Strategies and Difficulties of Madrasah Teachers in Teaching English Vocabulary for Young Learners
Article Sidebar
Page Numbers:
563-578
Digital Object Identifier:
10.58578/anwarul.v5i3.6538
Viewed: 312 times
Downloaded: 198 times
LYAS Publisher cordially invites qualified professionals to serve as Editors or Reviewers. Your expertise will make an important contribution to maintaining and strengthening the academic quality of our publications. Interested applicants are kindly requested to complete the application form at the following link: Editors & Reviewers
Please feel free to contact us if you need any further information about the submission process or if you have any additional questions.
Authors:Riris Sugianto1, Lalu Jaswadi Putera2*
Copyright :Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication.
Main Article Content
ORCID
Abstract
Vocabulary instruction is a critical component of early English language education, significantly contributing to the long-term language development of young learners. However, effectively selecting and applying teaching strategies that align with students’ cognitive and affective needs poses notable challenges, particularly for teachers in madrasah ibtidaiyah (Islamic primary schools). These challenges are often compounded by factors such as limited parental involvement, overcrowded classrooms, scarce teaching resources, and constrained instructional time. This study investigates the vocabulary teaching strategies employed by English for Young Learners (EYL) madrasah teachers and the difficulties they encounter in their implementation. Using a qualitative descriptive design, data were gathered through classroom observations and semi-structured interviews with groups of madrasah teachers. The findings reveal that strategies such as “listen and repeat” and “question and answer” were widely adopted, while approaches like “demonstration,” “brainstorming,” “translation,” and “outdoor activities” were used selectively based on students’ grade levels. Teachers consistently reported various obstacles, including low student motivation, diverse proficiency levels, limited instructional materials, and insufficient time allocated for English instruction. These insights highlight the need for context-responsive pedagogical support and resource development to enhance vocabulary learning outcomes in Islamic primary school settings.
Citation Metrics:
Downloads
Citation Metrics & Similar Scopus Articles
-
Wu Y. (2027)Strategies of Designing High-Efficiency Electrolyte Additives for Aqueous Magnesium Batteries: A ReviewNano Micro Letters, 19(1)
-
Naemi Z. (2027)The Relationship between Second Language Learning Strategies, Learning Engagement, and Writing Skill in the Arabic Writing CurriculumLanguage Related Research, 17(4), 331-360
-
Yan Y. (2027)Advances in TMDs-Based Electromagnetic Wave Absorbers: From Structural Engineering to Multicomponent SynergyNano Micro Letters, 19(1)
Article Details
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
References
Anggraini, D. R. (2018). Challenges in teaching English to young learners. Lingua, 18(2), 141–146. https://shorturl.at/jXLRy
Asher, J. J., & García, R. (1969). The optimal age to learn a foreign language. The Modern Language Journal, 53(5), 334–341. https://doi.org/10.2307/323026
Biemiller, A. (2003). Vocabulary: Needed if more children are to read well. Reading Psychology, 24(3–4), 323–335. https://doi.org/10.1080/02702710390227297
Camlibel-Acar, Z. (2016). Teaching English to young learners: Some challenges faced by pre-service teachers. The Eurasia Proceedings of Educational and Social Sciences, 5, 323–327. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/epess/issue/30752/366815
Cook, G. (2010). Translation in language teaching: An argument for reassessment. Oxford University Press.
Cook, G. (2018). Learning through translation. In A. Burns & J. C. Richards (Eds.), The Cambridge guide to learning English as a second language (pp. 289–297). Cambridge University Press.
Copland, F., Garton, S., & Burns, A. (2014). Challenges in teaching English to young learners: Global perspectives and local realities. TESOL Quarterly, 48(4), 738–762. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.148
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Ebbers, S. M., & Denton, C. A. (2008). A root awakening: Vocabulary instruction for older students with reading difficulties. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 23(2), 90–102. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5826.2008.00267.x
Eriksson, C. C. (2014). Children’s vocabulary development: The role of parental input, vocabulary composition and early communicative skills [Doctoral dissertation, Stockholm University].
Güngör, B. (2020). The effects of early childhood English language education program on very young learners’ vocabulary knowledge and communicative skills [Doctoral dissertation, Marmara University].
İlter, B. G. (2015). How does technology affect language learning process at an early age? Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 199, 311–316. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.07.552
Klimova, B. F. (2015). Games in the teaching of English. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 191, 1157–1160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.04.312
Kuchah, K. (2018). Teaching English to young learners in difficult circumstances. In S. Garton & F. Copland (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of teaching English to young learners (pp. 73–92). Routledge.
Lichtman, K. (2016). Age and learning environment: Are children implicit second language learners? Journal of Child Language, 43(3), 707–730. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000915000598
Lichtman, K. M. (2012). Child-adult differences in implicit and explicit second language learning [Doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign].
McKay, P. (2009). Assessing young language learners. ELT Journal, 63(1), 91–94. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccn063
Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook. Sage Publications.
Nilsson, M. (2024). Challenges and teaching materials in English for young learners in Sweden. Educare, (3), 1–29. https://doi.org/10.24834/educare.2024.3.941
Nunan, D. (2016). Teaching English to young learners. In E. Hinkel (Ed.), Handbook of research in second language teaching and learning (pp. 68–81). Routledge.
Ornaghi, V., Brockmeier, J., & Gavazzi, I. G. (2011). The role of language games in children’s understanding of mental states: A training study. Journal of Cognition and Development, 12(2), 239–259. https://doi.org/10.1080/15248372.2011.563487
Palmer, A., & Rodgers, T. S. (1983). Games in language teaching. Language Teaching, 16(1), 2–21. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444800009836
Pertiwi, C. A. A., Mustofa, M., Ubaidillah, M. F., & Hariyanto, S. (2022). The portrait of challenges in teaching English to young learners: A case study in an Indonesian Islamic school. Journal of English Language Teaching and Linguistics, 7(3), 467. https://dx.doi.org/10.21462/jeltl.v7i3.892
Peters, E. (2022). The golden age of foreign language learning: Age and language learning beyond the classroom. In P. Benson & A. K. Fung (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of language learning and teaching beyond the classroom (pp. 112–125). Routledge.
Sedita, J. (2005). Effective vocabulary instruction. Insights on Learning Disabilities, 2(1), 33–45. https://keystoliteracy.com
Shin, J. K. (2000). Teaching English to young learners. University of Maryland, Baltimore County. https://www.scottsclasses.com
Suyanto, K. K. E., & Rachmatika, R. (2014). English for young learners: Melejitkan potensi anak melalui English class yang fun, asyik, dan menarik. Bumi Aksara.
Teng, M. F. (2025). Assessing young learners’ vocabulary learning via communicative tasks. The Language Learning Journal, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2025.2505891
Tifriyanta, T., Udin, U., & Putera, L. J. (2022). How effective is implementing Jigsaw IV in teaching reading of the narrative text to the eleventh grade students? Fondatia, 6(2), 251–271. https://doi.org/10.36088/fondatia.v6i2.1804
Tuyen, T. N. T. (2021). A study on golden age for Vietnamese learners of English. SocArXiv Papers. https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/gwby9
Wood, K., Wood, K. D., Harmon, J., & Taylor, D. B. (2011). Guidelines for integrating comprehension-based word study in content classrooms. Middle School Journal, 42(5), 57–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/00940771.2011.11461786
Zhang, X. (2025). An inquiry into the effect of peers on L2 motivation under the L2 motivational self system. Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics, 48(2), 207–227. https://doi.org/10.1515/CJAL-2025-0204