CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

The importance of vocabulary knowledge is enabling individuals to hold authentic

and native-like conversations is self-evident. Yet vocabulary is not limited to a set of

words whose meanings are always identifiable from a cursory surface glance. The

English language is rich in idiomatic expressions and native speakers use daily a

diverse set of vocabulary items which do not have literal meanings (Brenner,2013).

The term “idiomatic” can be defined in many ways. It means everything that is

vernacular to the language but in present studies, Thornbury’s definition for idiomatic

expressions is used. According to him, in idiomatic expressions, the meaning of the

whole is not transparent from its parts. Idiomaticity is an essential part of the language.

English is a highly idiomatic language in which idioms and other idiomatic expressions

are used constantly. Idiomaticity makes the language vivid and it is strongly related to

the culture of the language speakers. There are a vast number of idiomatic expressions

unique to each language but also idiomatic expressions that are similar in many

languages exist. This similarity can be caused by, for example, language transfer or the

universal idea behind the expression (Onjukka, 2011).

The importance of idiomatic expressions is now of high state since it has became

a trend and a very essential component of language because in this generation, taking

the statements the figurative manner is very much effective for learners to enhance their

1
critical thinking skills which is vital for a student to excel and survive every subject

taught in a day-to-day class session.

Topics that have interested the researchers include the idiomatic competence

and the level of familiarity of students nowadays in the concept of idiomatic expressions

of students both from public and private schools. Most researchers about idiomaticity

has been done abroad but especially young researchers seem to be interested in the

topic of idiomaticity in the Philippines as well. Yet so far, there has not been a study

about the proficiency in idiomatic expressions using a comparative approach between

public and private schools, which is a big gap in research due to the importance of the

productive skills to the language users.

This particular study intends to fill this gap by analyzing the use and level of

understanding of students in the idea of idiomatic expressions in selected public and

private schools located at the Leyte division. The aim is to calculate their students’ level

of familiarity and understanding this subject matter since the main focus of the

researchers here is to find out if there is a significant difference between public and

private schools’ Junior High School students in terms of idiomatic proficiency

2
Conceptual Framework

Significant
Public Schools’ JHS Difference Private Schools’ JHS
Students’ Idiomatic Students’ Idiomatic
Proficiency Proficiency

The figure above shows the focus of this study.

Since the title of this paper is Comparative Analysis Between Public and Private

Schools’ JHS students’ idiomatic Proficiency, the researchers have focused on

analyzing the idiomatic competence of students coming from both public and private

schools and then compare the two variables to know whether or not there is a

significant difference between public and private schools’ JHS students in terms of

idiomatic proficiency.

Statement of the Problem

This research paper intends to find the significant difference on the proficiency of

public and private schools’ Junior High students in the use of idiomatic expressions.

Specifically, this aims the answer the following questions:

1. How proficient public schools’ JHS students are in the use and understanding

of idiomatic expressions?

2. How proficient private schools’ JHS students are in the use and

understanding of idiomatic expressions?

3
 3. Is there a significant difference between public and private schools’ Junior

High school students’ idiomatic proficiency?

H0: There is no significant difference between the public and private schools’

Junior High School students in terms of idiomatic proficiency.

H1: There is a significant difference between the public and private schools’

Junior High School students in terms of idiomatic proficiency.

Significance of the Study

This research paper is very much important in order to spread knowledge about

the significant difference between public and private schools in terms of idiomatic

proficiency. Specifically, this will be beneficial to:

Students. This study will make them understand the importance of being

proficient in the use of idiomatic expressions and they will have a hint as to what kind of

school (public or private) does produce a more adept students when it comes to their

idiomatic knowledge.

Teachers. This will serve as an enlightenment to teachers as to how significant

their ways of teachings are in order to make their students highly capable in

understanding and interpreting idiomatic expressions.

School Administrators. The findings of this study will serve as a wake-up call to

them that studying idiomatic expressions is not worth-neglecting for the level of

familiarity of students will reflect to the quality of education they render.

4
 Parents. This research will be a big help to parents for this will make them aware

of the idiomatic competence of Junior High School students from public and private

schools which is conducive if ever they decide to enroll their children to a secondary

school whom they want to become idiomatically proficient.

