researcher in this case had no direct control over these variables and could only try to determine their incidence on an observed consequence.
Based on the characteristics stated above, it can be concluded that the language learning strategies are one of the factors that have been possessed by the language
learners before they learn a language, so the application of the design fitted the purpose of this study.
3.2 Research Site
This study was conducted at one of the universities in Bandung. The researcher chose this university as the setting of the study on at least three reasons. First, this
university was conducting the three-month English for Job Seekers program for its students. The aim of conducting this program was, among others, to enable the
participants to be ready for the interview sessions on their future job interviews. Second, it was easy to get the access and communicate with the students as well as with the other
lecturers working in that university. Third, it is one of the well-known universities in Bandung.
3.3 Research Participants
The participants of the research were the 8
th
semester students who were taking the English for Job Seekers program as one of the three-month extracurricular program
supported by the university. There were six participants in this study. The participants consisted of three male and three female students. They were categorized into three kinds
of participants namely: low achiever, middle achiever, and high achiever students.
The categorization of the students’ achiever levels was based on the students’ average speaking scores. The average scores were taken from their mid-term test and
final test scores. Students who got 5 excellent - 6 outstanding points were categorized as high achiever students, 3 good - 4 very good points were categorized as middle
achiever students, and 1 below average – 2 average points were categorized as low achiever students.
The aim of the students’ categorization was to know the various language learning strategies employed by these students in mastering speaking skill. The study involved the
8
th
semester students due to some reasons. First, they have studied English at least for two semesters in the university. Second, they were taking the three-month English for Job
Seekers program. Third, they are going to finish their study at the university and are going to search for jobs as soon as they finish their study.
In selecting the participants, this study made use purposeful sampling to gain the important information from the participants Alwasilah, 2002: 146. The selection of the
participants related to the participants’ categorization. The categorization of these participants will be presented in the discussion below.
3.4 The Participants’ Categorization Procedure
