A QUALITATIVE STUDY ON THE APPROPRIATENESS OF VOCABULARY IN THE GRADE IX ENGLISH TEXTBOOK: PERSPECTIVES OF TEACHERS AND STUDENTS

Abstract

Vocabulary appropriateness in EFL textbooks remains underexamined in eastern Indonesia, where regional disparities in English exposure and limited supplementary resources create conditions distinct from those commonly discussed in the literature. This study examined teacher and student perspectives on vocabulary in the Grade IX English textbook published by Intan Pariwara (Bahasa Inggris untuk SMP/MTs Kelas 9) at MTs Negeri Kota Sorong, West Papua a context where English is largely confined to the classroom involving six participants recruited through purposive sampling: two English teachers and four Grade IX students, whose combination enabled triangulation between instructional context and lived experience. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews in Bahasa Indonesia and analyzed using the thematic analysis framework of Naeem et al. (2023), with theoretical grounding in Nation (2024), McGrath (2016), and Beck et al. (2013), yielding four themes: perceived difficulty, vocabulary type, adequacy of support, and learning and teaching strategies. Teachers rated the vocabulary as moderately difficult, while students consistently described it as difficult, particularly the academic and scientific vocabulary in report texts, much of which falls into Tier 2 and Tier 3 categories. Both groups considered in-text support insufficient, as glossaries were absent, per-unit word lists were limited, and scaffolding was minimal, leading students to rely on tools such as Google Translate and ChatGPT not out of preference but due to limited alternatives a pattern teachers also acknowledged while both teachers further noted that vocabulary disconnected from students' lived experiences increases cognitive burden in settings with minimal English exposure outside school. Overall, the textbook was considered only partially appropriate, and recommended priority revisions include the addition of per-unit vocabulary lists, explicit scaffolding for report text vocabulary, and a comprehensive end-of-book glossary.