topics to a few key terms using one or two words or short
phrases.10 The researcher provides the definition of key terms used as
keywords:
1. Students’ Problems are the difficulties felt by the students in the
teaching-learning process.
2. English for Specific Purposes is the subject in English to refer to a
specific purpose and in accordance with its purpose. ESP is different
from English in General.
3. Syllabus is a plan of learning in a group of subjects/themes in
particular that includes basic competence, competence standards,
subject matter/learning, learning activities, indicators, assessment,
allocation of time, and the sources/materials/tools learn.
4. Grammar materials is very useful in teaching learning-learning
process, clear and correct material is the main goal of ESP subject.
H. Review of Literature

8Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, Fourth Edition (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003),
page. 393.
9 Ibid. 256.
10 John W. Creswell, Educational Research (Boston: Pearson education, 2011), page. 82.

4
 Review of literature is a written summary of articles, books, and
other documents that describes the past and current state of knowledge
about a topic, organizes the literature into topics, and documents a need for
a proposed study.11 This review serves the purpose of providing a need for
a study and demonstrating that other studies have not addressed the same
topic in exactly the same way. It also indicates to audiences that the
researcher is knowledgeable about studies related to a topic.12
1. English for Specific Purposes (ESP)
a. Definition
Tom Hutchinson and Waters state that “ESP is an approach to
language teaching in which all decisions as to content and method
are based on the learner’s reason for learning.”13 English for
specific purposes (ESP) refers to the teaching and learning of
English as a second or foreign language where the goal of the
learners is to use English in a particular domain. The teaching of
English for specific purposes, in its early days, was largely
motivated by the need to communicate across languages in areas
such as commerce and technology. Now expanded to include other
areas such as English for academic purposes (EAP), English for
occupational purposes (EOP), English for vocational purposes
(EVP), English for medical purposes (EMP), English for business
purposes (EBP), English for legal purposes (ELP), and English for
socio cultural purposes (ESCP).14 A key feature of an ESP course is
that the content and aims of the course are oriented to the specific
needs of the learners. ESP courses, then, focus on the language,
skills, and genres appropriate to the specific activities the learners
need to carry out in English. Key issues in the teaching of English
for specific purposes are how to identify learner needs, the nature
of the genres that learners need to be able to produce as well as

11 Ibid. 105.
12 Ibid. 105.
13 Tom Hutchinson and Alan Waters, English for Specific Purposes A Learning-Centred Approach
(New York: Cambridge University Press, 1987), page. 19.
14 Brian Paltridge and Sue Starfield, The Handbook of English for Specific Purposes (Malden
USA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2013), page. 2.

5
 participate in, and how we can know that our learners have been
able to do this successfully.
ESP has different assumptions and approach with General
English. The goal is to make the student capable of ESP ruled
English on the field they are studying. For example, they work in
hospitality, then they must master the hospitality English. ESP is an
English teaching approach that has a different approach,
perception, design, material, evaluation, and purpose. ESP material
refers to students' needs and users of the graduates themselves.
b. Characteristics
As a new approach to learning English, ESP has different
characteristics with General English learning. This characteristic is
also clearly and significantly different from other English learning
such as English as Second Language (ESL) or English as a Foreign
Language (EFL). Some experts of ESP provide ESP's main
characteristics in diverse and varied English language learning.
According to Strevens’ in the Christian Gatehouse journal
definition makes a distinction between four absolute and two
variable characteristics:15
i. Absolute characteristics:
ESP consists of English language teaching which is:
 designed to meet specified needs of the learner;
 related in content (i.e. in its themes and topics) to
particular disciplines, occupations, and activities;
 centred on the language appropriate to those
activities in syntax, lexis, discourse, semantics, etc.,
and analysis of this discourse;
 in contrast with General English.
ii. Variable characteristics:
ESP may be, but is not necessarily:
 restricted as to the language skills to be learned (e.g.
reading only);
 not taught according to any pre-ordained
methodology.

15 Kristen Gatehouse, “Key Issues in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) Curriculum
Development.” The Internet TESL Journal, (Oktober, 2018) page., 2.

6
 Anthony’s notes that there has been considerable recent debate
about what ESP means despite the fact that it is an approach which
has been widely used over the last three decades. At a 1997 Japan
Conference on ESP, Dudley-Evans offered a modified definition.
The revised definition he and St. John postulate is as follows:
i. Absolute Characteristics
 ESP is defined to meet specific needs of the learner;
 ESP makes use of the underlying methodology and
activities of the discipline it serves;
 ESP is centred on the language (grammar, lexis,
register), skills, discourse and genres appropriate
to these activities.
ii. Variable Characteristics
 ESP may be related to or designed for specific
disciplines;
 ESP may use, in specific teaching situations, a
different methodology from that of general English;
 ESP is likely to be designed for adult learners, either
at a tertiary level institution or in a professional
work situation. It could, however, be for learners at
secondary school level;
 ESP is generally designed for intermediate or
advanced students;
 Most ESP courses assume some basic knowledge of
the language system, but it can be used with
beginners.16
Dudley-Evans and St. John have removed the absolute
characteristic that ESP is in contrast with General English and
added more variable characteristics. They assert that ESP is not
necessarily related to a specific discipline. Furthermore, ESP is
likely to be used with adult learners although it could be used with
young adults in a secondary school setting. Anthony notes that it is
not clear where ESP courses end and general English courses
begin; numerous nonspecialist ESL instructors use an ESP
approach in that their syllabi are based on analysis of learner needs
16 Ibid. 3.

