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VOCABULARY TEACHING STRATEGIES BY EFL TEACHERS

OF JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL
Esra Elisabeth Panjaitan1, Exsanti Jumina Sibarani2 , Erikson Saragih3
Universitas Prima Indonesia, Medan, Indonesia
Email: 1panjaitanesra12@gmail.com, 2exsantijumina@gmail.com,
3
eriksonsaragih@unprimdn.ac.id

Received: 03 November 2021 Abstract. This research is dedicated to the research vocabulary teaching
Revised : 28 November 2021 strategies by EFL teachers of Junior High School. The rationale of this
Accepted: 15 Desember 2021 research is to investigate the teachers’ strategies in the teaching and learning
process. In addition, this study applied a qualitative approach to analyze data
Data were collected in-depth survey by questionnaire with ten teachers as
respondents. In collecting data there 3 steps, namely The writer selected the
respondents (ten teachers), the writer made ten questions in a questionnaire
for respondents by using google form and The writer wrote a survey’s answer
based on the survey that had been recorded.In this research, the questions are
divided into two parts namely, multiple-choice and essay. In the multiple-
choice, the teacher just chose one of the options and on the essays, the teacher
can give short or long answers. The data were analyzed in some
way:(1)classify data,(2)make a transcript data in written language, (3)Give a
sign, and (4) gather the same sign. In general, a result shows the teacher
strategies in (1) teacher preparation in teaching vocabulary,(2) sources of
vocabulary teaching, (3) kind of teacher question, (4) teacher activities during
the teaching process, and (5) students activities during the earning process.
This result can be seen by the teacher’s answers in the questionnaire. This
result is expected to help the teacher to learn vocabulary and will greatly
contribute for the teacher to teaching vocabulary.

Keywords: Teacher’s Strategies, Teaching Vocabulary, EFL

INTRODUCTION
English is one of the most important languages nowadays because English is the global
language. Even though English is a foreign language in Indonesia, it occupies An important position
in the daily lives of our society. This is seen in the world of Indonesian education. English is one of
the lessons being taught To learners from a basic level to a college. In this world, there are many
languages but the internal language English is essential to a person's competitiveness. With good
English skills, good competitiveness, which is good for our country too. But that does not mean that
we should forget the Indonesian language that is already our national language. Along with the times
and technological advances, students must learn English aa s foreign language. Learning English is a
chance for students to increase their career, education, and society. Many people choose the English
language as a tool to communicate with foreigners. The students in Indonesia are expected to be able
to speak English. By being able to speak English, students can also build new relationships with
strangers.
Learning English is what people do when they want to speak with a foreigner, to deliver their
ideas. In learning English there 4 major skill skills and 3 language systems in English. The major skill
in English is speaking, writing, listening, and reading and all of the major skill is related to each other.
The language system is needed to support learning a major skill, namely structure, vocabulary,
grammar, and pronunciation. In learning English, the learner has to memorize some vocabulary to
master the English language. Black Hills State University (2006: 4) stated that “Vocabulary or word
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meaning is one of the keys to comprehension. According to the statement above, no one can speak
English without any vocabulary. The focus of this research is strategies for teaching vocabulary.
Vocabulary is the basic aspect of learning a language that learners should master. According to
Wilkins in Thornbury (2002: 13) summed up that without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed. Based
on the statement above. Similar t Krashen’s statement, (1998:155): “A vocabulary is a basic
component in communication”.Based on the statement, we can conclude that vocabularies are
fundamental to language. Vocabulary will be the first thing to develop language skill.
Vocabulary is a crucial part of learning English. Vocabulary plays important role in mastering
language. According to Linse (2005:121) stated that vocabulary is a collection of words that an
individual knows. Based on the statement above everyone has to improve their vocabulary
individually. Improving vocabulary in English is more difficult than learning vocabulary in Indonesia
viewed. The difficulty lies in the meaning, writing, word use, And also pronunciation of the words.
However, some students in the school have a good vocabulary and the others lower. Some of
the students can express their ideas in English while others can’t. In this case, I think the differences
are caused by the strategies of teaching applied by the teacher. The students who have good
vocabulary usually accepted the interesting strategies of teaching. Interesting strategies can improve
mastering vocabulary effectively and quickly.
The writer made this observation for the ten English teachers who teach in junior high school.
The writer found some problems related to students’ success in mastering vocabulary. Many students
can’t express their opinion, ideas, and also suggestions because they have a lacking vocabulary. Based
on the problem above, the writer thinks that the teacher should use teaching strategies. Using
strategies in teaching English will be one aspect that affects the level of students’ vocabulary.
Teaching strategies will influence students’ motivation because some students are not interested in
English. By effective and appropriate teaching strategies the teacher can attract students’ attention and
achieve the students’ goals.
This research is supported by previous research that conducted by Aizen Yaacob Dkk (2019)
on their research entitled “Vocabulary Learning Strategies Through Secondary Students at Saudi
School in Malaysia”. In this research they aspects related to students’ knowledge and use of
appropriate and effective vocabulary learning strategies. By Zhihong Bai (2018) about “An Analysis
of English Vocabulary Learning Strategies” and also by Feng Teng (2014) about “strategies for
teaching and learning vocabulary”.Based on the previous research, they only focus on the what the
good strategies for teaching vocabulary. They only described teaching strategies based on the theory
in the book. There are no valid data from the teacher as a respondent, while in this research I’ll put the
strategies teaching vocabulary by teacher EFL. The information will come from teachers’ surveys by
ten questions in the google form. This research will be contributed for researchers or teachers who
need it as a guidebook for choosing teaching strategies. The writer will use a qualitative approach.
Thus this research aims to find out what the teaching strategies by teachers on the teaching-learning
process.

