Grammatical Competencies Gained in English Plus:

A Basis for Module Enhancement

A Research Study

Presented to the Faculty of the Department of Teacher

Education

Eduardo L. Joson Memorial College

Palayan City, Nueva Ecija

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree

Bachelor of Secondary Education Major in English

By

Cesario, Jamaila Rhea

Facunla, Ken Cedrick
Macabangon, Beverly
Nagaño, Chantal Mae
Orden, Jiana
Paras, Javelyn

May 2022

1
 Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

According to Anindya Widita, B.A., M.A (2018),

English has become a worldwide language in which it is

widely spoken, as well as an official language in cross-

national communication. Professionally, English is the

most extensively utilized language in the worldwide

workforce. It is widely acknowledged that English

proficiency is a critical skill for one's survival and

progress in today's world. Nowadays, numerous professions

are looking for English competence; it has become a must

that everyone have these skills.

As cited by Leyaley (2014)'s study on the

Employability Skills of Teacher Education Graduates of

Kalinga Apayao State College, in today's global world, the

importance of English cannot be overstated or overlooked

because it is the most widely spoken language on the

planet. English has played a significant part in numerous

areas, including medical, engineering, and education,

which is thought to be the most important arena where

English is required (Kasim,2008).

 Nonetheless, numerous studies have shown that

Filipinos' English language skill has declined over time.

The government responded to the decline by issuing

Executive Order 210, which directs the Department of

Education to utilize English as a second language in

elementary school and as the medium of teaching in high

school. It has also required teachers to take remedial

English classes.

According to Leyaley (2014)'s study on the

Employability Skills of Teacher Education Graduates of

Kalinga Apayao State College, both BEEd and BSEd graduates

of the institute are highly proficient in oral

communication but only moderately skilled in written

communication. And written communication abilities are the

primary criterion for evaluating one's work, learning, and

intellect in college, the workplace, and the community.

Teacher education students, both pre-service and in-

service, are expected to write a lot. They create lesson

plans and learning plans, as well as the written

requirements with which they must comply. In this regard,

the researcher took note of the English grammar

proficiency of freshmen students enrolled in the Institute

of Teacher Education of the Kalinga Apayao State College,

with the hope that the findings will assist both the
researcher and the Institute in developing ways to improve

students' use of the English language, a language that

future teachers must be proficient in.

The findings imply that despite all of the research

that has been undertaken demonstrating the poor or fair

English language skills of basic education students, it

has remained a concern. And if these students are allowed

to continue unchecked, they will once again be a source of

concern because these students who chose to become

teachers will contribute to the poor performance of their

students, and at worst, will stymie the efforts of parents

and children in achieving their dreams.

As Henry Brooks Adams once said, a teacher affects

eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.

This is the same instance that the researchers want

to address. As cited in CMO No. 74, s. 2017 (Policies,

standards and guidelines for Bachelor of Elementary

Education), Section 6 (program outcomes), 6.3 (specific to

the BEEd program) letter d. "Manifest skills in

communication, higher order thinking and use of tool and

technology to accelerate learning and teaching."

This is a support to the K to 12 Curriculum Guide for

English subjects' outcomes "The ultimate goal of the

Language Arts and Multiliteracies Curriculum (LAMC) is to

produce graduates who apply the language conventions,

principles, strategies and skills in (1) interacting with

others, (2) understanding and learning other content

areas, and (3) fending for themselves in whatever endeavor

they may engage in."

LAMC has five (5) components, and the first one is

Language Learning Process which is guided by the six (6)

language teaching principles, and the first one of these

six is "Spiral Progression".

As stated in the K to 12 Curriculum Guide for

English, "skills, grammatical items, structures and

various types of text will be taught, revised and

revisited at increasing levels of difficulty and

sophistication. This will allow students to progress from

the foundational level to higher levels of language use."

The efficiency of the university's English Plus

program was investigated in a study conducted by Jocelyn

I. Bartolata and Ma. Celina Eladia G. Meneseses. Tackling

this issue significantly contributed to the creation of

competitive graduates who will also contribute to national

growth. On year 2016, another study from the same

researchers finds that non-English plus students

outperform English plus students when it comes to applying

their grammar abilities. The final phase test averaged

45.82 for English Plus, putting them in average

proficiency (AP) whereas Non-English Plus test takers

averaged 68.48. This is compared to the pre-post and post-

post tests administered to different groups of people.

