RESEARCH TITLE #1

The Role of Metalinguistic Knowledge in Supporting Language Proficiency of English Pre-Service

Teachers in BSU-ARASOF Nasugbu Campus

I just want to share this quote by John Dryden, he said “the one who climbs the grammar tree, distinctly
knows where noun, verb, and participle grow.” So as an English language pre-service teachers and as a
facilitator of learning in the future, we must be familiar in the whole parts of the grammar tree from its
roots to it’s branches. And we can only do that by having an explicit knowledge about the grammar.
Thus, metalanguage as a piece of cake in grammar will be helpful for us to increase our proficiency in
the English language.

Harvey & Nuttall (2000) asserted that language teachers should have a reasonable understanding of the
perplexities and different parts of the system, including the ability to correct, improve and explain
ungrammatical structures. In simple terms “metalinguistics” refers to the individual's ability
to actively think about, talk about, and manipulate language. Reading, writing, and
spelling require active level awareness and thought about language.

With metalinguistic awareness, a person can reflect on the language. They could also
understand that not all language is literal. ... This is a necessary step to metacognition, the
ability to monitor your own understanding as you listen and read – knowing about knowing.

It is the ability to consciously analyze language and its sub-parts, to know how they operate and
how they are incorporated into the wider language system (Beceren, 2010). An individual with
such ability is aware that linguistic forms and structure can interact and be manipulated to
produce a vast variety of meanings. Words are only arbitrarily and symbolically associated with
their referents, and are separable from them. For example, a dog is named "Cat", but the word
"Cat" is only a representation for the animal, dog. It does not make the dog a cat.
Language proficiency is the ability of an individual to use language with a level of accuracy that
transfers meaning in production and comprehension.

According to John Dryden, the one who climbs the grammar tree, distinctly knows where noun, verb,
and participle grow. English language teachers as a facilitator of learning must be familiar in the whole
parts of the grammar tree even Harvey & Nuttall (2000) asserted that language teachers should have a
reasonable understanding of the perplexities and different parts of the system, including the ability to
correct, improve and explain ungrammatical structures. In line with this, the term Teacher
Metalinguistic Awareness (TMA), coined by Andrews (1999), is utilized as an assertion that second
language teachers need sound knowledge and firm-grounding about the language itself.

However, increasing evidence shows that many teachers are anxious about the gaps in their explicit
knowledge about language (MackenHorarik, 2009). In the study of Schoonmaker (2015), he
recommended that instead of assuming that pre-service teachers know enough about language,
institutions should assess their knowledge and offer opportunities for improvement. According to Roehr
& Gánem-Gutiérrez (2009b), it is also one way to develop learners' second language (L2) proficiency
which is viewed as the learner’s language ability and language knowledge (i.e., metalinguistic
knowledge) and strategic competence. Relative to these, the combination of these two types of
knowledge enables the learner to use the language to ‘create and interpret discourse’ in his/her attempt
to comprehend and negotiate the intended meanings. (Bachman & Palmer, 1996).

With all of these things considered, the development of metalinguistic awareness is vital in molding
proficient pre-service language teachers. It is a necessary precursor for teachers, and as such, they
should neither be ignored nor underestimated (Schoonmaker, 2015). In fact, it will prepare the
concerned pre-service teachers specializing in English language teaching in Batangas State University
ARASOF-Nasugbu Campus to foster confident language professionals, who could, in turn, face their
future students’ language needs with enthusiasm. This is what prompted the researchers to conduct this
study.

The tenacity of this study is to determine the relationship and significant roles of Metalinguistic
Knowledge in enhancing the language proficiency of the College of Teacher of Education learners,
especially the Bachelor of Secondary Education Major in English Language Teaching students. This will
helped them understand the merits and roles of the metalanguage in preparing them to be proficient
teachers in the future. Furthermore, this study will serve as an initiative for an English language
intervention program strengthening the metalinguistic knowledge of the concerned students. This paper
is an attempt to achieve this goal by discussing the findings of the gathered thoughts and experiences of
the respondents through the use of a survey questionnaire regarding the roles of metalinguistic
knowledge in supporting their language proficiency and analyze the data through an objective
measurement that will yield an unbiased result.

