STUDENTS’ NEEDS IN LEARNING READING SKILLS AT REKAYASA PERANGKAT LUNAK (RPL) DEPARTMENT OF VOCATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL OF NURUL JADID PAITON

An empirical Needs Analysis (NA) for English reading skills was conducted among students in the Rekayasa Perangkat Lunak (RPL) Department at Vocational High School of Nurul Jadid Paiton. Preliminary investigations indicated these students face difficulties understanding English, particularly vocabulary related to programming and computer applications, and this research anticipates that performing the NA will help resolve these challenges. The objectives of this study were to identify the RPL students’ needs in learning English reading skills regarding materials, to describe the reading materials presented in the English module for RPL students, and to determine how the module’s reading materials meet the students’ needs. This was a qualitative research study. The research subjects included RPL students, the English teacher, and RPL alumni. The data were collected through interviews and document analysis. The results showed that computer-presented materials, selected chapters of books, and workbooks or laboratory instructions were the more needed types of reading materials by RPL students. The English module primarily relied on selected chapters of books, supplemented by diverse materials such as fiction, newspaper articles, workbooks, authentic documents, and social media content (computer-presented materials). Core texts like selected chapters of books and workbooks, along with computer-presented materials, aligned well with alumni requests for focused, real-world reading that develops both language and professional skills, catering to students' preference for current and engaging content.