Grammar competencies are vital for higher education

teaching and learning since they impact how well students

will understand and critically analyze content in their

field.

The purpose of this descriptive study is to address

the lack of proficiency in English in each grammar

competency in the English Plus course: classes of words,

sentence elements, types of sentences, correct use of

verbs, modifiers, subject-verb agreement, and pronoun

usage based on the midterm and final scores of the

students. These assessments will serve as the foundation

for assessing students' most and least learned grammatical

competencies in English Plus. This study seeks to

determine what module improvement can be made based on the

findings of the study.

This research study emphasizes education as a human

right and a driver for sustainable development, with the

goal of “ensuring inclusive and equitable quality

education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for

all” (UNICEF SDG 4, Target No. 4.1). Furthermore,

sustainable development goals aid the educational gaps and

inequities, links the bridge of children's opportunity to

have quality education in order to break the cycle of

poverty in the community as they will develop and use

their full potential. It emphasizes the importance of

providing high-quality education to all children,

particularly those from low-income families, children from

rural areas, individuals with disabilities, indigenous

people, and refugee children. This believes that education

can make the socioeconomic mobility increase.

This study will last the entire school year 2021-

2022. The respondents in this survey are first-year

college Bachelor of Elementary Education (BEEd) students

taking English Plus to determine the greatest and least

grammatical competencies acquired in the course English

Plus. The goal of this research is to assist the teachers

and staff of Eduardo L. Joson Memorial College in making

recommendations for module enhancements to assist and

address the lack of competencies that must be fulfilled.

Through midterm and final exam results, assessing the

acquired capabilities of students who took the English

Plus course will serve as a foundation for observing

advances of students' grammatical competencies in

understanding English Plus. As a result, having solutions

to direct the researcher to what modifications they should

make for the development of teaching English Plus to all

college students, particularly those enrolled in the

Elementary Education course, is essential. The collected

data and outcomes will determine which developmental

programs should be incorporated in order to have competent

individuals, notably elementary educators.

Statement of the Problem

The aim of the study is to enhance the grammatical

competencies of students in English courses.

Specifically, the study tries to answer the following

research questions:

1. How may the grammatical competencies of the

respondents in English Plus be described in terms of:

1.1 classes of words;

1.2 sentence elements;

1.3 types of sentences;

1.4 correct use of verbs;

1.5 modifiers;

1.6 subject-verb agreement; and

 1.7 pronoun usage?

2. What are the most learned competencies of student in

English Plus?

3. What are the least learned competencies of student in

English Plus?

4. What module enhancement can be made based in the

findings of the study?

Conceptual Framework
This research is anchored with the study of Charles

Brent Magpayo, Rea Dolor J. Paras, and Nicole, Paula E.

Sarmiento of Holy Angel University entitled Grammatical

Competence of First Year English Major Students at Holy

Angel University's Teacher Education Department, A.Y.

2014-2015: An Assessment. The researchers tested the

grammatical competency of 70 future English instructors at

Holy Angel University using an adapted Belk and Thompson

grammar test questionnaire (1999). The test assessed

participants' knowledge in many grammar areas, including

word classes, sentence parts, sentence kinds, correct use

of verbs, modifiers, subject-verb agreement, and pronoun

usage. In general, the results indicated that the

participants' grammatical skill was average. The findings

revealed that the participants have an average level of

grammatical skill. However, the bulk of participants

(42.86%) have poor grammar skills. The participants have

high levels of grammatical proficiency in modifiers, word

classes, verb usage, and subject-verb agreement. The

findings, on the other hand, revealed that the

participants exhibit low grammatical competence in

sentence parts, sentence types, and pronoun usage.