English language teachers as a facilitator of learning need sound knowledge and firm-grounding about
the language itself to be able to correct, improve and explain ungrammatical structures of their
students. Thus, language teachers can achieve this end goal with the aid of metalanguage— a shared
language or grammatical terminology used in describing the language (Celce-Murcia & Larsen-Freeman,
2008). According to Roehr & Gánem-Gutiérrez (2009b), it is also one way to develop learners' second
language (L2) proficiency which is viewed as the learner’s language ability and language knowledge (i.e.,
metalinguistic knowledge) and strategic competence. However, increasing evidence shows that many
teachers are anxious about the gaps in their explicit knowledge about language (MackenHorarik, 2009).
And this pressing issue is what prompted the researchers to conduct this study.

This paper will give merit to metalinguistic knowledge in supporting the language proficiency and
preparing the concerned pre-service teachers specializing in English language teaching in Batangas State
University ARASOF-Nasugbu Campus. This will help them understand the roles of the metalanguage in
preparing them to be proficient and confident language professionals, who could, in turn, face their
future students’ language needs with enthusiasm in the future. Furthermore, this study will serve as an
initiative for an English language intervention program strengthening the metalinguistic knowledge of
the concerned students. This paper is an attempt to achieve this goal by discussing the findings of the
gathered thoughts and experiences of the respondents through the use of a survey questionnaire
regarding the roles of metalinguistic knowledge in supporting their language proficiency and analyze the
data through an objective measurement that will yield an unbiased result.

Objectives: Sought to study the relationship and significant roles of Metalinguistic Knowledge in
enhancing the language proficiency of the English Pre-Service teachers in BSU-ARASOF Nasugbu Campus

Statement of the Problem:

1. What is the level of metalinguistic knowledge of the English Pre-Service teachers in BSU-ARASOF
Nasugbu Campus?
2. What is the English Language proficiency of English Pre-Service teachers in BSU-ARASOF
Nasugbu Campus in terms of spoken and written contexts?
3. What are the significant roles of Metalinguistic Knowledge to the language proficiency of the
English Pre-Service teachers in BSU-ARASOF Nasugbu Campus?
4. Is there any correlational relationship in terms of two existing variables, Metalinguistic
Knowledge and Language proficiency of the English Pre-Service teachers?
5. What are the metalinguistic strategies to enhance the language proficiency of ESL (English as
Second Language) English Pre-Service teachers?

Research Design:

This study aimed to determine the relationship and significant roles of Metalinguistic Knowledge
as a utilitarian tool to enhance the language proficiency of the English Pre-Service teachers in Batangas
State University-ARASOF Nasugbu Campus. In accomplishing this objective, the researchers will employ
the Correlational method under Quantitative Research to determine the relationship of the Independent
Variable, the role of metalinguistic knowledge in supporting the dependent Variable which is the
Language Proficiency of English Pre-Service Teachers in BSU-ARASOF Nasugbu Campus.

The researchers applied the quantitative method to their respondents to indicate the number of
students who have the same thought and experience regarding the roles of metalinguistic knowledge in
supporting their language proficiency and analyze the data through objective measurement, statistics,
and mathematical formula that will yield an unbiased result through the use of questionnaires.
Furthermore, the researchers will survey English pre-service teachers in BSU-ARASOF Nasugbu Campus.

In addition, the researchers will also seek suggestions from 10 English teachers who have been
teaching for more than 5 years regarding the metalinguistic strategies in enhancing language
proficiency. The overall results of the selected respondents will be equally gathered and end in the
interpretation of the gathering survey, analysis, together with the general conclusion.