7
 and their own personal specialist knowledge of using English for
real communication.
c. The Development of ESP
From its early beginnings in the 1960s ESP has undergone three
main phase of development.17 It is now in a fourth phase with a
fifth phase starting to emerge.
i. The concept of special language: register analysis
This stage took place mainly in the 1960s and early 1970s
and was associated in practicular with the work of Peter
Strevens, Jack Ewer (Ewer and Latorre) and John Swales. The
aim of the analysis carried out at the time was, therefore, to
identify the grammatical and lexical features of those
registers.18 Frequency studies became very important since the
early days of ESP. The peculiarities of languages for specific
purposes were first and foremost of a quantitative nature. For
some authors, it was the significantly frequent occurrence of
certain speech elements, forms or structures that characterizes
scientific writing and spoken discourse. One of the first and
most important frequency studies was the one carried out by
Barber “Some measurable characteristics of modern scientific
prese”, which stimulated a number of other works. Swales
points out that the statistical information contained in Barber's
article provided “important ammunition” for teachers trying to
convince their colleagues and superiors that scientific English
was different from general English or literary English in ways
other than its use of technical or specialized vocabulary’.19
Teaching materials of the time Herbert, Ewer and Latorre,
tend to take the formal features of the register as their syllabus
and give priorities to forms students would meet in their
science studies in English. Herbert, for example, believes that
by placing emphasis on the typical forms of language found in
17 Tom Hutchinson and Alan Waters, English for Specific Purposes A Learning-Centred Approach
(New York: Cambridge University Press, 1987), page. 9.
18 Ibid. 10.
19 Maria del Pilar Garcia Mayo, “The development of ESP: Language description and its
influence on pedagogical materials.” Universidad del Pais Vasco, (2006), page., 5.

8
 written engineering texts, by highlighting the typical sentence
patterns and by isolating certain aspects of vocabulary from the
texts chosen for class discussion, the foreign student of
engineering will be substantially aided in his/her specialist
English. Scientific statements in the form of a substitution table
were presented for practice. Although this is a potentially
useful approach, it neither gives guidance as to when one form
is preferred to another nor indicates how any particular form
fits into the structure of a text, for example, compound nouns,
passives, conditionals, anomalous finites (i.e. modal verbs).
ii. Beyond the sentence: rhetorical of discourse analysis
Register analysis as a research procedure was rapidly
overtaken by developments in the world of linguistics. Whereas
in the first stage of its development, ESP had focussed on
language at the sentence level, the second phase of
development shifted attention to the level above the sentence,
as ESP became closely involved with the emerging field of
discourse or rhetorical analysis.20
Register analysis had focussed on sentence, grammar, but
now attention shifted to understanding how sentences were
combined in discourse to produce meaning.21 The concern of
research, therefore, was to identify the organisational patterns
in texts and to specify the linguistic means by which these
patterns are signalled. These patterns would then form the
syllabus of the ESP course. In practice, the discourse analysis
approach tended to concentrate on how sentences are used in
the performance of acts of communication and to generate
materials based on functions (definitions, descriptions of
experiments, inductive/deductive statements, instructions, etc.22
iii. Target situation analysis

20 Tom Hutchinson and Alan Waters, English for Specific Purposes A Learning-Centred Approach
(New York: Cambridge University Press, 1987), page. 10.
21 Ibid. 11.
22 Maria del Pilar Garcia Mayo, “The development of ESP: Language description and its
influence on pedagogical materials.” Universidad del Pais Vasco, (2006), page., 9.

9
 The stage that we come to consider now did not really add
anything new to the range of knowledge about ESP. What it
aimed to do was to take the existing knowledge and set it on a
more scientific basis by establishing procedures for relating
language analysis more closely to the learner's reasons for
learning.23 Given that the purpose of an ESP course is to enable
learners to function adequately in a target situation, that is, the
situation in which the learners will use the language they are
learning, then the ESP course design process should proceed by
first identifying the target situation and then carrying out a
rigorous analysis of the linguistic features of that situation. The
identified features will form the syllabus of the ESP course.
This process is usually known as needs analysis. However,
Chamber's term ‘target situation analysis (TSA)’ is a more
accurate description of the process concerned.
In looking at the target situation, the ESP course designer is
as-king the question (What does the expert communicator need
to know in order to function effectively in this situation?) This
information may be recorded in terms of language items, skills,
strategies, subject knowledge, etc. The most thorough
explanation of tar-get situation analysis is the system set out by
John Munby in his book Communicative Syllabus Design.
Munby presents a highly detailed set of procedures for
discovering target situation needs. He calis this set of
procedures the Communication Needs Processor (CNP). The
CNP consists of a range of questions about key communication
variables (topic, participant, medium) which can be used to
identify the target language needs of any group of learners.
Munby excluded logistical, psycho-pedagogic and
methodological considerations among others. Munby an needs
analysis may be seen as reflecting a belief popular in the 1970s:

23 Tom Hutchinson and Alan Waters, English for Specific Purposes A Learning-Centred Approach
(New York: Cambridge University Press, 1987), page. 12.

