First of all, I would like to give my deepest gratitude to Mrs. Nguyễn Thị Quỳnh Dung, M.A, my supervisor. She is the person who made clear my confused initials ideals, step by step guiding me during my writing so that I could finish my study. I am sure it would have not been possible with her help. Secondly, I would like to express my sincere thanks to all of my teachers who have encouraged and helped me develop ideas for my thesis, especially Mrs. Pham Thi Kim Cuc, my class’s formal teacher who was willing to answer any questions for what I myself could not solve and give me best suggestions;and Mrs. Nguyễn Thị Hoa, M.A for her encouragement and helping me gain materials as well as her advice on my paper. Besides, I take this opportunity to thank the teachers and the students at Ngo Gia Tu high school for their support and helping me to complete my study. Constantly, I would also express thanks to my dear friends who have shared with me a lot during my study and my research as well. Last but not least, rather than final I would like to send my great thanks to all members in my family for their support and encouragement for my study. Without help from these people, I would have met a lot of difficulties in doing this graduation paper.
INTRODUCTION Background of the study English is an international language and has been widely used in so many countries in the world In Vietnamese, is also considered as the most important foreign language which has been taught as a compulsory subject for many years There are three important components in a language, namely pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary One of the most important aspects of English is grammar which is considered as a challenge for many teachers and students of English at schools Especially for tenses, the play an important part in English grammar, they are always put in tests and exams for students of high schools However, many students often use tenses incorrectly, especially for present tenses They are often confused with using present tenses so they make meaning of the sentences change and make them wrong in grammatical rules In learning languages, using present tenses cause lots of difficulties for learners of English as a foreign language It is also one of the basic factors to complete grammatical and lexical meaning in a sentence Therefore, using present tenses correctly is very necessary to students learning English However, there is a fact that English learner in general and students of grade 10 students at Ngo Gia Tu High school,Vinh Phuc province in particular still not know how to using present tenses in English in a correct way They make many mistakes when using present tenses in tests and exams Finding the common mistakes in using present tenses will help teachers find out good way to correct those mistakes for students For main reason above, I choose the subject: “Common mistakes in using present tenses of grade 10 students at Ngo Gia Tu High school,Vinh Phuc province: the current situation and solutions” for my graduation paper Previous Research 2.1 In the world There are many linguistics studying English in general and the grammar of English in particular such as Vinh Ba, Le Huy Tuong, Micleal, A.J Thompson and so on They make a great contribution on studying English grammar to learner Not only has one aspect of English grammar been studied but all structures of English grammar as well A study on simple past tense errors is “ L1 influence in simple past tense errors – the case of Mandarin and Tamil ESL learners” by Mike Tiittanen This study investigated the types of errors which Tamil and Mandarin L1 ESL learners made in obligatory contexts for the use of the simple past tense on a fill-in-the-gap task and on two oral tasks The results of the study indicate that both L1 groups made similar types of mistakes in such contexts (e.g – the base form) Although learner developmental factors plausibly account for many of the errors, the frequency of some of the types of errors appears to have been influenced by the learners’ L1 as well 2.2 In Viet Nam A study on tenses is “Tenses in English and temporal markers in Vietnamese” by Huỳnh Ái Linh at Ho Chi Minh City University of Education ( English-Vietnamese Comparative Linguistics 2010) This paper is a slight discussion on the issue of some tenses and common temporal markers.Further research is certainly required in order to better diagnose students’ mistakes and provide solutions to these problems 2.3 In Hung Vuong University This is the first time the research “ Common mistakes in using present tenses of grade 10 students at Ngo Gia Tu High school,Vinh Phuc province: the current situation and solutions” is carried out in Hung Vuong University With this research, the researcher hopes that students can understand more clearly about the present tenses in English and have better results in tests exams Research Purpose This study is intended to help students understand the usages of present tenses in English On the other hand, the researcher wants to reduce student’s mistakes when using present tenses in English This study aims to: - Studying the usages of present tenses in English - Giving the current situation and identifying common mistakes on using