Meanwhile, the researchers used the Mean Method to extensively describe the statistical
analysis as index numbers. The purpose of this test is to determine the relative importance of each
variable.

Population Sampling:
 The researchers will examine the intended target population for the study is comprised of
students from the College of Teacher Education in Batangas State University- ARASOF Nasugbu Campus
and English teachers from any educational institution. Moreover, the researchers apply the Non-
Probability Sampling technique through the use of stratified random sampling to yield a systematic and
unbiased sampling. This sampling method will be useful for this correlational research to produce
reliable research findings.

INTRODUCTION

Opening sentence/statement of the problem

Increasing evidence shows that many teachers are anxious about their gaps in their explicit knowledge
about language (MackenHorarik, 2009). One case of dissatisfaction was expressed by Dikici (2012) when
he investigated 90 pre-service English teachers’ beliefs towards grammar including their explicit
metalinguistic knowledge. Although most respondents favored the use of metalanguage in the
teaching/learning process, their metalinguistic knowledge was dissatisfactory because there was a lack
of knowledge on what conjugation of verbs is, with a very low score of 8.9%. On the other hand, Shuib
(2009) found out that many of the 71 primary school English language teachers from different schools in
Malaysia were marked “below the passing mark”. During his interview, he noted that “insufficient
exposure to grammar during teacher training and lack of interest to improve grammar knowledge”
(p.42) were reasons for low metalinguistic awareness.

In the Philippines context grammar is treated with little attention as evident in the latest 2010
Secondary Education Curriculum. In its conceptual framework, communicative and literary
competence/appreciation center on five macro-skills such as listening, speaking, reading, writing, and
the newly-added viewing, heavily literature-based. By contrast, the 2002 Basic Education Curriculum
“addresses the communicative needs of students by adopting a communicative, interactive,
collaborative approach…” (DepEd, 2002, p.19). This present curriculum may have adverse effects upon
the teacher quality, especially upon English Teachers’ Metalinguistic Awareness (TMA).

Possessing some specialized knowledge about the language is imperative, if someone professes to be a
language teacher (Johnson, 2009) in that a language teacher is expected to be a grammar maven the
moment he or she gets in his or her language class. Arndt, Harvey & Nuttall (2000) assert that language
teachers should have a reasonable understanding of the perplexities and different parts of the system,
including the ability to correct, improveand explain ungrammatical structures. Thus, language teachers
can achieve this end goal with the aid of metalanguage— a shared language or grammatical terminology
used in describing another language (Arndt, Harvey, & Nuttall, 2000; Celce-Murcia & Larsen-Freeman,
2008; and Victoria & Rodman, 1974).

The requirement for every language teacher to be better equipped with enough grammatical knowledge
is of prime importance in the teaching-learning process. Vijay (2010) held that there are many
educational institutions in the world today that teach English, not as a medium of communication, but
as a mere subject, making the teaching of grammar a mandatory practice. In ESL/EFL teaching, many
linguistic forms are made explicit, intelligible and noticeable (Basturkmen, Loewen, & Rod, 2002)
through the use of metalanguage, especially that learning a second or foreign language is limited,
artificial and conscious (Mishra, 2010). Hence, the need for metalinguistic knowledge is not a loophole,
because relying on an extensive range of metalanguage ensures successful fulfillment of pedagogic
duties among language teachers.

The latest study of Hadjioannou & Hutchinson (2010) demonstrated the need for classroom teachers to
have a “solid foundation in understanding and applying English grammar in order to buttress their
content and pedagogical content knowledge and support their students’ literacy development” (p. 90).
Their study fundamentally sought to trace how pre-service teachers were influenced by the grammar-
centered literacy experiences and assignments in terms of the acquisition of grammatical
metaknowledge and of methodological skills.

