Audio Recording-Based Listening to Address Vocabulary Deficiency among Grade X Students of Taman Siswa

Abstract

Listening comprehension is widely regarded as one of the most essential skills in English language learning, yet many EFL students still face significant difficulties due to limited vocabulary knowledge. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of using audio recordings as a strategic pedagogical tool to enhance listening comprehension and overcome vocabulary deficiency among Grade X students. The research employed a descriptive quantitative design involving systematic pre-test, treatment, and post-test stages. The assessment utilized specialized fill-in-the-blank listening tasks based on recount texts to measure student progress accurately. The participants consisted of 33 students from Class X who participated in the intervention sessions. The findings revealed a significant improvement in students’ listening comprehension and vocabulary mastery, as evidenced by the substantial increase in the mean score from 63.94 in the pre-test to 80.61 in the post-test, representing an overall gain of 26.1%. Furthermore, the percentage of students achieving the Minimum Mastery Criterion (KKM = 75) rose dramatically from 42.4% to 81.8%. The results indicate that audio-recording-based instruction effectively enhances phonetic recognition, supports learner autonomy, and fosters academic motivation. The use of authentic audio materials helped learners develop both bottom-up and top-down listening strategies, enabling them to decode sounds, infer meanings, and retain new vocabulary more effectively. Therefore, integrating audio recordings into EFL instruction provides a practical, efficient, and replicable method to improve students’ overall linguistic comprehension and vocabulary development in modern classrooms.