Observation Report of Students’ Difficulties in Learning English at Seventh Grade

(VII A) of MTS Muhammadiyah Kota Jambi

Supervisor:

Lilik Ulfiati, S.Pd., M.Pd

Compiled by:

Muhammad Ramadhan (A1B219031)

Hezki Alleynissa Rahani (A1B219052)

Rizka Putri (A1B219053)

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH EDUCATION

FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION

UNIVERSITY OF JAMBI

2022
 INTRODUCTION

1. Background

English is one of the languages ​used internationally. Along with the development of Science
and Technology, English has an important role in various aspects, one of them is in education.
English is one of the subjects that must be studied at school such as in junior high school. As
we know, English is one of the international languages, so it makes the position of English
very important to learn. Realizing the reality of the importance of English in the future,
learning English as early as possible must be implemented in the school which is one of the
efforts to increase individual competence in language learning. Learning English in schools is
expected to help students to recognize and understand how English can improve their ability
to use foreign languages. Learning English also has an important role in developing the
student’s basic communication skills and mastering four language skills such as listening,
speaking, reading, and writing. Because English is a foreign language, it will be a cause of
difficulty for students to learn it. Rahayu (2015) stated that the students feel difficult to
understand English since the structure of English and Indonesian are different.

In the learning and teaching process, the teachers often faced some problems such as the lack
of students' ability to understand English learning material and also student’s low motivation
in learning English. Some of these problems are very common in the process of learning
English in the classroom because English is not a language that is often used in daily
communication by students, or we can say that because English is not their mother tongue.
The difficulties of learning English may come from many factors such as internal and
external factors. According to Westwood (2008), internal factors emphasize affective factors
such as motivation, self-confidence, self-esteem and attitudes, while the external factors come
from socio-cultural elements such as teachers, learning tools, and culture in the classroom.

Based on the background of this research, the problems and the difficulties in the learning
process especially in English need to be known in order to find out the appropriate strategies
in learning, so it can make the goals of the learning process more easy to achieve. The
purpose of this research was to determine the difficulties of students at 7A in learning
English, the researchers doing this research with the aim to get the problems or difficulties
and then find out the solution or strategies that can be used to solve the problem.
 2. Method

This research uses qualitative research with a case study approach. The data were collected
through observation and interviews. Observation checklists are used to measure student
activity in the classroom. In this step, researchers created an observation checklist. This is a
series of questions or lists that help observers assess an individual's performance and
behavior. Interviews are used to find out what problems students are facing by asking them
questions directly. Researchers have prepared several questions appropriate for the target
student about the difficulty in learning English, lack of confidence, and lack of proficiency.

Here is the observation checklist that we used during the learning process

The problem faced by students:

Questions Yes No Explanation

Are the students ✔ Yes, they are

enthusiastic in enthusiastic in
learning vocabulary? learning vocabulary,
but the teacher must
use fun lessons such
as games or videos

Do the students have ✔ Yes, they have a lack

a lack of of vocabulary but
vocabulary? they overcome it by
using a dictionary ,
or previous notes
and also ask the
teacher

Do the students feel ✔ They are brave

shy in pronouncing in pronouncing
certain words? certain words when
repeating words that
have been spoken by
the teacher

Do the students are ✔ They are hesitant

not confident about and shy in
their understanding? answering the
questions given by
the teacher

Are the students too ✔ They are

lazy to write down immediately write
 new or unfamiliar down the new
words? vocabulary they
know

Do the students have ✔ They often

difficulty mispronounce words
pronouncing words in English
in English?

Do the students have ✔ Yes, they have

difficulty in writing difficulty writing
English words? English words
without the help of a
dictionary or book

Do the students have ✔ Yes they don't

difficulty in listening understand the
and comprehending words of the teacher
their teacher talking in English, but the
in English? teacher gives a
translation so that
students understand

Our team also do an interview with one of each student in class 7A with the list of questions
below:

1. Apakah kamu mudah mengingat kata kata bahasa inggris yang baru saja dipelajari?
2. Apakah kamu merasa kesulitan dalam menulis kata dalam bahasa inggris (susunan huruf)?
3. Apakah kamu kesulitan untuk membaca tulisan dalam bahasa inggris?
4. Apakah kamu kesulitan dalam memahami arti kosakata bahasa inggris?
5. Apakah kamu banyak mengetahui kosakata bahasa inggris?
6. Apakah setelah belajar bahasa inggris di kelas ,kamu merasa kosakata bahasa inggris mu
bertambah?
7. Apakah kamu menyukai pelajaran bahasa Inggris? Berikan alasannya
8. Apakah Sebelumnya kamu pernah belajar bahasa Inggris (ketika SD)
9. Apakah kamu percaya diri berbicara bahasa Inggris di depan kelas
10. Apakah adik sulit melafalkan kata dalam bahasa inggris
11. Apakah metode belajar dan mengajar yang digunakan guru sudah efektif?
 3. Research finding

Based on the results of observations and interviews that have been conducted on 7A grade
students at MTs Muhammadiyah, there are several difficulties and problems experienced by
students in learning English.

