INTRODUCTION

The Problem and Its Setting

The COVID-19 has resulted in schools shut across the world.

Globally, over 1.2 billion children are out of the classroom. As
a result, education has changed dramatically, with the
distinctive rise of e-learning, whereby teaching and learning
process is undertaken remotely and on digital platforms. Research
suggests that online or distance learning has been shown to
increase retention of information and take less time.
Based on the article published by Harrison (2020), since
many countries have imposed a lockdown on movement, and many
schools have subsequently closed their doors, vast numbers of
previously tech-shy teachers are having to learn very quickly how
to teach using online resources. This might be through delivering
lessons using virtual classrooms or providing online self-study
material for students, both of which may be new modes of lesson
delivery for many.
Since the rise of the internet in the 1990s, English
language (EL) teachers have had what might be described as a
difficult relationship with technology. Initial teacher education
has been slow to embrace digital ways of teaching and learning,
meaning that many EL teachers feel that they have been poorly
prepared to use technology in their teaching (Clark, 2018).
Consequently, many EL teachers have been resistant to the digital
wave which has revolutionized other areas of our lives. 
Understandably, there are several worries which teachers have
regarding introducing technology into teaching.
Online learning is a growing educational alternative for
adults who, due to time and space constraints cannot attend face-
to-face classes on a regular basis. Since its beginnings, online
education has maintained a crescent demand (Estevez, Castro

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Martinez & Rodriguez Grenobles, 2015) and it has evolved as
technology itself has more to offer in terms of educational
tools. Another reason why online education has become popular is
because it offers the possibility to attend remote universities
without having to move to new cities or countries (Alvarado &
Calderon, 2013). The Department of Education go beyond their
physical frontiers to offer quality education to distant
learners. Despite all the advances, however, there are many who
are still doubtful about the quality and the outcomes of online
education.
Based on years of experience and research, entities such as
Quality Matters (QM) have developed models and standards for the
design and implementation of online courses that meet the minimum
quality requirements in terms of educational attainments and
goals. Courses that follow these standards are thought to be
comparable to face-to-face courses of the same subject matters
(Martin, Ndoye & Wilkins, 2016) and can, therefore, guarantee
comparable educational outcomes.
Online learning has become an important component in
education, and it is believed to provide unique advantages in the
learning process (Appana, 2008; Dolence & Norris, 1995; Katz,
1999; Shopova, 2014). Therefore, in many countries, instruction
has begun to shift from traditional or face-to-face classroom
settings to online learning environments. This shift has been
occurring in all fields of education, including English language
instruction (Vovides, SanchezAlonso, Mitropoulou, & Nickmans,
2007). Clarke and Hermens (2001) theorized that online learning
is student-centered because students can control their own
learning pace, and activities can be flexible to better suit a
student's preferred learning style. Online learning also creates
opportunities for active learning (Dolence & Norris, 1995). In
addition, with good online learning applications or software,

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students have opportunities to participate in the discussion,
express opinions, and share knowledge equally regardless of
classroom size and time (Harasim, Calvert & Groeneboer, 1997).
Despite the benefits of online teaching and learning
environment, students taking online courses could face
difficulties that they might never have encountered in a
traditional teaching and learning environment (Tsai, 2009), and
these difficulties could have a negative impact on their learning
performance (Davies & Graffs, 2005). These difficulties can be
classified into four major areas of challenges: cognition,
metacognition, technical anxiety, and learning styles and
preferences.
In the area of cognitive challenges, learners need higher
cognitive ability to deal with the more multi-dimensional
learning tasks and complex content (Tyler-Smith, 2006). Normally,
online courses are equipped with dynamic functions, such as
online exercises, text downloads, and video. Students learning
online must know how to click, drilldown, open new windows, and
save files (Tsai, 2009; Wang & Chen 2007; Wu, Fitzgerald &
Witten, 2014).
Regarding metacognitive challenges, online learners have
great freedom of learning as there are no specific class
schedules, and classroom attendance is not required (Tsai, 2009).
Learners then need to monitor and self-regulate their learning by
setting up a learning schedule to ensure they can complete all
the lessons. According to Chang’s (2013) study, students who
adopted the self-monitoring preformed academically better than
those who did not on the test of general English proficiency.
The third challenge involves computer and Internet anxiety.
According to Aydin (2011), computer anxiety has a significantly
negative impact on learners’ achievement. When a computer system
or network system is down, students feel frustrated because they