present tenses in English of grade 10 students at Ngo Gia Tu high school,Vinh Phuc pronvince - Suggesting some possible solutions Research questions The study will find the answers for the following questions: - What are common mistakes made by grade 10 students at Ngo Gia Tu High School in using present tense? - Which solutions should be done to minimize these mistakes? The methods of research 1.5.1 Theoretical research method The study was based on some theoretical researchers on English tenses in general and the usages of present tenses in particular By theoretical method the researcher will in the literature study section to get the basis for the research 1.5.2 Statistical method To make statistics about common mistakes in using present tenses of grade 10 students at Ngo Gia Tu High School The researcher uses some tools to collect data 1.5.2.1 Questionnaires This research paper was conducted at Ngo Gia Tu High School Questionnaires were designed for the students to get basic information about situation of teaching and learning present tenses at school 1.5.2.2 Interview Besides questionnaires, the researcher also use personal interview to get more reliable information about common mistakes of using present tenses of grade 10 students at Ngo Gia Tu High School 1.5.2.3 Tests Tests were designed for the students to find common mistakes on using present tenses of grade 10 students at Ngo Gia Tu High School 1.5.3 Analysis method From the results collected, the researcher analyzed to identify common mistakes on using present tenses in English of grade 10 students at Ngo Gia Tu high school,Vinh Phuc province and provide some solutions The significance of the research - Firstly and foremost, the paper studies the current situation of using present tenses of grade 10 students at Ngo Gia Tu High School to find out common mistakes and then the researcher give out some solutions to help students reduce these mistakes - Secondly, The result of this research will help teachers and students at Ngo Gia Tu High School in teaching and learning English Grammar effectively - Lastly, the finding of this research may be used as reference for readers who conduct a research in this field The object of the research The object of the research will primarily on analyzing the common mistakes of using present tenses: simple present tense, present continuous tense, present perfect tense The researcher will get data and information from classes with 150 students at Ngo Gia Tu high school Additionally, the research aims at giving out some solutions to correct those mistakes Hypothesis The researcher bases on the usage of present tenses, finding common mistakes of grade 10 students at Ngo Gia Tu High School, the causes for these mistakes and application of proposed solutions will help students to understand and use present tenses in English correctly Their knowledge of how to use present tenses correctly will help reduce and overcome their mistakes in using present tenses and improve the results of their English learning Design of the study The study consists of parts and references Introduction This is the chapter that introduces an overall view of the research Chapter 1: Literature Review Literature review of English grammar, present tenses, and mistakes in using present tenses are provided in this chapter Chapter 2: The study This chapter analyzes the data collected from students survey questionnaires and an interview for the teachers on teaching and learning present tenses, collected a written test to find out common mistakes made by students of grade 10 at Ngo Gia Tu high school After that the researcher finds the causes for students’ mistakes Chapter 3: Suggestion some solutions In this chapter, the researcher provides some solutions, which follows these causes in chapter Conclusion A conclusion of the study gives a summary of the whole research, provides limitations of the research and suggestions for further research CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 English Grammar 1.1.1 Definition of Grammar According to Ur (1996 : 75) grammar is defined as “ the way words are put together to make correct sentence” or “a set of rules that define how words (or parts of words) are combined or changed to form acceptable units of meaning within a language” According to David Crystal, in “Word and Deed” TES Teacher, April 30, 2004, grammar is the structural foundation of our ability to express ourselves The more we are aware of how it works, the more we can monitor the meaning and effectiveness of the way we and others use language It can help foster precision, detect ambiguity, and exploit the richness of expression available in English And it can help everyone not only teachers of English, but teachers of anything, for all teaching is ultimately a matter of getting to grips with meaning 1.1.2 The importance of Grammar 1.2 English Tenses 1.2.1 The definition of Tenses The term "tense" is derived from the Latin translation of the Greek word for "time" (Lyons, 1968: 304) The etymological meaning is not much different from the definitions presented in many dictionaries and grammar references Generally, most lexicographers and grammarians today define tense as the verbform denoting time (Hornby and