LEARNING STRATEGIES TOWARDS READING SKILLS DEVELOPMENT Fazri Nur YUlur Ridha Atka Amanda2 Abstract: Identified as the core skill in academic setting. the importance of reading skill is deniable. This study investigated reading strategies employed by 8th graders of a public school in Bandung. It aimed at identifying the most frequent-used reading strategies and di;scoverlng their similarities and differences between higher and lower achievers. This study employed questionnairea and interviews to collect data. The findings of this study suggested that cognitive strategies are the most frequently-used strategies. Both higher and lower achievers were identified using nine high-frequency strategies. The differences were in identifying appropriateness and willingness to use the strategies. and students' intereat in reading materials. As a conclusion. higher and lower achievers might have different reading strategies due to time allotment. readingfrequency, and strategic investment. Therefore. highlighting reading strategies is vital. and having a more comprehensive. integrated classroom- based reading study is strongly required. Key words: language learning.languoge learning strategies. reading comprehension. reading strategies. Fazri Nur Yusuf. or at +628122185303 is currently a faculty member of the Depamnent of English Education, Faculty of Languages and Arts Education, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (UP!), Bandung. He took his bachelor and masters degree at the same place, UPI. His research interests are EFL methodology for youngsters and adults, curriculum and pedagogy, and ESP. 1 Ridha Aska Amanda, at +6281573197495/ +625901209 is a bachelor graduate from the Depamnent of English Education, Faculty of Languages and Arts Education, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (UPI), Bandung. She is currently an English instructor at a reputable English Course in Jakarta. EN. Yusuf lind R.A. AmIIndtI, Learning Strategies towards Reading Skills 121 channel their energy in the right direction (Oxford 1990: 158). Brown claims that having a clear purpose may help readers to focus more on their attention and their expectation on the reading, and it may decrease potential misleading information (200 1: 306). In this study, we found that lower achievers did not try to find the meaning of unknown words. They just skipped the words. They also had negative attitude towards a text they read. They said they believe that even though they read the texts more than once, they will never be able to fully comprehend them. Lower achievers often stop reading the texts when they had no interest in them They will continue reading when they read the texts they like. This supports what Carrell (1998) states: learners who are not interested in the texts they are reading and are unwilling to use reading strategies might not be able to improve their reading skills. CONCLUSION When reading English texts students use numerous strategies to help them comprehend what texts are about. Each student employs different reading strategies. There is a possibility that higher and lower achievers use similar strategies. High and low achievers have different time allotment in reading, reading frequency, and strategy investment. The failure of employing the reading strategies might be due to the appropriate use of a certain type of reading strategy, the willingness to use the strategies, and the students' interest in reading materials. Our study found that learning tasks might affect students reading strategies in order to meet students' expectations. Also, implementing the strategies would be meaningless when students are not interested in the reading materials. REFERENCES Aeny, Medina. "Students' Reading Strategies and Their Achievement in Reading Comprehension (Correlational Study toward Vocational School Students)." Unpublished paper, 2007. 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