10
 technical rationality, that is, a belief in the capacity of applied
science to deliver practical solutions to social/human/learning
problems. But what the CNP produced was a list of the
linguistic features of the target situation. There is more to needs
analysis than this, though.
iv. Skills and strategies
One of the earliest concepts to emerge from the
development of ESP was that of authenticity. As West
mentions, the first generation of ESP materials that appeared in
the mid-1960s took skills as their principal means of selection.
The definition of skill was somewhat broad, establishing little
more than the ranking of the four usual language skills. Of
these, it was almost always reading that was singled out in
early materials (e.g. Broughton, Cióse, Thornley), all of which
consisted of specialist texts with accompanying comprehension
and language exercises. The concept of authenticity was central
to the approach taken to the reading skill but, at the time, it was
limited in several ways: it was confined to authenticity of text,
with no differentiation between different kinds of
scientific/technical texts. A closer examination of the texts
reveals that authenticity was being contrasted with
simplification, in that the vocabulary and grammar were not
simplified in any way. Moreover, there was no thought of
authenticity of task in this early conception.
More recently, in the 1980s, ESP has seen an attempt to
look below the surface of language and to consider not the
language itself but the thinking processes that underlie
language use. The principal idea behind the skills and strategies
approach is that underlying all language use there are common
reasoning and interpreting processes, which, regardless of the
surface forms, enable us to extract meaning from discourse.
There is, therefore, no need to focus closely on the surface
forms of the language. The focus should rather be on the

11
interpretive strategies which enable the learner to cope with the
surface forms, for example, guessing the meaning of words
from context, using visual layout to determine the type of text,
etc.
Skills and strategies-based approaches to ESP have
enlarged now the conception of authenticity in two principal
ways. First, authenticity of text was both broadened to include
texts other than written texts and narrowed to differentiate
between the different types of text generated by each skill, so
that reading, for example, could be:
We noted that in the first two stages of language
development of ESP all the analysis had been of the
surface forms of the language (whether at sentence
level, as in register analysis, or above, as in discourse
analysis). The target situation analysis approach did not
really change this because in its analysis of the learner's
need it still looked mainly at the surface linguistic
features of the target situation.
Subdivided into reading reports, reading technical journals,
reading instruction manuals, etc. Secondly, the conception of
authenticity was enlarged to embrace authenticity of task. In
effect, this meant designing tasks requiring students to process
texts as they would do in the real world, i.e. employing the
same skills and strategies as would be required in the target
situation. Most of the work in the area of skills and strategies
has been done in schemes such as the National ESP Project in
Brazil, the University of Los Andes and the University of
Malaya ESP Project.
In terms of materials, then, this approach generally puts the
emphasis on reading and listening skills. The characteristic
exercises get the learners to reflect on and analyze how
meaning is produced and retrieved from written and spoken

12
 discourse. Taking their cue from cognitive learning theories,
the language learners are treated as thin-king beings who can
be asked to observe and verbalize the interpretive processes
they employ in language use.24
v. A learning-centred approach
All of stages outlined so far have been fundamentally
flawed, in that they are all based on descriptions of language
use.25 Whether this description is of surface forms, as in the
case of register analysis, or of underlying processes, as in the
skills and strategies approach, the concern in each case is with
describing what people do with language.
Whereas a language-centered approach says: This is the nature of the
target situation performance and that will determine the ESP course,
and a skills-centered approach says: That is not enough. We must look
behind the target performance data to discover what processes enable
someone to perform. Those processes will determine the ESP course. A
learning-centered approach says: That is not enough either. We must
look beyond the competence that enables someone to perform; what
we really want to discover is not the competence itself, but how
someone acquires that competence.
2. Syllabus
a. Definition
Syllabus design is seen as being concerned essentially with the
selection and grading of content, while methodology is concerned
with the selection of learning tasks and activities.26 A syllabus is a
document which says what will (or at least what should) be learnt.
But, in fact, there are several different ways in which a syllabus
can be defined. This stems from the fact that the statement of what
will be learnt passes through several different stages before it

24 Maria del Pilar Garcia Mayo, “The development of ESP: Language description and its
influence on pedagogical materials.” Universidad del Pais Vasco, (2006), page., 17.
25 Tom Hutchinson and Alan Waters, English for Specific Purposes A Learning-Centred Approach
(New York: Cambridge University Press, 1987), page. 13.
26 David Nunan, Syllabus Design (New York: Oxford University Press, 1988), page.5.