Parnwell, 1979; Urdong, 1968; Guntram 1985; swan, 1980; Hodges et al,1990) In grammar, the students are provided with many rules of a language One of them is tense Hornby (1995:123) states that tense is a verb form or series of verb forms used to indicate the time of the action or state It is important for the students to learn tenses since they have great influence in forming the meaning of sentences Tense may indicate whether an activity or state is, was, or will be completed or whether it is, was, or will be in progress over period of time In learning English as a foreign language, it is very important to know the rules of tenses as part of grammar By knowing the rules of tenses, the students are believed to be able to construct good sentences in English communication In other words, it is believed that by mastering the tenses as one aspect in English grammatical structure, the students will be able to communicate in English correctly 1.2.2 The classification of Tenses 1.3 Present Simple Tense According to Krohn (1971), simple present tense is tense denoting an action happening in this time This tense is used to talk about things in general We are not only thinking about now, but it is used to say something is true in general 1.3.1 Form 1.3.2 Usage 1.3.3 Spelling notes 1.4 The present continuous tense 1.4.1 Form 1.4.2 Usage 1.5 The present perfect tense 1.5.1 Form 1.5.2 Usage 1.6 Distinguishing Present Simple, Present Continuous and Present Perfect 1.6.1 The Present Simple Tense and the Present Continuous Tense 1.6.2 The Past Simple Tense and the Present Perfect Tense 1.7 Mistakes in English 1.7.1 What is a mistake? According to Norrish (1982 : 138), mistake is a non - systematic code indicating in complete learning A mistake refers to a performance errors that is random guess or a slip In that it is failure to utilize known system correctly Besides, Corder (1994) says that a mistake occurs when learners fail to perform their competence, that is, it is a result of processing problems that prevent learners from accessing their knowledge of a target language rule and cause to fall back on some alternative, non- standard rule that they find easy to access 1.7.2 Common mistakes in English Grammar Tenses According to the webside: http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/commonmistakes-english-grammar-tenses-13375.html (23/5/2008), the English language has a more complex tense system than many languages do, and it can be difficult for non-native and even native speakers to master Several common errors in English grammar stem from the way that English conjugates verb tense that is, the way it changes verbs to communicate past, present and future action Multiple past-tense markers Incorrect Tense with a temporal adverb Incorrect Tense with irregular verbs Incorrect sequence of Tenses THE STUDY CHAPTER THE COMMON MISTAKES IN USING PRESENT TENSES 2.1 An introduction of grade 10 students and teachers of English at Ngo Gia Tu High School The study was conducted with participation of a total of 150 students of classes at grade 10 in Ngo Gia Tu high school Most of them have been studied English for six or seven years at elementary and secondary school and they are now at the second term of the the school year Although the students have been studied English for six or seven years, the fact that they not really acquaint to basic grammar and main skills in English Besides, they have not been studied each of the aspects carefully and done variety of exercises Moreover, classes of English as other subjects are large, there are frequently 45 to 50 students in a class Thus, time for students practicing is limited Besides, the textbook of 10th grade is designed following with many communicable topics The textbook includes 16 units, each of which covers parts such as: Reading, Listening, Speaking, Writing and Language Forcus Each unit has a part of the grammar and this is followed by a set of practice exercises For example, in unit 3, the student will be revised about the present simple and the present progressive And in unit about “special education”, the present perfect will be presented Being a young teaching staff, they give students enthusiasm and responsibility in training and educational career Besides, they also give new methods to make students more interested in the English class However, due to effect of old teaching methods, some teachers have not met demand of students yet and students have not played center role in the class 2.2 Data collection 2.2.1 The survey questionaires 2.2.1.1 Causes for choosing the survey questionnaires 2.2.1.2 Description of the survey questionnaires 2.2.2 Test 2.2.2.1 Causes for choosing the test 2.2.2.2 Description of the test 2.2.3 Interviews 2.2.3.1 Causes for interviewing 2.2.3.2 The description of interviews 2.3 Data analysis, Discussion and Findings 2.3.1 Data analysis 2.3.1.1 Data collection from survey questionnaires After giving and collecting the survey questionnaires for students, the following result of students’ response were collected: Table 2.1 The results from survey questionnaires for students Anwser Question Question A (%) B (%) C (%) D (%) 120 = 80 % 12 = % 12 = % 6=4% Question 0=0% 21 = 14 % 93 = 62 % 36 = 24 % Question 45 = 30 % 42 = 28 % 33 = 22 % 30 = 20 % Question 30 = 20 % 27 = 18 % 78 = 52 % 15 = 10 % Question 15 = 10 % 21 = 14 % 84 = 56 % 30 = 20 % Question 75 = 50 % 42 = 28 % 21 = 14 % 12 = % Question 56 = 36 % 63 = 42 % 21 = 14 % 12 = % 2.3.1.2 Data collected from interviewing the teachers The aim of interviewing the teachers gets more information of current situation The researcher designed questions to get information from teachers at Ngo Gia Tu high school (For more details, see Appendix 2) Question 1: How long have you been teaching English? Question 2: Do your students have problems in distinguishing Present Tenses? Question 3: What kind of mistakes they often make? Question 4: What you to help them overcome these problems? From the data collected, the researcher understood more about the current situation of teaching and learning Present Tenses in grade 10 at Ngo Gia Tu high 10 school and the common mistakes made by students This is the useful information for the researcher finding out causes for theses mistakes and giving some solutions to improve this situation 2.3.1.3 Data collected from the test The participants of the study are 150 students from classes of grade 10 and tests Therefore, the researcher got 450 tests from 150 students And then, the researcher would count the total of mistakes The table below show common mistakes made by students of grade 10 at Ngo Gia Tu high school when using Present Tenses: Table 2.2 Common mistakes made by students of grade 10 No Kinds of mistakes Mistakes of omission Mistakes about subject and verb Number of mistakes Percent 90 36% 60 24% agreement Mistakes of confusion in the usages Mistakes of spelling Total number of the mistakes 55 45 250 22% 18% 100% After giving and collecting the test, the researcher found out common mistakes made by students of grade 10 when using Present Tenses These mistakes belong to three tenses: the present simple tense, the present continuous tense, the present perfect tense The number of mistakes most is (36%) about omission (omission of –s/es in the present tense, omission of to be “am/is/are” or verb “ing” in the present continuous tense, and omission of “have/has” or past participle verb in the present perfect tense) Besides, the mistakes about subject and verb agreement is 24% and 22% is the mistakes of confusion in the usages Lastly, there are 18% about the mistakes of spelling 2.3.2 Discussion and Findings 2.3.2.1 Discussion After carrying out the survey, the interview and analyzing data, the researcher found that the teachers at Ngo gia Tu high school used effective methods to transform necessary knowledge in the textbook to the students, 11 delivered them some exercises to practice and gave necessary correction for their common mistakes However, they did not really focus on students’ understanding; they only concentrated on quantity of knowledge which they conveyed to the students The teachers are lack of delivery extra exercises to students practicing Besides, the students were usually neglected their study in the class; they did not pay attention to teacher’s lectures In addition, they were very lazy doing exercises at home A large number of students did not their homework or exercises given by the teachers For extra exercises in the reference books, very few students did them When having difficulty in doing exercises, the students often did not ask the teachers or their friends and they sometimes passed these exercises Because most of the classes at Ngo Gia Tu high school are very large, teachers had a lot of difficulties to notice andn take care of all students in the class It was not easy for teacher find out and correct mistakes for all students Thus, a lot of students made mistakes without being corrected; these mistakes were seen in written tests or examinations This current situation came from many different reasons, both subjective and objective elements 2.3.2.2 Common mistakes made by students of grade 10 After giving the written test to the students, collecting and analyzing the results, the researcher found out common mistakes made by students of grade 10 when using Present tenses + Mistakes of omission Based on the sentences using present tenses, it has been found that the mistakes made by the students in using present tenses (simple present tense, present continuous tense and present perfect tense) are mistake of omission (omission of s/es, to be or verb “ing”, and “ have/ has” or past participle verb) + Mistakes about subject and verb agreement 12 Subject-Verb Agreement is an agreement in which there is a matching relation between subject and verb (Leech, 1996:33) The main rule of SubjectVerb Agreement is simple It is said an agreement if both subject and verb show the same kind of inflection In other words, singular subjects go with singular verb And plural subjects go with plural verbs But many students made mistakes about subject and verb agreement + Mistakes of confusion in the usages The students usually have the mistakes of confusion in the usages between Present Teses in general and other tenses in particular + Mistakes of spelling The mistakes of spelling is also one of the common mistakes of the students in using Present Tenses 2.4 Causes for students’ mistakes 2.4.1 Interference