The Comparative Study of Students Learning Styles Towards Their Ability in Grammar

This research was purposed to discover students’ learning style and the differences of students’ grammar ability among the visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning style. The research followed comparative quantitative design. The participants of the research were 83 students of the sixth semester of English education department of State Islamic University of Sjech M. Djamil Djambek Bukittinggi. Data were collected by using questionnaire and documentation. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive statistical analysis of SPSS program after scoring the respondents’ questionnaire respons e by Likert scale point and calculating students’ final score of grammar subject. The results revealed the dominant style that students have are visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning style and visual style as the majority. The compared students’ grammar final score exhibited differences of students’ grammar ability. Students with kinesthetic learning style obtained the highest score (88,72) and also the lowest score (66) than visual and auditory learning style. The highest mean score was obtained by auditory learning style (82,33). In conclusion, students’ grammar ability was significantly different among the students with visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning style.


INTRODUCTION
Students have different ways in language learning activity.It is related to students' capability to select the most comfortable and easiest ways to absorb and process information in language learning, it is called as learning style.Learning style or learning modality related to students' preferences to determine some particular learning strategies to receive, absorb and process the information in learning process.Cited in Pritchard (2009) learning style is as individual preferred way in acquiring, processing and demonstrating learning information in the classroom, so, students naturally will adopt an approach which is most comfortable for students and leave behind the less one.Diane (2005) also stated that learning style related to human's preferences in how to receive new information, process and express the information that have been accepted.Moreover, Sesmiarni Zulfani et al (2020) mentioned learning style is students' tendency to modify particular strategies in learning which is appropriate with their learning in class as a learning approach.Hence, students learning style concerns with students' preferential in learning depending on particular situations in learning.
Students' learning style could be identified based on their tendencies in learning.Students' learning tendencies usually refers to three main of general learning styles, which can be classified into visual learning style who think and learn best in sight, auditory refers to students gain knowledge best through listening, and kinesthetic students have learning tendency into physical approach.De Porter and Hernacki (2005) described visual learning style as students' learning modality that could be identified as the neat, orderly, and persevering people.These students are best in memorizzing through visual associated and enable to visualize words in minds.Diane (2005) highlighted the auditory students prefer to be in a quiet classroom because they are easily distracted by noises.Then, De Porter and Hernacki (2005) mentioned kinesthetic students could be identified as students who are talking slowly, physically oriented and much making bodily movement, and frequently used body language usage and respond to physical attention.
In order to discover the type and dominant learning style, students especially for adult require to do rising up self-awareness in learning by using learning style assessment.Learning style assessment purposes to increase student self-knowledge towards the strengths, weakness, and potential they have.Since, mainly adult students had difficulties in learning grammar due to the lack of awareness in learning and only focused on to follow up the lecturer's teaching style without realizing how to take depth understanding for information has been received.In learning grammar, students have difficulties both of understanding the terms of grammar tenses and combine those terms in word formation.Students usually tend rely on into one dominant style which is not suitable for use in learning grammar even though students naturally could adapt into more than one learning styles.Because of this reason, students need to do adapting into other styles in learning in order to find out the alternative of problems-solving in learning grammar.As mentioned as Lismay and Zubaidah (2019) that students have to make doing appropriate strategies to master the particular subject and optimize students' potential.Pritchard (2009) confirmed that identification of students' learning style is probably helpful to emphasize the importance of being able to work and learn in different ways at different times and for different purposes.Therefore, recognizing their learning style students being aware to improve the ability and maximize students' learning potential effectively.Grammar is defined as the set of rules in combining words or group of words for making good sentences in order to convey the meaning based on the system in English language.Roza (2018) argued grammar is not only as the nature of words formation but also as understanding of how words fit in form of sentence constructions.Whereas, Jones in Richards (2014) explained that grammatical ability refers to the ability to use grammar as a communicative resource in spoken and written discourse and requires a different pedagogical approach.Then, grammar ability refers to students' capability to apply the knowledge about grammar rules accurately and meaningfully in many language-use situations.
Grammar ability needs to be mastered by students, because, grammar has relationship into language skills in English.In reading, grammar ability is fully needed to discover meaning, identify the point of sentences, and also interpret the idea based on text.Prasetia et al (2022) mentioned the correlation of reading and grammar each other, it showed that students need to master grammar in order to understand the meaning of the text and what the text tells about.In addition, Broughton et al (1980) added that grammar also applied in speaking to comprehend of speech and understanding contextual meaning.Since, the grammar became crucial to make effective communication, then, the users of the language have to consider which most appropriate grammatical form or structure to use in given situation.Students need an approach to make information of grammar forms become familiar into grammar practice.As the result, it is important to consider students learning styles to involve students' ability in practical grammar.
Students' learning style is crucial to be considered to maximize learning acceptance in learning.Basically, students possibly will participate in classroom actively and completely focus, if material is provided relate to students' preferences.It caused by the materials are presented with suitably method to students' learning style.Irwandi (2017) mentioned that learning activity is about how to create learning circumstances for students.So, it is important to consider how the students gain the knowledge from learning activity.In short, learning style awareness could make an impact on pedagogy in determining the suitable method for better understanding in learning grammar.
The preliminary research conducted through interviews with ten students of the fifth semester of English education department revealed there is difference grammar score that affected into grammar ability between students have awareness into learning styles and students do not.Whereas, six of ten students were aware to their learning styles and obtained satisfactory score in grammar advance subject.Meanwhile, four students stated they had no knowledge of their learning styles got bad score in advanced grammar subject even have to retake this subject.
According to previous theories by Brown (2007) mentioned the importance of research on learning style helps students to become autonomous learners, and then to make them aware into their styles, preferences, strengths, and weaknesses, and finally to take appropriate action on their language learning.It also supported by the research of Dunn et al. in Pritchard (2009) who identify the relationship between academic achievement and individual learning style, it showed that when students learned with approaches and resources that complement their particular learning styles, their achievement is significantly increased.In short, based on the phenomena of the study, researcher aims to investigate the type of students' learning style and the different grammar ability among students' learning styles of the sixth semester students of English Education department of State Islamic University of Sjech M. Djamil Djambek Bukittinggi.