13
 reaches its destination in the mind of the learner. Each stage on its
route imposes a further layer of interpretation.27
b. Kinds of Syllabus
According to Tom Hutchinson in ESP’s book there are 6
kinds of syllabus;

1. The evaluation syllabus

As Hutchinson and Waters said, at it's simplest level a syllabus
can be describe as a statement of what is to be learnt. This kind of
syllabus will be most familiar as the document that is handed down
by ministries or other regulating bodies. It states what the
successful learner will know by the end of the course. In effect, it
puts on record the basis on which success or failure will be
evaluated.
For example, if the syllabus is framed in terms of grammatical
structures, this reflects a view that knowing a language consists of
knowing the constituent structures. It would be impossible to
produce an evaluation syllabus without having a view of what
language is and thus how it can be broken down.28
2. The organisational syllabus
As well as listing what should be learnt, a syllabus can also state
the order in which it is to be learnt. In a rough sense, evaluation
syllabuses fulfil this role, in that they normally list what should be
learnt in, for example, the first year of learning etc. The
organisational syllabus is most familiar in the form of the contents
page of a textbook, and it is this form of syllabus that most people
would think of when asked: ‘What is a syllabus?’ The
organisational syllabus differs from the evaluation syllabus in that
it carries assumptions about the nature of learning aswell as
language, since, in organising the items in a syllabus, it is
necessary to consider factors which depend upon a view of how
people learn, e.g.:
- What is more easily learnt?
- What is more fundamental to learning?
27 Tom Hutchinson and Alan Waters, English for Specific Purposes A Learning-Centred Approach
(New York: Cambridge University Press, 1987), page. 80.
28 Ibid. 80.

14
 - Are some items needed in order to learn other items?
- What is more useful in the classroom?
Criteria like these must be used in order to determine the order
of items. The organisational syllabus, therefore, is an implicit
statement about the nature of lan guage a nd of learning.29
3. The materials syllabus
The two syllabuses considered so far might be regarded as pure
syllabuses, in that they have not been interpreted. They are a
straight-forward statement of what is to be learnt with some
indication of the order in which the items should be learnt. The
syllabuses say nothing about how learning will be achieved. But a
syllabus, like a course design model, is only as good as the
interpretation that is put on it. On its route to the learner the
organisational syllabus goes through a series of interpretations.
The first person to interpret the syllabus is usually the materials
writer. In writing materials, the author adds yet more assumptions
about the nature of language, language learning and language use.
The author decides the contexts in which the language will appear,
the relative weightings and integration of skills, the number and
type of exercises to be spent on any aspect of language, the degree
of recycling or revision. These can all have their effect on whether
and how well something is learnt. For example, lf certain
vocabulary items are presented in texts which appeal
to the learners, they are more likely to be remembered, because the
learners' attention will be more involved.30
4. The teacher syllabus
The second stage of interpretation usually comes through the
teacher. The great majority of students in the world learn language
through the mediation of a teacher. Like the materials writer, the
teacher can influence the clarity, intensity and frequency of any
item, and there by affect the image that the learners receive.31
5. The classroom syllabus
The lesson plan is like the planned route, but like a planned
route it can be affected by all sorts of conditions along the way.
29 Ibid. 81.
30 Ibid. 81.
31 Ibid. 81.

15
 The classroom, too, creates conditions which will affect the nature
of a planned lesson. These might be extraneous factors, such as
noise from outside, hot weather, interruptions to deaf with an
administrative matter, a visitor. They might come from the learners
as a group : perhaps they are tired aften a long day, excitable after
an incident in the break. Individual students might hold matters up
by asking questions or distracting the attention of the class. They
might on the other hand make a lesson memorable by putting an
interesting question or telling an amusing anecdote.
The classroom, then, is not simply a neutral channel for the
passage of information from teacher to learner. It is a dynamic,
interactive environment, which affects the nature both of what is
taught and what is learnt. The classroom thus generates its own
syllabus.32
6. The learner syllabus
In Hutchinson’s book Breen stated that The syllabuses we have
considered till now might all be referred to as external syllabuses.
The learners might participate in their creation to some extent, but
essentially they are external to the learner. The last type of
syllabus, however, is an internal syllabus. It is the network of
knowledge that develops in the learner’s brain and which enables
that learner to comprehend and store the later knowledge. We
might call this the learner syllabus.33
Candlin also stated that the learner syllabus differs from all the
other types we have mentioned not just in being internal as
opposed to external, but in that it faces in the opposite direction. It
is a retrospective record of what has been learnt rather than a
prospective plan of what will be learnt.34
3. Grammar Materials
Tenses
Tenses are changes in verbs that are influenced by the time and
nature of events. All sentences in English cannot be separated from

32 Ibid. 81.
33 Ibid. 82-83
34 Ibid. 33.

16
 tenses because all sentences must have something to do with the time
and nature of the incident.35
Time Present Past Future
Simple Present Simple Past Simple Future

