english language proficiency of agricultural students in mindoro state college of agriculture and

110 Pages·2016·3.19 MB·English

MinSCAT Research Journal 5(1): 1(1-9), 2009
ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY OF AGRICULTURAL
STUDENTS IN MINDORO STATE COLLEGE OF
AGRICULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY ,
ORIENTAL MINDORO, PHILIPPINES 1

Christian Anthony C. Agutaya and Jesse T. Zamora

ABSTRACT

The study assessed the English language proficiency of
agricultural students in the Mindoro State College of Agriculture
and Technology (MinSCAT). Data were obtained from records,
experiences observations and interviews covering academic year
2006-2009.

Findings indicate that performance shown in language
competencies, in grammar and in comprehension was a result of
their interest in English. The findings also revealed that the
students of agriculture and English instructors were truly aware
that the institution itself was not a fully influential factor that
affects the application of teaching strategies in teaching the
subjects. Such were very helpful in developing learners’
proficiency in English and enhancing their performance.

INTRODUCTION

English language has always been looked with great importance
by all people insofar as this has much to do with how one could deal
intelligently with particular situations. Proficiency in English language
makes people feel very confident in facing life's challenges because it
offers venue for expression of sentiments, ideals and concepts
relative to how things are perceived. However, one could not be as
confident as he may want to be when English language in itself has not
been fully learned where English language learning styles are very much
concerned. With this, English language also achieves a genuinely global
status when it develops a special role recognized in every country. This
1Presented in the First International Conference of “ESP in Asia” held on October 29-31, 2009 in
Chongquing University, China.
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role will become obvious where large number of people speak or use it
as a mother tongue. To achieve this status a language has to be taken
up by other countries around the globe wherein two ways could be done
to realize this end. First is through making the language the official
language spoken by people and second, by making it a medium of
communication.

In this view, one might think that English is a language
undergoing change in a rapidly changing social context. It is going
through a process which we might call the "language
process" of Philippine society, but this is a social process, too. This
means that once one understood how the process works, we should be
able to tell what position the language will occupy and what function it
will perform in society at some future time. In other words, it is
possible for us to gain the reliable knowledge we are seeking in which
colleges, students' language learning and instructors' teaching of
the language are integral parts.

This also emphasizes the importance of language in
learning and view learning as a reflection of the
culture and community in which students live. Language helps
organize thought and students use language to learn as well as to
communicate and share experiences with others. Understanding that
students use language for social purposes, instructors plan instructional
activities that incorporate a social component, such as having
students share their writing with classmates and because learner’s
language and concepts of literacy reflect their cultures and home
communities, instructors must respect students language and appreciate
cultural differences in their attitudes toward learning and toward
language learning arts in particular.

The significance of the language for the individual’s personal
growth, as well as the nation’s social and economic development, is
contestable. As such, the language instructor plays a crucial role. He is
the one tasked with the honing of four central skills in language teaching
and learning, namely: listening, speaking, reading and writing, with the
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end view of molding the learner into an effective communicator. The
problem encountered by students and members of the academe
concerning language proficiency is a nationwide phenomenon triggering
state colleges in the Philippines because it has become a very serious
one. This is compounded by so many factors such as the learners’
attitudes toward English, teaching strategies used and level of
proficiency.

The Mindoro State College of Agriculture and Technology
(MinSCAT) in the Province of Oriental Mindoro, Philippines has been
known for producing quality graduates who are competent and far off
better in the English language. Their students of agriculture were
taught intensely in English language where trainings in both oral and
written communication were conducted. These created a very positive
impression of the College and the quality of English instruction programs
they offered. Thus the college had easily drawn support from parents
who were so much concerned with their students' optimum
advancement in English communication. These statements and
conceived perception about the College attested the high level or
degree to which their English program develops language learning
strategies.

METHODOLOGY

Data were obtained from records, experiences, observations and
interviews covering academic year 2006 - 2009.

DISCUSSIONS

English is one of the most important learning areas in the
MinSCAT agricultural curriculum. It is the most widely spoken language
today in the campus. A good command of it is generally imperative for
the students of agriculture because they have realized the value of
English as an international language of agriculture, business, science
and technology and communication, and are working double time to gain
proficiency in it.
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Furthermore, English is the predominant medium of
communication in their academic activities and there are clear
indications that this will continue through the coming years.
Undoubtedly, the success of the communication process in this domain
will largely be dependent on the skills of agricultural students in the use
of the basic structures of English grammar, their familiarity with
organization and on their control of the vocabulary of the language in the
context of the agricultural field.

