Chapter 1

PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

Introduction
Language learning is less likely to place if students are fully submersed into the

mainstream program without any extra assistance or, conversely, not allowed to be part of the

mainstream until they have reached a certain level of language proficiency; instruction- clearly,

some language teachers are better than others at providing appropriate and effective learning

experiences for the students in their classrooms. These students will make faster progress; culture

and status, there is some evidence that students in situations where their own culture has a lower

status than that of the culture in which they are learning the language make slower progress;

motivation (extrinsic), students who are given continuing, appropriate encouragement to learn by

their teachers and parents will generally fare better than those who aren't and access to native

speakers, the opportunity to interact with native speakers both within and outside of the

classroom is a significant advantage and native speakers are linguistic models and can provide

appropriate feedback (Lightbrown et. al, 2013; Macaro, 2010).

Globally, second language learners especially foreign students face so many difficulties

mainly because of the negative interference of the mother tongue and the cultural differences.

Language transfer designates the interference of the mother tongue in second language learning.

Learners apply knowledge from their native language to learn a second language. Linguistic

interference can lead to correct language production when the mother tongue and the target
language share many linguistic features. However, the transfer can result in errors when both

languages differ (Rhalmi, 2014).

Learners’ culture can be a barrier to second or foreign language learning. Cultural

differences may cause confusion and cultural misunderstandings. Learners may have problems

communicating with target native speakers because of cultural differences. Learning a second

language means learning to speak and comprehend it. But learners can’t reach a high level of

proficiency unless they are able to use the target language appropriately in the context of the

target culture. In the Philippines, there are numerous dialects being spoken, however the

common language is Tagalog. The kind of dialect use by individual has a relation on acquiring of

second language (Misa, 2012; Rhalmi, 2014).

In some local regions in the Philippines, there are foreign students who are enrolled in

universities and colleges not being used to speak Cebuano are the individuals who suffer anxiety

in academic performance. They do not have the confidence and the energy in the transparency of

acquiring Cebuano as second language. Moreover, one of the reasons why an individual is not

proficient in speaking foreign language because of they are not trained and not oblige to used it

as a medium of communication. Some of the possibilities are depending on the culture and

norms of an individual. Because of these problems, solutions should be explored and identified.

However, the researcher has not come across any study that was conducted on the

relationship of academic performance of foreign students acquiring Cebuano as second language.

It only shows that the present study shall make specific contribution and generate new

knowledge on academic performance of foreign students acquiring Cebuano as second language

in University of Mindanao.
Research Questions

This study seeks to answer the following questions:

1. What are the challenges experienced by the students in acquiring Cebuano as second

language?

2. What is the average grade of the foreign students in the following subjects?

-GE1

-GE2

-Mathematics in the Modern World

3. What are the solutions for the foreign students to resolve the problem in language

proficiency using the Cebuano language?

Review of Related Literature

This section discusses about the factors of second language acquisition in relation

of learning and communication. It talks also how second language takes in process in a person’s

development. This section also discusses the factors affecting the speech delivery. The anxieties

and fear of delivering a speech will be discussed and how these circumstances correlate the

difficulties of learning second language.

Second Language Acquisition

 Acquisition is basically another word for learning. However, it is sometimes used for

different use and meaning such in second language acquisition. Language development is even

more impressive when we consider the nature of what is learned. It may seem that children

merely need to remember what they hear and repeat it at some later time. But as

Chomsky1 pointed out so many years ago, if this were the essence of language learning, we

would not be successful communicators. Verbal communication requires productivity, i.e. the

ability to create an infinite number of utterances we have never heard before. This endless

novelty requires that some aspects of language knowledge be abstract (Johnston, 2010).

There are two factors in acquiring the second language- the internal factors and external

factors. The internal factors are age; Second language acquisition is influenced by the age of the

learner. Children, who already have solid literacy skills in their own language, seem to be in the

best position to acquire a new language efficiently; personality, Introverted or anxious learners

usually make slower progress, particularly in the development of oral skills. They are less likely

to take advantage of opportunities to speak, or to seek out such opportunities. More outgoing

students will not worry about the inevitability of making mistakes; motivation

(intrinsic): Intrinsic motivation has been found to correlate strongly with educational

achievement. Clearly, students who enjoy language learning and take pride in their progress will

do better than those who don't. Extrinsic motivation is also a significant factor. ESL students, for

example, who need to learn English in order to take a place at an American university or to

communicate with a new English boy/girlfriend are likely to make greater efforts and thus

greater progress; experiences, learners who have acquired general knowledge and experience are

in a stronger position to develop a new language than those who haven't; cognition: In general, it

seems that students with greater cognitive abilities (intelligence) will make the faster progress
and native language, students who are learning a second language which is from the same

language family as their first language have, in general, a much easier task than those who aren't

(Lightbrown et. al, 2013; Macaro, 2010).

Aside from internal factors, there are also factors that help a person to be proficient in

acquiring second language- these are the external factors. The external factors is believed that

this help more in molding mind of a person because it is interactive. The external factors are

curriculum, this can be demonstrated for instance for ESL students in particular it is important

that the totality of their educational experience is appropriate for their needs. Language learning

is less likely to place if students are fully submersed into the mainstream program without any

extra assistance or, conversely, not allowed to be part of the mainstream until they have reached

a certain level of language proficiency; instruction- clearly, some language teachers are better

than others at providing appropriate and effective learning experiences for the students in their

classrooms. These students will make faster progress; culture and status, there is some evidence

that students in situations where their own culture has a lower status than that of the culture in

which they are learning the language make slower progress; motivation (extrinsic), students who

are given continuing, appropriate encouragement to learn by their teachers and parents will

generally fare better than those who aren't and access to native speakers, the opportunity to

interact with native speakers both within and outside of the classroom is a significant advantage

and native speakers are linguistic models and can provide appropriate feedback (Lightbrown et.

al, 2013; Macaro, 2010).

