Republic of the Philippines

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Region I
SCHOOLS DIVISION OFFICE URDANETA CITY
PEDRO T. ORATA NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
Urdaneta City, Pangasinan

AN ACTION RESEARCH

IMPROVING THE ORAL READING SKILLS OF GRADE 12 STRUGGLING

READERS USING DIGITAL COLLABORATIVE READING APPROACH

By:

ANDREI V. BATALLA
Teacher II
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This endeavor has come to its fruition all because of the following who have

motivated, directed, strengthened, and supported the researcher.

God, who is the source of life, wisdom, and everything under heaven and earth seen

and unseen;

Madam Gloria R. Torres, Schools Division Superintendent, for steering the

Urdaneta City Division closer to the fulfillment of its vision and mission;

Madam Desiree C. Hidalgo, CID Chief, for her tireless commitment to continued

growth in education;

Dr. Mario E. Campilla, SGOD Chief, whom he has always looked up to for his

humility, intellect, wit and beauty inside and out, for always encouraging him, for never

letting him down at any point during the trying times of this journey, and for strengthening

and sustaining him with lots of love and inspiration;

Madam Gemma B. Prestoza, Pedro T. Orata National High School Principal, whom

he has grown not to admire but also to love as a person, for simply being there and for the

guidance and support, both intellectually and emotionally;

Grade 12 Zircon and Pearl, the respondents of this study, for the time and patience

in participating in the conduct of this action research;

All the faculty and staff of Pedro T. Orata National High School for their

professional leadership, selfless consideration, continued guidance and for all the help

extended during the discourse of this research;

Finally, the Urdaneta City Division for its commitment to make a difference in

transforming the nation’s future today.

 IMPROVING THE ORAL READING SKILLS OF GRADE 12 STRUGGLING
READERS USING DIGITAL COLLABORATIVE READING APPROACH
Andrei Batalla

ABSTRACT

This action research sought to determine the effectiveness of Digital Collaborative

Reading Approach (DCRA) as a remedial approach in improving the oral reading

performance of the Grade 12 Struggling Readers of Pedro T. Orata National High School

(PTONHS) for school year 2018-2019. Further, DCRA focused on the improvement of the

oral reading skills of the Senior High School students with emphasis to pronunciation.

The level of oral reading skills of the Grade-12 Struggling Readers before the

implementation of DCRA ranges from Developing (46.9%) Approaching Proficiency

(37.5%), Beginning (12.5%) and Proficient (3.1%). After the implementation of DCRA,

the level of oral reading skills of the students ranges from Advanced (50.0), Proficient

(46.9) and Developing (3.1). Thus, there is a significant difference (.013) in the pupils’

level of oral reading skills before and after the implementation of Digital Collaborative

Reading Approach.

To tackle the issue of reading efficiency, especially pronunciation, the investigator

was led to initiate a strategy using Digital Collaborative Reading Approach that

concentrated on improving senior high school students ' oral reading abilities in

pronunciation.

In addition, this is a type of speech synthesis that transforms written materials into

voice output. Originally, this was created for helping people with visual impairment by

providing computer-generated spoken voice that would effectively read the text to
customers, but as time went by many people have acknowledged that Natural Reader has

one of the greatest pronunciation performances compared to other programs with the same

facilities. That's why the investigator was encouraged to use this program among others on

the internet.

The students of Pedro T. Orata National High School are encouraged to read

various materials in English such as newspapers, magazines, textbooks, online reading

materials and any available English reading materials in order for them to improve their

oral reading skills. Language teachers are also stimulated to continue with the

implementation of the Digital Collaborative Approach to improve the oral reading skills of

the High School Students of Pedro. T. Orata National High School. Schools Division

Office of Urdaneta City is encouraged to create a learning material that could be directly

related with the DCRA which will be composed of standard reading materials of High

School students.
 IMPROVING THE ORAL READING SKILLS OF GRADE 12 STRUGGLING
READERS USING DIGITAL COLLABORATIVE READING APPROACH

I. CONTEXT AND RATIONALE

English is the language of education. As the world becomes one global community

due to modern technology, the prerequisite to utilize the English language has become

more complex. Today, Filipino Senior High School learners communicate with other

people of different races often and fast, compared to what high school learners have

practiced before. One needs to clearly speak in English to be understood by people from

other countries. In fact, it is widely used in education, especially in the Senior High School

curriculum of the Department of Education.

Further, English is learned and studied in the modern world for its two importance,

a means to communicate up to the international level and a means to create a greater

opportunity for a job which also serve as the goals of the Kto12 Program in the Philippines.

