Investigating Preposition Usage Problems of English Language Education Study Program Students

Abstract

As one of the English grammar elements, prepositions might be considered difficult for students of English as a foreign language (EFL). Many studies on this topic have been conducted but it remains problematic and unresolved. Accordingly, the researchers aimed to explore the prepositions in this paper. Gathering the data from fifty acknowledgments of undergraduate theses of the English Language Education Study Program (ELESPA) of a private university in Yogyakarta, the researchers analyzed preposition usage problems that occurred in the acknowledgments. Results showed that three main problems involving the use of prepositions, namely the misselection of prepositions for, in, and to, insertion of prepositions about and to, and omission of prepositions about. Factors causing the problems were investigated and it was found that students’ first language (L1) influenced the incorrect usage of English prepositions.