FOSTERING TO LEARN ACCURATE GRAMMATICAL SKILL (FLAGS): EFFECTIVENESS

OF ONLINE GRAMMAR CHECKERS IN EDITING ACADEMIC TEXT OF LEARNERS

Context and Rationale

The ability to write a clear and concise sentence entails writing with a set of

guideline. This makes the art of writing daunting for some who cannot write with the

same level of proficiency as persons with the requisite professional skills. Grammar is the

set of structural rules governing the functions of clauses, phrases, and words in a natural

language. It also includes the study of phonology, morphology, and syntax, often

complemented by phonetics, semantics, and pragmatics. Mastering this tool to write

accordingly takes a much-focused mind and a laborious amount of time and work.

Filipinos are not native English speakers and are observed to be grammatically

incorrect most of the time. The English language relies on correct grammar at all times

to convey one's thoughts with complete comprehensibility. Kumar (2013) said that

grammar is the study of words and how words work together, an invisible force that

serves as a guide as we put words together into sentences to communicate our

thoughts. Similarly Kalend (2006) stated that "having a good grammar system of a

language, learners will be helpful in delivering their ideas, messages, and feelings either

to the listeners or readers; a language without grammar would be disorganized and

causes some communicative problems.”

Thus, the craving for auxiliary tools that are capable of assisting people with the

rules of grammar in their writing has justifiably remained. Implicitly, such auxiliary

grammar tools must have the capability to apply the intricacies of phonology,

morphology, and syntax, often complemented by phonetics, semantics, and

pragmatics of observing the intricacies of grammar. Advancement in Information

Communication Technologies (ICTs), such as computers, mobile phones, tablets, and

internet has shown great potentials in enhancing grammar check as auxiliary tools.

As an outgrowth of the advancement in ICTs, online grammar checkers such as

Grammarly and ProWritingAid have become widely known and used to evaluate and

correct the inherent complications in grammar during writing. Nevertheless, much as

the tool has immensely aided online grammar users, not much is known about the

reliability and efficacy this online tool. Hence, the study focused on the reliability and

efficacy of Grammarly and ProWritingAid used by students in checking the correctness

of their sentence construction.

Action Research Questions

The study broadly evaluated the effectiveness of online grammar checkers to

enhance the grammatical skill of the students in Senior High School Dulong Bayan for

the School Year 2019-2020. Specifically, it sought answers to the following questions:

1. What are the prominent online grammar checkers used by the senior high

school students?

2. What are the grammatical errors detected and corrected by the online

grammar checkers used by the senior high school students?

3. How effective is online grammar checker used by the senior high school

students in terms of

3.1. accuracy;

3.2. usability; and

3.3. accessibility;

4. What innovation, intervention, or strategy that may be proposed to be used

by the teachers to enhance grammatical skill of students?

Scope and Limitation

This study is conducted to determine the effectiveness of online grammar

checkers to enhance the grammatical skill of the senior high school students. The locale

of the study is at Senior High School Dulong Bayan with seventy (70) selected ABM

students as the respondents.

It focused on the determination of the types of the grammatical errors detected

and corrected by the online grammar checkers and evaluation of their effectiveness in

terms of accuracy, usability, and accessibility to be used as a basis for proposing

innovation or intervention.

Proposed Innovation, Intervention, or Strategy

Project FLAGS (Fostering to Learn Accurate Grammatical Skills)

Project FLAGS or Fostering to Learn Accurate Grammatical Skills is a project that

aims to enhance the grammatical skills of the students despite the presence of online

grammar checkers. It provides learning materials such as made-easy lectures and sets

of activities in grammar that can be incorporated by the teachers in their writing

classes. Thus, it encourages students not to be dependent on the different platforms or

software that offer grammar editing services.

Research Methodology

A. Participants and/or Sources of Data and Information

The study utilized descriptive research design. Through the use of Slovin’s formula,

which was formulated as n = N / (1 + Ne^2) where n = number of samples, N = total

population, and e = error margin, from the total population of two hundred thirty-two

(232) and with the 10 percent (10%) error margin, 70 ABM students at Senior High School

Dulong Bayan in Bacoor City, Cavite were selected as respondents of the study. They
were selected through purposive sampling technique because of their experiences

with the research topic.

Data collected were analyzed using percentage and frequency distribution to

measure the online grammar checkers that the respondents used, while weighted

mean was used as a statistical tool to determine the effectiveness of online grammar

checkers.