At the same time, acceptable pronunciation is one of the key characteristics of a

fluent speaker, since speech, which is grammatically accurate but full of pronunciation

errors, is likely to be unintelligible for listeners (Gil et al., 2016). As Burns (2003)

concedes, despite minor inaccuracies in vocabulary and grammar, learners are more likely

to communicate effectively when they have good pronunciation and intonation.

On the other hand, with the emerging trend in Information and Communication

Technology (ICT) education, the Department of Education is addressing technology gaps

among teachers and learners. DepEd's Bureau of Curriculum Development, Director

Andaya, said in a speech during the Education Summit last December 5, 2017 that closing
technological gaps in ICT is the first step to enhancing the quality of education in the

Philippines (Santisiban, 2017).

Nowadays, people are also adept in helping people with disabilities which caused

the creation of text-to-speech programs which are already at hand. This type of program

offers audio features which can be easily accessed by both teachers and learners wherein

the texts that will be read by the learners will be posted on the program and the learners

can read along with the program. Some programs have other accessibility features which

tends to benefit the learners.

With that being said, it is already anticipated that Grade 12 – Zircon and Pearl

learners of Pedro T. Orata National High Schools are able to pronounce words correctly,

or utmost near to perfection as they have already taken English subjects beforehand. But

from the results of the the Secondary Pre-Oral Reading Report, which was concluded on

June 2017, 6 out of the 48 Grade 12 learners are Beginning Readers 32 or 66.66 percent

belong to the Developing Category.

The alarming information above prompted the researchers, who also serve as the

English teachers of the Pedro T. Orata Senior High School learners, to conduct proper

action research using Digital Collaborative Reading Approach as remediation in the oral

reading difficulties in terms of pronunciation of the Grade 12 Struggling Readers for

School Year 2017-2018.

II. ACTION RESEARCH QUESTIONS

This action research sought to determine the effectiveness of Digital Collaborative

Reading Approach in the Oral Reading Performance of the Grade 12 Struggling Readers.
 Specifically, this study sought to answer the following:

1. What is the level of performance of the Grade 12 Struggling Readers in Oral

Reading in terms of Pronunciation before using the Digital Collaborative

Reading Approach?

2. What is the level of reading performance of the Grade 12 Struggling Readers in

Oral Reading, particularly in Pronunciation, after using Digital Collaborative

Reading Approach?

3. Is there any significant difference in the level of performance of the Grade 12

Struggling Readers in Oral Reading particularly in Pronunciation before and

after using the Digital Collaborative Reading Approach?

RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

There is a significant difference in the level of performance of the Grade 12

Struggling Readers in Oral Reading before and after using the Digital Collaborative

Reading Approach.

III. PROPOSED INNOVATION, INTERVENTION AND STRATEGY

This action research focused on improving the oral reading performance of the

Grade 12 Struggling Readers of Pedro T. Orata National High School for the SY 2018-

2019. It further determined the effectiveness of Digital Collaborative Reading Approach

in improving the oral reading performance, particularly in pronunciation, of Grade 12

struggling readers.
 To address the problem on level of reading performance, particularly on

pronunciation, the researcher was prompted to initiate an approach using digital

collaborative learning which focused on the improvement of the oral reading skills of the

Senior High School learners with regards to pronunciation. The researcher utilized Natural

Reader which is a text to speech program with voices that can read any text that will be

loaded in it. Further, this is a form of speech synthesis that converts written materials into

spoken voice output. Originally, this was developed for aid visually-impaired individuals

by offering computer-generated spoken voice that would actually read the text to the users

but as time passed by many people have recognized that Natural Reader has one of the best

performances in pronunciation as compared to other programs with the same services. This

was the reason why the researcher was prompted to use this program among others present

in the internet.

This approach is anchored on mimicry which teaches language learners the sound

system of their new language. The aim of this approach is to teach “by ear” in order for the

students to learn a language, so you can improve their pronunciation and accent, and sound

more like a native speaker.

In this case, the learners had the chance to learn correct pronunciation by engaging

to series of activities that were provided by the researchers and the digital collaborative

reading program. This approach may provide multiple opportunities for learners to improve

their skills in oral reading which is focused on pronunciation.

IV. ACTION RESEARCH METHODS
This part briefly presents the methods and procedures that were undertaken in the

conduct of this action research. It dealt with the participants, gathering methods and the

data analysis plan which were utilized in conducting this action research.

a. PARTICIPANTS
The participants of this study were 32 Grade 12 SHS learners of Pedro T.

Orata National High School which were considered under Beginning and

Developing stages. Further, the sample for this action research were taken from

both sections, Zircon and Pearl, for SY 2018-2019.