Currency is the evidence must be recent and show the person is proficient in English. It

entails how the capacity of an individual in acquiring the second language. In the conducted
requirements by the College of Ontario, the significance of the acquiring language is based on

the prior and knowledge and how do they adapt the language with the prevalence of their skills.

Teachers demonstrate a high level of competence as an English language model and an

understanding of language as a system. They are prepared to help limited English proficient

students acquire and use English for social and academic purposes (College of Ontario, 2018).

The awareness of second language acquisition principles in language learning

expectations, role of background knowledge in language acquisition, role of the home language

in second language learning and nature of comprehensible input, awareness of personal biases

and teacher practices as barriers to learning, and their own knowledge gap about cross-cultural

differences. The other study investigated whether the beliefs about second language learning and

teaching the teacher candidates held at the beginning of a second language acquisition course had

changed by the end of the course. On the other hand, there were claims that failure to understand

particular linguistic terms demotivate learners and cause them to act passively in most of their

language classes. They feel disappointed particularly if the learning material exceeds by far their

background knowledge and their ability to understand the overall meaning of texts. It is

considered vital to teach students how to use their background knowledge as a reading strategy

(Al-wossabi, 2014; Busch, 2010).

Different research-supported views on codependence of culture and meaning in learning

a language as well as the significance of integrating authentic use of literature into the learning

process are also briefly examined. The article stresses that a lack of prior and cultural knowledge

may become a put-off factor for a second language student thus hindering the entire process of

learning as failing to understand and master the target culture prevents a student from mastering

a second language. The article also briefly considers cultural interference at the affective and
denotative levels to show the connection between culture and language. Culturally specific texts

may require more background knowledge. Those learners who lack sufficient background

knowledge or are unable to activate this knowledge may fail to understand the key concepts and

grasp the message of the text. High prior knowledge of a subject area or key vocabulary of a text

often means higher scores on reading comprehension. Moreover, second language student learn

more effectively when they already know something about a content area and when concepts in

that area are familiar to them; they learn and remember new information best when it is linked to

relevant background knowledge. A common thread running through various perspectives on

language acquisition is the view that the meaningfulness and familiarity of second language

material plays a crucial role as learners begin to develop their second language skills

(Zashchitina & Moysyak, 2017).

Second language acquisition is also correlates to the term “schema”. The term schema

also relates to the term prior knowledge because a person’s schema is what already is already

known about the world. Readers are expected to convey their knowledge in order to fill holes

within the text to construct an understanding of the text. It might first be helpful to think about

the kinds of knowledge learners can bring to comprehension tasks. In the second-language

comprehension process, at least three types of background knowledge are potentially activated:

1) linguistic information, or one’s knowledge of the target language code; 2) knowledge of the

world, including one’s store of concepts and expectations based on prior experience; 3)

knowledge of discourse structure, or the understanding of how various kinds or types of

discourse (such as conversation, radio broadcast, literary texts, political speeches, newspaper and

magazine stories, and the like) are generally organized. When language practice is limited to the

manipulation or processing of linguistic form, only the first type of background knowledge is
involved. By contrast, language learning activities that provide relevant context should be helpful

in activating student’s knowledge of the world and of familiar discourse structure (Gregory &

Cahill, 2010).

The study found a negative relationship between language proficiency and frequency

effects. In other words, less proficient learners were found to be more sensitive to frequency

effects. So, utilizing frequency effects with less proficient learners might be more useful. One

way of utilizing frequency is using corpus tools. As exposure to the authentic linguistic items in

non-native speakers’ communities is very limited outside of the classroom, use of corpora has

gained more significance recently. Within the process of learning additional languages, speakers

may internalize different cognitive and discourse perspectives and, thus, restructure the thinking

patterns they already have to describe reality, such as events and scenes, thus causing them to

rethink for second language speaking. As mentioned, speakers’ preferred patterns of

grammaticized units emerge in spontaneous discourse (Diependaele et al. 2013; Ekiert, 2010;

Pavlenko, 2011).

Comprehensiveness is the evidence must show the applicant can communicate and

comprehend effectively in English, at the level required for nursing practice, in all four types of

language. The student could read the context and understand what he has searched. The student

correctly document information in the manner required for the work being performed and the

documented information can be understood and used by others. The student listens to multi-step,

complex instructions and carries them out. The student clearly explain to another person how to

perform a task or procedure; communicate with others in order to solve problems; interact

appropriately with others in unfamiliar situations (College of Ontario, 2018).

 According to Rivers and Temperley, that social-cultural meaning was an affected

dimension and a great deal of reading performance is attributed to knowledge of vocabulary.

Vocabulary knowledge is also believed to be developmental and related to background

knowledge, teachers need to broaden their students’ word knowledge in order to better

comprehend texts. It also talks that domain-centered strategy to analyze the relationship between

language and cognition, where a domain of experience is chosen to identify how different

languages structure the same events or scenes. The domains chosen for research should be

encoded with some frequency in the languages selected to be compared. It is also assumed that

selectively attending to certain aspects of experience would generate heightened degrees of

mental imagery of those aspects as observed in discursive production and perception.

Furthermore, the degrees of knowledge of an additional language, the conditions under which it

is acquired and other variables add to the complexity of exploring how one linguistic and

conceptual system interacts with another (Athanasopoulos, 2011; Lucy, 2011; Rupley & Slough,

2010).