Researchers. Through this research study, the researchers will be able to find-

out the significant difference between the public and private schools in terms of

idiomatic proficiency. The fulfillment of this study will also serve as the key for the

researchers to pass the subject, Practical Research II. Thus, allowing them to move up

to the tertiary level of education on the next school year.

Future Researchers. The contents of this study is a great help to the future

researchers because this paper could serve as their guide if ever they decide to conduct

the same or kind of related studies. This could also their source of information in

providing evidences about their research topics especially when they work on the

Review of Related Literature of their future research paper.

Scope and Limitation

This research study has given emphasis on finding the significant difference

between public and private school students’ proficiency in the use of idiomatic

expressions. The contents of this paper also includes the level of familiarity of students

on the concept and importance of idiomatic expressions. Moreover, the researchers

have gathered data from four different schools located at the three municipalities of

Leyte. Twenty respondents were taken from each school in order to accumulate a total

of 80 research respondents for this study.

5
Definition of Terms

In order for the readers to clearly understand the contents of this paper, the

following terms are defined below:

Familiarity. It means having thorough knowledge and understanding of something

(Microsoft Encarta, 2009.)

It is defined in this study as the state of knowing idiomatic expressions very

well.

Idiom. It is a group of words that has a special meaning that is different from the

ordinary meaning of each separate word (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary

English,2012).

It is used in this study as basis of comparing the Junior high school students’

competence in understanding a group of words whose overall meaning cannot be

predicted from the meanings of its constituent parts.

Idiomatic Expression. It is an expression whose meanings cannot be inferred from the

meanings of the words that make it up. (Vocabulary.com,2017)

This is the subject of this study which cannot be interpreted

literally.

Idiomatic Competence. This is the ability to understand and use idioms appropriately

and accurately (Liontas,2009)

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 In this study, this means the ability of secondary school

students in Leyte to understand and use idiomatic expressions appropriately and

accurately

Idiomaticity. The quality of being idiomatic (Liontas,2009)

This is explained in this study as the state of being idiomatic of Junior

High School students in Leyte whom are the target respondents of this study.

Proficiency. It is the advancement in knowledge or skill for something (Merriam-

Webster Dictionary,2019)

This is inferred in this study as the advancement of knowledge in idiomatic

expressions of secondary school students in Leyte.

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 Chapter II

Review of Related Literature

It is a well-known fact that the English language is very idiomatic. The idiomaticity

can be heard for example in the daily communication, in which a great variety of

idiomatic expressions are used. What is meant by the term idiomatic expression is that

the meaning of the whole is transparent from the parts Thornbury (2012). Even though

he defines an idiomatic expression as a “whole”, both multiword items and single words

can be idiomatic. Furthermore, almost all types of expressions can be idiomatic and the

context plays an important role in defining idiomaticity.

The importance of vocabulary knowledge in enabling individuals to hold authentic

and native-like conversations is self-evident. Yet vocabulary is not limited to a set of

words whose meanings are always identifiable from a cursory surface glance. The

English language is rich in idioms and native speakers use daily a diverse set of

vocabulary items which do not have a literal meaning (Brenner, 2013). By all accounts,

idioms appear to have meanings that are largely rooted in a nation’s deep culture. Non-

native speakers of English have difficulties understanding such idioms, especially if they

do not possess the necessary vocabulary knowledge commonly associated with such

lexical items. Lack of knowledge of idioms may even harm relationships if

8
communications break down (e.g., Alhaysony, 2017) and prevent successful

intercultural competence. One of the defining characteristics of native proficiency in a

given language, according to Cowie and Mackin (1975), is idiomatic competence.

Cooper (2010) maintains that since idiomatic expressions are so frequently encountered

in both spoken and written discourse, they require special attention in language

programs and should not be relegated to a position of secondary importance in the

curriculum” (p. 259). Similarly, Moreno (2011) claims that since idioms are an integral

aspect of verbal communication, and since they pave the way for effective

communication, they should receive due attention in teaching.O’Dell and McCarthy

(2010) claim that learners who want to read English fiction, newspaper, or magazines,

or understand TV shows, films, and songs need to understand a large number of

idioms. As far as production is concerned, using idioms contributes to more efficient and

effective communication, since there are times when a very short, perhaps three-word

idiomatic expression may replace a 15-word complete phrase (for example, a hot potato

stands for ‘an issue, mostly current, which many people are talking about and which is

usually disputed’.). Indeed, native speakers often use the abbreviated form of an idiom

like ‘the grass is always greener’ rather than ‘the grass is always greener on the other

side of the fence’ to refer to the full meaning in a more economical manner (Boerger,

2005).

