DIFFICULTIES IN ENGLISH VOCABULARY LEARNING

EXPERIENCED BY THE EIGHTH GRADE STUDENTS OF

SMP NEGERI I BOROBUDUR IN THE ACADEMIC YEAR
OF 2011/2012

A Thesis

Written by:
Nunik Rahmawati
05202244164

ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF LANGUAGES AND ARTS
STATE UNEVERSITY OF YOGYAKARTA
2012
 DIFFICULTIES IN ENGLISH VOCABULARY LEARNING
EXPERIENCED BY THE EIGHTH GRADE STUDENTS OF SMP
NEGERI I BOROBUDUR IN THE ACADEMIC YEAR OF 2011/2012

A Thesis

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Attainment of a

Sarjana Pendidikan Degree in English Language Education

Written by:
Nunik Rahmawati
05202244164

ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF LANGUAGES AND ARTS
STATE UNEVERSITY OF YOGYAKARTA
2012
 MOTTOS

Wasta‟inuu bis sabbri wassalaati (Qs. Al Baqarah 2:45)

(Seek help in patience and prayer)

Fazkuruu aalaa allahahi la‟llakum tuflihun (QS. Al A‟raaf

7:69)
(Remember ALLAH’s blessing so that, hopefully, you will
be successful)
"There are no secrets to success. Don‟t waste your time looking
for them. Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning
from failure, loyalty to those for whom you work, and persistence."
(Collin Powell)

"The great doing of little things makes the great life."

(Eugenia Price)

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
(Theodore Roosevelt)

Inna ma‟al „usri yusraa (Qs. Al Insyiroh 94:6)

(There is an ease behind a difficulty)
 Dedications

…. This thesis is dedicated to my beloved family who have given me wonderful

life
…. honestly, without them I am nothing….
I wish to express my deepest appreciation to my parents, especially my mom,
Ibu Srimpi Adiningsih without her never-ending support, patience and understanding
I could have never completed my thesis.
My father, Drs. Taryono who is always patient waiting for my graduation day
Thank you for the love, support and motivation
My husband and my son, who are always patient waiting for my graduation day
Thanks for the support and motivation.
You are my best family; I will always love you …
My beloved brother, alm. Yudi Hadi Wibowo in paradise,
Who always becomes my inspiration
I will always remember your messages. Thanks for your smile in the end
You are my only brother in my life,
I will always miss you...
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Bismillahirahmanirrahim. Alhamdulillahhirabbil’alamin. Praise is to

Allah SWT and the Merciful, who has given me the mercy and blessing
without which I would have never finished this thesis.
I would like to thank Drs. Abdul Ghani Johan, M. Ed., my first

consultant and also Anita Triastuti, S.Pd, M.A, my second consultant, who

have advised, encouraged, and guided me in developing ideas. I would like to

express my greatest appreciation for their patience and valuable time in

reading, checking and correcting every part of this thesis. My gratitude also

goes to all the English Language Education Department lecturers and all FBS

members. I thank them for all the useful materials and knowledge given to

me.

I greatly appreciate all the members of SMP Negeri 1 Borobudur,

especially the eighth grade students of regular classes, the headmaster and the

English teacher for the assistance during the research.

Further, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my lovely

father and mother, my husband and my son, and all of my big family for

loving me tenderly, supporting me, being by my side all this time,

encouraging me to keep struggling, saying prayers for my success and

understanding me well.

I also appreciate all my friends, Tya, Putri, Chandra, and all of my

friends who have always given me support in finishing this thesis. I also thank
my best friends, Ari, Nita, Ayu, and Astri for the friendship and togetherness;

and all my friends in PERSIT 320/BP Group (mbak Cahyani, Eri, Mey, Ayu,

Rimba, bunda Wina and Helda).

Many thanks also go to everyone whom I cannot mention one by one.

Finally, I realize that this thesis is still far from being perfect. I
realize that many mistakes have been made even though I have already
worked hard to complete the thesis. It is hoped that this thesis will have some
contribution and use.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i
APPROVAL SHEET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii
RATIFICATION SHEET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
PERNYATAAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
MOTTOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
DEDICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
LIST OF TABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xii
LIST OF FIGURES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii
LIST OF APPENDICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiv
ABSTRACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv

CHAPTER: I INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
B. Identification of the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
C. Delimitation of the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
D. Formulation of the Problem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
E. Objectives of the Study. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
F. Significance of the Study. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

CHAPTER II: LITERATUR RIVIEW

A. Literature Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 9
1. Vocabulary ................................................................................................ 9
a. The Definitions of Vocabulary ......................................................... 9
b. Vocabulary Mastery .......................................................................... 13
1. Meaning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2. Use. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3. Spelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
4. Pronunciation. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
c. Kinds of Vocabulary ......................................................................... 21
 d. Vocabulary in Foreign Language learning........................................ 22
e. Teaching and Learning English Vocabulary..................................... 23
1. Teaching English Vocabulary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

2. Learning English Vocabulary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

f. Teaching Vocabulary to Teenagers .................................................. 25

g. English Vocabulary Learning Experienced by The Eighth Grade
Students of SMP Negeri 1 Borobudur .............................................. 26
B. Conceptual Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHOD

A. Types of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
B. Research Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
C. Population and Sample . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
1. Population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
2. Sample. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
D. Technique of Sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
E. Data Collecting Technique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
F. Research Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
1. The Test of Vocabulary Mastery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
2. The Questionnaire of the Students‟ Difficulties in English Vocabulary
Learning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
G. The Validity and Reliability of Instrument. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
1. The Validity of the Vocabulary Mastery Test. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
2. The Reliability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
H. Data Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
1. Mean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
2. Standard Deviation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
3. Categorization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

CHAPTER IV: RESEARCH FINDINGS

A. The Data Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
1. The Students‟ Mastery in Vocabulary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
 a. The Data Description of Students‟ Mastery in Vocabulary
Learning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
b. The Conversion Criterion of Students‟ Mastery in Vocabulary
Learning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
2. The Students‟ Difficulties in Vocabulary Learning . . . . . . . . . 54
a. Spelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
b. Pronunciation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
c. Use. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
d. Meaning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
B. The Possible Causes of the Students‟ Difficulties in English Vocabulary
Learning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
C. The Solution to Solve the Students‟ Difficulties in Vocabulary Learning. . .
........................................... 64

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

A. Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
B. Suggestion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
APPENDICES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
 LIST OF TABLES

1. The Number of Population Members of the Eighth Grade Students of SMP

Negeri 1 Borobudur. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
2. The vocabulary test indicators on the students‟ English vocabulary mastery. . . . . 37
3. The questionnaire indicators on the students‟ difficulties of vocabulary learning. .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
4. The Questionnaire scores on the students‟ difficulties of vocabulary learning. . . . 39
5. The Item Validity of the Instrument (Vocabulary Mastery Test). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
6. The Vocabulary Test Indicators on the Students‟ English Vocabulary Mastery
after Try Out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
7. The Item Validity of the Instrument (Questionnaire). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
8. The Questionnaire indicators on the students‟ difficulties of vocabulary learning
after doing try out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
9. The Conversion Criterion of the Students‟ Vocabulary Mastery . . . . .. . . . . . . . 50
10. The Data Description of Students‟ Vocabulary Mastery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
11. The Conversion Criterion of the Students‟ Vocabulary Mastery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
12. The Ideal Mean and Ideal SD of Students‟ Vocabulary Mastery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
13. The Frequency Distribution of the Students‟ Vocabulary Mastery Based on Mi
and SDi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
14. The Categorization of the Students‟ Difficulties in Vocabulary Learning Aspects
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
15. The Calculation of the Students‟ Correct and Incorrect Answer in Spelling of
Vocabulary Aspects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
16. The Calculation of the Students‟ Correct and Incorrect Answer in Pronunciation
of Vocabulary Aspects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
17. The Calculation of the Students‟ Correct and Incorrect Answer in Use of
Vocabulary Aspects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
18. The Calculation of the Students‟ Correct and Incorrect Answer in Meaning of
Vocabulary Aspects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Knowing a Word………………………………………………….12

 LIST OF APPENDICES

1 Appendix 1 : Instruments
2 Appendix 2 : Answer Sheet
3 Appendix 3 : Table of Krejcie and Morgan
4 Appendix 4 : Tabulation
5 Appendix 5 : Statistics
6 Appendix 6 : Categorization and Histogram
7 Appendix 7 : The Blue Print
8 Appendix 8 : School Identity
9 Appendix 9 : List of the eighth grade students
10 Appendix 10 : Syllabus
11 Appendix 11 : Standard of Competence
12 Appendix 12 : Letter of Permission
 DIFFICULTIES IN ENGLISH VOCABULARY LEARNING
EXPERIENCED BY THE EIGHTH GRADE STUDENTS OF SMP NEGERI I
BOROBUDUR IN THE ACADEMIC YEAR OF 2011/2012

By
Nunik Rahmawati
05202244164
ABSTRACT

This study is intended to find out the difficulties in English Vocabulary learning
among the eighth grade students of SMP Negeri I Borobudur in the Academic Year of
2011/2012.
The research used descriptive quantitative method because the researcher described the
data in the form of number. The researcher also used descriptive qualitative method to help
the quantitative explanation. The population of this research is all the eighth grade students of
SMP Negeri I Borobudur in the academic year of 2011/2012 which is divided into 7 classes
that are 222 students. The researcher took 32 students as the sample. To collect the data, the
researcher used a test as the instruments. The test consisted of vocabulary mastery and it
contained 40 items in the form of multiple choices. After that the researcher tried to find the
item difficulties of each item to reflect the difficulty of the test. In analyzing the data, the
researcher used descriptive analyses which deal with the ideal mean, ideal standard deviation,
maximum score, minimum score, the possible maximum score, and categorization. The
researcher also used descriptive method since the data which are described in the form of
sentences that are the difficulties faced by the students in vocabulary learning, the possible
caused of those difficulties and some solutions to solve those difficulties.
The result shows that the mean score was 15.59 with a standard deviation of 3.164.
Meanwhile, the maximum score is 22 and the minimum score was 7 and the possible
maximum score was 30. After being consulted with the ideal mean and ideal standard
deviation, it can be concluded that the students‟ mastery in vocabulary can be categorized into
poor category. The students still have difficulties when they do the test. The less serious
difficulties of vocabulary learning faced by the students are the meaning, pronunciation, and
use of words. The other aspect of words is categorized into least serious is spelling.