This study looked at the grammar categories and

specific grammar points where participants struggled, as

well as the items where they excelled. This study looked

into the possible underlying causes of their difficulties,

as well as prospective solutions. Furthermore, the

researchers developed an instructional material that is

tailored to the communicative grammar teaching technique,

allowing for contextualized conversation using actual

materials as well as assessment to address the issues in

the aforementioned grammar domains. The study made

recommendations based on the evaluation results, taking

into account the existing language acquisition theories

and associated studies mentioned in the paper, as well as

their implications.
Independent Variable Dependent Variable

Grammatical Competencies
Gained in English Plus
English Plus Module
(Most and Least Gained Enhancement
Competencies)

The researchers plan to examine students' grammatical

competency in the English Plus course, specifically the

most and least gained grammatical competencies of BEEd

students using Midterm and Final test results. This

presents an idea for offering an acceptable module

upgrade.

Scope and Limitations of the Study

This study focuses on the enhancement of the module

of English Plus course based on the most and least learned

grammatical competencies of first year Eduardo L. Joson

Memorial College (ELJMC) Bachelor of Elementary Education

(BEEd) students in English Plus. The data will be based on

their midterm and final exam results. This study serves

the purpose of not just assessing gained competencies, but

also enhancement of the English module that could help

ELJMC in the future.

 To satisfy the objectives of the study, quantitative

research will be held. The data of the midterm and final

test score of first-year BEEd students will be collected

from their English Plus instructor. This study covers

students of Bachelor of Elementary Education (BEEd)

enrolled in A.Y. 2021 – 2022 in English Plus course.

Significance of the Study

This study will benefit the following:

Administration of the College. The findings of this survey

will enable the college administration to take efforts to

ensure that students' learning experiences are as positive

as possible. The administration will be able to determine

which aspects of learning should be prioritized and make

improvements that will develop its students' competency

skills as a result of this.

Teachers of the College. The findings of this study may

help to identify appropriate enhancements for English

language competence in the curriculum for both the

teaching and learning processes of students.

Students of the College. This will benefit the college

students, as they are the primary focus of our research.

The study is geared to assisting all students taking up

English Plus as their subject by developing a proper

curriculum that will allow them to enrich their English

competencies and become prepared as they continue to

pursue a career after college.

Future Researchers. This research on the English Plus

competencies will serve as a reference for students who

choose to pursue further study in this area. Future

researchers may utilize the data presented in this study

as a reference to further develop the research in relation

to the variables they employ. This could serve as a

guideline for prospective researchers to have some

background information about the study.

Definition of Terms

Classes of words. Is a grammatical competence that

assessed nouns, pronouns, adverbs, prepositions, action

verbs, linking verbs, auxiliary verb, adjectives,

coordinating conjunctions, correlative conjunction and

interjections.
CHED MEMORANDUM ORDER. No. 74. Series of 2017 (CMO).

Refers to the guidelines to identify the program outcomes,

specified to the Bachelor of Elementary Education (BEEd).

Correct use of Verbs. Refers to correct use of the verb,

past tense of the verb, base form of the verb after the

auxiliary verb and perfect aspect of the verb, along with

an item containing verbs that are not possible answers.

Division Memorandum No. 61, s. 2019. Refers to the

guidelines to determine the most and least Grammatical

competencies gained in English Plus.

English Plus. Refers to the subject that meant to address

the English Language deficiency of incoming freshmen by

providing them enabling skills to cope with college.

Grammar. The whole system and structure of a language or

of languages in general, usually taken as consisting of

syntax and morphology (including inflections) and

sometimes also phonology and semantics.

Grammar Structure. In English grammar, sentence structure

is the arrangement of words, phrases, and clauses in a

sentence. The grammatical function or meaning of a

sentence is dependent on this structural organization,

which is also called syntax or syntactic structure.

Language Arts and Multiliteracies Curriculum (LAMC). Is

composed of five (5) intricately intertwined and

integrated sub-strands (listening, speaking, reading,

writing, and viewing) that serve as building blocks for

understanding and creation of meaning and for effective

communication across curricula.

Modifier. It is a grammatical competence refers to a

word/phrase/clause which modifies words in a sentence. It

can be adjective or an adverb.

Pronoun usage. A pronoun is defined as a word or phrase

that is used as a substitution for a noun or noun phrase,

which is known as the pronoun’s antecedent. Pronouns are

short words and can do everything that nouns can do and

are one of the building blocks of a sentence.