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might not be able to follow the lessons. This causes anxiety
among lower Internet skilled students (Ekizoglu & Ozcinar, 2010;
Saadé & Kira, 2009).
In terms of learning styles and preferences, Lee (2001)
posited that in new learning environment students need time to
adapt to some of the new challenges they will face. For some
learners, these challenges might arise from the need to deploy a
different learning style. For learners who are less skilled in
the use of technology, this lack of skills may be problematic
(Kearns, 2012; Lee, 2001). Most of the young and teenage learners
prefer and are more familiar with studying with peers (Crim &
Reio, 2011, Vonderwell, 2003). Without teachers and peers, when
students need their immediate assistance to clarify the problems
that may arise, they might get frustrated and experience a level
of anxiety (Arbaugh, 2002; Heirdsfield, Walker, Tambyah, &
Beutel, 2011; Petrides, 2002; Thurmond, Wambach, Connors & Frey,
2002). The findings of Surjono’s (2015) study revealed that
students in which their multimedia preferences and learning style
matched with the online course materials were likely to be
successful in online learning.
Previous studies have revealed that learners’ use of
effective and appropriate online learning strategies will lead to
successful academic achievement (Artino, & Jones, 2012; Fuller,
Chalmers, & Kirkpatrick, 1994; Hattie, Biggs, & Purdie, 1996;
Pintrich & Johnson, 1990; Shih, 2005; Zimmerman, 1998).
Additionally, Solak and Cakir (2015) argued that employing
effective online learning strategies is essential because, in
doing so, students learn faster, have more pleasure, and learn
more efficiently and effectively.
The researchers of this study initiated a survey to find out
the effects of the distance or online learning in Bongabon Senior
School students’ English proficiency particularly the TVL Basil.

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To learn their status means to provide the best alternative
learning mode for the students to uplift their English
proficiency and to discover the best recommendations from them
while currently experiencing the distance or online learning
amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Because of the COVID-19 crisis, the Department of Education

particularly the Bongabon Senior High School had resorted to
distance or online learning to deliver the content of their
curriculum in various platforms. This study deals about the
effects of distance learning to the English proficiency of
Technical-Vocational and Livelihood (TVL) Basil of Bongabon
Senior High School students. A mixed method including qualitative
and quantitative data collection and analysis to determine the
effect and impact of distance or online learning to the English
proficiency of students who have been enrolled for the school
year 2020-2021. This study utilizes the descriptive method of
research to bring out the status of the implementation of the
distance learning in selected HEI’s. An online survey data was
collected and analyzed using the descriptive and documentary
analysis. This study will answer the following questions:
1. What is your experience in the implementation of the
distance learning in your English proficiency?
2. Is distance learning applicable to your track and never
compensate your English proficiency?
3. What are the effects of distance learning in your English
proficiency?

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HYPOTHESIS

It has been shown that distance learning is significant for

improvement of English proficiency among individuals. In relation
to needs, MacNamara points out that individuals must be able to
communicate when the need arises, and that language becomes
useful in satisfying their needs. As the literature surveyed
above emphasizes, language proficiency is fundamental for human
beings to have their needs satisfied. In this light, the
development language proficiency through distance learning will
lead to recognition of different types of needs or different
intensities of the same need among individuals. Based on the
previous discussion of language and need theories, the following
general hypotheses were developed:

General Hypothesis I: The improvement of English proficiency

among students is influenced by the distance learning.
General Hypothesis II: There are effects of distance learning in
the English proficiency of the students.