Second language appears to be a connection between incidental vocabulary gains and the

use of video games in education. Bearing this in mind, a language teaching approach which

operates under a potential of fostering incidental language acquisition represents a solution and

an enhanced way to teach foreign languages in the midst of current challenges in literacy such as

students’ low reading scores, lack of interest in reading and even motivational aspects to learn

English, particularly, when such learning is controlled by external factors such as government

policies adopted in non-English speaking nations, and whose acceptability may not be adopted

favorably by those actually affected by such policies, that is, language learners and their intrinsic

socio economic variables. The advent of computer technology, multimedia, and the Internet has
brought about significant societal changes, some of which education has been rather reticent to

incorporate. As different types of technologies evolve at an unreachable pace, so does

individuals’ interest in catching up with these, and academic environments are not exempt from

this Some of these technologies are video games, roughly defined as simulation technologies that

allow users to carry out different purposes in virtual realities as done in real life (Dretzin, 2010;

Galvis, 2014; Rushkoff, 2010).

Spanish and English native speakers were testify acquiring the second language through

pictures. Native speakers of English and native speakers of Spanish were shown pairs of pictures.

The first picture of each pair showed a verbal description of the scene in the participants’ native

languages. Participants were then shown the second picture of the pair and were asked to judge

whether it was the same or different than the first one they saw. Spanish speakers, on the other

hand, would not be influenced by the linguistic primes, since the preposition en does not

distinguish between containment and support. The researchers posited that the priming effect of

the linguistic descriptions would lead participants to falsely judge the second pictures as being

the same as the first ones. In English, for instance, the first image of one of the picture pairs

illustrated a mildly concave ground with objects touching its surface (pictures showed dogs in or

on a hand) and the linguistic prime included the preposition in (e.g., “the dogs are in the hand”).

If the second picture were more concave, participants would (erroneously) perceive both pictures

to be the same, due to semantic priming (Coventry et al., 2010).

Consequently, for the expansion of the study of second language acquisition, researchers

set forth to see whether Chinese speakers of L2 English would (receptively) distinguish between

the three types of pictures due to potential L2 influence. This study involved two picture-

matching experiments, where participants were asked to choose the picture that best matched a
linguistic prime. Response times were measured. The first experiment involved a group of

Chinese speakers with low L2 English proficiency and another with high L2 English proficiency,

to both of which the linguistic prime was presented in L1 Chinese. The linguistic descriptions

intended to prime participants to make temporal distinctions with means available in Chinese. If

priming was effective, it would indicate that participants may potentially be influenced by

knowledge of L2 English, which obligatorily makes temporal distinctions. The results of this

first experiment showed that the advanced L2 English speakers were better at matching the

pictures correctly with their corresponding linguistic descriptions in Chinese than the beginners,

especially when matching pictures with linguistic descriptions in the past and future (Chen & Su,

2011).

Application is the evidence must show the applicant can communicate in English taking

into consideration how the person uses her/his communication skills and the context in which the

communication take place. In a study conducted by the De La Salle University, they observed

how Filipinos learned and acquired the second language. The participants seem to be under the

impression that they are “not bilingual” because they are “not good in English.” Thus, they do

not seem to be aware of the benefits of code-switching and are not able to “maximize” their

bilinguality in learning. The students lack the discipline-specific vocabulary to be effective

language brokers or interpreters for each other and that the brokering process does not provide

students with full access to the curriculum or improved opportunities for English language

acquisition or use. Thus, it is possible that the participants in the present study are also unable to

maximize their bilinguality because they rely on one another for support during learning

activities without being equipped with the necessary vocabulary (both in L1 and L2) and other

language skills (College of Ontario, 2018; Kibler, 2010).

 Acquisition of a foreign language represents an intensively studied issue, its

psychological foundation being based on the individual differences of various learners. The

learning process depends on a series of factors: cognitive factors (language aptitude, learning

strategies), affective factors (attitudes, motivation, and anxiety), metacognitive factors, and

demographic factors. It is important to realize that it is mandatory to take into account the place

of the English language in the world today as the foundation of an attitude towards this language.

Also, if a student does not like to learn, does not like school, he can generalize this condition on

language even before starting to learn it. Therefore, it takes positive attitude to increase students’

efficiency in foreign language classes (Henter, 2013; Oroujlou & Vahedi, 2011)

Correlation between Measures

Learning to speak in a second language is often judged to be the most vital of the

language skills. In fact, many learner classes devote much of their time to developing students’

oral proficiency. Despite this concentrated effort, a review of the literature in the area of English

learner oral skill development reveals that a clearly defined set of best teacher practices does not

exist. While researchers and educators tend to agree about some aspects of oral skill, opinions

regarding, for example, optimal teaching and assessment strategies differ (Garbati & Madi,

2015).

Second language skills are best learned if speaking is a major component of the learning

process, in fact it is essential, but learning a language in countries where that language is not

universally spoken can be problematic. This is because the language instructors are not

sufficiently versed in speaking that particular second language to teach it. Students, whether in a

school setting or in a language training center often learn to read and write, but they don't speak

enough to be able to get a good grasp of the language to be proficient in both oral and written
communication. In some settings, the teacher doesn't know the language well enough so resorts

to teaching the second language while using the native language. In other cases, the new

language is so badly pronounced that the student walks away speaking a 'dialect' that only folks

from that particular country can understand. It would not meet international standards (Khan,

2017).

Another evidence that second language acquisition and academic performance has a

relationship because of our receptive skills which are listening, reading, writing and speaking.

