Teaching EFL in a Rural School : Challenges and Strategies

This study discusses the challenges faced by English teachers in learning English as a foreign language in remote schools and the strategies implemented to overcome these challenges. This research is a case study research using a qualitative approach. This research was carried out at SMPN 06 Malunda from December 2022 to February 2023 and the subjects of this research were all English teachers at SMPN 06 Malunda consisting of two (2) English teachers as respondents. Researchers collected data using observation methods and in-depth interviews using interview guides and observation checklists. The data analysis technique used is thematic data analysis, understanding data, composing code, and searching for themes. In addition, researchers used data triangulation to test the validity of the data.The results of the study show that there are several challenges faced by English teachers in teaching EFL in remote schools. These challenges are low student motivation, lack of learning facilities and media, and students who are accustomed to using local languages in the school environment. Then the teacher carried out several strategies to overcome these challenges. The strategy is that the teacher tries to motivate students to learn English, the teacher tries to provide facilities and media to support the learning process and accustom students to using Indonesian and limits the use of regional languages in the school environment.