A STUDY ON THE STRATEGY EMPLOYED BY MALE AND FEMALE STUDENTS IN IMPROVING READING SKILLS

Reading is one of the most essential skills to increase students' knowledge and helps develop and understand vocabulary and grammar, especially in English. Reading can also involve deep understanding, analysis, and interpretation of texts. Students can develop insights, hone critical thinking, and expand their vocabulary during the reading process. Good reading skills can also improve writing, speaking, and thinking skills. In addition, reading strategies also play an essential role in improving their reading skills. Because in today's digital era, students are more interested in reading using online media such as digital text, online articles, messages on social media, and even visuals such as infographics and videos with text. Therefore, these factors become a very accurate reading strategy for students.
This study used a qualitative descriptive method with research subjects, namely English Education students in class A of 2019 at the University of Muhammadiyah Malang. The sampling technique used quota sampling in which the methods and instruments used were interviews with a total of 6 participants, including; three male students and three female students. Interviews were conducted through the WhatsApp group media platform. This study aimed to discover the different strategies used by male and female students in developing their reading skills. The results of this study indicate that male and female students have plans for improving their reading skills; male students prefer to read when they are in a good mood, while female students prefer to listen to podcasts about the material taught the same as what is in the book rather than having to read directly from the book.