Present Past Continouos Future

Continouos Continouos
Present Perfect Past Perfect Future Perfect

Present Perfect Past Perfect Future Perfect

Continuous Continuous Continuous

a. Simple present
 Formula:
( S + V1 (s/es) + O + adverb of time
(-) S + do/does + not + V1 + O + adverb of time
( Do/does + S + V1 + O + adverb of time
Example:
( You study English at MEC everyday.
(-) You don't study English at MEC everyday.
(?) Do you study English at MEC everyday?
 Usage
1. Simple Present is used to indicate an event, event,
activity that occurs repeatedly, or is a habit.
2. Simple Present is also used to show a fact (fact) or
something that is general truth (general truth).
3. Simple Present is also used to show something that will
happen in the future, if we discuss a Schedule, program,
and others.
 Adverb of time
1. Adverb of frequency
always
Usually
generally
ever

35 Erwin Hari Kurniawan, BASIC ENGLISH GRAMMAR (Kediri: SMA 3 Press, 2010), page.3.

17
 Sometimes
occasionally
never
Seldom
2. Adverb of quantity
once
once a day
once a week
twice
three times
every
b. PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE
 formula
(+) S + to be (is, am, are) + V-ing + O + adverb of time
(-) S + to be (is, am, are) + not + V-ing + O + adverb of time
(?) To be (is, am, are) + S + V ing + O + adverb of time?
Example:
( We are studying English at BEC now.
(-) We aren't studying English at BEC now
( Are we studying English at BEC now?
 Usage
1. Present continuous tense is used to indicate an event or
event that is happening or taking place.
2. Present continuous tense is used to indicate a temporary
event or event.
3. Present continuous tense is used to show a changing
situation or situation
4. Present continuous tense is used to show something that
will be done in the future and has been planned or
predetermined.
 Words / phrases commonly used in present continuous
tense:
Now
At present
At this moment
Right now

18
 Still
Look
Listen
c. PRESENT PERFECT TENSE
 Formula:
(+) S + have/has + V3 + O
(-) S +-have/has + not + V3 + O
(?) Have/has + S + V3 + O?
Example:
(+) We have visited him.
(-) we have not/haven’t visited him
(?) Have we visited him?
 Usage
1. The present perfect tense is used to indicate an event or
event that occurred in the past and still continues to this
day.
2. The present perfect tense is used to indicate an event or
event that occurred in the past and still has something to
do with the current time or the result can be seen / felt
now.
3. The present perfect tense is also used with "this
morning,this afternoon, today, this week, this month,
this year, for indicates that something has happened or
done repeatedly.
d. SIMPLE PAST TENSE
 Formula:
(+) S + V2 + O + adverb of time
(-) S + did + not + V1 + O+ adverb of time
(?) Did + S + V1 + O+ adverb of time?
Example:
(+) You visited my mother yesterday.
(-) You didn't visit my mother yesterday.
(?) Did you visit my mother yesterday?
 Usage
1. Simple past tense is used to indicate something
events, events or circumstances that occur at the
time past.

19
 2. Simple past tense is also used to ask when the event
or event occurred.
e. PAST CONTINOUOS TENSE
 Formula:
(+) S + was / were + V-ing + O + adverb of time
(-) S + was / were + not + V-ing + O + adverb of time
(?) Was / were + S + V-ing + O + adverb of time?
Example:
(+) We were watching movie at 02.00 pm yesterday.
(-) We weren't watching movie at 02.00 pm yesterday
(?) Were we watching movie at 02.00 pm yesterday?
 Usage:
1. To state the activities that are being carried out in
the future past.
2. Past continuous tense is used to indicate something
events or events that are happening at a certain time
in the past.
3. Past continuous is used to indicate an event or event
that is taking place in the past and then other events
or events follow.
4. Past continuous tense is also used to indicate two
events or events that are taking place at the same
time in the past.
f. SIMPLE FUTURE TENSE
 Formula:
(+) S + will + V1( bare infinitive) + 0 + keterangan
waktu.
(-) S + will + not + V1( bare infinitive) + O + adverb
of time
(?) Will + S + V1( bare infinitive) + O + adverb of
time?
Example:
(+) She will visit me tomorrow.
(-) She will not visit me tomorrow
(?) Will she visit me tomorrow?
 Usage
Simple future tense is used to indicate an event or
events that will occur or be carried out at the time that
will come. To show a plan, "will" is used for all

20
 pronouns. But in spoken language is usually used form
contraction form, namely I'll, We'll, etc.36
4. Selection
a. Selecting grammatical components
Synthetic syllabuses were described as those in which content is
selected and graded according to discrete point principles. Wilkins
assumed that these would be grammatical, but Widdowson has
argued that any syllabus which consists of inventories of discrete
point items, be they grammatical, functional, or notional, is
basically synthetic.37
At these lower levels (from beginner through to lower
intermediate) most general coursebooks cover items such as the
following:
-basic sentence forms -quantifiers
-verb morphology -demonstratives
-noun morphology -definite and indefinite articles
-tense forms -preposition
-questions -connectors
-negation -noun phrases, including modification
-modal verbs -adverbials
-pronouns
b. Selecting functional and notional components
In recent years, any number of functional and/or notional
typologies have made their appearance in the market place. While
there are similatities amongst these, as one might expect, there are
also differences. This reflects the fact that the typologies have been
produced largely through intuition. The following category
headings give some idea of the diversiry which is possible:38
Van Ek
- imparting and seeking factual information
- expressing and finding our intellectual attitudes
- expressing and finding out emotional attitudes
- expressing and finding out moral attitudes
- getting things done socializing.
Wilkins
- modality - rational enquiry and exposition
- suasion- personal emotion
- argument - emotional relations
Finocchiaro and Brumfit
36 Ibid. 2-31
37 David Nunan, Syllabus Design (New York: Oxford University Press, 1988), Page. 85.
38 Ibid. 86.