of Mother tongue According to Achara Wongsothorn (1983), interference from Vietnamese language to English learning is considered to be the main sources of errors for Vietnam students Many Vietnamese students beginning to study English have much trouble learning English grammar One of the problems they usually have is handling English aspect This may be because verbs are not marked for tense and aspect in Vietnamese As a result, students usually transfer non-conjugated verbs and implied tense and aspect into English From the result in this study, the researcher think that interference from Vietnamese language to English learning is the main cause for student’s mistakes For example, they did not change the form of verb “to have”or verb past participle after verb “to have” in present perfect tense 2.4.2 Difficulties in the usages and forms of Present Tenses Almost students of grade 10 at Ngo Gia Tu high school had learnt English at secondary school, thus, they have been learnt basic knowledge of English English tenses are not easy to remember all their usages for non native English 13 speakers, especially secondary students Moreover, there are 12 tenses in English system and tense actually relates to times: present, past, and future Therefore, students feel difficult to remember and understand deeply about tenses in general and Present Tenses in particular In addition, the students have not done and practice a variety of exercises at school When they have started studying at high school, they usually forgot some usages, verb forms and spelling notes of the Present Tenses and had confusion when using them 2.4.3 Inadequate practice For each of subjects, to understand major knowledge in the lesson, not only students learn theory only, but also practice plays an important role to become master, especially in learning foreign language English tense is a difficult part of grammar, especially present tenses are very various in usages and verb forms and it is very easy to make mistakes when using them At school, each period of language forcus had only 45 minutes to teach grammar, pronunciation and skills Thus, the time for students practicing is not much Moreover, the students only did exercises in the textbook, seldom practiced doing exercises given by their teacher or extra exercises in the reference books at home The more students had little practice, the more they misunderstand in doing exercises Harmer (1998) explained that the students acquire language through practice Although children are better at studying language than adult learners, they might easily forget the rules if they not use them Hence, the students still made mistakes even if their teacher corrected before This is one of the major causes leading to students’ mistakes when using Present Tenses CHAPTER SOME SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS TO OVERCOME THE PROBLEMS To deal with this current situation, the researcher provided some suggestions that highlight on this language area are presented in the chapter to 14 help teachers as well as students for reducing those mistakes which made by students of grade 10 at Ngo Gia Tu high school 3.1 Suggestions for reducing mistakes by interference of Mother tongue My first suggestion is to help the students overcome this interference mistakes When the teacher teaches about forms of present tenses, the teachers should give two sentences with equivalent meaning– one Vietnamese sentence and one English sentence Then, the teachers will compare these sentences to indicate the difference between them about the usage of verbs Besides, teachers should help students practice the three tenses in more varied contexts, such as picture descriptions, information gap activities, authentic listening activities, storytelling, and games For example, the teacher may give students pictures of somebody’s daily routine The teacher asks them to make sentences about that person’s daily activities using the present tenses The teacher can also ask some of them to show some pictures of their family members’daily routines to the class, and other students make sentences by using the present tenses Another example is to ask students to listen to some sounds on a tape and make sentences about what is happening with the sounds on the tape using the present tenses The teacher can also ask some volunteers to show some actions in front of the class, and other students make sentences about the actions using the present tenses By practicing sentences in contexts such as these, students may become more aware of how to use the two aspects 3.2 Suggestions for reducing mistakes by difficulties in the usages and forms of Present Tenses 3.2.1 For teachers The teacher should emphasize the usages and forms of present tenses For example, teachers should emphasize that verbs in present perfect tense form must take the aspect " have or has + past participle of main verb" Teachers 15 should teach their students first what subjects use with have or has and then teach them the past participle of main verb both regular and irregular form And then, the teacher should show students additional sentences containing the present perfect tense such as: “I have been here since last week” or “Our parents have lived in London