Listening is the first language skill we acquire in our native language. It is what is known as a

receptive skill, or a passive skill, as it requires us to use our ears and our brains to comprehend

language as it is being spoken to us. It is the first of two natural language skills, which are

required by all natural spoken languages. Speaking is the second language skill we acquire in our

native language. It is what is known as a productive skill, or an active skill, as it requires us to

use our vocal tract and our brains to correctly produce language through sound (Morehouse,

2017).

The third receptive skill is reading. Reading is the third language skill we may acquire in

our native language. As with listening, it is a receptive or passive skill, as it requires us to use our

eyes and our brains to comprehend the written equivalent of spoken language. Finally, the

writing is the fourth language skill we may acquire in our native language. As with speaking, it is

a productive or active skill, as it requires us to use our hands and our brains to produce the

written symbols that represent our spoken language (Morehouse, 2017).

The articles mentioned above comprise the relation of second language acquisition and

academic performance. Yes, indeed the acquisition is basically the other term of learning. As a

nation where English language is not profound, it is a challenge to learn English language and
apply this in different systems. English language allots forms of our communication where

examines our capability to speak, to write and to influence. As Krashnen said that acquisition

requires meaningful interaction in the target language - natural communication - in which

speakers are concerned not with the form of their utterances but with the messages they are

conveying and understanding. The secret of acquiring a new language is comprehensible input.

We always in a condition where low anxiety situations, containing messages that each one of us

really want to hear. The method do not force early production in the second language, but allow

us to produce when they are 'ready', recognizing that improvement comes from supplying

communicative and comprehensible input, and not from forcing and correcting production. In

talks about second language acquisition, we Filipinos are always the champ at the bit.. The study

found out that when you taught the child at young age, the child could acquire the language

easily. Because of their raw minds, they can easily be motivated by their elders to learn. Second

is personality, a student’s personality can affect how they learn a second language. More

introverted students have been shown to take longer to acquire a language because they’re more

hesitant to make mistakes. Extroverted students, on the other hand, are more likely to go out on a

limb and try out their newly learned vocabulary. And it could also factorize that learning second

language depends on the prior knowledge of a person. Meanwhile, there are other factors also

that could greatly influence others because of its interactivity process. A student could acquire

English language depending on the curriculum. It talks how it takes place on the school grounds.

With this it correlates with the second reason, the teacher’s strategies in teaching. The strategies

a language teacher uses have a big impact on language learning. How does the teacher help

students understand the concepts of a language? How does the teacher take different learning

styles into account, as well as different levels of comprehension? For example, watching a film
in the target language and writing and performing skits in the target language reach multiple

learning styles. Offering an immersion experience helps students connect the language learning

to their everyday lives, but rote vocabulary memorization and grammar drills create 'meaning-

less' language lessons. Another key factor is how comfortable students feel in their language

learning environment. Does their classroom feel cold and tense, or positive and relaxing? What’s

the school’s culture and beliefs about language learning? We’ve found that a student’s learning

environment has an impact on their motivation—a low anxiety language learning environment

increases the chance for acquisition. Students could learn second language if the teachers

motivate them to speak in English language. It is a matter of feeding the student the right

knowledge. In a study also, it has also found that videogames or online games help a learner to

acquire second language. There are technical terms in videogames that could be imparted to a

gamer. This could turned the gamer to be a vocabulary competent and could be used

academically especially in poem writing or relatable speech delivery. Vocabulary knowledge

improves the student’s status specially in acquiring Cebuano. There is study also that in

acquiring second language acquisition matters a person’s culture forms. As mentioned above,

Chinese, Spanish and native English speakers were undergone a test by showing them a pictures

wrapped with an English text. As the test processed, the speakers whom not profound in

acquiring English drawn a difficulty compared to the native English speakers. This infers that

cultural aspects affect a person’s credibility to acquire English language. In talks about speech

delivery, it is really hard to us to deliver a speech without confidence. It feeds yourself to boost

your belief that you can do it. Anxiety is a major hindrance in delivering a speech. You are

merely unsure of everything you say and it builds the minimal of conviction. Anxiety affects

every effective methods of speech delivery; pitch, tone, intonation.

Theoretical Framework

This study is anchored to the Language Acquisition Theory - the theory means

that the universal grammar is the basis upon which all human languages build. If a Martian

linguist were to visit Earth, he would deduce that there was only one language, with a number of

local variants. He would be able to study the language and determine the rules based on the

patterns he hears and the patterns of other languages. Children do not simply copy the language

that they hear around them. They deduce rules from it, which they can then use to produce

sentences that they have never heard before. They do not learn a repertoire of phrases and

sayings, as the behaviorists believe, but a grammar that generates an infinite number of new

sentences. Have you ever been around a toddler as they are acquiring new language? They

suddenly change from “I play.” to “I’m playing.” without any formal instruction. Children are

born, then, with the Universal Grammar wired into their brains. Language rules are complicated

and complex. If there is not a Universal Grammar, how do children make sense of it all? When

the child begins to listen to his parents, he will unconsciously recognize which kind of a

language he is dealing with - and he will set his grammar to the correct one - this is known as

'setting the parameters'. It’s as if the child were offered at birth, a certain number of hypotheses,

which he or she then matches with what is happening around him. The child knows intuitively

that there are some words that behave like verbs, and others like nouns, and that there is a limited

set of possibilities for ordering them within a phrase. This is not information that the child is

taught directly by adults, but information that is given for the child to decipher. This set of

language learning tools, provided at birth, is referred to by Chomsky as the Language

Acquisition Device (Chomsky, 1990).

 This study is also supported with the Language Expectancy Theory which

describes a formalized model about message strategies and attitude and behavior change.