In addition, idioms are arguably more interesting and memorable than many

other aspects of language since they have variety and humor in themselves. This can

easily be observed among learners who are eager to express their delight in uncovering

the meaning of an idiom in both the foreign language and their mother tongue.

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Understandably, this feeling of joy could even heighten their motivation and love-of-

learning for the target language. There are claims that teaching and learning idioms has

proved to be problematic (e.g., Chen & Lai, 2013) and counterclaims against this (such

as Liontas 2002a, 2006, 2015b) is that despite research findings that using idioms in

spoken and written discourse is a significant indicator of high English language

proficiency (e.g., Liu, 2008; Shirazi & Talebinezhad, 2013; Wray, 2002) English as a

foreign language (EFL) learners may show low motivation for idiom learning if idioms

are not taught in their classrooms. To be sure, teachers may have difficulty in motivating

students to pick up (or use) idioms beyond the classroom context (Al-Kadi, 2015)

because the chance for such extension may seem almost non-existent. As a result,

students may not even try to understand what an idiom might convey if they are not

afforded opportunities to see idioms enacted in real life. Despite Liontas’ (2017)

argument that we need to focus on idioms.

There were several studies that were conducted as to how important the

idiomatic competence is to students of this generation, just like those of Martin C.

Enjoroge (2016) in his research in Kenya entitled, Teaching of English Idioms:

Difficulties and Effective Strategy. This particular study investigated the teaching of

idioms in ESL contexts, specifically identifying the challenges faced in the teaching of

English idioms and based on these challenges, recommends appropriate strategies for

the teaching of English idioms in Kenyan Secondary schools. The findings reveal that

idioms are an important part of English teaching and learning. The paper also notes that

it is possible to infer semantic relations between the literal sense of individual parts of

an idiom and its meaning when interpreting compositional idioms. Further, the paper

1
0
points out that the strategy of delving into the etymology of English idioms is one of the

most effective teaching strategies and especially so when idioms exhibit incongruity

between form and meaning. The research also notes that there is paucity of literature

on idioms, teachers are apathetic to the teaching of idioms, opaque idioms are difficult

to comprehend and grammatical errors bedevil most learners’ books. Despite these

challenges, it is the recommendation of this paper that idioms should be taught

effectively in schools because the acquisition of these idioms by learners will be

important indicators of their mastery of the English language.

Another study conducted on 2010 entitled: The Advantages and Importance of

Learning and Using Idioms in English Learning and Using Idioms in English by Eliana

Edith Roberto De Caro insists that the use of specific idioms can be included in the

syllabus as a useful strategy to help the learner improve their communicative skill. For

example, a particular language component is a way to help student understand the

native English speakers, movies, songs and increase their lexicon, because when

students know how to use idioms, they feel better and they can trust on themselves

since they are able to understand what English speakers want to express by using

idioms. On the one hand, the outcome of her small scale project/research sates that

idiomatic efficiency was useful because it allowed students to practice communicative

skill connected with idioms, including grammar, vocabulary and collocation. Also, this

study helped students to go deeper on the use of specific idioms, their definitions, the

several kinds of expression, and features of a foreign language. On the other hand, lack

of idiomatic knowledge has an academic impact on the learners' overall performance. It

is necessary for teachers and students to deal with idioms in a suitable environment,

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1
where issues such as idiom definition or teaching methodology are solved; in this way,

the teaching learning process of English as well as students and teachers will receive

advantages related to the development of communicative skill.

Correspondingly, one more study conducted on Vietnam in the year 2013 by

Huong Quynh Tran, which is the Figurative Idiomatic Competence: An Analysis of EFL

Learners, explores the figurative idiomatic competence of language learners and their

perceptions of idiom learning in an EFL context. As a descriptive statistics case study, it

investigates the students' knowledge of 50 idioms collected from the lists of frequently

used idioms by Grant (2007) and Liu (2003) and from two common idiom textbooks.