Since this study is focusing on the proficiency in a second

language by individuals, i.e., in English, it is necessary to
consider various platforms of distance learning while learning
the language and become proficient to it.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

There is much information written about the benefits of

Distance Learning on English proficiency. Advocates for
integrating Distance learning into the virtual classroom
emphasize the positive and negative effects of Distance Learning.

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Computer usage in classroom increases the students’ amount of
inactive time and decreases their active time. Physical activity
keeps the brain active and focused, so it is important for
students to be physically involved in their learning. With the
increased use of Distance Learning the physical aspect of
learning is often neglected. Social networking sites, such as
Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are thriving on the use of short
snippets of information. Shortened forms of full words, and
fully developed sentences and thoughts. Although these programs
are not used in the academic writing, we must recognize that
students use these sites regularly, and it is dramatically
changing the way we read and write. Though, studies showed
overwhelmingly positive effects of Distance Learning on English
proficiency. It is important to note that the achievement of
positive effects is the result of some common components.
Note that in this study there are two variables associated.
The distance learning and English proficiency of students. But
one is the dependent variable, and it is the English proficiency
and the other one is the independent variable is the distance
learning.
Assuming that the other factors are constant during the
research period it is possible to correlate the two variables and
thus confirmed that, there are positive and negative effects of
distance learning in the English proficiency of the students.

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 In the conduct of the study, the researchers are guided by
the conceptual paradigm in Figure 1 presented as follows:

English Proficiency

Negative effects of Positive effects of

Distance Learning Distance Learning

Figure 1: Conceptual Paradigm

RESEARCH QUESTIONS:
This study will analyze and determine the effects of
Distance Learning to the English proficiency of the TVL Basil
Senior High School students at Bongabon senior High School during
School Year 2020-2021.
Specifically, this study will answer the following
questions:

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 1. What are the modes of Distance learning that will suit the
ability and capability of the students in the improvement of
their English proficiency?
2. Are there negative effects of distance learning in the
English proficiency of the students?
3. Are there positive effects of distance learning in the
English proficiency of the students?
4. What are the possible outcomes of distance learning to the
English proficiency of students?

SCOPE AND DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY

This study focuses on the effects of Distance Learning in

English proficiency of Grade 12 TVL Basil students. The data
collection will be conducted to 50% of the total population in
Grade 12 of Bongabon Senior High School, School Year 2020-2021
who will represent the population.
This study will not cover other problems that are not
consider as the effects of Distance Learning to the English
proficiency. The other students which do not fall as part of
Grade 12 TVL Basil students are not within the scope of this
research.
The study will be done through the utilization of
questionnaire to the students as a survey and reference. By their
strategy, the researchers will be able to know the effects of
Distance Learning to English proficiency of Grade 12 TVL Basil
students in Bongabon Senoior High School.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This research will be beneficial to the students because

they will know the negative and positive effects of distance
learning in their English proficiency. In this study the students
can be aware on things that may help them to improve their
performance in English and what the distance learning can do to
them.

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 This research will also be Beneficial to teachers and
administrators because they will be able to understand the
implementation of distance learning and its effect to the
academic performances of the students particularly the English
proficiency. They can easily device a platform that will help the
students’ performance in English.
This research will help to the parents They can know the
effects of distance learning to the English proficiency of their
children. The parents knowing the effects of distance learning to
the English proficiency of their children they can help to boost
the morale and confidence of their children with lower
performance in English.
This research will be beneficial to the future researchers
because they can get some information that might needed in their
research and some of their question may possibly be answered by
this research.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

COVID-19- is a disease caused by a new strain of coronavirus.

'CO' stands for corona, 'VI' for virus, and 'D' for disease.
Formerly, this disease was referred to as '2019 novel
coronavirus' or '2019-nCoV.
Distance learning- also called distance education, e-learning,
and online learning, form of education in which the main elements
include physical separation of teachers and students during
instruction and the use of various technologies to facilitate
student-teacher and student-student communication.
English proficiency- s the ability of Students to use the English
language to make and communicate meaning in spoken and written
contexts while completing their program of study.
Face-to-face learning- is an instructional method where course
content and learning material are taught in person to a group of
students. This allows for a live interaction between a learner
and an instructor.
Virtual classroom-virtual classroom is a digital learning
environment that allows teachers and students to connect in
online in real time. It also refers to an online system that
allows students and teachers to communicate and collaborate.