Spiral Progression. The idea in spiral progression

approach is to expose the learners into a wide variety of

concepts/topics and disciplines, until they mastered it by

studying it over and over again but with different

deepening of complexity.

Subject-verb agreement. Subject-verb agreement refers to

the relationship between the subject and predicate of the

sentence. Subjects and verbs must always agree in two

ways: tense and number.

Table of Specifications (TOS). Refers to a tool used to

ensure that a test or assessment measures the content and

thinking skills that the test intends to measure. Thus,

when used appropriately, it can provide response content

and construct (i.e., response process) validity evidence.

Types of Sentences. It is a grammatical competence that

tackles about simple sentences, compound sentences,

complex sentences, run-ons/comma splice sentences and

sentence fragment
 Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

Introduction

The goal of this study, 'Grammatical Competencies

Gained in English: A Basis for Module Enhancement,' is to

identify the most and least gained grammatical

competencies of students in the course English Plus in

order to establish what sort of enhancement should be done

to fill the gap in the course module.

To become proficient in the English language, one

must be well-versed in grammar competencies in English

Plus specifically: classes of words, sentence elements,

types of sentences, correct use of verbs, modifiers,

subject-verb agreement, and pronoun usage. Understanding

grammar allows us to understand what makes words and

paragraphs clear, intriguing, and exact. Grammar knowledge

aids the student in the repair of errors and the

improvement of written work. Only by unconscious

integration can a person learn a new language accurately.

When our linguistic habits fail us, grammar is a reliable

source of reference. As a result, grammar is essential for

the student. Grammar is important in teaching because it

determines how effectively a teacher communicates his

lessons. Knowing the language's highs and lows can make or

break a lesson. If a teacher is familiar with grammar, he

may be able to change the level of difficulty of words to

be utilized. Mastering a language necessitates this skill

— appropriately for a variety of purposes and educational

contexts.

Gained Competencies in English Plus

Bartolata & Meneses (2013) looked into the

effectiveness of the university's English Plus program in

order to make sound policy recommendations for its

continued implementation. In their study, the

effectiveness of the English Plus program is defined as

(1) the performance of English Plus (EP) and non-English

Plus (non-EP) participants in the non-credit course

English Plus, and (2) the performance of EP and non-EP

participants in English 1 & 2. The findings will be used

to improve the program as a whole, as well as to improve

the university's services. Eventually, addressing the

university's clientele's language problem will greatly

contribute to developing competitive graduates who will

also contribute to national development.

The study is detailed and well defined, focusing on

Bicol University's strengths and weaknesses regarding the

effectiveness of English Plus. As a result, it appears

that the program is only effective in terms of its

immediate effect, but ineffective in terms of assimilation

to new experiences. It is recommended and evaluated to use

efficient and effective strategies in teaching the English

Plus Program. Grammar instruction must be both structural

and functional, as well as communicative. As a result, the

English Plus Program can help you improve your

communication skills and become more globally competitive.

Moreover, Otaala & Plattner (2013) found out in their

study that language competencies are important for

teaching and learning in higher education as they

determine how well students will be able to understand and

critically analyze knowledge pertaining to their subject.

The results of the study suggest that university lecturers

and students differ significantly in their implicit

beliefs about students’ English language competencies.

Such discrepancy could hamper academic achievements in

higher education. Owing to their beliefs, lecturers may

underestimate students’ language competencies and,

therefore, lower their expectations while students may

overestimate their language competencies and, therefore,

see no need for improving their language skills, all of

which is likely to negatively affect academic standards.

In the long run, opposing beliefs among lecturers and

students may compromise students’ learning experience as

well as their academic and professional success.

From English Plus to English 1 and 2: Assessing Transfer

of

Grammar Skills

The study's goal is to see if there is a significant

difference in pre-post tests taken by English plus and

non-English plus takers. According to the findings of the

study, non-English plus test takers outperformed English

plus test takers in terms of applying grammar skills. The

last phase test averaged 45.82 for English plus takers,

placing them in average proficiency (AP), while Non

English plus takers averaged 68.48, placing them in moving

towards proficiency (MTP).

Grammar learning demonstrates that it can be taught

or that it can show improvement to students in a short

period of time, making English plus a perfect aid to

students' lack of grammar skill proficiency.

