VOCABUILDER: WORKBOOK FOR GRADE 8 STUDENTS

This study aimed to develop the vocabulary that is needed to enhance and strengthen the comprehension of Grade 8 students through identifying the least and the most difficult vocabulary skills and developed a validated vocabulary workbook. The Vocabulary Workbook covers important concepts and tasks related to Grade 8 curriculum guide from first to second quarter. Through an interview with Grade 8 English teachers, the study found out that the most difficult vocabulary development competency for the Grade 8 students are idiomatic expressions, unlocking the meaning of the unfamiliar words and, literal and figurative language. The vocabulary development competencies with moderate difficulty are meaning of words and expressions and verbal, situational and dramatic types of irony. Figures of speech are the least difficult among the six competencies. These were then the basis of the researchers in developing the Vocabulary Workbook which consists of 39 vocabulary tasks. Subsequently, the workbook was evaluated and validated using the adopted and modified evaluation sheet of Balitaan in terms of content, appropriateness and presentation by three master teachers. The result of the validation has shown that the developed Vocabulary Workbook got 4.01 overall mean which is highly valid in terms of content, appropriateness and presentation but for additional improvements of our material we recommend for further validation. Vocabulary Workbook is more convenient because the competencies tasks are beneficial for the students and teachers can incorporate it as an alternative approach in teaching.