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 CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND FOREIGN STUDIES

This literature review provides a body of relevant concepts,

knowledge, and theory used in the field of online education and
its comparison with traditional face-to-face education. Beginning
with a brief history about the first forms of distance education
and its mutation into online education, I move to studies that
have compared the two methodologies—face-to-face and online—which
leads to the factors of student characteristics and the role of
instructors in online settings.

Quality standards for the implementation, development, and

evaluation of online courses are explored. Theoretical frameworks
such as community of inquiry, constructivism and social
constructivism are presented. I also review some studies about
online foreign language education as well as the international
foreign language learning standards brought by the CEFR, which
are widely used all over the world. There is no exception.

Distance and Online Education

Distance education started as an alternative for many

individuals whose lifestyles, location, or time constraints
prevented them from attending face-to-face educational programs.
According to Courtney and Wilhoite-Mathews (2015), distance
education took its earliest form in the shape of correspondence

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teaching and learning using print-based materials. This method,
however, had many limitations. One of these limitations was the
slow physical delivery of materials and the lack of valuable
feedback and communication.

By the 1960s, a second generation of distance education

emerged when broadcast media was used to complement the print-
based material. Nevertheless, there was still little or no direct
interaction between the instructor and the learners or among the
learners themselves. Communication and delivery of knowledge and
information remained mostly unidirectional and with a lack of
timely feedback. (Courtney & Wilhoite-Mathews, 2015). However,
due to the purpose it served, distance education has never
disappeared. With the advance of the Internet, distance education
has evolved to the point where it is now. Online education has
increased the number of people opting for distance education in
the last decades and has promoted new kinds of interactive
education (Collins & Halverson, 2010).

Improving English Proficiency through Learning strategy

Instruction
Before discussing on how to improve English Proficiency, the
citation of Oxford’s (1990: 1) will be important. She states
“Appropriate language learning strategies result in improved
proficiency and greater self-confidence”.

Related to that idea, J. Michael O’Malley in Wenden and

Rubin (1987: 133) mentions “research and theory in second
language learning strongly suggest that good language learners
use a variety of strategies to assist them in gaining command
over new language skills”. In line with him, Brown (1994: 190)
states that successful language learners have achieved their

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goals through conscious, systematic application of a battery of
strategies Based on the idea above, it can be concluded that
foreign language learners’ proficiency will be improved if they
can apply appropriate learning strategies.

To actualize the idea is not easy. Therefore, they need to

be instructed learning strategies because learning strategies are
the important tools in their foreign language learning. The
language learning strategies used by a language learner will
really influence his or her language proficiency.

Considering the importance of learning strategies for

students, foreign language teachers need to train their students
in using those strategies since Wragg in McInerney and McInerney
(1998: 800 states “successful teachers had higher expectations
for students and saw themselves primarily as instructors whose
task it was to help them learn”. This is supported by Oxford
(1990: 201) who states:

Learners need to learn how to learn. And teachers need to

learn how to facilitate the process. Although learning is
certainly part of the human condition, conscious skill in self-
directed learning and in strategy use must be sharpened through
training. Strategy training is especially necessary around second
and foreign languages. Language learning …Strategy training
should not be abstract and theoretical but should be highly
practical and useful for students.

Before discussing about how to conduct the learning strategy

instruction effectively, it is necessary to pay attention to the
idea of Chamot et.al., (1999: 35-36) who remind to consider
several factors related with the instructor and the learners, and
the instruction for effective learning strategy instruction,
below: Both individual and instructional factors can impact the

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effectiveness of learning strategies instruction. These factors
include the beliefs of both students and teachers regarding
learning, the social climate of the learning setting, and general
approaches to instruction used in the classroom.

