ERIC ED616804: Self-Regulating Capacity in Language Learning and English Academic Achievement

2021·0.25 MB·English

by  ERIC

Globus Journal of Progressive Education
A Refereed Research Journal
Vol 11 / No 2 / Jul-Dec 2021 ISSN: 2231-1335

SELF-REGULATING CAPACITY IN LANGUAGE LEARNING AND

ENGLISH ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
*Vina Grace M. Pahuriray
Paper Received: 25.08.2021 / Paper Accepted: 09.09.2021 / Paper Published: 12.09.2021

Corresponding Author: Vina Grace M. Pahuriray; Email: [email protected]; doi:10.46360/globus.edu.220212012

Abstract Introduction
The purpose of this study was to explore the English, being the second language of the
relationship between the self-regulating Philippines, is used as medium of instruction in the

capacity in language learning of the grade five academic setting in the country. However, in public
students and their academic achievement in examinations in recent times, the decline in the
English. There were 280 students (150 males general academic performance and standard of
and 130 females) used as respondents in this education had been attributed to the poor

study. The findings suggested that the higher performance of students in English [14].
the self-regulation capacity of the respondents,
the higher would be their academic It is in these situations that students need to take

performance. Conversely, the lower their self- initiatives by setting and utilizing realistic and

regulation capacity, the lower would be their practical learning goals and schemes to regulate
academic performance. Schools must give their own learning and overcome whatever
importance and attention to the development of challenge or obstacle they encounter in the English

the learners’ Self-Regulating Capacity in language so as to improve their academic
Language Learning since result had shown that performance.
this has a significant relationship to the
learners’ academic performance in English. The capacity for self-regulation is one of the crucial

The descriptive-correlational survey design human characteristics that are connected with
was used in this research. reflection, self-awareness, emotional and volitional
processes, goal setting, with the achievement of vital
Keywords: Self-regulation, Academic and important goals, leading to self-development

Achievement, Language, Learning. and the realization of success in the learners’
academic pursuit [11].

However, when they have poor self-regulation

particularly in language learning, they tend to easily
get swayed away and lose focus which could greatly
affect their academic performance. This is alarming
since most of their subjects are taught in the English

language.

This situation is not new to most Grade V students
of Jose B. Puey Sr. Elementary School where the

researcher is currently stationed. Based on the Mean
Percentage Score (MPS) of the Grade V students in
English in the Third Quarter Examination, English
ranked second to the last among the eight subjects in

Grade V. Furthermore, after a post-assessment using
the Phil-IRI Reading Materials for Grade V students
in English, more than 51% of the pupils were found

to be unable to read at the desired level. Moreover,

the Grade V students’ difficulty in English language
contributes to their low level of academic
performance in English as well.

For this reason, the researcher was immensely
moved to conduct this study on students’ self-
regulated capacity in language learning, and

examine whether this has any relation to their

academic performance in English so as to address

*Jose B. Puey Sr. Elementary School, Division of Sagay City, Negros Occidental, Philippines.
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this current problem in the researcher’s station. Independent Variable Dependent Variable

Statement of the Problem
Self-Regulating
The purpose of this study was to determine the Capacity in Language
respondents’ Self-Regulating Capacity in language Learning
Academic
learning and if it had any significant association to Commitment control
Performance in English
their academic performance. Metacognition

control

In particular, the study aimed to answer the Satiation Control
Emotion control
following:
Environment control

1. What is the level of self-regulated language

learning capacity of the respondents when taken

as a whole and in terms of:
a. Commitment control; Figure 1: Schematic Diagram Showing The
b. Metacognition control; Relationship of The Variables in The Study
c. Satiation control;
d. Emotion control; Related Literature and Studies
e. Environment control?
Learners can learn to plan, choose suitable cognitive

and metacognitive techniques, and evaluate learning
2. What is the academic performance of the
results when they apply self-regulation strategies
respondents?
[15]. Students with limited self-regulation skill in

language acquisition and students who have not
3. Is there any significant relationship between the
gained awareness of these skills are less strategic
respondents’ self-regulated language learning
and do poorly than students who are conscious of
capacity and academic performance in English?
these skills [18]. Also, students with low self-