Recently, Hammond & Derewianka (2011) held that metalanguage, a language that a teacher and
students share and use in talking about language, has become one of the hotly debated topics to date.
These debates would question into the merits and effectiveness of the use of grammatical terminologies
during the teaching of English as a second or foreign language. Recently, Correa (2011) averred that
those teachers who focus on accuracy have been accused of failing to emphasize fluency of
communication, while those who prefer teaching with a focus on meaning have been accused of not
stressing grammatical accuracy.

According to Roehr & Gánem-Gutiérrez (2009b), a learner's second language (L2) proficiency is viewed
as the learner’s language ability, which also includes language knowledge (i.e., metalinguistic
knowledge) and strategic competence. Subsequently, the combination of these two types of knowledge
enables the learner to use the language to ‘create and interpret discourse’ in his/her attempt to
comprehend and negotiate the intended meanings. (Bachman & Palmer, 1996).

Andrews (1999) used the term Teacher Metalinguistic Awareness (TMA) as an assertion that second
language teachers need sound knowledge about language. He further claimed that it “helps to
emphasize the extra dimension of cognitions and reflections about language competence and
communicative competence which is required by the language teacher in addition to the language
awareness exhibited by any competent user of a language who consciously manipulates that language in
order to achieve communicative purposes” (p.149).

Furthermore, in Krashen’s (1981; 12) Monitor Hypothesis, “the monitor is an error-detecting

mechanism; it scans utterances and the individual’s monitor edits...confirms or edits...” Thus, the
metalinguistic knowledge of the students in a language classroom serves as a monitor to produce
grammatical sentences and other utterances.

MA for Preservice Teachers. The need for an enhanced awareness about language with is an essential
precursor in the academic preparation stages for preservice teachers, whose need for a more robust
understanding of language structures is much more compelling than that of the laymen. In a way, such a
perspective also invites a look back at children’s first literacy developmental stages, when metalinguistic
abilities play a salient role (Montrul, 2008; Tunmer, 1984; Zipke, 2008, 2011).

Preservice teachers’ preparation years should be a prime time to foster languageconfident

professionals, who could in turn face their future students’ language needs with enthusiasm, not fear or
anxiety (Pappamihiell, 2007).Their preparation should offer plenty of opportunities for language training
exposure and consequent language improvement, but that is not always the case, as research findings
have demonstrated (Kolln & Hancock, 2005). It is in this vein that the present study proposes to
investigate MA with specific focus on grammar as a part of a preservice teacher preparation program.

Increasing MA is not only beneficial but an essential step for future educators dealing with language
(Andrews, 1997, 1999a, 1999b, 2001, 2003; Moats, 1994, 2009; Myhil et al., 2013).While investigating
MA in the specific sphere of English language teachers, research findings have also found that teachers’
metalinguistic knowledge of English is a critical component of their teaching effectiveness in the
language and that lack of MA may in fact compromise students’ success rates (Andrews, 1997, 2001,
2003; Moats, 1994, 2009; Myhill et al., 2013; Wright 1991, 2002). As a result, this knowledge base is an
indicator of how preservice teachers will be able to meet the strenuous standards in the language
classroom (Nutta et al., 2012).

knowledge and use of metalanguage have the potential to facilitate the development of an L2 learner’s
metalinguistic awareness – that is, ‘an enhanced consciousness of and sensitivity to the forms and
functions of language’ (Carter, 2003, p.64); which can in turn enhance language development (Berry,
2005; Swain, 2005). By its very nature, metalanguage entails a reflexive focus on language (Berry, 2005).
Reflecting upon language is an important means whereby language learners develop their
understandings of how forms and functions are mapped in the target language (Swain & Lapkin, 1995;
Storch, 2008) and how language ‘interacts with culture and ideology’ (Carter, 1995, p.1). Furthermore,
as argued by Ellis (2004), access to metalanguage can sharpen a learner’s understanding of the structure
of the target language and lead to verbalisable, analysed knowledge, which according to Bialystok (1990)
and Schmidt (1990) constitutes the highest level of consciousness of language.

