ABSTRACT
The purpose of this research was to find out if the use of localized learning activities can ameliorate the grammatical proficiency of Grade 6 learners. In order to attain this objective, the researcher employed the sequential explanatory strategy of mixed methods involving a total of 76 Grade 6 learners from Bangkal Elementary School equally grouped into control and experimental groups. A 40 – item pretest and post-test was administered to the two groups of subjects to measure their grammar skills before and after their use of localized and traditional learning activities. An interview with randomly selected 20 subjects from the experimental group was conducted subsequently to elicit qualitative data that would support the quantitative findings of the study. The results revealed that the post-test scores of the experimental group where the localized learning activities in grammar were utilized was significantly higher than that of the control group where the traditional learning activities in grammar were employed. The study therefore concludes that the use of localization of instruction and activities is an effective strategy in ameliorating the grammar skills of learners. Hence, the researcher recommends the conduct of learning action cell sessions and in-service trainings on localization of instruction, rigorous review of learners’ background and the community where they belong, and application of localization throughout the entire instruction.
Keywords: Grammatical Proficiency, Localized Learning Activities, Localization
INTRODUCTION
English has always been viewed as the language of commerce and trade in the Philippines. Throughout the years, it has been used as a medium of instruction in education apart from Filipino. This is the reason why the Philippines is widely known as one of the largest English-speaking nations in the world with majority of its population having a certain degree of fluency in utilizing the language (Cabigon, 2015). With such reputation to maintain and with the goal to produce Filipinos who are prepared enough to face the challenges of globalization, the country has placed great importance in English language learning especially in the basic education. However, recent reports have shown the decline in the proficiency of Filipinos when it comes to the said language.
As reported by Education First, an international education company, Philippines ranked 27th out of 100 countries in the 2020 English Proficiency Index (EPI). Although it still falls under the “high proficiency” level, a seven-spot drop from its previous 20th spot ranking in 2019 could mean that other countries have been improving faster.
Additionally, a 2019 article published by GMA News Online cited the report released by Hopkins International Partners, Inc., pointing out that the Filipino university graduates who took the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) only fell under the intermediate level, equivalent to the B1 level of the Common European Reference of Framework for Languages (CERF). This level achieved by the Filipino test-takers was even surpassed by the taxi drivers in Dubai and is apparently lower than the standards set by Thailand and Vietnam for their high school graduates.
For a smaller and more local context, at Bangkal Elementary School with which the researcher is presently affiliated, the “below average” performances of the learners in English have also been observed. Based on the previous focus group discussions among the school’s English subject teachers, it was revealed by most teachers that their learners have been inferiorly performing in the said subject. Such poor performances have been manifesting through the learners’ low achievement scores in summative and periodic examinations and through different performance tasks. Learners have particularly been struggling in grammar which is a very important aspect in mastering other macro skills in English such as writing and speaking. The correct use of verb tenses, pronouns, prepositions and conjunctions in sentences and subject-and-verb agreement are just a few of the many lessons in grammar that learners find hard to master as reflected in the consolidated least mastered skills report.
Grammar is one of the domains of the Language Arts and Multiliteracies Curriculum (LAMC) under the K to 12 Enhanced Basic Education Program (EBEP), which was first implemented in the Philippines in 2012. It is lexically defined as the whole system and structure of a language or of languages in general, usually taken as consisting of syntax and morphology (including inflections) and sometimes also phonology and semantics. Richards and Schmidt (2010) offered another definition stating that grammar is a description of the structure of a language and how language units such as words and phrases are formed into sentences. From these definitions, it can be gleaned that grammar is indeed an essential element of any language. Therefore, it is something that should be studied in- depth by the learners so they could easily learn and master the language.
English subject teachers have continually used various conventional and contemporary approaches, methods and strategies in teaching grammar. Through time, they have also learned to innovate ways on how to teach grammar lessons in ways that are effective and easier for learners to understand. However, it is still a constant struggle for most of them since Filipinos are naturally non-native speakers of English. The Department of Education (DepEd) acknowledges these difficulties and continually helps in the development of different effectual means of teaching the said domain.
One of the features that was introduced by DepEd along with the implementation of K to 12 is the delivery of lessons through contextualization. According to the Section 10.2 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, “the curriculum shall be contextualized and global.” Contextualization is the process of making connections between the curriculum and a particular setting, situation or area of application to make the learning more relevant, meaningful and useful to the learners.
In relation to English language learning, according to Margana (2015), contextualized instruction produces paramount ways of establishing young learners’ English proficiency because they are asked to engage in tasks and topics which relate to the circumstances and situations that require the use of language. Furthermore, Sharma (2014) emphasized that learning becomes meaningful if it is transferred from one context to another. Learning contents and activities should be connected with the instances that they commonly see around them or that usually happen in the community where they live.
Localization is a subfield of contextualization along with indigenization that is done by relating the learning content and activities to different local information and materials from the learners’ community. Taylor (2004) underscored that localization gives the school the liberty to adapt the curriculum to local conditions and relating the context of the curriculum and the process of teaching and learning to the local environment. This can be employed in any subject area to make the learning activities more meaningful to the learners. In fact, Policarpio (2018), in her study, recommended developing authentic, contextualized and localized instructional materials in English subjects to enhance the English language skills of the students.
For a rather secluded community like Bangkal, the importance of making sure that learning contents and activities are within the context of the learners’ background needs to be recognized in the planning and implementation stages of instruction. With this in mind, the researcher decided on conducting an action research to investigate if using localized learning activities and instructions could really produce a significant difference on students’ performance in English, specifically in grammar. The end goal of this research is to establish and promote the effectiveness of using localization of instructions in the English subjects that would provide more relevant and meaningful learning opportunities to the students. The study particularly involved select Grade 6 learners enrolled in the present school year that served as subjects of the study.
see PDF attachment for more information