21
 - personal - referential
- interpersonal - imaginative
- directive
ALL Project (Clark)
- establishing and maintaining relationships and discussing topics of
interest
- problem-solving
- searching for specific information for some given purpose,
processing it, and using it
- listening to or reading information, processing it, and using it
- giving information in spoken or written form on the basis of
personal experience
- listening to, reading, or viewing and responding to a stimulus
- creating an imaginative text
c. Grading content
Items in a grammatical syllabus are graded largely according to
whether they are easy or difficult, and that difficulty is defined in
grammatical terms. Grammatical difficulty is not necessarily the
same as learning difficulty.39
The two lists which follow set out the order in which verb and
tense forms appear in two popular coursebooks.
Cambridge English: Checkpoint English:
1. Present of be (singular) 1. Be: present affirm.
2. * 2. Be: present interrog.neg
3. Present of be (plural) 3. Be: neg. Interrog.
Have got there is (are)
4. * 4. Simple present
5. There is/there are 5. Have
6. Simple present 6. Have got
7. Was/were 7. Be: past
8. * 8. *
9. * 9. Regular past simple
10. Have got 10. Present proggresive
affirm. neg.
11. Be contrasted with have 11. Irregular present
Irregular past
12. Simple past 12. Be going to
Present tense
Irregular past
* These sections focus on grammatical items other than verb
tenses.
d. Content-based syllabuses

39 Ibid. 92.

22
 Syllabuses based on experiential content, focusing in panicular
on the work of Mohan. Mohan's knowledge framework, consisting
of a practical aspect and a theoretical aspect was described. At
ways in which this knowledge framework is realized through
action situations.
One of the techniques suggested by Mohan for representing
action situations is through flowcharts. The figure on the facing
page shows the flowchart of a shopping situation between a clerk
and a shopper.40

40 Ibid. 104.

23
 Mohan suggests that the flowchart can represent situational
language and situational content in combination more adequately
than can cartoon strips or picture sequences. In addition, the
various branches of the flowchart offer alternative pathways which
are not possible with linear sequences. They thus relate to the
knowledge framework by providing teachers with the potential for
developing activities focusing on either description, sequence, or
choice.41
e. Teaching grammar as process
Rutherford, who argues for the inclusion of grammar as a
central element in the curriculum. Here we shall look at
applications of Rutherford's ideas. Rutherford is basically
concerned with grammar as process rather than product. This is
evident in the following:42
Given all that we presently know about language, how it is
learned, and ho\v it can be taught, the 'grammatical' part of
a 'grammatical syllabus' does not entail specification of the

41 Ibid. 105.
42 Ibid. 118.

24
 language content at all; rather, it specifies how that
language content (chosen in accordance with a variety of
other, non-linguistic criteria) is to be exploited. The
immediate reasons for not assigning a specifying role to
grammar are worth reiterating. Grammatical specification in
the syllabus has to result in the selection and ordering of
grammatical constructs - a necessarily linear and sequential
display of language items for learner input. Language
acquisition, on the other hand, is not a linear progression,
but a cyclic one, or even a metamorphic one. That is, the
learner is constantly engaged in reanalysing data,
reformulating hypotheses, recasting generalizations etc.
The grading of learning tasks is particular complicated, and that
different syllabus designers and coursebook writers have looked
to different criteria in carrying out such tasks.
5. Previous study
The researcher is not the first research, the same studies were
conducted by Endang Sulistiana Ningsih the title is “Student’s difficulties
on writing student need materials on English for Specific Purposes (ESP)
assignment at the fifth semester of TBI STAIN PAMEKASAN”. In this
thesis result that most of the students at fifth semester of TBI STAIN
Pamekasan difficulties on writing student need materials ESP assignment
because their opinion that the difficult to use appropriate vocabularies or
terminologies with student needs, difficult to compose skills and lack of
related references of ESP.43 The others previous study is thesis by Diana
Yuni Astutik she found about the teacher's difficulties to give
terminologies about hotel department and difficult to get source or
materials that will be taught to students about hotel department so that the
solution is the teacher use special dictionary about hotel management.44

43 Thesis by Endang Sulistiana Ningsih, Student’s difficulties on writing student need materials on
English for Specific Purposes (ESP) assignment at the fifth semester of TBI STAIN PAMEKASAN
(Pamekasan: STAIN Pamekasan, 2018)
44 Thesis by Diana YuniAstutik, Teacher’s Difficulties in Teaching English for Specific Purposes
in English Teaching Learning at The Eleventh Grade of Hotel Department at SMKN 3
PAMEKASAN.(Pamekasan, STAIN Pamekasan, 2017)

