Students’ Difficulties in Learning English Vocabulary at SMPN 8

Abstract

This study aimed to identify the types of students’ difficulties in learning English vocabulary at SMP Negeri 8 Medan. This study employed a descriptive qualitative design. The data were obtained from 25 eighth-grade students through documentation in the form of vocabulary. However, the participants of this study were limited to 16 students who scored below the Minimum Mastery Criterion (KKM). The documentation was used to identify the students’ difficulties in vocabulary learning. The finding revealed that students experienced four types of difficulties in learning English vocabulary, namely pronunciation, meaning, grammar, and idiomatic expressions. In pronunciation difficulties, the word “though” became the most difficult word, experienced by 12 students. Most students had difficulties pronouncing words containing silent letters and inconsistent sound patterns. In meaning difficulties, the word “bank” became the most difficult item, experienced by 11 students because students failed to understand its contextual meaning. In grammar difficulties, the items “went” and “in” were equally difficult, each experienced by 11 students due to students’ limited understanding of grammatical patterns and preposition use. Meanwhile, in idiomatic expression difficulties, 11 students failed to interpret the expression “break a leg” correctly because they interpreted the expression literally instead of understanding its figurative meaning. The finding indicated that students still experienced difficulties in understanding vocabulary meaning, pronunciation patterns, grammatical usage, and idiomatic expressions in English learning