ANALYZING THE DIFFICULTIES IN LISTENING COMPREHENSION FACED BY THE SECOND SEMESTER STUDENTS OF ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF BORNEO TARAKAN UNIVERSITY
This rserach aimed to determine the difficulties in listening comprehension faced by the second-semester students of the English Education Department at Borneo Tarakan University and the difficulties factors they faced in listening comprehensions. Utilizing qualitative methods, the research involved two classes, A1 ( 34 students ) and A2 ( 45 students ). Data were collected throught listening tests and interviews. Initially, listening tests were administered to both classes, followed by interviews with six selected students. The interview results indicated that listening comprehension was a particularly difficult skill for students. The majority of students, 43 out of 79 ( 61.43%), were classified as basic User – Waystage ( A2 ) based on the CEFR level. The most difficult skills among the 27 assessed were skill 17 “ Listen for Idiom ” and skill 18 “ Anticipate The Topics”. With only 10 students able to answer these questions correctly. several factors contributed to these difficulties including the listening material, listenier-related factors and the physical environment. Specific issues identified were accent, speakers, lack of concentration, and poor recording quality. These factors collectively hinder the listening comprehension abilities of students in the English Education Department of Borneo Tarakan University.