MALE AND FEMALE STUDENTS’ LEARNING STYLES AND THEIR EFFECTS ON EFL ACHIEVEMENTS

Abstarct: The research was to reveal (1) male and female students’ preferences in learning style and (2) how male and female students’ learning styles influence their English achievement. It employed Mixed-method and was conducted at Senior High School 8 Pinrang. The samples were chosen through purposive sampling technique, and the data were obtained through Oxford Learning Style Survey, English competence test and semi-structured interviews with students. The findings show that (1) the male and female students can be categorized into 5 groups based on their learning styles; visual, auditory, kinesthetic, visual-auditory and auditory-kinesthetic and (2) most of the students’ learning styles positively influence their English achievement; visual, auditory, kinesthetic and auditory-kinesthetic give positive influence, while visual-auditory does not. The findings also reveal that auditory is the most effective learning style for male students, and visual is the most effective learning style for female. Thus, it can be inferred that to what extent the learning styles influence the students’ English achievement is influenced by gender factor. Keywords : Male and Female Students, Learning Styles, English Achievemen