B. Data Gathering Methods

After the validation of the questionnaires, which were used in gathering the

data, a request letter was sent to the School Principal of Senior High School Dulong

Bayan to ask permission of recruiting selected students from the male and female

population to be part of the respondents. The gathering of data was done thereafter

by distributing each survey questionnaire to the selected respondents. The explanation

that the survey would take a few minutes of their time and would not collect any

confidential information other than their answers was considered. Their responses to

each item in the questionnaires were given corresponding weight and were measured

using appropriate statistical tools. To interpret the rating of their responses, the

corresponding quantitative descriptions were also considered. The results were used as

a basis in determining the effectiveness of online grammar checkers in editing

academic texts of the senior high school students.

C. Ethical Issues

Research protocol was followed and adhered to avoid ethical issues concerning

data gathering and confidentiality of the participants involved in the study. Approval

was also seek before the implementation of the study. The rights to anonymity,
confidentiality, and informed consent were followed in the writing and implementation

of the study.

D. Data Analysis Plan

The study used percentage and frequency distribution to measure the online

grammar checkers that the respondents use. The weighted mean was used as a

statistical tool to determine the evaluation of online grammar checkers to the

respondents. The results were used as a basis in determining the effectiveness of online

grammar checkers in editing academic texts of the senior high school students.

Results and Discussion

1. What are the prominent online grammar checkers used by the senior high

school students?

TABLE 1

Prominent Online Grammar Checkers Used by the Senior High School Students

Software Frequency Percentage

ProWritingAid 4 5.40%

Grammarly 65 87.84%

Others 5 6.76%

TOTAL 74 100%

Table 1 shows that an online grammar checker called "Grammarly" is the most

prominent and most used application among the respondents with sixty-five (65) or

87.84% which is inclined to the study of Richard (2019) that Grammarly provides the best

online performance of any grammar checker tested. While the other five (5)

respondents who checked the option “Others” use an online grammar checker called
“Gingerly” and the other four (4) respondents checked the option “ProWritingAid,”

some of the respondents used more than one (1) online grammar checkers which led

to the total frequency of seventy-four (74) which correlates to the report of Yang (2018)

that grammar checkers, with its improvement and advancement, have now become a

popular tool for students to edit their written works.

2. What are the grammatical errors detected and corrected by the online

grammar checkers used by the senior high school students?

TABLE 2

Types of Errors Detected and Corrected by the Online Grammar Checkers

Common Errors Encountered Frequency Percentage

Spelling 34 13.93%

Fragment or Missing
37 15.16%
Commas

Run-on Sentences 14 5.74%

Subject-Verb Agreement 27 11.07%

Confused Words 26 10.66%

Ill-formed Words 14 5.74%

Compound Words 9 3.69%

Usage of Punctuations 34 13.93%

Proper Capitalization 23 9.43%

Usage of Voice of Verbs 24 9.84%

Others 2 0.82%

TOTAL 244 100%

 Table 2 also shows that the most errors encountered by an online grammar

checkers are "Fragment or Missing Commas" with thirty-seven (37) or 15.16%, while

"Spelling" and "Usage of Punctuations" being the second most encountered errors with

thirty-four (34) or 13.93% which can be traced in the study of Qassemzadeh and

Soleimani (2016) that an online grammar checker is widely known to give positive

contribution and feedback in terms of mechanics (Spelling and Punctuation). The least

encountered error is the "Compound Words" with nine (9) or 3.69%. The two (2) other

errors given which are not included in the list are “Better Word Choice” and “Tenses.”

3.1. How effective is online grammar checker in terms of accuracy?

TABLE 3.1
Effectiveness of Online Grammar Checkers in Terms of Accuracy

Statements Weighted Mean Verbal Interpretation

1. After using the online

grammar checker, there Effective
3.96
are minimal or no errors
left on the paper.

2. The software gives Effective

explanations of each 3.79
correction made.

3. The software gives Highly Effective

suitable word for 4.09
suggestions.