DATA GATHERING METHODS

The 32 Grade 12 Senior High School Struggling Readers were tested using

the Secondary Pre-Oral Reading Consolidation. The preparation of

instructional materials was given every day starting October 15, 2018. The

learners underwent the weekly assessment using the digital collaborative

reading program every day at 4:00 – 4:30 pm in order for the struggling readers

to improve their oral reading skills with focus on pronunciation. To check

whether the pronunciation skills of the learners have improved or not, the

researchers conducted pre- and post-assessments on every reading material.

Once the remediation is over, the researchers then evaluated and analyzed the

data that were gathered. The final presentation, analysis and interpretation of

data, summary, conclusions and recommendations were completed and were

submitted on March 15, 2019. The action research was conducted for five

months, October 15, 2018 until March 11, 2019.

 b. DATA ANALYSIS PLAN

The current action research exclusively relied on the results of the pre- and

post- assessments that were composed during the conduct of this study.

Descriptive-comparative method was utilized in this research to find out if the

oral reading skills of the struggling readers have improved or not. The data

gathered were tabulated, evaluated and analyzed using frequency and

percentages to determine the improvement of the learners after the remediation

using digital collaborative reading has been concluded.

V. ACTION RESEARCH WORKPLAN AND TIMELINESS

Plan of Action
a. OBJECTIVES

 To improve the oral reading skills in pronunciation of the 32 Grade 12

Struggling using Digital Collaborative Reading Approach.

 This action research was conducted for five (5) months during SY 2018-

2019. The remedial reading program using Digital Collaborative Reading

Approach was conducted from September 15, 2018 until October 11, 2018 on

a daily basis at 4:00 to 4:30 in the afternoon.

b. ACTIVITIES TO BE UNDERTAKEN

To address the stated problem on the oral reading skills with focus on

pronunciation among Grade 12 Struggling Readers, the following course of

activities were carried out:

 1. Embolden remediation in reading using Digital Collaborative Reading

Approach to improve the oral reading skills in pronunciation of Grade

12 learners.

2. Strengthen this current action research by asking permission from the

School Principal through a request letter for the utilization of chosen

Grade 12 students during the implementation of this action research.

3. Recognize students according to their level of reading: beginning,

developing, approaching proficiency, proficient and advanced.

4. Carry out the remediation program using digital collaborative program

to improve the oral reading skills of the Grade 12 struggling readers.

5. Evaluate pre- and post- assessments as a guide in carrying out the

necessary remedial activities in reading.

6. Include information and communications technology in the conduct of

this research study.

7. Generate a learning approach which is engaging, effective and befitting

to the learners.

8. Pursue strictly the schedule of activities in the implementation of this

action research.

c. TIME TABLE

The remedial reading program was administered on a daily basis at 4:00 to

4:30 in the afternoon. The following course of activities, presented on the next

page, were properly executed during the implementation of the remedial

reading program:
 ACTIVITIES TIME FRAME
1. Administer Secondary Pre-Oral
Reading Consolidation June 15, 2018
 Pre-reading test
2. Conference with the School Head,
Principal, Senior High School February 2, 2019
Coordinator and Teachers
3. Meet with the students concern February 4, 2019
4. Prepare instructional materials February 5-13, 2019
5. Conduct remedial reading to
October 15, 2018
struggling readers in Grade 12 –
March 8, 2019
Zircon and Pearl
6. Conduct of Post-reading
Assessment by School Head/Head March 11, 2019
Teacher
7. Evaluate the result of the study by
the Public Schools District
March 12, 2019
Supervisor, School Head and
Head Teacher
8. Complete Action Research March 13, 2019
9. Submission of completed Action
Research to the focal person of March 15, 2019
the Division Research Committee

d. EVALUATION CRITERIA

By the end of March 2019, 75.0 percent of the Grade 12 Struggling Readers

improve to Approaching Proficient level. Further, the learners are also

expected to pronounce words appropriate for their grade level correctly.

VI. COST ESMITATES

The table below shows the anticipated expenditures for the conduct of this study.

Funding was solely be shouldered by the researcher.

PARTICULARS QUANTITY ESTIMATES (Php)

Short bond paper 3 reams 600.00
Ink (Black) 2 pieces 600.00
TOTAL 1,200.00
VII. PLANS FOR DISSEMINATION AND UTILIZATION

On the basis of the findings that were obtained through the analysis of data

gathered, the following are the plans for dissemination and utilization:

1. Inform the school head about the findings of the action research and for the

dissemination of the result among teachers in school level, cluster level, and in the

division level.

