MENGIDENTIFIKASI PERMASALAHAN PEMBELAJARAN KOSA KATA SISWA DI SMPN 1 TORIBULU PARIGI MOUTONG

This research aims at identifying problems of the students in learning vocabulary and finding out factors cause those problems. This research employed a qualitative descriptive research design. For gaining the data, the researcher used questionnaire and interview. The sample of this research was Class VIII A which consisted of 25 students. The researcher gave the questionnaire to the students as the participant. Then, the researcher randomly chose 7 students to be interviewed.
The researcher found three main problems experienced by students in learning vocabulary, (1) Problems in pronuncing words and spelling, (2) Problems related to students behavior and the environment, and (3) Problems in teaching and learning process. In addition, it was found that the factors causing students' Problems in learning vocabulary at grade Eight SMPN 1 Toribulu were: (1) differences between written words and English pronunciation, (2) differences between Indonesian and English pronunciation (3) scarce use of vocabulary in daily communication, (4) less effort in memorizing vocabulary, (5) being afraid of making mistakes in pronouncing the word, (6) easily forgetting the learned vocabulary, and (7) lack of emphasis on learning vocabulary in class. Referring to these factors, the researcher found that almost all students who learn English have the same problems especially in vocabulary. Therefore, the researcher suggests that teacher should increase their motivation to study well and provide more opportunities to learn vocabulary in classroom learning.
Key words: Identifying, Vocabulary, Learning, Problems