metalanguage can be used profitably by teachers to help their learners link up newly encountered
structures with knowledge of the target system that has already been acquired. In other words,
metalanguage and concepts of L2 structural properties already learned can be exploited as points of
reference or anchoring sites for the assimilation of new knowledge. This is most obvious when teachers
compare and/or contrast new grammatical features

In particular, there is a need for empirical research, along the direction taken by such studies as Ellis
(2002) and Storch (2008), that seeks to explore how metalinguistic awareness and metalanguage can be
most fruitfully integrated into a meaning-focused, communication-oriented L2 pedagogy.

Preservice teachers’ MA deserves a more prominent place in the current educational curriculum, and
more should be done to emphasize it (Harper & Rennie, 2009; Myhill, 2000; Myhill et al., 2013). Instead
of being fearful and insecure about how much (or how little) language knowledge they have, and how
capable (or powerless) they are in order to handle their students’ questions and difficulties about
grammar, preservice teachers should be encouraged to discover the benefits of investigating their own
language. More important, they should be able to do that while in college, during their preparation
years, when they are starting to shape their own beliefs toward teaching. As pointed out by Celce-
Murcia (1992), the notion of grammar teaching should not be detached from meaningfulness, but
carried out in purposeful, productive ways. It is in this vein that the current study proposes an approach
that invites preservice teachers to reflect upon their own MA and to work on improving their language
skills in general.

This study proposes that instead of assuming that preservice teachers know enough about language,
institutions should instead assess their knowledge and offer opportunities for improvement. Preservice
teachers are graduating with minimal metalinguistic knowledge (Harper & Rennie, 2008), and this is a
reality that must be changed. The understanding of how language is structured and the development of
MA are essential precursors for preservice teachers, and as such they should neither be ignored nor
underestimated. (Schoonmaker,2015)

Research gap

One major source of influence was the widely publicised position championed by some early second
language theories (see Krashen, 1981, 1985; Paradis, 1994; Zobl, 1992) that explicit knowledge learned
as a result of formal grammar instruction would not contribute to language acquisition or underlie
spontaneous language use. Such a position provided a theoretical basis for the rejection of explicit and
formal teaching of L2 grammar (Carter, 1995). A second important source of influence consisted in some
empirical studies (e.g. Alderson, Clapham, & Steel, 1997; Grigg, 1986; Seliger, 1979; Steel & Alderson,
1994) suggesting that L2 learners’ metalinguistic knowledge was not related to their L2 proficiency or
actual use of the target language. These studies provided some empirical evidence that lent support to a
questioning of the usefulness of explicit, formal grammar instruction.

A third major source of influence was the rise and spread of communicative language teaching (CLT) (Hu,
2002a; Savignon, 2005). While there are different versions of CLT, they all set great store on the
development of communicative competence (i.e. the ability to use the target language to engage in
meaningful and effective communication) rather than just grammatical competence (Richards &
Rodgers, 2001). Although not all CLT practitioners (especially those adopting a weak version of CLT) are
opposed to explicit and systematic teaching of L2 grammar in lessons (see Batstone, 1994a, 1994b;
Scheffler & Cinciała, in press), many CLT-oriented classrooms (in particular those implementing a strong
version of CLT) ‘downplay the importance of explicit grammar instruction’ (Elder & Manwaring, 2004, p.
145; Carter, 2003). Thus, the CLT movement has provided a pedagogical impetus that has contributed to
a growing distrust in and an increasing marginalisation of formal grammar instruction in many L2
classrooms.

