Syarifuddin Dollah, Mustaqimah
English is taught as a compulsory subject at vocational high schools' curriculum in Indonesia. One of the departments available at the vocational is Hotel Department. The alumni are prepared to have good English communication skills to support them to get better job in the future. In the realm of EFL teaching at vocational senior high school level, students' attitude toward English seems to be neglected by both educators and researchers. However, based on individual differences theory, students' attitude towards learning English and learning strategies are among the determinant factors in their success. This mix-method design study was an attempt to investigate students' attitude towards learning English, learning strategies, and their relation between language learning strategies and achievement. The research participants were forty four students of a vocational high school in South Sulawesi which is very close to Tana Toraja, an important tourism destination in Indonesia. The data were collected using attitude scale, strategy inventory for language learning, and semi-structured interview. To address the research questions, quantitative data were first tabulated and classified according to the given score ranges, then categorized in regard to the given criteria. The qualitative data from semi-structured interviews were used to support the quantitative data. The result of both quantitative and qualitative data analysis revealed that the students had positive attitude towards learning English, the dominant language learning strategies that the students used was metacognitive strategy, and there was no relation between the students' language learning strategies and their achievement.
Universitas Negeri Makassar, Indonesia; Sekolah Tinggi Agama Islam Negeri Pare-pare, Indonesia
