COVID-19 OUTBREAK: PERCEIVED STRESS AMONG STUDENTS IN LEARNING ENGLISH VIRTUALLY AT THE FIRST GRADE OF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL 1 DADAHUP

This research aims to explore the causes of stress experienced by students in learning English virtually, to know the students’ responses towards the process of learning English virtually, and to explore the effects of stress on students and find out how students can reduce the stress they feel in the classroom. To reach the goals, the researcher used qualitative research design. The sources of the data were some students at the first Grade of Senior High school 1 Dadahup. To collect the data, the researcher used two methods; observation and interview. Then, to analyzed the data, the research adopted steps of analysis developed by Miles and Huberman comprises data reduction, data display, conclusion and verification.The result of analysis shows that the stress felt by students is related to the level of students' interest in learning English. The lower their interest in learning, the greater the possibility of stress they feel. In addition, stress among students in virtual English learning is also caused by pressure from fear of declining achievement, final grades that are not as expected, fear of not being able to divide time, focusing on studies, fighting laziness and fear of facing the next meeting. Students’ responses towards the process of learning English virtually had almost the same response where they found it difficult with the demands of a lot of assignments and the lack of teachers in providing explanations or deepening of the material that made them able to understand and they also feel bored because teachers tend to build virtual classes monotonously with teachers who only provide material explanations only through text chat and students only pay attention or even have to learn it themselves. The impact of the stress they feel can make them passive in class or lazy to attend the next class or meeting. In reduce with the stress they feel, some students choose positive ways to relax their minds from stress, such as doing a hobby, or relaxing with friends. Some students choose negative ways to reduce the stress they feel by skipping class. While a small number of other students still don't know what they can do to reduce stress in this learning English virtually