It is understood and accepted fact that a student of agriculture of
MinSCAT learned how to express himself in grammatically correct
sentences. From the beginning capital letter, through the correct
agreement of subject and predicate, the exact choice of propositions and
conjunctions, down to the correct punctuation mark, the sentence must
obey all the known rules of English sentence construction. There is no
question about grammar rules for written English. Every English
instructor in the college teaches them all the rudiments of English
grammar and sentence construction.

If a student of agriculture speaks English at all, he approximates
the pronunciation of an educated native speaker. The student of
agriculture was taught American English sound. They learned how to
imitate all the sounds of the English language and acquired good
English speech rhythm. They learned the four other distinguishing
features of the language such as stress, phrasing, blending and
intonation.

The mastery of the sound system of English is important if a
speaker is to clean and clear in his pronunciation. The student of
agriculture learned how to pronounce a number of sounds which do not
appear in his native tongue. It is important that they did not substitute a
Filipino sound for an English sound.

Oxford’s (1992) metacognitive strategies support the above
discussions. Metacognitive strategies as she defined are actions which
go beyond purely cognitive devices, and which provide a way for
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learners to coordinate their own learning process. Oxford expounded
that metacognitive strategies include three sets: centering learning,
arranging and planning learning and evaluating learning. These
strategies are essential for successful language learning where learners
are often overwhelmed by too much “newness”- unfamiliar vocabulary,
confusing rules, different writing systems, seemingly inexplicable social
customs and (in enlightened language classes) nontraditional
approaches. With this novelty, many learners, according to Oxford, lose
their focus, which can only be regained by the conscious use of
metacognitive strategies such as paying attention and overviewing/
linking with already familiar materials.

Other metacognitive strategies like organizing, setting goals and
objectives, considering purpose, and planning for a language task, help
learners to arrange and plan their language learning in an efficient and
effective way.

Therefore, a learning strategy is a step taken by the students to
enhance their own learning. Strategies in the area of language learning
are oriented toward the broad arena of communicative
competence which is called linguistic performance. It was suggested
that a realistic interaction among learners using meaningful
contextualized language is required to develop communicative
competence. Language learning strategies should possess the
following features: 1) They contribute to the main goal which is
communicative competence; 2) They allow learners to become
more self-directed; 3) They expand the role of instructors; 4) They are
problem-oriented; 5) There are specific actions taken by the learner;
6) They involve many aspects of the learner not just
the cognitive (metacognitive, effective and social); 7) They
support learning both directly and indirectly; 8) They are not always
observable; 9) They are often conscious; 10) They can be taught;
11) They are flexible; and 12) They are influenced by a variety of
factors.

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Learner's cognitive development is enhanced through social
interaction and asserted that through socially meaningful interactions
and that language is both social and an important facilitator of
learning. Learners learn to talk through social interaction and to read
and write through interactions with the literate children and adults.

This provides learners with the idea of developing themselves
optimally to emphasize the importance of talk and explains how
children learn through social interaction with adults. In which case,
teachers must provide a similar type of assistance as they support
students in learning language arts to lessen some possible problems
that occur.

Oxford and Ehman (1992) suggest that the learner
must be left to his own desires and must be overly pressured by his
environment to use a certain set of strategies, reflecting their
basic learning styles. They can also learn to
develop additional strategies which they make use unconsciously for
learning with more fun. One of the principles of the Tapestry Principles
of teaching language listed that teachers assess and understand their
own learning styles and become aware of the styles of their students.
Thereby, the teacher can detect style conflicts and go beyond their
styles.
When learners are allowed to do things and learn themselves,
the paradigm shift actually starts. Oxford (1992) claims that language
learning strategies have been changed, from the teacher to the
learner. This implies that much of the responsibility for the
success of language learning rests with individual learners and with
their ability to fully use the advantages of every opportunity to learn.
She also provides an eight model for strategy training exercises
convening both spoken and written language, and all four language
skills, speaking, reading, writing and listening.

All the preceding literature provide the
researchers some ideas on how to deal with English
language proficiency and teaching strategies. The
researchers sternly believe that language learning is a combination of
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both cognitive and social processes. Language learners need to be
allowed to learn language by themselves, develop their independent
strategies, of course guided by an effective set of language teaching
strategies by English teachers.

CONCLUSIONS

English instructors of MinSCAT employed a variety of teaching
strategies which rendered them effective in teaching the subject in which
the students of agriculture learned quite well. The application of
language learning strategies helped them develop their proficiency in
compensating for missing knowledge, organizing and evaluating
learning, managing emotions, remembering more effectively, using
mental process, and in learning with others. Their high performance
shown in language competencies, in grammar and in comprehension
was a direct result of their interest in English because they had
significantly harnessed skills, gained confidence and appreciated the
relevance of the subject.