Grammar Competencies

As cited by Magpayo, Paras and Sarmiento

(2015), the study of Collins and Hollo, 2000; Clarke,

Dickinson & Westbrook, 2010, Cowan, 2008; Greenbaum &

Nelson, 2002; Crystal, 2005; Klammer, Schulz & Volpe,

2000, Grammar is defined as the set of rules that show how

words or group of words are arranged to form sentences in

the language. Thus, English grammar includes the set of

rules that govern sentence formation in English or to put

words together to form larger units of language Grammar,

therefore, is commonly composed of two sub-fields:

morphology (word formation) and syntax (sentence

formation). Grammatical competence is found to be

significant in a number of ways. Canale and Swain (1980)

assert that without grammar, the learners can only

communicate effectively in a limited number of instances

or situations, cited by Magpayo, Paras and Sarmiento

(2015). Moreover, having appropriate grammatical

competence will help the learners to posses such ability

in producing the language. It is closely related to how to

combine lexical resources as well as the rules correctly,

Fikron (2018).

Word classes
According to the study of Sean Allison (2020) about the

overview of the major word classes, minor word classes,

and grammatical markers of Makary Kotoko. The major word

classes are nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and

ideophones. 1Propertiesof nouns and verbs are discussed in

some detail here as this is the only place in the grammar

where all the information is presented together. At the

same time this serves as an overview of certain aspects of

the grammar which will hopefully help orient the reader to

both the brief presentation of the minor word classes and

grammatical markers discussed further below, as well as to

subsequent chapters. For adjectives, adverbs, and

ideophones, their properties are addressed in more detail

in particular sections of the grammar so I provide a

summary here and refer the reader to the relevant

sections. The minor word classes and grammatical markers

(ad positions, locative specifiers, numerals, quantifiers,

demonstratives, determiners, pronouns, reflexive and

reciprocal markers, subject markers, aspect/mode markers,

modifying markers, non-specific marker, copulas, locative

particles, sequential markers, subordinators,

complementizer, negative marker, interrogative markers,

and information structure markers) are also presented

summarily here, and addressed in greater detail at

different points within the description of the grammar.

Word classes are words that have a meaning that

completes sentences. It is also where we can obtain

information and thoughts about entire phrases. Learning

word classes allows us to clearly interpret our concepts.

Determining the purposes of each class of words will

result in a solid sentence structure.

Sentence Elements

Alimi (2018) the structural syntax studies the phrase -s

as a group of words pronounced altogether and conveying a

message or information about the doer of action that is

proceeding the predicate (NP), the act ion itself (VP) and

the object of an action (NP), that is following the

predicate as well as the information about the

circumstances of the action (PP, Adv.P), etc. On the other

hand, the functional syntax studies the sentence elements

which are also conveying similar messages or information.

Thus, the subject consists of the NP and is placed before

the predicate, whereas the Object is also a NP, but placed

after the predicate. The predicate as a heart or nucleus

of the sentence is in the same time a VP, describing the

action of the doer and his situation. The PP is usually an

adjunct because it gives information about the

circumstances of time, place, and manner in which the

action occurs. The adjective phrase as a special

independent phrase is usually in the position of the

Subject complement because it gives the description of the

subject as a doer of an action.

Phrases, according to structural syntactic research,

are clusters of words that are uttered together to convey

information and messages. Those who are familiar with the

phrase, its modifiers, and its headword are in a good

position to identify the sentence's elements. To develop

good sentences, it is also necessary to consider the basic

sentence pattern.

Types of Sentences

Sri Suprihatin (2014) knowing the basic sentence

structure or sentence types of English helps writer in a

variety of ways. Knowing the best sentence types offers

writer control over how to choose to present information.

For some writers, learning the basic sentence patterns can

make it easier to check sentence structure at the editing

stage of writing. Sheldon (2010) says that all sentence

types have subject, verb, and represent a complete

statement. According to Westervelt (2003:1) independent

and dependent clauses can be used in a number of ways to

form the four basic types of sentences: simple, compound,

complex, and compound complex. Musser (2008:2) says that

there are four types of sentences classified by structure;

Simple Sentence, Compound Sentence, Complex Sentence,

Compound – Complex Sentence. A simple sentence is a group

of words with one independent clause. Musser (2008:2) says

that a simple sentence may contain a single subject and a

single verb, a compound subject and a single verb, a

single subject and a compound verb, or a compound subject

and a compound verb. A compound sentence has two

independent clauses (Musser, 2008:3). These types of

sentences can be joined by three ways: using coordinate

conjunctions, using coordinate adverb and using semicolon

to separate the sentences. A Complex Sentence consists of

one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses.

