Difficulties and Strategies in Learning English: An Analysis of Students From English and Non-English Education Department in Indonesia

Abstract

Two different contextual backgrounds may yield other influences. This research aimed to examine the difficulties of the English Language Education Department (ELED) students and non-English Language Education Department (non-ELED) in learning English language and their strategies to cope with their difficulties. This research utilized a qualitative approach and employed interviews as a means to gather data. In this research, the researcher involved 6 participants 3 from ELED and non-ELED, respectively. Both ELED and Non-ELED Students shared common problems in learning English related to the issues of vocabulary shortage, grammar difficulties, pronunciation problems, low speaking and listening skills. The noticeable difference was seen on the difficulty in developing ideas that is only faced by ELED students while difficult in all aspects of writing skills faced by non-ELED students. The strategies implemented by both ELED and non-ELED students included jotting down the unknown words, learning English using Google, learning English through social media, reading journals, using subtitles, watching movies that use English as a medium of communication, listening to English movies, singing English songs, joining English courses, making imitation, and practising their English writing and speaking skills. The strategies to deal with the difficulties that were implemented by ELED students were reading online comic, memorizing vocabulary, reading English article or essays, listening to podcast, telling a story using English language, increasing confidence, and memorizing form of verbs. Meanwhile, the strategies that just implemented by non-ELED students are joining English activity programs, doing English exercises, getting used to the English language, and using the correct English language.

Reading-Related Activities in English Textbook and How the Texts are Exploited in Junior High Schools

“…There are several activity conducted by teacher such as grammatical words activity give benefit to make students considered the use of English grammar formula based on the situation (Permatasari et al, 2018;Rohmatillah, 2015). Previous study states that students will regard grammar as resources to help them effectively express themselves and convey their ideas (Dewantara et al, 2022;Suryanto & Sari, 2021). It is because the activity will give them chance to express their knowledge around grammar by considering those formulas.…”

“…In this case, social media has a big role in influencing students' interest in learning. As the existence of social media, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc., student prefers to playing social media rather than learning (Balan et al, 2019;Suryanto & Sari, 2021). Third, easy to get instant information.…”

The Implementation of E-Picture Strip Story in English Writing

“…Every skill is important to be mastered, for example writing skill. Writing nowadays is one of the important skills in English which must be developed by continuous practice, this is because one cannot acquire this ability naturally and without problems (Sadiku, 2015;Sudirman et al, 2020;Suryanto & Sari, 2021). According to previous study there are numerous kinds of communication media in the form of written text that can be used to practice and improve one's writing skills, such as daily newspapers, magazines, web journals, websites, and even social media (Huertas-Abril, 2021).…”

“…Students in Indonesia from elementary to high school still lack mastery of writing skills even though we know that they have been practicing English for years. Even though they have studied English for a long time, but they still face the same challenges in writing, so that when they proceed to a higher level, they cannot write well (Epçaçan, 2019;Huy, 2015;Suryanto & Sari, 2021).…”

The power of constructive criticism and its effect on students' learning motivation

“…In the learning process of English as a foreign language, students often have their own difficulties. Suryanto & Sari (2020) revealed that the difficulties students encountered were grouped into five categories, namely: vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, listening, and speaking. As the difficulties that the students faced were complex and varied, it is undeniable that EFL students in Indonesian context make mistakes in their learning progress.…”