ENGLISH:
This study was aimed to analyze students’ difficulties in using English tenses within oral contexts at the eighth grade of State Junior High Schools in Airgegas. Specifically, this study was aimed to identify the difficulties experienced by the students in using English tenses within oral contexts and to determine the most difficult aspect of the Simple Past Tense. This study employed a descriptive quantitative method with a one-shot design. The population of this study consisted of 184 eighth-grade students of SMP Negeri 1 Airgegas and SMP Negeri 2 Airgegas, with 54 students selected as the sample through stratified random sampling. The data were collected through an oral test in which the students presented recount texts about their holidays or past experiences. The students’ oral performances were assessed based on three grammatical aspects: Past Verb Form, Auxiliary Usage, and Sentence Structure. The data were analyzed using frequency and percentage, while inter-rater reliability was examined using Cohen’s Kappa. The findings showed that 42 students (77.78%) experienced difficulties in Past Verb Form, 36 students (66.67%) experienced difficulties in auxiliary usage, and 22 students (40.74%) experienced difficulties in sentence structure. Therefore, Past Verb Form was identified as the most difficult aspect, followed by auxiliary usage and sentence structure. The findings also showed that students particularly experienced difficulties in changing verbs into their correct past forms, especially irregular verbs, and in applying auxiliary verbs such as did, was, and were correctly during oral performance. In conclusion, the study successfully identified the students’ difficulties in using the Simple Past Tense within oral contexts, with Past Verb Form representing the greatest difficulty. The findings suggest that greater attention should be given to practicing past verb forms, auxiliary usage, and sentence structure through meaningful and communicative oral activities.
Keywords: students’ difficulties, Simple Past Tense, oral context.