The findings show the students’ poor idiomatic competence, especially their very limited

knowledge of the frequently used idioms. The analysis uncovers the paradox between

the students’ situation of using and learning idioms and their desires to learn. The study

argues that figurative idiomatic competence should receive adequate attention in the

learning process. Figurative idioms should be inclusively taught with the skills of

negotiation of meaning. Also, learners should be exposed to a variety of idioms which

are not only from traditional English-speaking countries but also from the countries of

the outer- and expanding-circle contexts. The study additionally argues that figurative

idioms should be inclusively taught with the skills of negotiation of meaning as a new

pedagogical method for teaching figurative idioms. Language users may need

negotiation skills to facilitate communication in English as a lingua franca to negotiate

global and local norms (Canagarajah, 2006; McKay, 2010), especially when

communication breakdown occurs. These skills of negotiation of meaning are

1
2
apparently useful for language learners when they have to deal with figurative idioms,

which contain typical cultural values. It thus concludes that the idiomatic competence of

a particular country could resonate how good their communication and critical thinking

skills are.

Moreover, comparative studies on the efficiency between the public and private

schools were then hereby conducted just like one of Tuomo Kuivalainen (2017) entitled,

Comparative Education Systems: Student Performance & Private and Public Funding,

Management and Schools – A Case Study of Finland and Sweden. In this thesis, the

cases of Finland and Sweden which highlights a most similar cases study, examined

the relation between variables representing public and private provision of education

and student performance through the method of multi-level analysis. Making a definitive

statement about the results would not be justified according to the researcher himself,

but some cautious theoretical assumptions on the mechanisms can be made. There are

at least two alternatives which can be discussed: either the private schools have

managed to attract resources and students, leaving the public sector with lower-

performing students, which contributes to the gap between private and public school

student performance. As the student level variables are statistically significant in every

case, with all the p-values <0.01, this seems to suggest that student features have more

pronounced of an impact than the school. From this follows the assumption that a

school would have incentives to select students in some manner; students who bring in

more resources than they use. It was concluded that Student level factors have a

statistically significant result, and as previous literature suggests, the effects of socio-

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3
economic factors, immigration status and gender play a part in student performance.

The student level variables are more statistically significant than the school level

variables, so student features can be seen to affect the student attainment more than

the institutional features, so the schools can have an incentive to choose students.

From an article, Public vs. Private School written by Grace Chen (2007), it was

inferred that there are several factors that come into play in comparing these two

elements: the Academic reputation and college preparation; School size and Class size;

Safety reputation; Special programs; Costs; Religious and Moral instruction; Location

and Ideology. Right after investigating such factors, she concluded that there is no

overall right or wrong answer regarding whether private or public school education is

best for children today and just recommended that the best thing to do when making

this decision is to consider the factors and weigh which ones are important to the

decision maker himself/herself simply because the outcome of her study found no

exemplary difference in general since each factor based on her findings has gone with

and against each sector that completely pointing out what is best from these institutions

is not yet necessary.

But on the thesis, The Effectiveness of Public and Private Schools from a

Comparative Perspective by Jaap Dronkers and Peter Robert (2013) shows clearly that

private government-dependent schools are more effective than comparable public

schools with the same students, parents and social composition. The main explanation

of this higher effectiveness is the better school climate in the former, in comparison to

the latter. The different learning and teaching conditions in private government-

dependent and public schools do not explain differences in the effectiveness. This does
1
4
not mean that private government-dependent schools do not have a more favorable

social composition, and that this does explain fully the higher educational outcomes of

their students. Rather, it only means that next to students, parents and social

composition, the more favorable school climate do provide the full explanation of the

higher educational outcomes of students from private government dependent schools,

both in comparison with public and with private independent schools.

However, all the related studies stated above have left an unanswered question

in this field of research because measuring the idiomaticity of students using a

comparative approach between public and private schools had not yet been conducted.

In context to Philippine setting, no single study was found accomplished by the

researchers, so the proponents of this paper aim to fill this gap by analyzing the

competency of students coming from private and public schools located in the

Philippines specifically the Leyte division to finally find out the significant difference

between the public and private Junior High School students in terms of idiomatic

competency.

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 CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Introduction

This portion presents the methods and strategies that the researchers are going

to use in order to gather data as well as the number of respondents that they are going

to have for them to successfully answer the questions that they like to unwrap through

conducting this study.

Research Design

This quantitative research study used a non-experimental research design

specifically the comparative type in order for the researchers to successfully find the

significant difference between public and private schools in terms of Junior High School

students’ idiomatic proficiency.

