EXPLORING STUDENTS’ LEARNING STYLES IN ADVANCE READING CLASS OF ENGLISH EDUCATION AT SEMBILANBELAS NOVEMBER UNIVERSITY KOLAKA

Abstract

This research aimed at exploring the learning styles used by students in the Advance Reading Class of the English Education Study Program at Sembilanbelas November Kolaka University. The study employed a qualitative descriptive design to identify and analyze the students’ preferred learning styles in reading activities. The participants were English Education students who had taken the Advance Reading course. Data were collected through questionnaires and observation involving 30 students. The findings result of questionnaire revealed that students primarily used two types of learning styles visual and auditory. In the questionnaire results, 40% of students strongly agreed and 36.7% agreed that they were interested in reading texts supported by pictures or graphics. Meanwhile, 53.3% agreed that they enjoyed highlighting important parts of the text, and 53.3% agreed that they preferred learning through videos or PowerPoint presentations. Furthermore, 44.8% of students were neutral toward creating notes in the form of concept maps or diagrams. Regarding auditory learning, 43.3% of students agreed that reading aloud helped them understand the text, 36.7% agreed that discussing with friends supported their comprehension, and 50% strongly agreed that listening to stories or examples from lecturers improved their understanding. Observation results also confirmed that most students (around 68%) showed visual learning behaviors such as reading slides, highlighting texts, and making diagrams, while 32% displayed auditory tendencies such as listening attentively and engaging in discussions. These results indicate that both visual and auditory learning styles play a crucial role in enhancing students’ reading comprehension. Therefore, it is recommended that lecturers integrate visual and auditory based teaching strategies to create more engaging and effective reading learning environments.