The Indonesian Junior High School Students’ Strategies in Learning Writing Skill

Abstract

This current study focuses its investigation on the skill-based language learning strategies by junior high school students in Indonesia. The purposes of this study are (1) to measure the intensity of use of learning strategy in learning writing skill, (2) to examine the correlation among the strategy categories of learning writing skill, and (3) to compare the use of learning strategies of learning writing by successful and less successful learners. The data were obtained from 257 students from two schools in Malang by administering a questionnaire from O’Malley and Chamot (1990). The strategies are classified into cognitive, metacognitive, and social/affective strategies. The result of the statistical analysis shows that the overall use of strategies of learning writing skill by Indonesian junior high school students is at moderate level (2.65) with cognitive strategies reported at the highest use (2.80). It is also revealed a strong correlation among the three learning strategies – cognitive, metacognitive, and social/affective with cognitive and metacognitive at the strongest correlation (.60<r<.80). In addition, this study does not find a sufficient proof that successful and less successful learners are significantly different in using the learning strategies in learning writing skill. The findings of this research then imply the need to engage the students with strategies to learn writing skill in order that they can maximize the strategy use. This can be done by incorporating strategies-based instruction in the classroom.