Message strategies include verbal aggression like fear appeal, explicit opinions and language

intensity which are more combat. Language Expectancy Theory assumes that language is a rule-

governed system and people develop expectations concerning the language or message strategies

employed by others in persuasive attempts. Expectations are a function of cultural and

sociological norms and preferences arising from cultural values and societal standards or ideals

for competent communication.

Language Expectancy Theory assumes that changes in the direction desired by an actor

occur when positive violations of expectancies occur. Positive violations occur (a) when the

enacted behavior is better or more preferred than that which was expected in the situation.

Change occurs because enacted behavior is outside the bandwidth in a positive direction, and

such behavior prompts attitude or behavioral change. Positive violations occur (b) when

negatively evaluated sources conform more closely than expected to cultural values or situational

norms. This can result in overly positive evaluation of the source and change promoted by the

actor. Negative violations, resulting from language choices that lie outside socially acceptable

behavior in a negative direction, produce no attitude or behavior change in receivers.

The Language Expectancy Theory explains the effect of the use of different linguistic

variations (language, language intensity) on people who use persuasive messages. It is used as a

theoretical framework to explain the effects of several source, message and receiver variables on

message persuasiveness. Persuasive messages are used often, with this theory the impact can be

described of using different intensities in language. (Burgoon, 1995).

 Furthermore, the information processing theory is an approach to the cognitive

development of a human being, which deals with the study and the analysis of the sequence of

events that occur in a person's mind while receiving some new piece of information. The

information processing theory, as we know it today, was not created but developed by George

Miller. He compared the information processing in humans to that of a computer model. He also

said that learning is simply a change in the knowledge that has been stored by the memory. In

short, it is the analysis of the way a human being learns something new. There is a fixed pattern

of events that take place in such a situation, and by knowing this pattern we can enable children

and adults with special abilities to learn new things faster (Burgoon, 1995).

Academic Performance
Acquiring Cebuano as
Second Language

Figure 1. The Conceptual Paradigm of the Study

Significance of the Study
The findings of this study will redound the individuals’ knowledge that second language

acquisition could influence the capacity of an individual when in talks about language

proficiency. Due to the fact that, we have difficulties in expressing our perspectives and in

choosing mediums what is being acquired. The study will be conducted to identify the cause of

difficulties, techniques to become productive. The outcome of this study may provide insights to

the school administrators to enhance more the facilities and teachings about the second

language. It may ponder the idea of the teachers that the tolerance of second language should be

acquired in class room. The results of this study will motivate the students to enhance more their

proficiency in second language and academic performance.

Furthermore, this study may eventually benefit the students since this study is conducted

to evaluate the factors of second language acquisition affecting the academic performance of the

students. It may encourage them to put more effort and progress. Finally, the findings of this

study may provide the future researchers an additional source to expand the coverage of this

research in terms of the said variables.

Definition of Terms

The following terms are defined conceptually and operationally for better understanding

of the study.

Second Language Acquisition. This term refers to the learning and acquisition of a second

language once the mother tongue or first language acquisition is established. Second language

acquisition or SLA is the process of learning other languages in addition to the native language

(Singhal, 2012).
 Operationally defined, second language acquisition can be demonstrated for instance, a

child who speaks Tagalog as the mother tongue starts learning English when he starts going to

school. English is learned by the process of second language acquisition. In fact, a young child

can learn a second language faster than an adult can learn the same language. Learning English

can be challenging and frustrating. Not all words are spell phonetically, for instance, which can

be a sticking point, and let’s not even get started on the complexities of homophones.

In this study, speech delivery refers to, the way we communicate to others with the

presence of our gestures and body languages, these affects ourselves in delivering a speech. It is

a matter that delivery can communicate your confidence and preparedness to your audience.

Delimitations and Limitations

The participants of the study are foreign students of the University of Mindanao. The

study aims to recognize how second language acquisition affects the speech delivery of the

student among the various rules. The researchers will have seven (7) respondents for the in-depth

interview and also seven (7) respondents for the focus group discussion with a total of fourteen

(14) respondents from foreign students for the qualitative component of the study. This study is

dependent on the respondents' personal insights regarding their struggles in understanding the

impact of second language to the students in both their academic lives and daily interactions. The

questions on this study regarding the topic are prepared by the researchers and the data that can

be gathered by the researcher may be subjective due to the participant's different levels of

English proficiency and communication skills. However, the researchers accepted the fact that

this study may have its weaknesses. Due to the limited number of participants, this study may not
have the exact data needed to fully make a conclusion on a dynamic aspect such as language

itself.

The research may not achieve the expected generalizability of the study, however; this

research is still expected to describe the struggles in dealing with the relationships between

English language proficiency and communication skills prior to the small population of the

foreign students.

Organization of the Study

This section presents an overview of the whole study. The research is divided into four

chapters, associated with a brief description of the content of each chapter present in this study.

Chapter 1. This presents the general background of the Second language acquisition and

speech delivery. This chapter also tackles the issues regarding the struggles in the usage of

English language in speech delivery. In addition, this also presents the people who will benefit

on the gathered information and the limitations and delimitations of the study.

Chapter 2. This presents the research design used in the study, the researchers' role in

conducting the study and the participants involved. It also presents the process used in data

gathering and how the data collected will be analyzed by the researcher. The researchers'

trustworthiness and ethical considerations shall also be located in this portion.

 Chapter 2

METHODS

This chapter presented the research design, role of the researcher, research participants,

and the process of data collection, data analysis, and trustworthiness that includes the four
criteria: credibility, confirmability, dependability, and transferability. All individuals that were

concern to this study was also included as well as the process of ethical considerations.