1. Vocabulary mastery is still low.

Based on the results of interviews with students, it was found that some students have a lack
of understanding and mastery of vocabulary, so that students have difficulty in following the
lesson. While the mastery of vocabulary itself affects the student's ability to read, write, listen
and speak. This is because most students in grade 7A never studied English when they were
in elementary school. It can be a factor that influences the student learning process, students
who never studied English before wil find it difficult to participate in English learning
activities because they have not learned the basics of English. Based on the result of our
research, there are only a few students who can master English vocabulary . It is because they
had previously studied English in elementary school and have more practice English such as
doing exercises through memorizing some vocabulary in English. It makes some students
seem to be superior in mastering English vocabulary.

2. Difficulty in writing words or sentences in English.

Based on the results of observations in the classroom, it was found that there were some
students, especially boys who still could not write English vocabulary correctly. Even though
the teacher has written correctly on the blackboard they still look hard to write the correct
word. This happens because some students lack vocabulary, so they are not able to write and
listen to what teachers have said , they just write according to what they think.

3. Pronunciation of English vocabulary.

Based on the results of observations and interviews, the researcher found that the students
seemed enthusiastic about the lesson. However, when pronouncing vocabulary using English,
students are still not in accordance with the correct pronunciation. So it is still often wrong in
pronouncing English vocabulary. Based on what the researchers found in the classroom while
studying, there were some students who did not dare to answer using English, this was
because they were afraid that what they said was wrong or incorrect.
The strategy used to solve the problem

Based on the problems and difficulties faced by students, researchers tried to find strategies
that can be used to overcome various difficulties of students in learning English, some of the
strategies that can be used are as follows:

1. Using Flashcard
One effective way to increase students' interest and mastering vocabulary in learning
English is using Flashcards. Flashcard is visual teaching media in the form of small
cards containing images, text, signs, and symbols related to the subject matter. Flash
card is a card game that is done by showing pictures to students quickly after which
students are asked to remember the vocabulary that has been shown to students. This
can help students learn to read, and remember the vocabulary that has been explained,
by remembering pictures and shapes, thereby increasing students' vocabulary.
According to Syuropati (2009: 124) Flashcards are very effective game cards to help
students learn to read, and their imagination and increase vocabulary by showing
pictures quickly in front of students such as pictures of fruits, animals, vehicles,
colors, or numbers, etc. Interesting learning such as using flash cards will increase
students' enthusiasm in the learning process and help increase students' vocabulary. So
that the learning process runs well and effectively.

2. Playing games (hangman)

To increase students' interest in learning English, we can invite students to play
games. As we know, games are an interesting way of learning, so that students don't
feel bored. In learning English and to improve students' vocabulary, we can use games
called 'hangman'. This game includes vocabulary comprehension. Hangman is also
called a word-guessing game where one has to guess the word and opponent is
thinking of by guessing one letter at the time and involving the gradual drawing of a
stick figure hanging from the gallows. Hangman is one of the interesting games
because it can help students to guess vocabulary and increase their vocabulary list as
well as learn to spell words in English. Students can practice playing while
remembering vocabulary. The Hangman game is a great help in stimulating the
learning of foreign languages, particularly in teaching vocabulary. This hangman
game can be used to help students master vocabulary because this game focuses on
vocabulary and spelling. Vocabulary mastery can be seen when students show their
 understanding of the meaning of a word, how to pronounce a word and how to write
vocabulary correctly in English.

3. Watching animation videos

One of the interesting ways of using learning media is to invite students to watch
animated learning videos. We can find animated videos related to English learning
materials in various sources such as YouTube. By using animated videos, students
will feel more interested in learning. Video Animation is a kind of a modern
entertainment media, it consists of moving pictures, texts, and graphics which are
integrated with sound and voice. The use of video animation in the learning process
can motivate students to follow the class actively because it provides interesting
pictures and sounds. It can also help the students retain information, introduce new
vocabularies, grammar, messages, and entertainment at the same time.

Conclusion

Based on the result of the observation in this research, it can be concluded that there are some
difficulties in learning English in class 7A Mts Muhammadiyah such as vocabulary mastery
is still low, difficulty in writing words or sentences in English, and difficulty in pronouncing
the vocabulary. To overcome those problems, the strategies that can be used are using
flashcards, playing games (hangman) and watching animation videos. Some of these
strategies hopefully can help students to improve their ability in learning English.