3.94 Effective
Average Weighted Mean

Table 3.1 shows that the weighted mean in statement 1 of accuracy is 3.96 with

a verbal interpretation of "Effective" which correlates to the report of Technopedia

28 29
(2019) that online grammar checker uses set of rules to identify others' mistakes and

errors; the weighted mean in statement 2 of accuracy is 3.79 with a verbal

interpretation of "Effective" which is inclined to the report of Cavaleri and Dianati (2018)

that an online grammar checker provides a long and/or short explanations for each

grammar issue that it addresses; and the weighted mean in statement 3 of accuracy is

4.09 with a verbal interpretation of "Highly Effective" which is related to the study of

Qassemzadeh and Soleimani (2016) that an online grammar checker gives positive

contribution to the user in terms of word usage. The average weighted mean is 3.94

which means that they believe that online grammar checkers are "effective" in terms of

accuracy.

3.2. How effective is online grammar checker in terms of usability?

TABLE 3.1

Effectiveness of Online Grammar Checkers in Terms of Usability

Statements Weighted Mean Verbal Interpretation

1. The software has a Highly Effective

user-friendly interface. 4.43

2. The software is simple 4.46 Highly Effective

and understandable.

3. The software runs

smoothly and has Highly Effective
4.13
minimal or no bugs
during its usage.

Average Weighted
4.34 Highly Effective
Mean
 Table 3.2 shows that the weighted mean in statement 1 of usability is 4.43 with a

verbal interpretation of "Highly Effective" which correlates to the study of Nicholas

Walker (2017) that learning to use an online grammar checker is easy and friendly to

the user; the weighted mean in statement 2 of usability is 4.46 with a verbal

interpretation of "Highly Effective" which also correlates to the study of Nicholas Walker

(2017) that an online grammar checker uses simple English words for its labels and

instructions; and the weighted mean in statement 3 of usability is 4.13 with a verbal

interpretation of "Highly Effective" which is supported again by the study of Nicholas

Walker (2017) that an online grammar checker has no problem in providing a solution

and feedback to its user and with a minimal downtime. The average weighted mean is

4.34 which means that they believe that online grammar checkers are "Highly Effective"

in terms of usability.

3.3. How effective is online grammar checker in terms of accessibility?

TABLE 3.3

Effectiveness of Online Grammar Checkers in Terms of Accessibility

Statements Weighted Mean Verbal Interpretation

1. The software is
accessible on different Highly Effective
platforms (mobile, 4.41
desktop, etc.).

2. The software
does not require 3.96 Effective
payment to access.
3. The software does not Effective
require any personal 3.91
information to use.

Average Weighted Mean 4.10 Highly Effective

30
 Table 3.3 shows that the computed weighted mean in statement 1 of

accessibility is 4.41 with a verbal interpretation of "Highly Effective;" the weighted mean

in statement 2 of accessibility shows a computed weighted mean of 3.96 with a verbal

interpretation of "Effective;" and the weighted mean in statement 3 of accessibility has

a computed weighted mean of 3.91, thus, having a verbal interpretation of "Effective."

The average weighted mean is 4.10 which means that the respondents believe that

online grammar checkers are "Highly Effective" in terms of accessibility. As it is stated in

the Technology Acceptance Model, one of the factors that influences the users’

decisions on when they will use the said technology is the factor, "Perceived ease-of-

use" which is described by Davis (1989) as the degree to which a person believes that

using a particular system would be free from effort. Davis also stated that in this case, if

the interface were easy to use and simple, then the user would have a positive attitude

towards it.

Conclusions

Based on the findings of the study it is concluded that almost all of the

respondents prefer to use Grammarly as their grammar checker to validate the

grammar of their written outputs. They access it at both mobile phones and computers.

The most frequent types of errors encountered by the respondents are: Fragment or

Missing Commas, Spellings, Usage of Punctuations, Subject Verb Agreement, and

Confused Words. Nevertheless, the types of errors encountered with minimal

occurrences are: Usage of Passive/Active Voice, Proper Capitalization, Run-on

Sentences, Compound Words, Tenses, and Better Word Choice.

Recommendations

31
33
 Online grammar checkers are useful and convenient to use most of the time

in checking the grammatical structure of any written composition. However, there are

some observations to be considered:

1. The researcher recommends that the software developers of these applications

should enhance their algorithm regarding the detection of errors.

2. Future researchers that would like to further continue this study should consider

some other grammatical lessons such as "Better Word Choice" and "Tenses”.

3. The teachers should continue reviewing their students about grammar lessons

despite the presence of online grammar checkers by integrating it in any writing

classes for the learners not to be dependent in any platforms or software that

offer grammar editing services.

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