Research Design

This study uses sequential exploratory mixed methods research design, employing both

qualitative and quantitative approaches. As for this study, the researchers utilized a

phenomenological type of qualitative research. Therefore, the aim of the stated approach is the

effort in gaining a clear understanding of the perceptions and responds people ought to give off

as placed in a specific scenario or event. Additionally, the purpose of the phenomenological

approach is to illuminate the specific, to identify phenomena through how they are perceived by

the actors in a situation. Also, this seeks to gather a “deeper” insight through inductive,

qualitative methods such as interviews, discussions and participant observation, and representing

it from the perspective of the research participant(s).

In connection, “phenomenology” is an approach to qualitative research that focuses on

the commonality of a lived experience within a particular group. The fundamental goal of the

approach is to arrive at a description of the nature of the particular phenomenon (Creswell,

2013). Typically, interviews are conducted with a group of individuals who have first-hand

knowledge of an event, situation or experience. The interview(s) attempts to answer two broad

questions (Moustakas, 1994). Other forms of data such as documents, observations and art may

also be used. The data is then read and reread and called for like phrases and themes that are then

grouped to form clusters of meaning (Creswell, 2013). Through this process, the researcher may

construct the universal meaning of the event, situation or experience and arrive at a more

profound understanding of the phenomenon.

Role of the Researchers

In pursuant to the very nature of quantitative studies, the researcher's role is theoretically

non-existent. This, however, is prevalent in a perfect qualitative study wherein participants act

freely of the researcher as if he or she were not there. In experimental studies, a double-blind

placebo-controlled study is the gold standard and is used to try and remove biases and

subjectivity from the study. Also, the researchers of this study will serve as a transcriber and a

mediator to the field of study being included, moreover the researcher also serve as a data

encoder that encodes relevant and needed information for the betterment of the study .

Not only that, the qualitative researcher should visualize an “emic” role as if he or she is

nothing but an insider in full participation of an activity, program, or phenomenon, or the role is

more etic from an outside view, more importantly of an objective viewer. There could be a lot of

variations in between sometimes a researcher starts as an outsider and then becomes a member of

the group. Or the reverse can occur the researcher starts as a member of a group then becomes a

more objective observant (Punch, 1998).

Research Instrument

The researchers will design an interview questionnaire for the foreign students to know

their knowledge about second language acquisition and how relevant it is for them in the

aspect of language proficiency. The foreign students that will be picking will undergo in-

depth-interview (IDI) and some will have the focus-group discussion (FGD). The

researchers will use purposive random sampling because the researchers know that the

foreign students have more something to share about their experience regarding in

acquiring the second language and how they apply this in real life.

Research Participants
 The participants of this study were the foreign tudents and their perspectives about their

difficulties in acquiring Cebuano as second language and using Cebuano language in

communiction. There is fourteen (14) participants comprising of seven foreign students in

qualitative method. Using purposive sampling, the researchers will interview seven foreign

students and one Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with seven participants from the students of

University of Mindanao. All of the participants might be experiencing various problems while

making their own perspectives about their difficulties in second language acquisition and

academic performance because this has been one of the major problems especially to foreign

students.

The researcher had also one focus group discussion (FGD) consisting of seven members

as recommended by Creswell (2012) who are also students in University of Mindanao. The

researchers are confident that this number of participants that they had interviewed was

considerable enough to have in-depth and credible information about the subject that the

researchers have investigated.

Before having the actual interviews with the participants, the researcher conducted a pre-

visit with them to have simple conversations for the researcher to become more comfortable with

each other and during the final interview; their participants can share their experiences in a light

and confident mode. This would be their opportunity to share with them their significance in this

study. Through these, good rapport, hearty conversation, and camaraderie blocked us from any

hindrances that might come along during the final interview.

Data Collection

The following steps will be employed in gathering the data.

Through purposive sampling, the participants in the study shall be identified. Then, they will be

requested to sign a consent form and agree to the stated conditions conceding that their

participation in the study is voluntary with the willingness to provide the knowledge needed in

the study (Chancal,2013).

Moreover, the researchers will obtain various studies and literature regarding the said discussion

after obtaining the approval of the subject advisor for the list of participants and for possible

modifications. It should be noted that the participants act as the principal means of obtaining data

collection (Carpenter and Streubert, 2010)

After that, the participants shall be given an insight on how the study will be conducted

and what the study is all about. For data collection, the participants will be asked to participate

through a focus group discussion and an in-depth interview. The process will start with an

introductory phase wherein the moderator welcomes the participants, outlines of the discussion

and sets the parameters of the interview in terms of both length and confidentiality. In addition,

the researchers will also spend some time to explain their need to record the interview. The

researchers need to record any potentially useful data thoroughly, accurately, and systematically,

using field notes, sketches, audiotapes, photographs and other suitable means. The data

collection methods must observe the ethical principles of research. Finally, it is important to

emphasize that the discussion is about personal views and experiences and therefore there are no

right or wrong answers (Polit, 2010).

Furthermore, the triangulation method is used for the Individual Interviews and the Focus

Group Discussion. With this, Triangulation means using more than one method to collect data on

the same topic. This is a way of assuring the validity of research through the use of a variety of

methods to collect data on the same topic, which involves different types of samples as well as
methods of data collection. However, the purpose of triangulation is not necessarily to cross-

validate data but rather to capture different dimensions of the same phenomenon (Kularni, 2013).

Consequently, this method is expected to increase analytical viewpoints (Bryman, 2010)

Data Analysis

The answers of the participants and respondents are analyzed through thematic analysis.

