An Identification Of Students’ Problems In Learning English at SMP N 30 Muaro Jambi Indonesia

Abstract

This study aimed to identify students' difficulties in learning English at SMP N 30 Muaro Jambi, Indonesia. The descriptive qualitative method was used in the present study. Ten tenth-grade students participated in this study. Semi-structured interviews were used in this study to collect research data. The finding of the study revealed that there were several problems consisting of external and internal problems. The internal problems came from within the students themselves. It consists of 1) lack of motivation, 2) lack of concentration, 3) lack of self-confidence, 4) fear of mistakes, and 5) shyness. Meanwhile, the external problems came from the students' environment, such as a lack of English lesson hours. Therefore, the participants also explained some solutions to overcome their problems. Several recommendations for teachers and further studies have been proposed by the researchers to gain better improvement.