Each clause must have a subject and a verb (Musser,

2008:4). A dependent clause must include a subordinating

word (dependent conjunction), a subject and a verb. Oshima

and Hogue (2006:231) said that complex sentence can be a

good improvisation in writing because it is a mark of a

mature writing style. A compound-complex sentence is two

or more independent clauses and one or more dependent

clauses. A compound-complex sentence joins coordinate and

subordinate ideas into a single sentence (Musser, 2008:5).

Learning the fundamentals of sentence form allows us

to comprehend words, concepts, and ideas in a more

meaningful way. It will also improve our written and

communicative skills so that we can freely write our views

using proper sentence forms. If we know how to form

sentences, it will make the reader's life easier. A

sentence contains either an independent clause or both

independent and dependent clauses. We shall be guided if

our sentence is aligned to the structures by using these

clauses. Furthermore, we employ coordinate conjuctions,

adverbs, and semicolons to determine each sentence while

constructing compound sentences. Knowing these sentence

kinds will help us become better and more productive

writers.

Correct Use of Verb

According to corpus research, in academic writing, the

three tenses used the most often are the simple present,

the simple past, and the present perfect (Biber et al.,

1999; Caplan, 2012). The next most common tense for

capstone writers is the future; the doctoral

study/dissertation proposal at Walden is written in this

tense for a study that will be conducted in the future.

Simple present, use the simple present to describe a

general truth or a habitual action. This tense indicates

that the statement is generally true in the past, present,

and future. Simple past, use the simple past tense to

describe a completed action that took place at a specific

point in the past (e.g., last year, 1 hour ago, last

Sunday). In the example below, the specific point of time

in the past is 1998. Present perfect, use the present

perfect to indicate an action that occurred at a

nonspecific time in the past.

The verb tenses indicate time reference, and the

three most prevalent and frequently used verb sentences

are the simple present, simple past, and present perfect.

These are the most prevalent and used in the sense that

they are the fundamentals and basics of all the tenses.

Modifiers

As cited by McManus (2012), proposed by Paradis (1997) is

influenced by both of the earlier models described

above11, though has most in common with that of Allerton

(1987). Like Allerton’s, Paradis’ model is concerned

specifically with elements that modify adjectives with

respect to degree and emphasizes the importance of the

relationship between degree modifiers and their adjectival

collocates in order to distinguish types of each of these

elements. However, taking Allerton’s classifications of

degree modifiers and adjectives as a basis, Paradis seeks

to provide a more refined description of the former by

analysing the reasons behind the typical degree modifier-

adjective pairings that motivated his distinctions. All

adverbs that are used to denote degree are hereafter

referred to as ‘degree modifiers’ (McManus,2012).

Modifiers are typically lexical words that have

acquired grammatical functions, such as an adverb or an

adjective that adds detail and meaning to a sentence. It

also provides degree requirements for the adjectives that

are being modified.

Subject-Verb Agreement

Mabuan (2015) that is an Analysis of Weblogs’ Grammatical

Errors of Filipino Learners of English as Second Language,

it goes to show that the subject-verb agreement is one of

the seven pervasive errors committed by the participants.

In fact, out of the seven major categories of errors, the

subject-verb agreement was the second most frequently

occurring error garnering 19.93% of the total errors

committed. The major cause of this error is that the

respondents of the study had confusion in identifying the

subject and its corresponding form so it proved that they

do not have the mastery in syntactic rules to provide

singular verbs for singular subjects and plural verbs for

plural subjects.

According to the survey, subject-verb agreement ranks

second among the seven most often recurring errors

perpetrated by Filipino learners of English as a second

language. The participants are perplexed when it comes to

identifying the subject and the related form. It

demonstrates that the participants do not understand

syntactic rules.

