TEACHER AWARENESS OF STUDENTS' LANGUAGE LEARNING STYLE PREFERENCES AT SMA MUHAMMADIYAH 1 GRESIK

Learning style is a various ways of how a leaners take in and processes. When the teacher teaching strategy and the student learning style are mismatch, the student may become bore and passive in class, may also don't do the best for their tests. Learning preferences are kinds of learning environment such us sound, light, seating pattern as required emotional support (Zayed 2007). There are teachers who pay a little and attention to their students learning style preferences, but there also many teachers that not aware of them. Although most teacher knowing that their student come to English classroom with different preferences and interests, they are still rarely consult to their student in conducting language learning activities. So that they can't meet the learning needs of individual student This study is aimed at investigating students language learning style preferences and teachers awareness of them at SMA Muhammadiyah 1 Gresik. The writer focus on 74 tenth grade students, include 46 females and 28 males students, Teacher who were teach these students were involved in the study. The questionnaire were used to investigate the students' learning style, 28 items closed type questionnaire adopted from Willing (1988) based on Knowles theory (1982). Teacher interviewed by the writer to know how do they aware of their students' learning style. The writer found that the teacher aware of some aspect in students leaning style preferences, it showed from the recording observation and the result of depth interview. The result of the questionnaire showed that students' preferences in two learning style which is Communicative Learning Style and Concrete learning style. To conclude, The teacher seems aware of some learning style preferences aspect of the students, he gave them language games that had been the most interesting activity as the student thought. But the teacher seems bare the students learning style preferences aspect which is liked to learn by watching video/film.the students seems to favor a communicative learning stye . Suggestion for the students, students are recommended to identify the best way(s) through which they can learn the language more effectively. Aside from that, this is will give them the confidence needed to achieve their goals. Suggestion for teacher, The result of this study can also contribute to materials and syllabus design by indicating which activities or areas of language are most likely to meet with students' approval. The writer also hoped that the teacher could help students to find the most appropriate learning style preferences of them