Comparing Online Learning With Traditional Face-to-Face Learning

Some studies have indicated that, given the same conditions,

students in online settings outperform their face-to-face
counterparts (Bourelle et al., 2016; Means et Al., 2009; Zhang et
al., 2004), while others demonstrate that either there are no
significant differences in the outcomes of face-to-face students
when compared to online students (Ni, 2013), or that face-toface
students performed better than online students (Heppen et al.,
2017). Bourelle et al. (2016) analyzed the assessment scores from
three sections of English 102 (two online and one face-to-face)
at the University of New Mexico to compare student learning of
multimodal literacies in online and face-to-face courses. For
this, the authors used a mixed method approach in which the
quantitative part used the scores students received in their e-
portfolios and the qualitative section included the analysis of
students’ quotes and reflections to identify potential reasons
for the differences. They found that the online students obtained
better results than the face-to-face students and stated that a
possible cause for these results may be the quick formative
feedback students in the online settings received from their
instructors, which was more difficult to do for the face-to-face
classes due to time restrictions. Similar positive outcomes from
online students had previously been obtained by Zhang et al.
(2004). In order to assess the effectiveness of an online

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program, Zhang et al. (2004) conducted two experiments comparing
traditional classroom instruction to online instruction with
undergraduate students from 10 majors at the University of
Arizona. For both experiments, students were randomly assigned
into the experimental group or control groups. For the first
experiment, the researchers placed 17 students in a traditional
face-to-face classroom and 17 in the online setting. For the
second experiment, there were 34 students in the traditional
classroom group and 35 in the online group. The same instructors
who taught the classroom groups also prepared the course
materials for the online groups to ensure the content was
consistent across all groups. The effectiveness was assessed
through both test grades and students’ satisfaction. The test
grades of students who were in the online settings were
significantly higher than those of students in traditional
classroom groups. In contrast, the satisfaction levels of
students in all groups did not show any statistically significant
difference. In this study the delivery method had an impact on
student outcomes. These results are also consistent with the
results of the meta-analysis conducted by Means et al. (2009),
which is one of the more comprehensive studies found now. Means
et al. (2009) conducted the meta-analysis for the United States
Department of Education. They analyzed a total of 176 studies: 99
contrasted online or blended learning and face-to-face
instruction. Of these 99 studies, 28 referred to fully online
programs. Only two favored the traditional face-to-face approach.
The researchers found that Students who took all or part of their
class online performed better, on average, than those taking the
same course through traditional face-to-face instruction.
Learning outcomes for students who engaged in online learning
exceeded those of students receiving face-to-face instruction,
with an average effect size of +0.24 favoring online conditions.

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(Means et al., 2009, p. xiv) Another important finding in this
meta-analysis relates to the type of student population: The
effectiveness of online learning approaches appears quite broad
across different content and learner types. Online learning
appeared to be an effective option for both undergraduates (mean
effect of +0.35, p < .001) and for graduate students and
professionals (+0.17, p < .05) in a wide range of academic and
professional studies (Means et al., 2009, p. xv). They also found
that in studies where curriculum and instruction were identical
or almost identical in both the online and face-to-face classes,
size effects were smaller than in those studies where the two
conditions had variations in multiple aspects of instruction.

Some other studies have found that there is no difference in

the outcomes for students who took their courses online and those
who took them face-to-face. Ni (2013) conducted a 2- year study
for the purpose of comparing student performance in online and
face-to-face classes in terms of interaction and efficacy in a
public administration class. She used a total of six classes to
compare learning effectiveness. Three classes received online
instruction while the other three attended face-to-face classes.
The program used was the same for all online and faceto-face
classes and they were taught by the same instructor. The results
obtained through student performance records and surveys
indicated that student performance is independent of the method
of instruction. Also, results show that 10 % of students failed
in online classes as compared to only 4% in face-to-face classes
and failure in the online courses came mostly from students who
dropped out. Ni’s (2013) research found this to be consistent
with the research results of Carr (2000) and McLaren (2004) where
dropout rates are found to be higher in online settings. Ni’s
results support the idea that the outcomes do not vary

