A Grammatical Error Analysis in the Written Expression of Second-Level Students at the Hidayatullah Higher Institute, Batu, East Java

Abstract

This study investigates grammatical errors in the written expression of second-level students at the Hidayatullah Higher Institute in Batu, East Java. The background of the study is the negative impact of inadequate grammar instruction, which may lead to serious syntactic and semantic issues in Arabic writing. The study aims to identify the types of grammatical errors, explore their causes, and propose appropriate solutions. Employing a qualitative descriptive approach, data were collected from students’ written texts and analyzed linguistically. The analysis revealed four main categories of recurring errors: case-ending errors (such as confusion between subject and object), agreement errors (especially adjective-noun mismatch), pronominal errors (inconsistencies between pronouns and their referents), and genitive construction errors (such as incorrect use of the definite article with the first noun or incorrect case of the second noun). The causes include students’ weak understanding of grammar rules, limited writing practice, interference from the mother tongue (Indonesian), lack of proofreading skills, and insufficient application-based teaching methods. The proposed solutions emphasize simplifying grammar instruction through real-life examples and visual aids, increasing regular writing exercises, and adopting interactive and constructive feedback instead of punitive correction. These strategies aim to enhance students' grammatical accuracy and overall writing competence.