st The 61 TEFLIN International Conference, UNS Solo 2014 THE STRATEGIES EMPLOYED BY THE STUDENTS OF THE MANADO STATE COLLEGE FOR ISLAMIC STUDIES (SEKOLAH TINGGI AGAMA ISLAM NEGERI MANADO/ STAIN MANADO) Srifani Simbuka Abstract: This study is meant to reflectively discuss the struggle of non-English-major students at the State College for Islamic Studies (STAIN Manado), based on Rebecca Oxford’s theory of Language Learning Strategies (1990) combined with the concept of successful or good language learners (Naimen, 1978 in Ghani, 2003). The level of English Learning Strategies (ELS) by non-English-major University freshmen, the types of strategies used the most and least often by these students in learning English as well as the reasons that explain whether or not specific types of ELS are chosen, are examined. A total number of 115 ESL students of STAIN Manado (population 460) responded to 50 questions of the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) Version 7.0 developed by Oxford (1990). Classroom observations and interviews of representations of respondents who show very high scores and very low ones on SILL are also employed. The first finding suggests that the investigated students used a moderate level of ESL language learning strategies (the SILL average score is 2.9on a 1 to 5 scale). Secondly, they mostly used Indirect Strategies, which means that they did not involve the direct use of English when actually learning English. It is recommended that university ESP teachers train students on the use of Direct Strategies to enhance their performance in English. The Issue Learning English is still a major challenge for Indonesian learners of English as EFL, despite the advances in research, teacher education and pedagogical theory, and practices in our country. One of the inescapable reasons for this is the lack of opportunities of practicing English skills in the real world. This issue, in general, is still true for non-English majors, therefore, apropos to the students of the Manado State College for Islamic Studies (Sekolah Tinggi Agama Islam Negeri Manado[to be referred to as STAIN ), who are the object of this study. In addition, even the most motivated learners of English cannot achieve maximum resultsdue to ineffective strategies in learning a foreign language. As an English teacher myself, I observed that our students were unaware that the specific task of English acquisition requires specific approaches or learning strategies in order to achieve a more satisfactory outcome. According to Rebecca Oxford (1990), “Language Learning Strategies (hence forwardLLS)” is defined as: “specific actions taken by the learner to make learning easier, faster, more enjoyable, more self- directed, more effective, and transferrable to new situations”. Similarly, O’Malley and Chamot(1990) theorize that ‘learning strategies” are“procedures, employed by the learners, in order to make their own language learning as successful as possible”. They further suggest that these strategies include: …focusing on selected aspects of new information, analysing and monitoring information during acquisition, organizing or elaborating on new information during the encoding process, evaluating the learning when it is completed, or assuring oneself that the learning will be successful as a way to allay anxiety(O’Malley and Chamot1990). Aims of the Project Triggered by the-isenigma, this study was initiated aiming to scientifically and reflectively examine three main issues surrounding the greater research question of “The strategies employed by the students of the Manado State College for Islamic Studies (Sekolah Tinggi Agama Islam Negeri Manado (STAIN Manado)”. The research objectives are to study the performance of these students in terms of: a) the level of the use of language learning strategies; b) the types of strategies used and c) the reasons behind them i.e. why and how they actually employ some language learning strategies but avoid others. Research Methods The respondents of this study are115of460 freshmen students from the2013-2014 academic year of the three existing facultiesof STAIN Manado:Syari’ah (Islamic Law), Tarbiyah (Islamic Education),and Ushuluddin (Theology). These students come from 6 sample classes of the total of 9 freshmen study programs i.e. one sample class per study program in each of the respective faculties. In detail, the sample respondents were55 students from the all Class –A students of the Syaria’ah School (comprising of 3 study programs i.e. the Islamic Family Law Program /IFL, the Islamic Economy Law/IEL and the Syari’ah/Islamic Economy Program 822