Teacher Challenges and Pedagogical Strategies in Teaching English Vocabulary to Primary School Learners: A Qualitative Case Study

Abstract

Teaching English vocabulary in primary school EFL contexts requires teachers to respond to diverse learner characteristics, limited exposure to English, and classroom-level instructional constraints. Despite growing attention to vocabulary pedagogy, limited research has examined how primary school English teachers respond to these challenges and adapt their pedagogical practices within authentic classroom contexts in Indonesia. This qualitative case study investigated the challenges encountered by English teachers in teaching vocabulary to fourth- and fifth-grade learners and examined the pedagogical strategies they employed to address those challenges. The participants were three English teachers at a private primary school in Batam, Indonesia. Data were collected through classroom observations, document analysis, and semi-structured interviews, in that order, and were analyzed thematically to identify recurring patterns across the data sources. Classroom observations examined teachers’ pedagogical practices, classroom interactions, student responses, and challenges emerging during vocabulary instruction. Document analysis provided supporting evidence from lesson plans, worksheets, and assessment records, while semi-structured interviews explored teachers’ perceptions of the challenges encountered and their rationales for selecting and implementing particular pedagogical strategies. The findings revealed four prominent challenges: limited student exposure to English, variation in students’ vocabulary knowledge, low motivation and limited attention during instruction, and classroom management difficulties. In response, teachers employed and adapted several pedagogical strategies, including visual materials and realia, games and interactive activities, contextualized vocabulary instruction, storytelling, repetition and recycling, and digital learning resources. The findings indicate that teachers’ pedagogical practices were not implemented as fixed techniques but were adapted according to students’ learning needs, classroom conditions, and responses during instruction. The study contributes context-specific evidence to primary EFL vocabulary pedagogy by demonstrating how teacher responsiveness and pedagogical flexibility shape vocabulary instruction in an Indonesian primary school context.