2. Present the result to co-teachers, to Public Schools District Supervisor, to

the Chief of the School Governance Operations Division and or to the Chief of the

Curriculum Implementations Division.

VIII. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The data presented below indicate the level of performance of the Grade 12

Struggling Readers in Oral Reading in terms of Pronunciation before and after the

utilization of the Digital Collaborative Reading Approach.

Moreover, the table below signifies the level of performance of the Grade 12

Struggling Readers of Pedro T. Orata National High School before the implementation of

Digital Collaborative Reading Approach.

Table 1

Level of Oral Reading Performance of the Students’

Prior the Use of Digital Collaborative Reading Approach

Oral Reading Frequency Percentage

Performance
Beginning 4 12.5
Developing 15 46.9
Approaching Proficiency 12 37.5
Proficient 1 3.1
Advanced 0 0.0
Total 32 100.0
Source: Pre-test
 The table above signifies the level of reading performance of the Grade 12
Struggling readers prior the implementation of Digital Collaborative Reading Approach.
The table also shows that 15 or 46.9 percent of the students fall under the Developing
level, while 12 or 37.5 were rated under Approaching Proficiency level, 4 or 12.15
percent were deemed under Beginning level and 1 or 3.1 percent fell under Proficient
level.
Overall, the table specifies that most of the Grade-12 Struggling Readers of Pedro

Orata National High School belong to the Developing Level.

The low number in terms of Proficient and Advanced levels could be credited

minimal interest in learning, minimal supervision or follow-up at home and remedial

activities, teaching skills and teaching styles of teacher which could greatly affect the level

of the pupils in oral reading.

The table below explicates the level of performance of the Grade 12 Struggling

Readers of Pedro T. Orata National High School after the implementation of Digital

Collaborative Reading Approach.

Table 2

Level of Oral Reading Performance of the Students’

After the Use of Digital Collaborative Reading Approach

Oral Reading Frequency Percentage

Performance
Beginning 0 0.0
Developing 1 3.1
Approaching 0 0.0
Proficiency
Proficient 15 46.9
Advanced 16 50.0
Total 32 100.0
Source: Post-test

The table above elucidates the level of oral reading performance of the students

after the implementation of the Digital Collaborative Approach. Moreover, 16 or 50.0

percent were graded under the Advanced Level, 15 or 46.9 percent fell under the Proficient

Level, and 1 or 3.1 percent fell under the Developing level.

Largely, most of the students were rated Advanced after the implementation of the

approach utilized in this study.

The increase in the number of pupils who have improved in their oral reading skills

could be attributed to the utilization of Digital Reading Collaboration Approach conducted

every afternoon, during the conduct of this action research.

The table below indicates the level of correlation in terms of the students’

improvement in oral reading skills.

Table 3

Significant Improvement in The Students’ Oral Reading Skills

Correlation Significance

Oral Reading Skills -.433 .013*

*Correlation is significant at 0.05 level.

The table above reveals that the correlation between the pre- and post- assessments

of the Grade-12 Struggling Readers is as -.33 and a significance of .013 in the oral reading

skills of the students which indicates that there is a significant effect.

Therefore, it can also be noted that there is a significant improvement of the oral

reading skills of Grade-12 students of Pedro T. Orata National High School before and

after using the Digital Collaborative Reading Approach.

Additionally, the evaluation criteria set in forth in this action research is also

accepted as more than 75 percent of the Grade-12 Struggling Readers have improved in
terms of their oral reading skills due to the implementation of the Digital Collaborative

Reading Approach.

IX. Conclusion

Based on the merits of the findings, the following conclusion are drawn:

1. The level of oral reading skills of the Grade-12 Struggling Readers before the

implementation of Digital Collaborative Reading Approach ranges from

Developing (46.9) Approaching Proficiency (37.5), Beginning (12.50) and

Proficient (3.1).

2. The oral reading skills level of the students after the implementation of Digital

Collaborative Reading Approach ranges from Advanced (50.0), Proficient (46.9)

and Developing (3.1).

3. There is a significant improvement in the pupils’ level of oral reading skills before

and after the implementation of Collaborative Reading Approach.

X. RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the conclusions drawn from the significant findings and conclusions of

the study, the following recommendations are offered:

1. The students of Pedro T. Orata National High School are invigorated to read various

materials in English such as newspapers, magazines, textbooks, online reading

materials and any available English reading materials in order for them to improve

their oral reading skills, specifically in pronunciation.

 2. Language teachers are also stimulated to continue with the implementation of the

Digital Collaborative Approach to improve the oral reading skills of the High

School Students of Pedro. T. Orata National High School.

3. Schools Division Office of Urdaneta City is encouraged to create a learning

material that could be directly related with the Digital Collaborative Reading

Approach which will be composed of standard reading materials of High School

students.