regulation skills fail to check themselves while
Hypothesis
working toward their goals, are unaware of their
There is no significant relationship between the progress, and are challenged to re-regulate their own
respondents’ self-regulated language learning actions and cognitions as needed [1].
capacity and academic performance in English.
Language learners benefit from commitment control
Theoretical Framework tactics because they help them keep or increase their
This study assumes that self-regulating capacity in original goal commitment [9]. On the other hand, the
language learning is significantly related to the lack of affective commitment of students to their
academic performance of the students in English. own learning is one of the primary causes of low
Hence, it is based on Albert Bandura's Social engagement [10]. Moreover, academic progress is
Cognitive Self-Regulation Theory. This study jeopardized if learners have low metacognition [4].
highlighted that Social Cognitive Self-Regulation
Theory is a subtype of cognitive theory, which Students who have poor satiation control methods
emphasizes that an individual’s actions and frequently fail to reduce boredom and provide extra
reactions in almost every situation is influenced by interest or attractiveness to the job [9]. In a study, it
the actions which that individual has observed in was shown that in comparison to low proficient
others [5]. students, there was a substantial link between
proficiency and satiation management issues, with
Furthermore, self-regulated learning was defined as highly proficient students having the most problems
a student’s intentional efforts to manage and direct [13].
complex learning activities and is composed of three
primary components: cognitive strategy use, meta- When learners have low Emotion control, they
cognitive processing, and motivational beliefs [19]. would have difficulty in managing their thoughts,
behaviors, and feelings in order to successfully
Self-regulated learning includes strategies such as navigate their learning experiences [20]. Emotional
goal setting, self-efficacy, goal orientation, intelligence was found to have doubled the
metacognitive monitoring, self-evaluation and so on predictive power of cognitive intelligence in
[12]. This entails that the self-regulating capacity of explaining academic accomplishment [2].
language learning of the students contributes to the
students’ academic achievement in English. The It was pointed out that if we want students to acquire
theory infers that a learner's ability to self-regulate the skills needed to function in knowledge-based,
their language acquisition has an impact on their innovation-driven organizations, we should place
academic success. them in an environment where those skills are
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required in order for them to be part of what is going was also observed to be .97, suggesting that the
on and these powerful learning environments should separation of item difficulty is highly reliable.
be also at least partially designed and controlled by
students [17]. Furthermore, every student requires Data Gathering Procedure
motivation or academic motivation in order to The researcher first sought the permission of the
achieve their objectives [16]. Dean of the Graduate School to allow her to conduct
the study. Once approved, another letter was sent by
English language proficiency is highly associated to the researcher to the School Principal to ask for
academic success [3]. Moreover, student’s academic permission to conduct the study to the Grade 5
achievement is mostly driven by their cognitive pupils explaining the purpose and the nature of the
talents, and students with strong intellectual investigation.
potential often succeed at a greater level than those
with inferior abilities [7]. The researcher secured the parents’ permit of the
participants prior to the conduct of the study. After
If learners utilize self-regulation tactics effectively, which, the questionnaires were distributed to the
these strategies can ensure high accomplishment in participants of the study. Also, the participants were
the language learning process [8]. Meanwhile, the informed that the results of the study will be treated
students' ability to self-regulate is a reliable as highly confidential.
predictor of academic success [6].
Data Analysis
Methodology
Given the set of objectives identified in the study,
the following were the statistical tools used.
Research Design
The descriptive-correlational survey design was To answer the first objective, which aims to identify
used in this research. Rather than a direct cause- the level of self-regulated language learning
effect link, this method examines, describes, and capacity of the respondents when taken as a whole
documents many features of the variables and the and grouped in terms of Commitment control,
natural correlations or associations that develop Satiation control, Metacognition control, Emotion
between and among them (2007). control and Environment control, t-test was used
which made used the scaling below.
Research Participants
The participants of this study were the Grade V Table 1: Level of Self-Regulated Language
students, composed of 150 males and 130 females, Learning Capacity of The Respondents
enrolled in Jose B. Puey Sr. Elementary School for Rating Scale
the school year 2019-2020. Total enumeration of

participants was used.
1.00 - 1.49 Very Low Self-Regulation

1.50 - 2.49 Low Level of Self-Regulation
Research Instrument
2.50 - 3.49 High Level of Self-Regulation
The study used an adopted questionnaire by Liu
3.50 - 4.00 Very High Level of Self-
(2005) which was the Self-Regulating Capacity in
Regulation
Language Learning or SRCLang. There was still a

need to undergo validity and reliability since the
Meanwhile, for objective number two, the scaling
respondents were of different characteristic,
below with its corresponding descriptive
background and locality. Meanwhile, for the
interpretation was utilized.
academic performance of the respondents, a

secondary data was utilized based on their General
Table 2: Academic Performance Scale
Weighted Average or GWA in English.