25
 I. Research Method
In the research method, it is going to consist of research approach,
kind of research, researcher attendance, research setting, data sources, data
collection procedure, data analysis, data validity, and steps of research.
1. Approach
In this research, the researcher is going to use qualitative approach
method. According Donald Ary, he says that Qualitative research
investigates the quality of relationships, activities, situations, and
materials. It focuses on understanding the context and attempts to
explain the intentionality of behaviors.45 While Adnan Latief stated that
qualitative research is a process of inquiry aimed at human
understanding behavior by building complex, holistic picture of the
social and cultural setting in which such behavior occurs46 and it is
needed to explore this phenomenon from the perspective of distance
education students.47 Qualitative research is specially important in the
behavioural sciences where the aim is to discover the underlying
motives of human behaviour.48
The reason why the researcher choose qualitative method in this
case because based on the phenomenon determined that qualitative
method is most suitable approach for the phenomenon was delivered by
researcher than another method.
2. Kinds of research
In this research, the researcher uses descriptive research.
Descriptive research is the research simply explains about the
phenomena.49 It refers to a research that describes the phenomenon
found by the researcher in which it is describes based on the research
question.
3. Researcher Attendance

45 Donald Ary et.al, introduction to research in education (Canada: Nelson Education, Ltd.2010),
page. 419.
46 Adnan Latief, Research Method in Language Learning an Intoduction (Malang: UM press,
2011), page.77.
47Creswell, Educational Research Planning, page. 16.
48 C.R. Kothari, Research Methodology: methods and techniques second revised edition (New
Delhi: New Age International Publishers, 2004), page.3.
49Uhar Suhasaputra, MetodePenelitianKuantitative, Kualitative, dan Tindakan (PT
RefikaAditama, Cetakan 1, 2012), page. 42

26
 In this research, the attendance of the research is very important to
get the data and any information that is needed and related with the
research. So in this research the researcher uses non-participant
observation because the researcher did not participate directly in the
activity or teaching-learning process being observed.
4. Reseach Setting
Research setting is the location where the researcher conducts the
research. The location of this research is at fifth semester of TBI IAIN
Madura because based on the experience of the writer the students of
fifth semester have several problems on selecting grammar materials in
designing syllabus in ESP assigment.
5. Data Sources
In the data sources, there are two points are subject and object.
a. Subject
The subject is TBI students of the fifth semester IAIN Madura
b. Object
The object is the problems on selecting grammar materials in
designing syllabus in English for Specific Purposes (ESP).
6. Data Collection Procedure
Data collection is one of the ways to collect and to get the valid
information. Creswell states that the data collection step involver:
setting the boundaries for the study, and collecting information through
information, interview, documents, visual materials and establishing
the personnel for recording.50
a. Observation
Observation is the process of gathering open-ended,
firsthand information by observing people and places at a
research site.51 There are two types of observation: participant
and non-participant. Participant observation is when a
researcher participates in the activities of the study group that
is being observed in the same manner as its members without
their knowledge that they are being observed. Non-
participation observation, on the other hand, is when a
researcher does not get involved directly in the activities of the

50 John W. Creswell, Educational Research fourth edition, (Boston: Person EducationInc, 2012),
page. 6
51 Ibid, page. 213

27
 research study but remains a passive observer. In this research,
the researcher uses non-participant observation because the
researcher did not participate directly in the activity or
teaching-learning process being observed.
b. Interview
The interview is one of the most widely used and basic
methods for obtaining qualitative data. Interviews are used to
gather data from people about opinions, beliefs, and feelings
about situations in their own words.52 Interview is divided into
two kinds, those are:
1. Unstructured interview
Unstructured interview is the interviewer does not prepare
before about the question that will be asked to those who
will be interviewed.
2. Structured interview
Structured interview is the interviewer had prepared before
the question that is going to ask to the person who will be
interviewed.
In this research, the researcher uses unstructured interview.
The researcher takes data by asking some questions
spontaneously to the students still relate to the problems.
c. Documentation
Documents consist of public and private records that
qualitative researchers obtain about a site or participants in
study, and they can include newspaper, minutes of meeting,
personal journals, and letters.53
Some documentation which needed by researcher are
students’ name list, lesson plan, pictures of interview, sample
of syllabus, and materials of ESP assigment by students.
7. Data Analysis
Data analysis is important thing in research. Data analysis is way
conducted in the research through collecting data. The researcher

52Donald Ary et.al, introduction to research in education (Canada: Nelson Education, Ltd.2010),
page. 438.
53John W. Creswell, Educational Research fourth edition, (Boston: Person EducationInc, 2012),
page.223.