Because of its long association with explicit and formal grammar instruction, metalanguage in particular
has also been marginalised or even rejected as a legitimate component of pedagogical practices in many
L2 classrooms (Berry, 2009). Alderson (1997), for example, questions ‘the assumption that teachers
need to have metalanguage’ (p.2) and declares ‘I have long suspected that this is why teachers use
metalanguage in class, to emphasise their position of knowledge and authority, to reinforce their power’
(p.16). Garrett (1986) claims that the use of metalanguage constitutes a major problem with formal
grammar instruction because ‘it cannot of itself invoke understanding of the processing which leads to
the production of a structure’ (p.141). In a similar vein, Mohammed (1996) asserts that grammar
instruction based on linguistic terms and concepts can hardly achieve the goal of adding to or modifying
the rules discovered by learners themselves ‘through the natural process of hypotheses formation and
testing’ because ‘such terms and concepts constitute an additional learning burden and remain as a
separate body of knowledge that has nothing to do with the way people actually process language’
(p.283). ‘Another problem in using [linguistic] terms’, Mohammed claims, ‘is that the learner may focus
on these terms and learn them by heart either because he thinks that these terms are what the teacher
or textbook writer wants him to know or because he believes that learning a language is a matter of
learning such terms’ (p. 287).
Criticisms of the use of metalanguage in the classroom, such as those mentioned above, are misguided
because they fail to recognise the part that metalanguage can play in facilitating the development of
metalinguistic knowledge, namely analysed, often verbalisable, knowledge about the L2 (Hu, 2002b). In
addition, in contrast to the early empirical studies cited above, several recent studies have found
substantial positive correlations between knowledge of metalanguage and L2 proficiency. In a study
involving 372 first-year undergraduate students in Hong Kong, Berry (1997) found that the participants
differed widely in their knowledge of 50 items of metalanguage and that this knowledge was
significantly correlated with their A-level grades for English, suggesting ‘a connection between
knowledge of [linguistic] terminology and proficiency in English’ (p.140) as measured by that instrument.

Current knowledge about the topic

Objective

Hypothesis

Research gap:

- According to Roehr & Gánem-Gutiérrez (2009b), a learner's second language (L2) proficiency is
viewed as the learner’s language ability, which also includes language knowledge (i.e.,
metalinguistic knowledge) and strategic competence. Subsequently, the combination of these
two types of knowledge enables the learner to use the language to ‘create and interpret
discourse’ in his/her attempt to comprehend and negotiate the intended meanings. (Bachman &
Palmer, 1996).

Theoretical Basis:

- Andrews (1999) used the term Teacher Metalinguistic Awareness (TMA) as an assertion that
second language teachers need sound knowledge about language. He further claimed that it
“helps to emphasize the extra dimension of cognitions and reflections about language
competence and communicative competence which is required by the language teacher in
addition to the language awareness exhibited by any competent user of a language who
consciously manipulates that language in order to achieve communicative purposes” (p.149).
- Furthermore, in Krashen’s (1981; 12) Monitor Hypothesis, “the monitor is an error-detecting
mechanism; it scans utterances and the individual’s monitor edits...confirms or edits...” Thus,
the metalinguistic knowledge of the students in a language classroom serves as a monitor to
produce grammatical sentences and other utterances.

The descriptive method of research will be used in this study to determine the needed information
regarding the awareness and misconceptions about genes of Bachelor of Secondary Education Major
in Biological Science third year and fourth-year students of Batangas State University ARASOF-
Nasugbu that will serve as additional input to the study of Genetics as a branch of Science.

RESEARCH TITLE #2
 Metacognitive Learning Strategies in the Context of Flexible Learning of English Pre-Service Teachers
in BSU-ARASOF Nasugbu Campus

Objectives: Sought to study the important roles of Metacognitive Learning Strategies in the context of
flexible learning to meet the learning needs of the English Pre-Service Teachers in BSU-
ARASOF Nasugbu Campus.

Statement of the Problem:

1. What are the metacognitive learning strategies that can be used in the context of flexible
learning that will support the learning needs of the English Pre-Service Teachers?
2. What are the important roles of metacognitive learning strategies in the context of flexible
learning?
3. Why metacognitive learning strategies are essential to English Pre-Service Teachers in the
context of flexible learning?
4. How does metacognitive learning strategies will support the learning needs of the English Pre-
service Teachers in the context of flexible learning?
5. How does metacognitive learning strategies can be utilized in the context of flexible learning?

