Learning and mastering English will not be possible if from the beginning we do not have a strong determination. After having a strong determination, all you need to do is find the right English learning strategy. The students used different learning strategies in learning English as a foreign language. This study is designed to find out types of English language learning strategies are used by the students and the factors influencing the choice of learning strategy. On the basis of the nature of the data, a qualitative approach is appropriate to this study. Data were obtained by questionnaire and interview. The result of the analysis revealed that the students used three types of strategies in learning English. The types of strategies are cognitive, metacognitive and social/affective strategies. The more dominant strategy that is used by the students is social/ affective strategy. While the factor influencing their choices of strategies are classified into internal and external factors.

Introduction: Cohesive devices are regarded as an important linking marker in organizing the sequence of the idea. The purpose of this study was to find out the cohesive English devices used by Indonesian EFL students in their writing. It also dealt with the factors affecting students’ writing ability with regard to English cohesive mastery. Methodology: Participants in the current study were 100 sixth-semester EFL students studying at universities in Kupang, Indonesia. The instruments used were fill-in-the-blank tests and a sequence of pictures. The analysis of collected data revealed that the respondents were able to use references and conjunction in the fill-the-blank writing tasks. Results: It was found that substitution and ellipsis were considered difficult cohesive devices for students. The findings also confirmed that the respondents had problems using an ellipsis based on a sequence of pictures in their writing. The obtained results indicated that the Indonesian students favored using reference and conjunction cohesive devices. Various factors, such as a lack of teachers’ knowledge in introducing cohesive devices to students, can affect Indonesian learners' use of cohesive devices. Conclusion: The results of this research provided a general understanding of cohesive devices in Indonesian EFL learners’ writing. This will help to identify students’ problems in using cohesive devices, such as overuse, underuse, or never use of certain cohesive devices. Teachers are suggested to introduce the devices, such as substitution and ellipsis, in writing class.