Population and Setting

This research study was administered on four public and private schools found

on two municipalities located in the province of Leyte namely: Barugo, and AlangAlang.

Those schools are Barugo National High School and Saint Joseph Academy Barugo

1
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Inc. from Barugo,Leyte; AlangAlang National High School and Holy Trinity College from

Alangalang, Leyte. The entire Junior High School community of these schools is

considered the population of this study.

Sample and Sampling Procedure

This paper made use of probability sampling particularly the systematic sampling

procedure wherein the researchers chose their respondents as to whom was picked on

every fifth draw from the complete list of participants. Eighty samples were needed by

the researchers in gathering data that’s why 20 Junior High School students were

chosen as the respondents from each participating school that represented the whole

population of this research.

Data Collection Procedure and Instrument

Standardized test questionnaires, entitled “Students’ Sentence Processing in

English- Idiom Comprehension Questionnaire” by Rannveig Aleksandra Singstad

(2014) was adopted by the researchers in this study in order to measure the

competency of Junior High School students on the use and understanding of idiomatic

expressions. The contents of this questionnaires are set of sentences with idiomatic

expression contained in each item which needs to be analyzed by the respondents to

come up with the right answer. Moreover, the researchers had used the z-test

procedure to test the hypothesis and know if there is truly a significant difference

between public and private schools’ JHS students in terms of idiomatic proficiency.
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 1
8
 CHAPTER IV

DATA

INTERPRETATION

Figure 1 AND ANALYSIS

Item no. 1: When her son told her that he was quitting school she told him
“over my dead body!” What is the meaning of the expression “over my dead
body?”
40
35
Number of respondents who got the correct answer

33
30
25
20
15
10
5 12

0
Private Schools Public Schools
Schools

Item no. 1

Figure 1 shows that 33 out of 40 respondents or 82.5% of students coming from private

schools answered the first item correctly while 12 out of 40 respondents or only 30% of public

schools’ JHS students have the right comprehension of the idiomatic expression, “over my

dead body:” This implies that private schools’ JHS students are at the point of advantage when

it comes to the right understanding and interpretation of the said expression.

1
9
Figure 2

Item No. 2: Jane was worried that she wouldn’t make the transfer at 07.25.
However, it turned out not to be a problem. The plane arrived at the airport 7
o’clock on the dot as scheduled. What is the meaning of “on the dot?”
40
36
Number of respondents who got the correct answer

35
30 31

25
20
15
10
5
0
Private Schools Public Schools
Schools

Item No. 2

It is clearly shown in figure 2 that 36 out of 40 respondents or 90% of students coming

from private schools answered the second item correctly while 31 out of 40 respondents or

only 77.5% of public school students have the right comprehension of the idiomatic

expression, “on the dot:” This implies that private schools’ JHS students are at the point of

advantage when it comes to the right understanding and interpretation of the said expression.

2
0
Figure 3

Item No. 3: Elizabeth was admiring the outstanding garden. It was clear that the
owner had green fingers. What does it mean to have “green fingers?”
40
Number of respondents who got the correct answer

35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Private Schools Public Schools
Schools

Item No. 3

37

24

2
1
Figure 4

Item No. 4: “It’s time to turn the tables,” she whispered. She had planned this
for weeks. This time he would be the victim! What does it mean to “turn the
tables?”

40
Number of respondents who got the correct answer

35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Private Schools Public Schools
Schools

Item No. 4

32

26

2
2
Figure 5

Item No. 5: If you receive an e-mail from your bank asking for your password, a
good rule of thumb is simply to delete it. Your bank would not ask for such
information. What is the meaning of the expression “rule of thumb?”
40
35
Number of respondents who got the correct answer

30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Private Schools Public Schools
Schools

Item No. 5

2
3
Figure 6

Item No. 6: When Matt’s older brother started school Matt would try to do the
same tasks as him. This gave Matt a head-start. What does it mean to “get a
head-start?”

40
35
Number of respondents who got the correct answer

30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Private Schools Public Schools
Schools

Item No. 6

2
4
Figure 7

Item no. 7: It was complete chaos after the accident. People were either running
around creating more panic or just standing there watching. Luckily, a nurse
arrived and took charge. What does it mean to “take charge?”