for many years” Or teachers should teach their students first what subject can a sentence take (i.e First, second or third person) an explain that only third person singular subjects can take “s/ es” into verbs in the present simple tense or subjects use with “have or has” in the present perfect tense and then teach them both regular and irregular verb forms Moreover, the most frequent mistakes that occurred in this study were omission, misspelling, confusion in the usages and subjects and verbs agreement Teachers should try to reduce these mistakes by doing the following: - Students must be encouraged to list the verb forms of the present tenses with third person singular subjects and another list consisting the same verb forms of the present tenses with first and second person singular subjects - Teacher should teach about how to use the auxiliary verb “do/ does”with the subject in present simple tense, "have / has" in present perfect tense, and “ to be ” in present continuous tense - Students must be encouraged to apply the drill practice (LarsenFreeman, 1986) in learning the present tenses in English They first are advised to list the adverbs of time in present tenses (e.g always, often, sometimes, etc in present simple tense) in their notebooks or to draw a chart in order to remind them whenever they are not confident in writing words as learning a new language is a process of habit formation In other words, students could learn language through repetition and drill practicing is an activity which is very useful for them - Teaching “subject and verb agreement” is another areathat teachers should give emphasis to Not only concentrating on the pronoun subjects but also subjects in other different forms such as noun phrase, noun clause, and noun with adjective clause should also be taught as well After teaching the 16 particular rule with regard to the present tenses, the student should apply and practice that particular grammatical rule in a context 3.2.2 For students + Reading the theory and self-study In fact, athough the teachers taught clearly about tenses in general and the Present Tenses in particular, the students still forgot a lot of them Therefore, reading the theory and self- study is very necessary Many English grammar books can provide essential knowledge of the Present Tesnses If the students can not understand any aspect, they may ask the teachers for explanation at class In short, reading the theory and self- study help students understand and remember strongly + Practicing exercises at class and at home carefully and frequently It is useless for any learners to study a foreign language without practicing, especially for English grammar Students must be encouraged to apply the drill practice (Larsen-Freeman, 1986) in learning the present tenses in English They first are advised to list the adverbs of time in present tenses (e.g always, often, sometimes, etc in the simple present tense) in their notebooks or to draw a chart in order to remind them whenever they are not confident in writing words as learning a new language is a process of habit formation In other words, students could learn language through repetition and drill practicing is an activity which is very useful for them After memorizing the adverbs of time in present tenses and the problematic words, the students should have given more chances to practice writing This is due to the fact that the students might easily forget the words and the structures if they have few chancesto write them According to Madsen (1983:112-113), dictation is considered to be one of the easiest methods for practice and testing Thus, dictation might be a useful writing exercise for the students Dictation may be done during class session, either at the beginning of the class or at the end, for both of individual words and/or of sentences in context 17 3.3 Suggetions for reducing mistakes by inadequate practice In fact, there are 45 minutes in each period (40 minutes available) at the high schools It is not enough time for both studying theory and practicing Therefore, the researcher gives some suggestions below for teachers: - Organizing pair – work or group – work in class - Delievering and collecting hand-out exercises - Practicing exercises of students Moreover, teachers should suggest some useful techniques to help students realize the mistakes in using Present Tenses The teachers may follow some ways to correct: - Seft correction When students make mistakes, they can sometimes correct themselves This is a technique of the aspects of giving feedback that activates their brain to find down their mistakes by themselves They could realize their mistakes and correct them by themselves This is the good way to improve their English without making them feel badly - Peer correction Not all students can check and correct all mistakes by themselves, the teachers should invite the other students to help each other before providing the correct answer, and peer- correction is necessary This technique encourages the students to be responsible for each other, allows them to share ideas and help them avoid the similar mistakes from their friends It also draws the attention and involvement of the whole class - Teacher correction In