LIMAY POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE

National Road, Brgy. Reformista,

Limay, Bataan, 2103, Philippines

CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

English language is the medium of communication for the ages

and has become the most prized possession of communication. Most

of other countries use English language as an official language such

as the top countries; United States (64.3%) and United Kingdom

(16.7%). Speaking English allows to interact with people from all over

the world and from a variety of cultural backgrounds. As a result,

English has had a significant impact on a variety of other languages,

especially in Europe, where many words have been adopted outright

(Haller, Marcell 2001). The Philippines is known around the world as

one of the largest English-speaking countries with majority of its

population speaking the language at some level. More than 14 million

Filipinos speak English, which has always been one of the country ’s

official languages. It is the primary medium of instruction in education,

as well as the language of trade and law. Language proficiency is

another country’s assets that has aided in the economy ’s growth and

also helped the Philippines become the World’s top voice outsourcing

destination (Cabigon, Mike 2015).

 LIMAY POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE
National Road, Brgy. Reformista,
Limay, Bataan, 2103, Philippines

Every student must learn that reading comprehension is one of

their reading skills. Despite the reading instructions and strategies

offered by teachers to enhance students’ reading comprehension, there

are still students who fall below the proficiency level of reading

comprehension. According to San Juan Ratziel 2019, among 79

participating countries and economies, the Philippines scored the

lowest in reading comprehension in the 2018 Programme for

International Students Assessment (PISA). As the result, the

Department of Education (DepEd) will focus on addressing the gaps in

reading literacy of students. DepEd’s Curriculum and Instruction will

share an understanding of the 2018 PISA report and the efforts of the

agency to address challenges in reading literacy of learners. Similarly,

there is an action research study that involves recommendation to

improve reading comprehension, such as using localized contexts to

develop garde 1 learners’ reading literacy skills; teaching reading in

multi-grade classrooms by exploring intervention practices to meet

learners’ needs; using reading modules for learners identified as

frustated readers; and the use of localized materials in knowledge and

communication technology.

In this research, the focus is on the English comprehension of

students that affects by the modes of learning, teacher ’s experiences

 LIMAY POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE
National Road, Brgy. Reformista,
Limay, Bataan, 2103, Philippines

and strategies, students’ guardians and location of students during

pandemic. The researchers use the questionnaire as part of test in the

study. As the new normal is being accepted, there are lot of changes in

environment and learning. Education stand with distance learning

which means the teacher and student are separated geographically to

continue learning. It is the major cause of another difficulties for

students in learning languge, the gap with education in pandemic. Lack

of interaction with teachers and students is one of the biggest

drawbacks of distance learning (National University of Singapore

2019). Therefore, the study aims to identify the factors affecting the

English comprehension of students in new mode of learning.

ROSALINDA P. SAMONG

BEED-3