IX. REFERENCES

Burns, A. (2003). Clearly speaking: pronunciation in action for teachers. National Center
for English Language Teaching and Research – 01 (04).

Chioran, Alina (2017). Why is collaborative learning important? Retrieved from:

https://www.nuiteq.com/company/blog/why-is-collaborative-learning-important.

Gil, Irene R., Larios, Julio R., & Balibrea, Yvette C. (2016). The Effect of Repeated
Reading on the Pronunciation of Young EFL Learners. Porta Linguarium – 07 (19).

Santisiban, Bong A. (2017). ICT Education should bridge tech gaps between teacher,
student. Rappler. Retrieved from: https://www.rappler.com/move-ph/190657-ict-
education-bridge-technology-gaps-teacher-student-deped.
 APPENDIX A
ORAL READING REPORT (PRE-TEST)

Republic of the Philippines

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Region I
SCHOOLS DIVISION OFFICE URDANETA CITY
PEDRO T. ORATA NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
Urdaneta City, Pangasinan

Oral Reading Report (Pre-Test)

Grade 12 Struggling Readers
S.Y. 2018 – 2019

Student Evaluation
Male
Student 1 1
Student 2 2
Student 3 2
Student 4 2
Student 5 3
Student 6 2
Student 7 3
Student 8 2
Student 9 3
Student 10 2
Student 11 3
Student 12 3
Student 13 2
Student 14 4
Student 15 2
Student 16 3
Student 17 1
Student 18 2
Student 19 3
Student 20 2

FEMALE
Student 1 3
Student 2 2
Student 3 3
Student 4 3
Student 5 2
Student 6 1
Student 7 2
Student 8 3
Student 9 2
 Student 10 3
Student 11 2
Student 12 1
Legend: 1 – Beginning, 2 Developing, 3 – Approaching, 4 – Proficient, 5 - Advanced
 APPENDIX B
ORAL READING REPORT (POST-TEST)

Republic of the Philippines

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Region I
SCHOOLS DIVISION OFFICE URDANETA CITY
PEDRO T. ORATA NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
Urdaneta City, Pangasinan

Oral Reading Report (Post-Test)

Grade 12 Struggling Readers
S.Y. 2018 – 2019

Student Evaluation
Male
Student 1 4
Student 2 4
Student 3 4
Student 4 5
Student 5 5
Student 6 5
Student 7 4
Student 8 5
Student 9 4
Student 10 5
Student 11 4
Student 12 5
Student 13 4
Student 14 5
Student 15 4
Student 16 5
Student 17 5
Student 18 4
Student 19 5
Student 20 4

FEMALE
Student 1 5
Student 2 4
Student 3 5
Student 4 4
Student 5 5
Student 6 2
Student 7 5
Student 8 5
Student 9 4
 Student 10 5
Student 11 4
Student 12 4
Legend: 1 – Beginning, 2 Developing, 3 – Approaching, 4 – Proficient, 5 - Advanced
 APPENDIX C
T-TEST SAMPLE CORRELATIONS

Paired Samples Correlations

N Correlation Sig.
Reading Performance (Pre-, Post-Test) 32 .433 .013
 APPENDIX D
SAMPLE ACTIVITY
APPENDIX E
PICTORIALS
ANDREI VISTA BATALLA
#5 Provincial Road, Bayaoas
Urdaneta City, Pangasinan, Philippines
Contact Number: +63 956 433 6601
E-mail Address: vistadrewx1@yahoo.com

Personal Information

Age : 29
Date of Birth : May 17, 1990
Place of Birth : Urdaneta City, Pangasinan, Philippines
Sex : Male
Citizenship : Filipino
Religion : Lutheran

Educational Attainment

Graduate Level DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

Major in Educational Management
School of Advanced Studies
Urdaneta City, Pangasinan
On-going

Graduate Level MASTER OF ARTS IN EDUCATION

Major in Communication Arts-English
Pangasinan State University
School of Advanced Studies
Urdaneta City, Pangasinan
Date Graduated: May 12, 2016

Tertiary Level BACHELOR OF ARTS IN COMMUNICATION

Saint Louis University
Lower Bonifacio Road, Baguio City
School Year: 2006-2010
Date Graduated: April 17, 2010

Secondary Level Divine Word College of Urdaneta

Urdaneta City, Pangasinan
School Year: 2002-2006
Date Graduated: April 2006

Primary Level Saint Francis of Urdaneta, Inc. Montessori School

Urdaneta City, Pangasinan
School Year: 1997-2002
Date Graduated: April 2002