some cases, the students can not correct themselves, the teachers can help them correct exercises by recalling the basic theory and giving correct answers This technique is often applied in case of correcting common mistakes from the students’ exercises The teachers point out the mistakes, and give more explanation of what is wrong with their exercises, how they should be 18 corrective Besides, the students can ask questions for the the teachers’ answers This solution creates an interactive atmosphere in the language class This is useful to make the students more involved and motivated Moreover, both the teachers and the students will be closer with each other CONCLUSION In this part, the researcher first provides a summary of major findings of the study, the implications of the study are described next, followed by a number of limitations and suggestions for further study This part ends with a conclusion to the whole study Major findings 19 This study is about the common mistakes in using present tenses of grade 10 students at Ngo Gia Tu high school Firstly, the study had overview about the tenses in general and the present tenses in particular Then, it found out the current situation and the common mistakes in using present tenses Finally, the researcher suggested some solutions for these problems By analyzing the mistakes made by the students in using the present tenses, the researcher could find out the current situation for grade 10 students at Ngo Gia Tu high school Besides, the researcher can understand more about causes of these mistakes such as: inference of Mother tongue, difficulties in the usages and forms of Present Tenses, etc and identify the kinds of mistake made by students There are four common mistakes: mistakes of omission, mistakes of subject- verb agreement, mistakes of confusion in the usages, and mistakes of spelling From these mistakes, the researcher suggested some solutions, were given for both the teachers and the students to reduce these mistakes In short, the findings and suggestings would help the students understand clearly and exercises about present tenses easily Implications This section provides some implications for teaching and learning literature on the basic of the major finding described in the previous section The findings show that the study is very helpful because it helps learners have more understanding about the common mistakes in using present tenses and identify the kinds of mistake Therefore, it recommends that distinguishing present tenses is not difficult if students have attitude toward it In class, they must co-operate with teachers and partners by paying attention and taking part in all activities of lessons enthusiastically At home, they should spend more time to exercises given by the teachers and prepare next lessons They should study hard to improve the result of their English learning and avoid these mistakes in using present tenses 20 In addition, the findings of this researcher will help teachers and students at Ngo Gia Tu high school have the good ways in teaching and learning English Grammar effectively Finally, the researcher hope that the result of this research may be used as reference for readers who conduct a research in this field Limitations of the study and suggestions for further study Although the researcher tried his best to carry out this research, it is unavoidable for the reseach to have limitations as below: Firstly, the researcher could investigate the current situation with 150 students of grade 10 and did not carry experimental teaching Therefore, the researcher was not applied with all grade 10 students at Ngo Gia Tu high school and the assessment was not exactly Secondly, because of the limitation of time, analyzing these mistakes may not be as deeply as expected Lastly, that was the first time I had done the research at a high school As a researcher, I was not experienced in doing it at all Thus, the researcher herself hopes that other aspects which have not been mentioned here will be completed fully in further studies Conclusion In conclusion, the significance of the research is to find out the common mistakes in using present tenses in English and distinguish between them It is clear that students can realize their mistakes and then the researcher give out some solutions to students avoid or reduce these mistakes.The researcher hope that this study will help students to understand more and use present tenses in English correctly Their knowledge of how to use present tenses correctly will help reduce and overcome their mistakes in using present tenses and improve the results of their English learning 21 ... By analyzing the mistakes made by the students in using the present tenses, the researcher could find out the current situation for grade 10 students at Ngo Gia Tu high school Besides, the researcher... of grade 10 students at Ngo Gia Tu high school,Vinh Phuc province and provide some solutions The significance of the research - Firstly and foremost, the paper studies the current situation of. .. show common mistakes made by students of grade 10 at Ngo Gia Tu high school when using Present Tenses: Table 2.2 Common mistakes made by students of grade 10 No Kinds of mistakes Mistakes of omission