YOHANA YUNG Pengarang SANTRI EMILIN PINGSABOI DJAHIMO Dosen Pembimbing 1 SELFIANA P MBADI Dosen Pembimbing 2 Santri Emilin Pingsaboi Djahimo Penguji 1 John Wem Haan Ketua Penguji SELFIANA P MBADI Penguji 2

The research problems of this study were: 1) To what extent can reading short stories improve students' vocabulary mastery? 2) What are the difficulties encountered by students when using short stories in learning?. The aims of this study were to know how far reading short stories can improve students' vocabulary and to know the difficulties encountered by students in improving their vocabulary through short stories. The research methods used in this study were mixed methods. Quantitative data was collected through tests (pre-test and post-test), while qualitative data was collected through observations and interviews. The population of this research was the eighth grade of SMP Negeri 6 Kupang Tengah Satu Atap. The total population was 70 students. The sample was VIII A and consisted of 30 students. The instruments used were pre-test, post-test, observation, and interview. The data in this study were analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences). The results showed a mean score of 50 for the pre-test and 66.17 for the post-test. In addition, based on the results of observations and interviews, it was found that students were motivated to participate in learning and teaching activities when methods involving reading short stories were used, which led to an improvement in their vocabulary mastery. Based on the above research, it can be concluded that reading short stories improved the vocabulary mastery of eighth grade students of SMP Negeri Kupang Tengah Satu Atap. Key words: Mastery, Reading, Short Stories, Vocabulary