Research gap:

- According to Broadbent & Poon (2015), It has been observed that the use of metacognitive
strategies in a traditional and online learning environment is different. When students monitor
their work in a traditional setting, the instructors are there to support students’ plans, monitor
and evaluate their learning. However, in an online learning environment, social interaction is
indirect (Anthonysamy et al., 2020). In line with that, online learners may also face technological
anxiety (Tsai, 2009; Broadbent, 2017) or technological self-efficacy (Anthonysamy et al., 2020)
when learning online. This challenge will impact their use of metacognitive strategies in an
online learning environment (Anthonysamy et al., 2020; Tsai, 2009).

Research Design:

Descriptive Research

English Pre- Service Teachers' Phonological Awareness in Competency of Emergent and Proficient
Reading at Batangas State University ARASOF- Nasugbu Campus

Objectives:

Statement of the Problem:

Research gap:

Theoretical Basis:

Research Design:

Population Sampling:
Developing Instructional Materials from Existing Lecture notes in Teaching and Assessment of
Grammar

Objectives:

Research gap:

Challenges on tye Language Policy of MTB-MLE Program:A Critical Content Analysis

Judgment in the Murder in Edgar Allan Poe's The Black Cat

The Use of L1 and L2 Virtual Classroom Amidst a Pandemic: A Phenomenological Study

Pragmatic Markers and their Functions in the Movie Trilogy "A Christmas Prince"

Communicative Competence Amidst the Online Distance Learning of English Pre-Service Teachers in
BSU-ARASOF Nasugbu Campus

Statement of the Problem:

What is the profile of the respondents in terms of:

Year level

English language communicative engagement in their online classes

What is the level of communicative competence of the respondents in terms of:

a) discourse competence b) linguistic/grammatical competence

Is there a difference in the discourse and linguistic competence of the respondents when grouped
according to profile variables?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of online distance learning to the communicative
competence of the respondents?

What are the communicative competence enhancement strategies applicable in online distance
learning?

Research Design:

This study aimed to determine the relationship and significant roles of Metalinguistic Knowledge
as a utilitarian tool to enhance the language proficiency of the English Pre-Service teachers in Batangas
State University-ARASOF Nasugbu Campus. In accomplishing this objective, the researchers will employ
the Correlational method under Quantitative Research to determine the relationship of the Independent
Variable, the role of metalinguistic knowledge in supporting the dependent Variable which is the
Language Proficiency of English Pre-Service Teachers in BSU-ARASOF Nasugbu Campus.

The researchers applied the quantitative method to their respondents to indicate the number of
students who have the same thought and experience regarding the roles of metalinguistic knowledge in
supporting their language proficiency and analyze the data through objective measurement, statistics,
and mathematical formula that will yield an unbiased result through the use of questionnaires.
Furthermore, the researchers will survey English pre-service teachers in BSU-ARASOF Nasugbu Campus.

In addition, the researchers will also seek suggestions from 10 English teachers who have been
teaching for more than 5 years regarding the metalinguistic strategies in enhancing language
proficiency. The overall results of the selected respondents will be equally gathered and end in the
interpretation of the gathering survey, analysis, together with the general conclusion.

Meanwhile, the researchers used the Mean Method to extensively describe the statistical
analysis as index numbers. The purpose of this test is to determine the relative importance of each
variable.

This study is a descriptive research as it intends to describe the communicative competence of

English Pre-service teachers amidst the online distance learning in terms of 1)linguistic/ grammatical
competence 2) discourse competence. Furthermore, it will use the quantitative method, particularly
employing a survey questionnaire and comparative analysis to determine the difference in
communicative competence of the respondents when grouped according to profile variables: 1) year
level and 2) language communicative engagement in their online classes.