Dealing with the Vocabulary Difficulties of BSED English Students in Reading Literary Texts

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31098/jefltr.v5i2.3320

Keywords:

BSED English Program, Vocabulary Difficulty, Literary Text

Abstract

Vocabulary Difficulties are words that BSED English students commonly encounter when reading literary texts, particularly in literature subjects. These difficulties can significantly impede students' comprehension and interpretation of various scholarly works. This study employs the Merriam Case Study Model from 1998 since it aims to provide a contextualized understanding of the vocabulary difficulties faced by BSED English students in reading literary texts. This research employed a triangulation method to collect data from fifteen fourth-year BSED English students, as well as from two peers and two English teachers, using a semi-structured interview guide. The findings highlight the students' perceptions regarding the importance of vocabulary in their reading experiences. Key findings revealed that vocabulary mastery facilitates interpretation, evokes epistemic emotions, and fosters audience engagement. However, students reported several vocabulary difficulties, including encountering unfamiliar words, misusing words, and spelling problems. To address these vocabulary difficulties, BSED English students employed various strategies, such as searching for information, expanding vocabulary through reading, note-taking words, utilizing AI tools, and identifying context clues. Additionally, students expressed intentions or plans to improve their vocabulary by maintaining vocabulary-building notes, reading engagement, participating in English-speaking practices, and immersing in gamification. In conclusion, this study is significant to the body of knowledge and in theoretical and practical methods for both BSED English learners and literature teachers. The study presents several recommendations to enhance teaching and learning strategies within literature courses to better support students in dealing with vocabulary difficulties in literature classes.

References

Al-Khasawneh, F. (2019). The Impact of Vocabulary Knowledge on the Reading Comprehension of Saudi EFL Learners. Journal of Language and Education, 5(3), 24-34. doi: https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2019.8822

Altamimi, D., & Rashid, R. A. (2019). Spelling Problems and Causes among Saudi English Language Undergraduates. Arab World English Journal (AWEJ), 10, 178-191. https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol10no3.12

Altun, M. (2023). Literature and Identity: Examine the Role of Literature in Shaping Individual and Cultural Identities. International Journal of Social Sciences and Educational Studies, 10, 381–385. https://doi.org/10.23918/ijsses.v10i3p381

Benonguil, J. A., & Barnido, J. (2022). Teachers’ instructional approaches in teaching literary texts in an ESL classroom: Learners’ impressions at core. International Journal of Language and Literary Studies, 4(2), 243–264. https://doi.org/10.36892/ijlls.v4i2.948

Bhandari, P. (2023). Triangulation in Research | Guide, Types, Examples. Scribbr. https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/triangulation/

Caratiquit, L. J. C. ., Caratiquit, K. D. ., & Tamanu, M. J. M. (2022). Perception in Krashen’s Monitor Utilization and the Learners’ English-Speaking Performance. Journal of English As A Foreign Language Teaching and Research, 2(2), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.31098/jefltr.v2i2.937

Chueasuai, P. (2025). Uncovering the linguistic issues in tourism promotional texts: The case of the tourism authority of Thailand’s English website. LEARN Journal: Language Education and Acquisition Research Network,18(1), 376-404. https://doi.org/10.70730/QNMR5213

Corpuz, J. M. M., Morales, A. N., Clarin, A. S., Dionio, B. B., & Cocolan, J. V. (2024). Students’ Vocabulary Skills in Relation to their Reading Comprehension in Language Literature. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, VIII(X), 2137–2150. https://doi.org/10.47772/ijriss.2024.8100183

Cuenca-Calva, . T. S. ., Ramón-Rodríguez, B. L. ., & Troya-Sánchez, M. E. . (2024). Online Games and English as a Foreign Language Vocabulary Learning Among Eighth-Grade Students. Journal of English As A Foreign Language Teaching and Research, 4(1), 33–47. https://doi.org/10.31098/jefltr.v4i1.2098

Dardjito, H., Rolls, N., Setiawan, A., & Sumekto, D. R. (2023). Challenges in reading English academic texts for non-English major students of an Indonesian university. Deleted Journal, 10(3), 1290–1308. https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v10i3.29067

Etikan, I. (2016). Comparison of Convenience Sampling and Purposive Sampling. American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Statistics, 5(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajtas.20160501.11

Falculan, D. G. (2017). Vocabulary difficulty and learning strategies of Grade 8-special Science class students in reading Afro-Asian literary texts. In International Conference on Arts, Social Sciences, Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies. https://uruae.org/siteadmin/upload/UH0917152.pdf

Gazu, K. A. (2021). English as second-language students’ strategies when reading and writing about literary texts: Some ethical considerations. Per Linguam, 36(2). https://doi.org/10.5785/36-2-836

Grainger, T., Turnbull, D., & Irwin, M. (2025). AI-Powered Search. Simon and Schuster.