Thematic Analysis is a flexible data analysis plan that qualitative researchers use to generate

themes from interview data. This approach is flexible in that there is no specific research design

associated with thematic analysis; it can be utilized for case studies, phenomenology, generic

qualitative, and narrative inquiry to name a few. This data analysis plan is perfect for both novice

and expert qualitative researchers because the steps are easy to follow but rigorous enough to

generate meaningful findings from the data. As suggested by Braun and Clark (2013), I

performed the following steps in analyzing the data as to mention: familiarize data, generate

initial codes, search for themes, review the themes, define and name themes, and construct the

report.

Data reduction is used in analyzing the data gathered. Data reduction is the process of

minimizing the amount of data that needs to be stored in a data storage environment. Data

reduction can increase storage efficiency and reduce costs.

Data reduction can be achieved using several different types of technologies. The best-known

data reduction technique is data deduplication, which eliminates redundant data on storage systems. The

deduplication process typically occurs at the storage block level. The system analyzes the storage to see if

duplicate blocks exist, and gets rid of any redundant blocks. The remaining block is shared by any file

that requires a copy of the block. If an application attempts to modify this block, the block is copied prior
to modification so that other files that depend on the block can continue to use the unmodified version,

thereby avoiding file corruption (Rouse, 2015).

Afterwards, I first watched the videos and then transcribed the interviews. This is to

transform the data into texts and so that it would be easier for me to code my data after. Then I

read my data many times to get acquainted with them. Then I had looked for possible themes,

coding them along the way. Several themes were found at first, but I had to narrow them down to

just few ones.To show data in an organized and orderly manner, data display was used. Data

display is the organization of data and showing them through matrices, charts, and graphs that

enable the reader to draw out their ends (Suter, 2012).

The last stream of analysis activity is conclusion drawing and verification. From the start of

data collection, the qualitative analyst interprets what things mean by noting patterns,

explanations, causal flows, and propositions. The competent researcher holds these conclusions

lightly, maintaining openness and skepticism, but the conclusions are still there, vague at first,

then increasingly explicit and grounded. “Final” conclusions may not appear until data collection

is over, depending on the size of the corpus of field notes; the coding, storage, and retrieval

methods used; the sophistication of the researcher; and any necessary deadlines to be met.

Conclusion drawing, in our view, is only half of a Gemini configuration. Conclusions are also

verified as the analyst proceeds. Verification may be as brief as a fleeting second thought

crossing the analyst’s mind during writing, with a short excursion back to the field notes; or it

may be thorough and elaborate, with lengthy argumentation and review among colleagues to

develop “intersubjective consensus” or with extensive efforts to replicate a finding in another

data set. The meanings emerging from the data have to be tested for their plausibility, their

sturdiness, their confirmability—that is, their validity. Otherwise, we are left with interesting
stories about what happened but of unknown truth and utility. We have presented these three

streams—data condensation, data display, and conclusion drawing/verification—as interwoven

before, during, and after data collection in parallel form, to make up the general domain called

“analysis.” The three streams can also be represented as shown in this view, the three types of

analysis activity and the activity of data collection itself form an interactive, cyclical process.

The researcher steadily moves among these four nodes during data collection and then shuttles

among condensing, displaying, and conclusion drawing/verifying for the remainder of the study.

The coding of data, for example (data condensation), leads to new ideas on what should

go into a matrix (data display). Entering the data requires further

data condensation. As the matrix fills up, preliminary conclusions are drawn, but they lead to the

decision, for example, to add another column to the matrix to test the conclusion. In this view,

qualitative data analysis is a continuous, iterative enterprise. Issues of data condensation, display,

and conclusion drawing/verification come into play successively as analysis episodes follow

each other. Such a process is actually no more complex, conceptually speaking, than the analysis

modes quantitative researchers use. Like their qualitative colleagues, they must be preoccupied

with data condensation (calculating means, standard deviations), with display (correlation tables,

regression printouts), and with conclusion drawing/verification (significance levels,

experimental/control group differences). But their activities are carried out through well-defined,

familiar methods; are guided by canons; and are usually more sequential than iterative or

cyclical. Qualitative researchers are in a more fluid and more humanistic position.

Thus, as we’ve suggested, qualitative analysis needs to be well documented as a

process—mainly to help us learn. We need to understand more clearly just what is going on
when we analyze data, in order to reflect, refine our methods, and make them more generally

usable by others.

Statistical Treatment

Trustworthiness

To institute credibility of our study, we ensured firmness in our data collection such as

the interviews, which were directly taken from the participants and not a craft- up stories. We

preferred that all-important data were included and those irrelevant one were deleted. During our

interviews, we asked a colleague to assist me especially on taking down notes and of taking

photos and videos. In addition, we asked a reliable person who could help me analyzed the

collected data. This results to more reliable findings of this study (Suter, 2012).

To ensure more credibility of our study made sure that we performed the following as

suggested by (Polit, Beck and Hungler, 2006; Sandelowski, 1986;Streubert- Speziale, 2007) such

as having multiple sources of data, debriefing, triangulation, and repeated contacts with my

participants. Credibility concerns with the extent on how the viewpoints of the participants

correspond with the description of the researcher. Ample times to interview the participants were

facilitated with the interview questions as guide. We are quite confident to make good

representations of their viewpoints because we are also familiar on the status of being a student

and a consumer. To be sure, on the processes and interpretations of the collected data, we

employed peer debriefing to the dissertation adviser and to someone who is quite familiar on the

complexities of qualitative research. As a researchers, we are really a part of the entire research

process, reflecting our personal experiences about the phenomenon as it was discussed in the role

of the researcher (Marshall and Rossman, 2010). We conceded my personal biases on the way
we communicated our participants and on how the data were treated. To check the credibility of

the findings and interpretations, we have to go back to the participants to find out what they are

trying to convey during the interview.

