Abstrak
ABSTRACT Gusti Rahmi Putri: 2319074, “Difficulties and Strategies Used by English Teachers in Teaching Vocabulary to Young Learners in Ampek Angkek District”, 2025. This research was motivated by the observation that English teachers in several elementary schools in Ampek Angkek experienced various difficulties in teaching vocabulary to young learners. Although English will become a compulsory subject at the elementary level starting in 2026, some schools have already begun implementing it, yet teachers still struggle to provide effective instruction. Students often showed limited focus during lessons, had difficulty understanding new words, and required more engaging activities to maintain their attention. In addition, teachers faced obstacles in selecting appropriate materials, using media that matched learning objectives, managing classroom activities, and assessing vocabulary learning effectively. These issues emphasized the need to understand teachers’ real classroom difficulties and the strategies they applied to handle them. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the difficulties teachers encountered and the strategies they used in teaching vocabulary at the elementary school level. This research used a qualitative case study design and was conducted in three elementary schools in Ampek Angkek District, namely SDN 13 Parit Putus, SDN 08 Bonjo Alam, and SDN 17 Bonjo Alam. The informants consisted of three English teachers who were actively teaching vocabulary to young learners. Data were collected through classroom observations and semi-structured interviews. The data were analyzed through Miles and Huberman model, which includes data collection, data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. This procedure helped the researcher to systematically interpret teachers’ difficulties and strategies based on indicators of materials, media, activities, and assessment. Based on the results of the research, it was found that teachers experienced difficulties in four areas: (1) selecting and adapting vocabulary materials according to students’ proficiency levels; (2) using media effectively due to limited technological facilities; (3) maintaining students’ focus and managing activities during vocabulary lessons; and (4) designing assessments suitable for young learners. To address these difficulties, teachers implemented several strategies, such as simplifying materials, incorporating visual aids and real objects, using songs and games to increase engagement, providing repeated practice, and applying simple oral and written assessments. These strategies were helpful in improving students’ participation and understanding, even though the teachers still faced limitations in facilities and time allocation.