90 - 100 Outstanding
Three experts on the field of English examined the
85 - 89 Very Satisfactory
instrument using the Good and Scates Evaluation
criteria to test the validity of the instrument. The 80 - 84 Satisfactory
evaluation criteria garnered a mean average of 4.00, 75 - 79 Fairly Satisfactory
which was interpreted the validity as excellent. On below 75 Did not meet Expectations
the other hand, Cronbach’s Alpha was employed to
test the reliability of the instrument. For the Person For Objective number three Pearson-r was used.
separation, the reliability result is .93 indicating that
the SRCLang can adequately differentiate
Descriptive Results
individuals. The value of item separation reliability
The level of self-regulated language learning
capacity of the respondents in terms of commitment
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control (M=2.34, SD=1.144) was low. The students these two variables were significantly correlated (r
demonstrated little commitment control over their = 0.820, p < 0.01). Therefore, the null hypothesis
own language learning. which states that “There is no significant
relationship between the respondents’ self-regulated
The level of self-regulated language learning language learning capacity and academic
capacity of the respondents in terms of performance in English,” was rejected. It can be
Metacognition Control (M=2.25, SD=1.171) was implied that the students’ self-regulated language
low. The students do not have particular approaches learning capacity significantly relates to their
for learning English that will help them avoid academic performance in English. This suggests that
procrastination. the higher the self-regulation capacity of the
respondents, the higher will be their academic
The level of self-regulated language learning performance. Conversely, the lower their self-
capacity of the respondents in terms of Satiation regulation capacity, the lower will be their academic
Control (M=2.31, SD=1.099) was low. When it performance.
comes to overcoming boredom when studying
English, students lack the approaches, strategies, Conclusion and Recommendation
and patience. They have a limited ability to control
their emotions in order to invigorate their learning
Conclusion
process when they are bored with English.
Based on the findings of the study, the Grade V

students lack self-confidence and self-esteem and
The level of self-regulated language learning
have trouble handling stress and frustration. This
capacity of the respondents in terms of Emotion
entails that majority of the students had poor
Control (M=2.26, SD=1.195) was low. Respondents
strategies in self-regulation to help them overcome
have a limited ability to cope with stress when
academic challenges as they learn the language to
learning English.
improve their performance.

The level of self-regulated language learning
One of the key conclusions drawn from the study's
capacity of the respondents in terms of Environment
findings is that self-regulated language learning
Control (M=2.33, SD=1.243) was low. When the
capacity has a significant impact on Grade V
learning environment becomes unsuitable, the
students' academic performance in English. This
respondents' capacity to sort out problems in
suggests that having a self-controlled language
studying English was low.
learning capacity aids scholastic success in the

English language.
The level of self-regulated language learning

capacity of the respondents as a whole (M=2.30,
Finally, it is concluded that the students’ self-
SD=1.138) was low. The respondents demonstrated
regulated language learning capacity is a critical
a low level of self-control over their ideas, feelings,
factor to take into consideration in improving the
and behaviors, which is important for learning
students’ academic achievement in English.
English. Furthermore, they are unable to set goals

for themselves, particularly in terms of selecting
Recommendation
appropriate tactics to aid them in their learning
process. The teachers must provide an instructional delivery
method and atmosphere that supports students'
In terms of the academic performance of the acquisition and development of self-regulated
respondents, majority of the students (47.5%) had a language learning capacity to encourage academic
satisfactory rating. They had an acceptable accomplishment in English
achievement in English that meets standards.
Though they are in average level, but their The school must establish programs and activities to
performance was adequate enough to pass the increase students' academic achievement in English
subject. Hence, they need to use techniques and as well as their ability to self-regulate their language
strategies that would help them learn more acquisition.
effectively and independently to further improve
their academic performance. On the other hand, only The students must develop self-regulating capacity
very few from the respondents got an outstanding for language learning to improve their academic
performance. success in English.

Pearson’s r was used to determine whether there was The parents should support their children in their
a significant relationship between self-regulated studies especially in providing them with supportive
language learning capacity and academic environment at home in order to motivate and
performance of the respondents. Result showed that encourage their children to perform better in school.
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