Addressing confirmability or auditability of my study, we kept the audiotaped interviews,

our personal reflexibility journal or diary, transcripts, and note- takings. Confirmability or

auditability (Polit, Beck, and Hungler, 2006; Streubert-Speziale, 2007) refers to the researchers

paper- trail, decisions, methods, and documentations related to the study. We did not include our

personal viewpoints, hypothesis, and conclusions to avoid misrepresentation of data. We

refrained from putting my own biases that is why we used bracketing as one of my

methodologies. We also used triangulation and peer debriefing to guarantee that the findings of

the study have no biases and chauvinism.

However, we preferred a little about what Gephart (1988) viewed about confirmability.

To him, confirmability accords with the issue on biases and prejudices of the researcher

(Gephart, 1988) aside from the reader’s own roadway to track the data and interpretations

presented (Guba & Lincoln, 1989). The researcher can give her own biases and viewpoints on

buying basic commodities. Nonetheless, it is our full responsibility to be conscious of my our

reflections, reactions, and even a close contact to our participants (Porter, 1993; Jootun et al.,

2009). If these presumptions occur on the conduct of our study, bracketing and reflexivity are

applied. Videos, transcripts, and all other documents available were kept so that it can be

presented to an interested party who would like to look at the original sources or transcripts. On

the other hand, after the transcription of all data, we went back to my participants to confirm

with them that the data transcription is correct.

 To establish the dependability of my study, we are consistent in the collection and

analysis of data through coding-recoding system. During data reduction, we ensured that only

relevant information were included. Next, we applied peer debriefing for the triangulation of the

data collected and analyzed. Suter (2012) stressed out that to improve dependability common

qualitative strategies such as audit trail, peer debriefing, and triangulation are observed.

Dependability was guaranteed by keeping track of the data through documentation of the

research processes or methods undertaken in the data collection and analysis, the recorded

interviews, and the utilization of the exact transcripts. Copies of all transcripts and drafts were

kept intact. This is in accordance with the belief of Bond and Ramsey (2010) that researchers

should keep track of their data through wide-ranging documentation of the research processes

and methodological decision to ensure the dependability of the research findings.

To deal with transferability, we described the research context and suppositions of my

research in a possible detailed manner. We made sure that the data are thick and rich in

descriptions so that any interested person who will transfer the results of this study to another

context was held liable on the making of the transfer.

Transferability refers to the extent to which results and findings of the study can be

applied or gained in other contexts or with other participants (Byrne, 2001; Streubert- Speziale,

2007). Parts of the transcripts of the interviews that are thick and rich in details were quoted and

cited. Transferability judgment by a potential user is facilitated through thick description and

purposeful sampling. This means that participants in future studies like this will be selected

reasonably. These participants can visibly provide affluent information on the research questions

at hand. Transferability or fittingness of research findings means that findings of the study is
fitting outside the particular study and may possibly have meanings to another group or could be

applied in another context (Byrne, 2001; Streubert- Speziale, 2007).

Ethical Considerations

The main concerns of our study were individuals who are custody on the code of ethics,

they are students and in general, they are consumers. Therefore, we have to ensure their safety,

give full protection so that they will not lose their trust to the researchers. We followed ethical

standards in conducting this study as pointed by (Boyatzis, 1998; Mack et al, 2005), these are the

following: respect for persons, beneficence, justice, consent and confidentiality.

Respect for persons needs an obligation of the researcher not to exploit the weaknesses

of the research participants. Self-sufficiency was avoided in order to maintain friendship, trust,

and confidence among the participants and the researcher. Before hand, we asked permission

from the School Principal where data collection belongs to. Next, we also sought permission

from the different subject teachers of the research participants before conducting the research

(Creswell, 2012). This was done to pay respect for the individuals concerned in the study.

Consent is another most important way of showing respect to persons during research

(Creswell, 2012). This is to let all participants became aware on the purpose and objectives of the

research study that they are going to involve. Written consent was provided for them to get their

approval. After getting their nod, they have actively participated the in-depth interviews and

focus group discussions. Of course, they were informed on the results and findings of the study.

Beneficence requires a commitment of minimizing risks to the research participants

rather maximizing the profits that are due to them. Anonymity of the interviewee was kept in
order not to put each participant into risks. At all times, participants were protected, so every

files of information were not left unattended or unprotected (Bricki and Green, 2007).

Confidentiality towards the results and findings including the safeguard of the

participants, coding system were used. Meaning, the participants’ identities were hidden (Maree

and Van Der Westhuizen, 2007). As recommended by Maree and Van Der Westhuizen (2007),

all materials including videotapes, encoded transcripts, notes, and others should be destroyed

after the data were being analyzed.

Some of the informants were hesitant to be interviewed at first because they were afraid

what to say but because of my reassurance to them in regards to the confidentiality of their

responses, they later gave me the chance and showed comfort in answering the interview

questions. We are extra careful with our questions and due respect was given importance to this

study.

Justice requires a reasonable allocation of the risks and benefits as results of the research.

It is very important to acknowledge the contributions of all the participants as they generally part

of the success of the research. They must be given due credits in all their endeavors (Bloom and

Crabtree, 2006). They were not able to spend any amount during the interview. Sensible tokens

were given to them as a sign of recognition to their efforts on the study. We are hoping that

through this study, they will be set free into whatever negative experiences they had as they

teach non-readers and maintain a good name into what positive contributions they could offer in

this study.
The Academic Performance of Foreign Students Acquiring Cebuano as Second Language
in University of Mindanao