40
35
Number of respondents who got the correct answer

30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Private Schools Public Schools
Schools

Item no. 7

33

2
5
14
Figure 8

Item no. 8: I have such a sweet tooth! I could not possibly work at a chocolate
factory without getting fat. What does it mean to have a “sweet tooth?”
40
35 36
Number of respondents who got the correct answer

30
25
20
15
10 14
5
0
Private Schools Public Schools
Schools

Item no. 8

It is clearly shown in figure 8 that 36 out of 40 respondents or 90% of students coming

from private schools answered the eighth item correctly while 14 out of 40 respondents or only

37.5% of public school students have the right comprehension of the idiomatic expression,

“sweet tooth.” This implies that private schools’ JHS students are at the point of advantage

when it comes to the right understanding and interpretation of the said expression.

2
6
Figure 9

Item no. 9: Lauren was posting an invite to a Tim Tam slam party on Facebook
asking: “who is game?” What does it mean to “be game?”

40
35
Number of respondents who got the correct answer

32
30
25
24
20
15
10
5
0
Private Schools Public Schools
Schools

Item no. 9

Figure 9 shows that 32 out of 40 respondents or 80% of students coming from private

schools answered the ninth item correctly while 24 out of 40 respondents or only 60% of public

schools’ JHS students have the right comprehension of the idiomatic expression, “be game.”

This implies that private schools’ JHS students are at the point of advantage when it comes to

the right understanding and interpretation of the said expression.

2
7
Figure 10
Item no. 10: “Don’t point the finger at me. I didn’t take your iPhone!” What does
it mean to “point the finger at someone?”

40
Number of respondents who got the correct answer

35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Private Schools Public Schools
Schools

Item no. 10

37

21

2
8
Figure 11
Item no. 11: Let’s not beat about the bush – the design was rejected. The
employer said it was horrible. We simply have to start all over again. What does
it mean to “beat about the bush?”
40
Number of respondents who got the correct answer

35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Private Schools Public Schools
Schools

Item no. 11

18

2
8 9
Figure 12
Item no. 12: She had more or less decided to get a new job. She needed some
new challenges. What is the meaning of the expression “more or less”?

40
35
Number of respondents who got the correct answer

30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Private Schools Public Schools
Schools

Item no. 12

18

3
0
7
Figure 13
Item no. 13: Anna and Huey were talking about Bob. They had not seen him for
week. All of the sudden he stood in front of them. “Well, talk of the devil! Where
have you been?,” Huey asked. What is the meaning of the expression “talk of
the devil”?
40
Number of respondents whogot the correct answer

35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Private Schools Public Schools
Schools

Item no. 13

30

26

3
1
Figure 14
Item no. 14: “I'm all ears, waiting to hear your story about your engagement!”
What does it mean to be “all ears?”
40
35
Number of respondents who got the correct answer

30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Private Schools Public Schools
Schools

Item no. 14

31

3
2

3
Figure 15

Item no. 15: Sarah found it really hard to choose between the two. She simply
couldn’t make up her mind! What does it mean to “make up one’s mind?”
40
39
35
Number of respondents who got the correct answer

30 32

25
20
15
10
5
0
Private Schools Public Schools
Schools

Item no. 15

Figure 15 shows that 39 out of 40 respondents or 97.5% of students coming from private

schools answered the fifteenth item correctly while 32 out of 40 respondents or only 80% of

public schools’ JHS students have the right comprehension of the idiomatic expression, “make

up one’s mind.” This implies that private schools’ JHS students are at the point of advantage

when it comes to the right understanding and interpretation of the said expression.

3
3
Figure 16
Item no. 16: After receiving the news saying that he didn’t get accepted by the
school he wished to go to, it took a couple of weeks before he cheered up.
What does it mean to “cheer up?”
40
35
Number of respondents who got the correct answer

30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Private Schools Public Schools
Schools

Item no. 16

39

23

3
4
Figure 17

Item no. 17: After Cory got that new job he has been such a pain in the ass! All
of a sudden he acts like he is better than us. What does it mean to be “a pain in
the ass?”
37
40
35
Number of respondents who got the correct answer

30
25
20
15
17
10
5
0
Private Schools Public Schools
Schools

Item no. 17

Figure 17 shows that 37 out of 40 respondents or 92.5% of students coming from private

schools answered the seventeenth item correctly while 17 out of 40 respondents or only 42.5%

of public schools’ JHS students have the right comprehension of the idiomatic expression, “a

pain in the ass.” This implies that private schools’ JHS students are at the point of advantage

when it comes to the right understanding and interpretation of the said expression.