The students of agriculture and English instructors were truly
aware that the institution itself was not a fully influential factor that
affects the application of teaching strategies in teaching the subject.
Such were very helpful in developing the learners’ proficiency in English
and in enhancing their performance.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Some of the recommendations drawn by the researchers from
the foregoing discussions include the following:

The students of agriculture of MinSCAT should be briefed more
on the importance of the use of English language, even at home. Parent
should further motivate them to study well in English by providing them
guidance, enough reference materials in English, making them exposed
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to technology and enhancing their study and reading habits that are in
consonance with English proficiency targets.

All English instructors should be encouraged by their
administrators to continue the good performance in applying the
effective teaching strategies and activities geared toward improving the
high student performance in grammar, comprehension and competence
in English language. They should also incorporate multi-sensory
activities like role playing, describing agricultural activities and agro-
tourism guiding, use workbooks and modules and be provided additional
training and seminars to improve English language teaching.

Although the students of agriculture of MinSCAT are already
exposed to different styles in learning English language, they should still
adapt themselves to the latest styles in learning English, the American
way.

REFERENCES

Oxford, Rebecca L. and Ehman, C. (1992). The Tapestry of Learning.
New Work, USA: Newburry House Publishers.

Oxford, Rebecca L. (1992). Language Learning Strategies: What Every
Teacher Should Know. New Work, USA: Newburry House
Publishers.
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MinSCAT Research Journal 5(1): 2(9-21), 2009

ENGLISH PROFICIENCY OF FRESHMAN COLLEGE
STUDENTS OF MINDORO STATE COLLEGE OF
AGRICULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY

Sonia A. Arenillo and Emelinda E. Rivera

ABSTRACT

The study examined the English proficiency of freshman
college students of the Mindoro State College of Agriculture and
Technology. It employed the descriptive-correlational and
comparative survey methods of research with the Differential
Aptitude Tests (r=0.95) to measure the spelling and language
usage proficiencies of the respondents who were taken as
sample from the three campuses of the college.

Profile variables such as, gender, type of school
graduated from, final grade in High School English, and course
enrolled were obtained from records at the Registrar’s Office.

Data gathered were presented and described through
frequency counts, percentages and weighted means. T-test and
x2- test statistic were used to test the hypothesis of the study.

Findings showed that the profile variables of the
respondents were not significantly related to their performances
in Spelling and Language Usage. There were significant
differences in the respondents’ performance in Spelling.
However, no significant differences were shown in their
Language Usage performance when both variables were
grouped according to profile variables.

INTRODUCTION

Language is the principal means used by human beings to
communicate with one another. It is primarily spoken but can be
transferred to other medium such as writing. English as a foreign
language prevailed as the global language at the turn of the 21st century.
This is evident because the language is used considerably in the areas
of scientific research, foreign commerce and industry, international
diplomacy, economic, social and political activities of global
communities.
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Arenillo & Rivera: English Proficiency of Freshman
In its desire to strengthen English among higher education
institutions, the Commission on Higher Education issued CHED
Memorandum Order No. 59, s. 1996 requiring a placement examination
in the English language for all their incoming first year students. It
pointed out that these students who were found weak in English based
on their scores obtained in the qualifying test must take English Plus.
Basically, English Plus is a remedial course which carries no unit credit.

The English placement test administered in Mindoro State
College of Agriculture and Technology is designed to determine the
competency level of the students in language skills. Specifically, it
measures students’ understanding of the sentence structures in English
and their ability to distinguish between correct and improper grammar,
punctuation, and capitalization. Moreover, it also measures the students’
ability to determine the correct spelling of the words.

This imperative of English was further intensified with the
issuance of Executive Order No. 210 on May 17, 2003, entitled
Establishing the Policy to Strengthen English as a Second Language in
the Educational System which requires the use of English as a primary
medium of instruction in all public institutions of learning particularly for
English, Mathematics and Science Courses at the grade and secondary
levels.

Today, the state of English language teaching in the Philippine
education is at critical point. Recent studies confirm this notion that
English proficiency of majority of Filipino students is rapidly deteriorating.
Such impression is acceptable inasmuch as these students are likely to
encounter difficulties in learning the foreign language that is not actually
spoken in their immediate environment (Lontok, 1999). Thus, the role of
education is a significant factor to resolve the issue.

At this perspective, the researchers felt the strong need to gather
empirical data as inputs for students’ proper remediation through the
conduct of the study on hand.

METHODOLOGY

The study employed the descriptive-correlational and
comparative survey methods of research. It is designed to examine the
relationships and differences between the variables of the study.
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