EXPLORING THE DIFFICULTIES FACED BY EFL STUDENTS IN IDENTIFYING THE MAIN IDEA OF NARRATIVE TEXTS: A STUDY OF CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES

Abstract

Abstract : This study investigated the challenges and strategies of EFL students in finding the main idea of narrative texts. It employed a qualitative research design with a case study approach, involving five students from the English Education department at the University of Islam Malang. Data was collected through interviews using a set of 10 semi-structured questions adapted from Qurniawan (2020) on reading comprehension. Interactive analysis was applied to the interview data. The findings of this study indicated that students’ challenges in identifying the main idea of narrative text are a lack of vocabulary mastery, a lack of concentration, and difficulty in understanding of complex sentences. The findings also showed that the strategies used by students to identifying the main idea of narrative text are skimming and scanning. From the results of the interviews, the researcher found that the majority of students’ challenges in identifying the main idea of narrative text were influenced by their weaknesses in mastering a wide range of vocabulary. It is hoped that this research can contribute to EFL students or teachers by providing insights into the specific challenges faced by EFL students in understanding and identifying the main idea of narrative texts. It can contribute to the development of more effective learning programs and suitable solutions. Future researchers are advised to consider similar research by adding the gender variables that make males and females have the same difficulties in identifying the main ideas of narrative texts.

Keywords: Students’ challenges, students’ strategies, main idea, narrative text