3
5
Figure 18

Item no. 18: You should tell them to get off your back and stop pushing you
around! If that doesn’t work you have to tell the teacher. What does it mean to
“get pushed around?”
40
35
Number of respondents who got the correct answer

30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Private Schools Public Schools
Schools

Item no. 18

3
6
10
Figure 19

Item no. 19: On the same day I lost my job, my apartment and my boyfriend. All I
have left is a broken heart. What does it mean to “have a broken heart?”

40
35
Number of respondents who got the correct answer

30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Private Schools Public Schools
Schools

Item no. 19

33

21

3
7
Figure 20
Item no. 20: When my teacher told me to hold on halfway out of the door after
class I was worried. However, he only wanted to give me my scarf which I had
left on the desk. What does it mean to “hold on?”
40
Number of respondents who got the correct answer

35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Private Schools Public Schools
Schools

Item no. 20

35

15

3
8
Figure 21
Item no. 21: She held out a book and her father started to read: “Once upon a
time there was a beautiful princess…” What is the meaning of the expression
“once upon a time?”
40
Number of respondents who got the correct answer

35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Private Schools Public Schools
Schools

Item no. 21

26
23

3
9
Figure 22
Item no. 22: Some people love skiing, but it’s not my cup of tea. I prefer
swimming. What is the meaning of the phrase “not my cup of tea?”
40
35
Number of respondents who got the correct answer

30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Private Schools Public Schools
Schools

Item no. 22

37

25

4
0
Figure 23
Item no. 23: I knew that my parents would come to the graduation ceremony
but that my grandparents would was the icing on the cake. What is the
meaning of the expression “icing on the cake?”
40
35
Number of respondents who got the correct answer

30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Private Schools Public Schools
Schools

Item no. 23

14
4
1

5
Figure 24

Item no. 24: As one person it is hard to think that one can make a difference.
However, throughout history there are a number of men and women who have.
What does it mean to “make a difference?”
40
35
Number of respondents who got the correct answer

30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Private Schools Public Schools
Schools

Item no. 24

35

22

4
2
Figure 25

Item no. 25: As a nation, it is time for us to roll up our sleeves and give
homeless a home and their dignity back. We simply cannot stand back and
passively watch this growing problem any longer. What does it mean to “roll up
one’s sleeves?”

40
Number of respondents who got the correct answer

35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Private Schools Public Schools
Schools

Item no. 25

23

15
4
3
Figure 26
Item no. 26: He said that this time he would make it to the recital in time for sure.
But once again he disappointed his daughter and missed her number. What is
the meaning of the expression “for sure?”
40
35
Number of respondents who got the correct answer

30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Private Schools Public Schools
Schools

Item no. 26

23

4
4

5
Figure 27
Item no. 27: Even though it is 10 miles to school I still bike. In that way I get from
A to B and get my daily exercise. I’m killing two birds with one stone! What
does it mean to “kill two birds with one stone?”
40
35
Number of respondents who got the correct answer

30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Private Schools Public Schools
Schools

Item no. 27

40

30

4
5
Figure 28
Item no. 28:When she finishes high school she would leave her home town and
the bad memories attached to it for good. What is the meaning of the
expression “for good?”
40
35
Number of respondents who got the correct answer

30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Private Schools Public Schools
Schools

Item no. 28

35

4
6

9
Figure 29
Item no. 29: I wish she would stop playing games with me! One day she will be
smiling at me, talking and laughing. The next, it is like I do not exist! What does it
mean to “play games?”

40
Number of respondents who got the correct answer

35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Private Schools Public Schools
Schools

Item no. 29

4
13 7
11
Figure 30
Item no. 30: People who paid attention to the effort that went into the economic
plan of the Obama Administration would consider it a house of cards. What
does “house of cards” mean?
40
Number of respondents who got the correct answer

35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Private Schools Public Schools
Schools

Item no. 30

17

4
8

3
Figure 31

Total Percentage of Scores

68.25%

41%

The contents of figure 31 stipulate that the total percentage of scores garnered by the

respondents studying at private schools is 68.25% whereas, the calculated percentage of

scores acquired by the respondents representing the public schools reached only a total of

41%. This denotes that private schools’ JHS students are more proficient in terms of the level

of familiarity and understanding on idiomatic expressions as compared to that of public

schools.