28
 defines analysis as consisting of three concurrent flow activity54 data
reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing/verification.
a. Data Reduction
Data reduction refers to the process of selecting, focusing,
simplifying, abstracting, and transforming the data appear in
written up field notes or transcription. The researcher only
focused on the data was discussed, and selected the data, and
the researcher reduces in order to get the valid data.
So, in the first step of analyzing the data here, the data of
students’ problem on selecting grammar materials in ESP
assignment that gotten from observation and documentation
will be summarized, and the researcher chose the important
data and find appropiate pattern to be identified, classified, and
managed.
b. Data Display
The second step of data analysis is data display. In this
research, the researcher uses interview that describes the
condition of phenomena as a result of the reseach. Then, the
researcher will note the data after reducing the data in order to
be easy to be understood by the researcher.
c. Verification
In the last step, the researcher verifies the data and draw
conclusion to answer the question of research problem.
8. Data Validity
Validity finding means that the researcher determines the
accuracy or credibility of the finding through strategies such as
member checking or triangulation.55 Triagulation is qualitative cross
validation that assesses the sufficiency of the data according to the
convergence of multiple data source or multiple data procedures.56
Then, the researcher uses triangulation to verify the data in this
research:
a. Data source Triangulation

54 Mathew B. Miles and A. Michael Huberman, Qualitative Data Analysis (USA: SAGE
Publication, 1992), page. 16.
55 John W. Creswell, Educational Research fourth edition, (Boston: Person EducationInc, 2012),
page. 259.
56Sugiyono, METODE PENELITIAN PENDIDIKAN (Pendekatan Kuantitatif, Kualitatif,dan
R&D), (Bandung: Alfabeta, 2015), page. 373-374

29
 Triangulation to test the credibility test of the data
through checking the data which have been gotten some
sources.
b. Technical of Triangulation
Triangulation to test the credibility of the data by
checking the data to the same source with different techniques.
It can be from interview and documentation.
9. Steps of Research
In this research, researcher uses three step of research such as pre-
research, research and data analysis. The step of research will be
explained as follows:
a. Pre – research
Pre–research is conducted before researcher comes to the
field of the research. This step is the clearly step before the
research done by the researcher to the field. It is done in order to
the researcher knows what should do and prepare anything when
conducting research. The activities in pre-research are the
following:
1. Determine the problems that students got in selecting
grammar materials in designing sylabus of ESP.
2. Making the title of research
3. Determine the background and focus of research
4. Making a thesis proposal and arranging the researcher
licensing
b. The process of research
1. The process of research is begun by coming to the location
of research to collect data needed.
2. After collecting the data, the researcher analyses again the
data obtaining to gain validity data.
c. The process of data analysis
In this step, the researcher analyses the data which are
gotten from interview, observation, and documentation. Then,
researcher classifies the data based on focus of the study. Next, the
researcher continues by checking to get validity all of data.
J. Bibliography
Ary, Donald et.al, introduction to research in education, Canada: Nelson
Education, Ltd.2010.
B. Miles, Mathew and A. Michael Huberman, Qualitative Data Analysis.
USA: SAGE Publication, 1992.

30
 Creswell, John W. Educational Research. Boston: Pearson education,
2011.
Hari Kurniawan, Erwin. BASIC ENGLISH GRAMMAR. Kediri: SMA 3
Press, 2010.
Hutchinson, Tom and Alan Waters, English for Specific Purposes A
Learning Centred Approach (New York: Cambridge University
Press, 1987
Kothari, C.R. Research Methodology: methods and techniques second
revised edition. New Delhi: New Age International Publishers,
2004.
Kristen, Gatehouse “Key Issues in English for Specific Purposes (ESP)
Curriculum Development.” The Internet
TESL Journal, Oktober, 2018.
Maria del Pilar Garcia Mayo, “The development of ESP: Language
description and its influence on pedagogical materials.”
Universidad del Pais Vasco, (2006)
Moleong, Lexy J. Metodologi Penelitian Kualitatif. Bandung: Remaja
Rosdakarya, 2017
Nunan, David. Syllabus Design. New York: Oxford University Press,
1988.
Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, Fourth Edition New York: Cambridge
University Press, 2003
Paltridge, Brian and Sue Starfield. The Handbook of English for Specific
Purposes, Malden USA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2013
Suhasaputra, Uhar. MetodePenelitianKuantitative, Kualitative, dan
Tindakan. PT RefikaAditama, Cetakan 1, 2012.
Sugiyono, METODE PENELITIAN PENDIDIKAN
(PendekatanKuantitatif, Kualitatif,dan R&D), Bandung: Alfabeta,
2015

Tim STAIN Pamekasan, Pedoman Penulisan Karya Ilmiah (Pamekasan:

STAIN Pamekasan Press, 2015)
Thesis by Endang Sulistiana Ningsih, Student’s difficulties on writing student
need materials on English for Specific Purposes (ESP) assignment at the
fifth semester of TBI STAIN PAMEKASAN (Pamekasan: STAIN Pamekasan,
2018)

Thesis by Diana YuniAstutik, Teacher’s Difficulties in Teaching English for

Specific Purposes in English Teaching Learning at The Eleventh Grade of

31
Hotel Department at SMKN 3 PAMEKASAN.(Pamekasan, STAIN
Pamekasan, 2017)

32