STUDENTS’ EXPERIENCES OF DAILY ENGLISH VOCABULARY PROGRAM (A STUDY AT ISLAMIC JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL)

This study aimed to explore students’ experiences of participating in a daily English vocabulary program at an Islamic junior high school in Indonesia. The background of this research based on the crucial role of vocabulary in supporting English language skills and the need for structured programs to help students acquire and retain new words effectively. This research employed a qualitative
approach with a narrative inquiry design. The participants were five eighth-grade students, selected purposively, and the data were collected through interviews and reflective journals. The analysis followed Braun and Clarke’s six-phase thematic framework. The findings revealed three key aspects of students’ vocabulary learning experiences: types of vocabulary, learning activities, and stages of teaching. The result regarding types of vocabulary showed, nouns and verbs were dominant, while adjectives, pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, adverbs, and determiners were also learned in smaller portions. In terms of learning activities, students engaged in translation, real objects, pictures, gestures, definitions, and situational practice, with interactive methods perceived as more effective than translation alone. Concerning the teaching stages, the process followed
presentation, practice, production, and review, which helped students move gradually from recognition to active use of vocabulary. Overall, the study highlights that daily vocabulary programs in pesantren contexts are effective in enhancing students’ confidence, retention, and communicative ability when delivered systematically and in a contextualized manner.