RESEARCH METHODE
In order to achieve the research objectives and discover the differences between the variables of research problem, this research used comparative design.The population of this research was all of the sixth semester students of English Education Department of State Islamic University of Sjech M. Djamil Djambek Bukittinggi.The researcher determined the sample by using total sampling technique since the type of students' learning styles were not already known.So, the researcher conducted the research to all of sixth semester students of English Education Department with a total of 83 students.There are questionnaire and documentation that will be used as the instrument to collect the data.The questionnaire is chosen to discover information about students' learning styles classifications that consists 36 statements of questionnaire in Indonesian language.The documentation was used in this research to collect students' grammar ability data from students' functional grammar scores.The data of this research were analyzed by descriptive statistical analysis of SPSS 25 program.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION
The result of the research referred to describe the analysis of the data and answer the research questions: 1) what is the sixth semester students' learning style of English Education of State Islamic University of Sjech M. Djamil Djambek Bukittinggi, 2) what are differences in English grammar ability among visual, auditory and kinesthetic students' learning styles of the sixth semester English Education students of State Islamic University of Sjech M. Djamil Djambek Bukittinggi?Thus, the findings are intended to explain the differences of students' grammar ability among visual, kinesthetic and auditory students.In this research, the type of students' learning style was determined by calculating the students' scores based on the statements of questionnaire that have been chosen.Then, students were categorized into three types of learning style namely visual, auditory, and kinesthetic based on the highest score.From the result of scoring data, it could be conclude that most of students have the only one dominant learning style with the percentage were 57% for visual, 25% auditory, and 17% kinesthetic learning style.Based on the table of SPSS calculation above, it showed that there were different scores of students' grammar ability from each types of learning style.The students with auditory learning acquired the highest mean score of grammar ability (82,33) among the visual (81,96) and kinesthetic (80,58).Students with kinesthetic learning styles have the highest maximum score which was 88,72 compared with visual (88) and auditory (80,40) students.However, students with kinesthetic learning styles also have the lowest score in the functional grammar subject (66) compared with auditory (75,52) and visual students (70,20).

Discussion
Based on findings, the researcher had discovered the difference of students' grammar ability based on their learning styles.The data derived from the questionnaire and documentation of quantitative analysis.The data presented to answer the first research question, the type of students' learning style of the sixth semester students' learning style of English education department are visual (47), auditory (21), and kinesthetic ( 14).The majority of English Education department students have visual learning style.Indirectly, it also mentioned that the University students or adult students use visual preferences as the dominant learning style.Meanwhile, there is only one student who have two dominant preferences are visual and auditory learning styles.It is related to Pritchard statement about students actually enable to have more than one learning styles, even though some of them are inclined to prefer using from one of three styles as dominant learning styles.Because of this reason, this research founds that the sixth English education students as adult students naturally be able to have more one of preferred way in learning situations even though student tend to use visual styles in learning as one of three dominant learning styles.
The second research question about the difference of students' grammar ability among visual, auditory and kinesthetic students' learning styles could be known from the comparison of students' functional grammar score data at the fifth semester.The data presented that students with kinesthetic learning style obtained the highest maximum score (88,72) and also the lowest score (66) than visual and auditory learning style.The highest mean score was obtained by auditory learning style (82,33).It means that the sixth English education students mostly have good ability in grammar.Since students learning styles are different, it also showed that the diversity of students' ability in grammar practice could be caused by difference ability, motivation and how students deal with learning styles.As mentioned as Thornbury stated that the differences of students' practical grammar are influenced by ability, learning style and motivation that make they engage with the task, so, none all of students will respond in the same way to the same activity in grammar practice.Therefore, the second research question could be answered because there were some the differences of students' grammar ability among visual, auditory and kinesthetic students' learning style of the sixth semester English Education students of State Islamic University of Sjech M. Djamil Djambek Bukittinggi.

CONCLUSION
The purposes of this research were to discover the types of students' learning style and to know the difference of students' grammar ability at the sixth semester students of English education department of State Islamic University of Sjech M. Djamil Djambek Bukittinggi among the three categories of students' learning style based on the final scores of functional grammar subject.Based on the result of research analysis, it could be concluded that: the sixth semester students of English education department have visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning style as the dominant learning style with the visual as majority.The statistical analysis showed The highest score of students' grammar ability among the visual, auditory and kinesthetic was 88,72, from students' with kinesthetic learning style.The lowest score of students' grammar ability was 66 from kinesthetic learning style.the mean score of grammar ability from the auditory learning style students was 82,33 biggest than visual and kinesthetic.It has been proven that there were some differences of students' grammar ability among the visual, auditory and kinesthetic students.From the result of this research, it is recommended to students to recognize their own learning style in order to find out better ways in learning grammar.It is also suggested for English grammar lecturers to apply much more learning approaches that can support visual learning style in learning grammar.For Further Researchers who want to conduct a research with same topic, it is suggested to use another instrument, such like test for measuring students' grammar ability accurately and extend students' learning style analysis into the other skills in English.