METHOD
This study implemented a qualitative research design as it fits with the use of questionnaires to
find out teaching strategies by EFL teachers in Junior High School. This research involved teachers as
a respondent. The purpose of this study is to find out the teaching strategies for teaching English
vocabulary. In this research, the writer uses a qualitative approach because this research focuses on
the analysis of teaching strategies by the teacher.
Qualitative research is a qualitative study is defined as an inquiry process of understanding a
social or human problem, based on building a complex, holistic picture, formed with words, reporting
detailed views of informants, and conducted in a natural setting (Cresswell,1994). Similar to Leedy
and Ormrod theoris 2021 stated Quantitative research is specific in its surveying and
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experimentation.Based on the statement above the qualitative research will be a too effective and
flexible method to analyze teacher strategies quality. Qualitative research plays an important role in
analyzing the various factors which are related to human behavior in and particular manner. This
research involved ten teachers from different schools and researchers themself.
In this research, the data sources by According to Patton (2002) stated that the most common
data sources in qualitative research included interviews, observations, and documentation. Similar to
Cresswell (2012) stated that the sources of data research come from some sources such as
documentation, interview, audio vidual record, and physical artifacts. Based on the statement above
the data sources of this research are questioners by google form as data research. The writer survey
ten questions for each teacher to get significant information. The data of this research will be gathered
from ten teachers as respondents and from previous theories to support data.
In this research to answer the research problem, the writer should collect the data. Data are the
important evidence and relevant information used to solve the research questions. There is some way
to collect data, in this research the writer uses qualitative research. The way to collect data the writer
using a questionnaire. The questionnaire was presented by google form as primary data. All of them
will analyze based on the procedure of qualitative data collecting. data collecting is an important step
from the research, it should be checked so the data that we will get keep valid and reliable (Ary,2002:
425). There are for the type of collecting data in qualitative research, namely questionnaire, interview,
documentation. and observation. In this research, the writer collect data by questionnaire. There are
ten teachers as a respondent and ten questions. The writer select the respondent who had a long
experience and especially those who teach in junior high school. A quality teacher is a partial part of
learners in their teaching process. In this research the use the questionnaires as an instrument, and the
writer use the procedure as follows:
1. The writer selected the respondents (ten teachers)
2. The writer made ten-question in the questionnaire for respondents by using by google form
3. The writer wrote a survey’s answer based on the survey that had been a record
For the analyzing data, for the first way, the data of the research will classify data. There is ten-
question, the question is divided into two-part. Some of the questions are multiple choices, so the
respondent just answers yes or no, true or false, or chooses the option based on the respondent’s
experiences. So the writer should classify how many respondents choose true or false and yes or no.
One of the questions is an essay. So the respondent should answer based on the experience, the
respondent should give a short answer and a long answer. In this part, the writer must adjust the
respondent’s answer to a problem presented in this research. All of the respondents must answer the
research question specifically. The second way is the writer will make a transcript data in the written
language from the google form record. The third is giving the sign, All data that was written in a
sentence was given a sign that expressed theme, strategies, conditions as supporting research data(
Munawwarah 2021:43). The fourth is the writer will gather the same sign into one data and the last is
the writer will interpret all of the data to find out the suitability of vocabulary teaching by EFL
teachers in Junior High School.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

Based on the survey done on November 5, 2021, the writer found valid data to answer the
research question. The research finding in this research was gathered by the survey which consists of
ten questions. The survey was presented in questionnaires by google form. The result of this research
is classified into six-part they are (1) teacher preparation in teaching vocabulary,(2) strategies
teachers’ used, (3) sources of vocabulary teaching, (4) kind of teacher question, (5) teacher activities
during the teacher hiring process, and (6) students activities during the learning process.
Teacher preparation in teaching vocabulary
Based on the data from the questionnaire, the writer can gather what is the teachers’ preparation
before starting the lessons Some of the teachers prepare the material, media, lesson plan, guidance