Griffin, N. M., Elleman, A. M., & Oslund, E. L. (2021). The Impact of Growth Mindset Instruction on the Vocabulary Acquisition and Comprehension of First Grade Students. Reading Psychology, 42(7), 758–776. https://doi.org/10.1080/02702711.2021.1939821

Hakem, H. (2022). Vocabulary learning strategies for vocabulary learning in literary texts. International Journal of Learning and Teaching. 12(4), 177-186. https://doi.org/10.18844/gjflt.v12i4.6425

Hossain, M. S., (2024). The Interaction Between Literature, Language, and Society: Exploring the Interwoven Dynamics. https://doi.org/10.17632/p59fj3h9mx.1

Louick, R., & Emery, A. (2024). Supporting Students’ Feelings About Learning: Attending to Negative Epistemic Emotions. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/00400599241256586

Malaj, L. (2020). Summary Strategies for Literary Texts in English. Studies in Logic, Grammar and Rhetoric, University of Bialystok, vol. 65 no. 1, pp. 7-20. https://doi.org/10.2478/slgr-2020-0043

Merriam, S. B. (1998). Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation. Higher and Adult Education Series. San Francisco, CA: 94103-1741—www.josseybass.com

Mussa, S., & Fente, G. (2020). The appropriateness of literary texts in teaching reading skills: the case of some selected high schools in Ethiopia. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 10(10), 1200. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1010.03

Norhayati, & Elmayantie, C., (2022). Context Clues in Reading Text for Improving EFL Students’ Reading Skills. ENLIT, 2(2), 83-87. https://doi.org/10.33654/enlit.v2i2.1922

Pekrun, R., (2022). Emotions in Reading and Learning from Texts:

Progress and Open Problems. Discourse Processes, 59:1-2, 116-125. https://doi.org/10.1080/0163853X.2021.1938878

Ridwan, R. N. (2024). The Influence of Vocabulary Mastery and Grammar on Students’ Reading Comprehension of Narrative Texts. Verba: Journal of Applied Linguistics, 3(2), 41–50. https://doi.org/10.572349/verba.v2i1.363

Rumelhart, D. E. (1980). Understanding understanding (Technical Report No. 8501). University of California, San Diego, Center for Human Information Processing. ERIC. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED198497.pdf

Saleem, A. N., Noori, N. M., & Ozdamli, F. (2021). Gamification Applications in E-learning: A Literature Review. Technology, Knowledge and Learning, 27(1), 139–159. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10758-020-09487-x

Snowling, M. J., Hulme, C., & Nation, K. (2021). Defining and understanding reading difficulties. Developmental Science, 24(5), e13073.

Vaishnav, P. B. (2024). Literary Texts as a Source of Teaching Material in ESL/EFL Classrooms in Indian Universities . Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies, 50(7), 538–548. https://doi.org/10.9734/ajess/2024/v50i71484

Winer, G., & Wadell, E. (2025, March 9). 1.10: Dealing with Unfamiliar Vocabulary. Humanities LibreTexts. https://human.libretexts.org

Yadav, M. (2024). Learning strategies for English Literature: An Overview. In ISAR Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (Vol. 1, Number 6, pp. 79–89). ISAR Publisher. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10462522

Downloads

Published

September 30, 2025

Citation Check

How to Cite

Claro, A., Lamosao, D. P., Abijay, G., Suarez, A. P. A., & Naparan, G. (2025). Dealing with the Vocabulary Difficulties of BSED English Students in Reading Literary Texts. Journal of English As A Foreign Language Teaching and Research, 5(2), 19–36. https://doi.org/10.31098/jefltr.v5i2.3320

Article Index