ANALYSIS ON VOCABULARY MASTERY OF STUDENTS IN STMIK PPKIA TARAKANITA RAHMAWATI

Abstract

Lexical competence is a cornerstone of language proficiency and academic performance in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts. In technology-focused tertiary education, students must master both general and specialized technical vocabulary to comprehend digital academic materials. This descriptive quantitative study aimed to evaluate the English vocabulary mastery level of second-semester students at STMIK PPKIA Tarakanita Rahmawati and identify specific lexical domains that present the greatest challenges. Purposive sampling was used to select 35 students in the 2025/2026 academic year. Data were collected via a 35-item multiple-choice Vocabulary Mastery Test on Google Forms, covering synonyms, antonyms, collocations, and parts of speech (verbs, nouns, adjectives, and adverbs). The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics via SPSS 26. Results: The findings revealed a highly polarized distribution of vocabulary proficiency. Fifteen students achieved an "Excellent" rating, whereas a significant segment fell into the "Fair" (7 students), "Poor" (5 students), and "Very Poor" (3 students) categories. Item-by-item analysis indicated that students demonstrated strong proficiency in isolating synonyms, antonyms, nouns, and verbs. However, their mastery dropped considerably in relational and contextual dimensions, specifically word collocations, adjectives, and adverbs. While students possess adequate baseline receptive skills for primary content words due to their IT coursework exposure, they lack depth in contextual word use and modifier functions. Therefore, this study recommends a shift toward corpus-based learning strategies and specialized English for Specific Purposes (ESP) materials to bridge these lexical gaps and prepare students for the global digital workforce.