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9
 Testing the Hypothesis

H0: There is no significant difference between the public and private schools’ Junior

High School students in terms of idiomatic proficiency.

H1: There is a significant difference between the public and private schools’ Junior High

School students in terms of idiomatic proficiency.

Table 1
Sample Mean Standard Deviation Critical z-Test Critical Decision

Value Statistics Region

Private Schools: 13.65 Private Schools: 6.37 ± 1.96 -5.28 z <-1.96 Reject H0

Public Schools: 8.21 Public Schools: 4.78

The table above shows the summary of the hypothesis testing procedure using the

z-test. The computed z-test statistics which is -5.28 is less than the critical value which is

± 1.96 with the level of significance of 0.05, thus, coming up with the decision of rejecting

the null hypothesis which states that there is no significant difference between the public

and private schools’ Junior High School students in terms of idiomatic proficiency. This

only implies that the alternative hypothesis, which states that there is a significant

5
difference between the public and private schools’ Junior High School students in terms of
0
idiomatic proficiency is hereby accepted.
 CHAPTER V

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

Summary of Findings

This paper intended to find out if there is a significant difference between the

public and private schools’ Junior High School students’ idiomatic proficiency. The

results that the researchers have analyzed stipulate that there is a significant difference

between the two variables and that Junior High School students coming from private

schools are more idiomatically proficient than those of private schools. This was implied

by the test results of respondents coming from different schools located in the Division

of Leyte in which a total percentage of 68.25% of respondents representing the private

schools’ Junior High School students answered the test items correctly while only 41%

of respondents studying at public schools were able to do so. Consequently, the

calculated result of the z-test procedure also insist that the average mean of public

schools’ JHS students is not equal to that of private schools. Thus, allowing the

researchers to reject their null hypothesis and accept the alternative one.

Conclusion

Based on the findings of this study, it can be pointed out that there is a significant

difference between public and private schools’ Junior High School students in terms of

idiomatic proficiency since the results of this paper affirm that private schools’ JHS

students are at the point of advantage in the aspect of idiomatic competence as

compared to that of public schools. This was inferred by the hypothesis testing results

using the z-test procedure wherein the computed value of z which is -5.28 was found

5
1
way beyond the critical value which is ± 1.96. Hence, resulting to the rejection of the null

hypothesis and the acceptance of the alternative hypothesis.

Recommendations

Due to the significant findings of this study, the researchers recommend the

following:

The Department of Education (DepEd) should reiterate the importance of

learning and understanding idiomatic expressions to improve the linguistic and

communication skills of students.

The administration and teaching force of all schools specially the public ones

should take into higher accounts the idiomatic competence of their students so as to

reduce the disparity between public and private schools when it comes to their level of

familiarity and comprehension of idiomatic expressions.

Schools must administer more activities concerning idiomatic proficiency to allow

the continuity of students’ learning on idiomatic expressions prevail even when they are

on the grade level where idiomaticity is no longer a part of the module

Students must apply their learnings on this subject matter to maintain or enhance

not just their idiomatic proficiency but also their English communication skills.

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References

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De Caro, E. (2010). The Advantages and Importance of Learning and Using Idioms in

English Learning and Using Idioms in English. . Tempere, Finland.

Dronkers, J. (2011). The Effectiveness of Public and Private Schools from a. Italy:

European University Institute Badia Fiesola.

Enjoroge, M. (2016). Teaching of English Idioms: Difficulties and Effective Strategies.

Karatina, Kenya: Moses Gatambuki Gathigia.

Khonbi, Z. (2017). Improving English language learners’ idiomatic competence: does

mode of teaching play a role?. Iran: Kosar University of Bojnord.

Kuivalainen, T. (2017). ). Comparative Education Systems: Student Performance &

Private. University of Tampere.

Saville-Troike, M. (2006). Introducing Second Language Acquisition. New York:

Cambridge University Press.

Singstad, R. A. (2014). Norwegian Students’ Comprehension of Idioms in English.

Norway: Norwegian University of Science and Technology .

Tran, H. Q. (2013). Figurative Idiomatic Competence: An Analysis of EFL Learners in

Vietnam. Vietnam: Hanoi Nation Univarsity of Education.

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