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book question test. In each meeting, the teacher already has enough knowledge so they can teach
vocabulary well. Based on the teachers’ Preparation above, the teacher can help students to
concentrate to begin the lesson. The other teachers used dictionaries, video or games as a preparation
for vocabulary teaching in Junior High School. With the implementation of video or games teachers
can build initial knowledge and understanding of students. In each meeting teacher always uses the
attractive game as part of the lesson
Sources of vocabulary teaching
The sources of vocabulary teachers will be important in the teaching process. In
general, sources in research can be divided into primary sources and also secondary sources. The
primary sources by eyewitness and secondary sources from the letter, interview, questionnaires, and
record. Based on the data from questionnaires, the teacher used textbooks, videos, pictures, and also
reading material as sources. Percentage of textbook usage is 62%, video 50%, picture 50%, and
reading material 50%. Based on the percentage above, all of the teachers used some sources that can
support the teaching-learning process. All of the sources can enrich the teachers’ and students’
understanding of learning vocabulary. The sources of teaching vocabulary are shown in this chart
follow.
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Textbook Video Picture Reading
Material
Figure 1. percentage of the sources teaching usage
Kind of teacher Assessment
Assessment is a way used by teachers to obtain data or information from the process of learning
outcomes to determine the extent of students’ understanding. School.Based on the data from the
questionnaire some oft teachers decided to use storytelling games, essays, and also multiple-choice as
a kind of assessment. This strategies applied by teacher at SMP Yaspen Nurcahaya,SMP Islam As
Shofa,SMP pancabudi,SMP Batam School .Percentage of teacher who used storytelling 12,5%,game
37,5%,essay 50%,and multiple choice75%.In these strategies, more teachers use multiple choice as a
kind of assessment in teaching vocabulary. Because based on their experience multiple-choice to
effective to evaluate students achievement. Using multiple-choice will be easier for students to answer
the questions automatically. The students just choose the right option as an answer. The other teacher
used Essay as a kind of assessment. This assessment is quite effective to improve students’
vocabulary. Because in this part, students can share and express their idea without any limit. The
Third kind of Assessment is Game, half of the teacher total as a respondent using the game as an
assessment. In this strategy, teachers use a game as a medium to encourage students to master
vocabulary fastly. And the last assessment is storytelling, storytelling is only chosen by a few
teachers. Based on the teacher experience, storytelling is not very interesting for Junior High School
without the right teaching aids. Storytelling will make a difficult for students on word order and
passive dominance.
The percentage of kinds of assessment is presented in the following chart.

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Figure 2. Percentage of teacher assement usage

Teachers’ activities during the teaching process
This activity will be an important part of teaching vocabulary because it can reach students’
level of understanding. Based on the survey, the activity of teachers in Bogor is adding some
synonyms or giving some diction for improving vocabulary. It means the teacher gave some practice
for a student that can increase students to memorize some new vocabulary. The activity of teacher
who teaches in at course medan asks the student to read some textbook, find the difficult words and
try to find out the meaning. In this activity ty, the teacher will guide them ask them to memorize. The
teacher as the controller will get some information about the student achievement. \
The teacher who teaches in the Pancabudi prepared the reading material, explain it in front of
the class, and then give an exercise for students. Based on the teachers’ experience this activity can
help students to master English vocabulary quickly. On their exercise, the teacher put some synonyms
or gave some diction for improving their vocabulary.
The other teachers’ activity is evaluating. Evaluating is a measurement or improvement of the
implementation of the learning process, such as comparing the results of activities that have been
carried out. In this part, the teacher asks the students’ complaints and the obstacles faced by students.
With the students’ complaints, the teacher as a facilitator can direct and monitor students to solve a
problem. All of the respondents evaluate students in every single meeting or the next meeting.
Students’ activities during the teaching process
Students’ activities during the teaching process will be an important part of the successful
teaching-learning process. After the teaching process, teachers let the students do some activities to
improve their vocabulary. Some teachers ask the students to watch, listen, write difficult words, and
remember those words.

CONCLUSION
In communication, the pressure isn't grammar, But rather the information that wanted to be
conveyed was contained within The speaker's language. therefore, the speaker tended to use Simple
and easy-to-understand patterns of sentence and vocabulary. Students still find many difficulties to
understand the English text and answering reading questions because they are confused about the
vocabulary can use. The EFL teacher's diverse and interesting use of methods and techniques for
learners also a pleasant learning atmosphere will create Learners who are enthusiast to learn and

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accept everything presented by Teachers are in the learning process. This means that teachers in the
process of learning to teach can use visual things as a medium that is: videos, songs, picture sticks,
pictures, flashcards, etc. So students can receive the learning materials very well. In this study,
however, researchers chose pictures as teaching media that could develop and motivate students to
learn English easily, including vocabulary. One of the critical components present in the learning
activity is the textbook. Textbooks as teach serve to assist teachers in conveying the purposes of
learning. Reading material as students' main learning, well as the media image and video or movie as
other means of making students interested in studying English. However, the main purpose of
learning a foreign language is not to destroy ‘Bahasa’ itself but to help us better represent ourselves
and be able to communicate with more people. Teachers function as Facilitators, inspirators,
motivators, and the teachers of learning to play a role in preparing for students. When English class
well as a foreign language education In the classes contributed to the success of the English
translation in Indonesia.

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