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significantly between methods, the differences reported had to do
with students´ characteristics rather than with the method of
instruction. Heppen et al. (2017), did not obtain such positive
or neutral results. Their experimental study compared the impact
between online Algebra I for credit recovery and the face-to-face
version of the course for students in Chicago public school
students who failed the course during their first year in high
school. They concluded that online students found the course to
be more difficult and had more negative attitudes about
mathematics than their face-to-face counterparts. Additionally,
online students had lower algebra assessment scores, grades, and
credit recovery rates than the face-to-face students, but they
also found that longer-term academic outcomes were not
significantly different for online or face-to-face students.
Despite the difficulties, the authors suggest that both online
and face-to-face credit recovery courses allow students to
recover credit, and that the continuous improvement of online
courses is essential to fulfill the great need for flexible
alternatives for many students. Interested in the role of
students’ characteristics in the success or failure of students
enrolled in online courses, Xu and Jaggars (2014) examined the
performance gap between online and face-to-face students and the
variation of the gaps based on student subgroups and subject
areas in students enrolled in over 500,000 courses from over
40,000 community colleges in Washington State. They found that
the typical student had more difficulty succeeding in online
courses than in face-to-face courses and that the size of the gap
varied significantly across subgroups: male, Black students, and
students with lower levels of academic preparation had stronger
performance gaps. The researchers also found that students of the
social sciences and applied professions such as nursing or law
had wider performance gaps. These results suggest that variables

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such as socioeconomic strata, students’ backgrounds, and lower
academic performance may have an effect in the overall
performance in online courses. This conclusion also supports the
idea that students’ characteristics may play an important role in
the success or failure of online courses, and they will be
explored further here.

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

While this study used a quantitative design to answer the

research questions, it also included a qualitative component to
support the findings and understand the results. A randomized-to-
groups pretest-posttest comparison group design was used to
determine if there were differences in the outcomes of students
taking their English subjects face-to-face with those taking it
online. The independent variable was the instructional method,
some other variables were considered: socioeconomic strata, age,
previous experience with online courses, instructors, course
completion, attendance, and time on course. The dependent
variables were the posttest scores on speaking, listening,
reading, writing, and the overall scores on the English
proficiency exam. The pretest scores served as a covariate.

RESEARCH DESIGN

The researchers used a randomized-to-groups pretest-posttest

comparison group design and a qualitative component. The pretest
scores were used to establish a baseline and as a covariate in
the results. The independent variable was the instructional
method (with two levels: face-to-face and online), other

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variables were also considered: socioeconomic strata, age,
previous experience with online courses, instructors, course
completion, attendance, and time on course. The dependent
variables were the posttest scores on speaking, listening,
reading, writing, and the overall scores on the English
proficiency exam.

Planning was an essential part of this study. Strategies for

data collection for the qualitative part had to be adjusted after
the intervention started as the needs to obtain additional
information became clearer with time. This study used an
inductive approach as there are no theories or hypothesis to test
and the research questions were used to guide the procedure.

Locale of the Study

This research will be done at Bongabon Senior High School,

located at the Sinipit, Bongabon, Nueva Ecija along the Maharlika
Highway. This school offers Senior High School program that
started last school year 2017-2018.

Respondents of the Study

Thirty-seven (37) students of Bongabon Senior High School

who are under the Technical-Vocational and Livelihood track and
classified as members of Basil section will become the
respondents of survey in this study. All of them will undergo the
interview and will answer the questionnaire prepared by the
researchers.

Table 1. Number of respondents

SECTION TRACK RESPONDENTS

Basil TVL 37

Data Gathering Procedures

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 Data were gathered through a systematic random sampling, by
getting the fifth element of each row or the person listed
alphabetically in the class record of their classes. Data
Analysis The study will utilize Chi square to determine the
effects of Distance Learning and their level of progress in the
English proficiency exam. x 2 critical approach shall be used to
draw statistical inference at 0.05 level of significance.

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