Pronoun Usage

As cited by Putriani (2015), A pronoun is used to

substitute a person, place, and thing. Pronoun is often

used to refer to a noun that has already been mentioned.

William (2005:60) argues “English, like other languages,

resists the duplication of nouns in sentences, so it

replaces duplicated nouns with what are called pronouns”.

Using pronoun can make a text effectively because I does

not mention a noun continuously. Furthermore, there are

some types of pronouns. William (2005:61) states “There

are several other types of pronouns: personal,

demonstrative, reciprocal, possessive, indefinite,

reflexive, and relative”. Another opinion about a pronoun

is stated by Alsagoff (2008:89) who argues “A pronoun

stands in place of a noun phrase, or part of a noun

phrase, when the reference to that noun phrase is clear

from the context”. He divides pronouns into eight types.

There are personal, possessive, reflexive, reciprocal,

demonstrative, indefinite, relative, and interrogative.

The primary function of pronouns is to limit the

duplication of nouns in a phrase. A sentence can be more

effective when pronouns are used to avoid using nouns

repeatedly; also, pronouns can stand in place of nouns to

construct a clearer phrase. Personal, possessive,

reflexive, reciprocal, demonstrative, indefinite,

relative, and interrogative pronouns are accountable for

standing in place of a pronoun.

English Plus

English is the language of government, education,

commerce, and industry of most countries, including the

Philippines. It has been noticeable that Filipinos' good

fluency in English is one significant factor for the

booming call center industry in our country. However,

Filipinos who can speak, read and write excellent English

are exceptions. Studies have shown that the Filipinos'

grasp of the English Language is slipping, and other

Asians are fast catching up.

As cited by Joel Mediano (2019), in the study of

Wilson (2009), it reveals that the untrained and non-

proficient teachers contributed heavily to the declining

English proficiency of Filipinos. In a survey conducted by

the Department of Education in 2008, it was found that 80

percent of secondary school teachers in the Philippines

failed an English proficiency exam. This shows teachers’

low proficiency in English, hence producing graduates with

relatively the same proficiency level. Other factors such

as the country’s bilingual policy, the adverse effects of

media and information technology, erroneous English

textbooks, and dwindling number of English television

channels are also thought to have contributed to the

problem (Wilson, 2).

It was stated in the CHED MO No. 4, S. 1997

disseminating the guidelines for the implementation of the

CHED MO No. 59, S. 1996 International Peer Reviewed

Journal 167 known as “New General Education Curriculum

(GEC)” that the intention of the course named “English

Plus” is to update the English Language skills of students

before they are allowed to take regular English subjects.

Origin and Course Description of English Plus

Lewelling and Vickie W. (1992) According to this

study English Plus was originated at the time of

Independence, America was populated by speakers of many

languages, including English, German, Spanish, French,

Dutch, and Russian, as well as hundreds of American Indian

languages. When the founding fathers decided not to

declare an official language, their reasons included "a

belief in tolerance for linguistic diversity within the

population, the economic and social value of foreign

language knowledge and citizenry, and a desire not to

restrict the linguistic and cultural freedom of those

living in the new country" (Judd, 1987, p. 15). Though the

issue of an official language has surfaced periodically

throughout the United States' history, the issue was not

raised in Congress until 1981, when Senator S.I. Hayakawa

of California introduced a constitutional amendment to

make English the official language of the United States.

At first, the idea seemed to be primarily a symbolic

gesture, giving English, the de facto language of the

country, official status. Actually, the proposed amendment

went further, calling for prohibition of state laws,

ordinances, orders, programs, and policies that require

the use of other languages. Neither the Federal government

nor any state government could require any program,

policy, or document that would use a language other than

English. Concern over the implications such an amendment

could have for U.S. citizens and residents whose native

language is other than English led to the formation of an

"English Plus" language advocacy coalition of more than 50

civil rights and educational organizations. In 1987, the

coalition established the English Plus Information

Clearinghouse (EPIC) under the sponsorship of the Joint

National Committee on Languages and the National

Immigration, Refugee, and Citizenship Forum. EPIC's

purpose is to fulfill the need for centralized information

on language rights and language policy, to respond to

efforts to restrict the use of languages other than

English, and to promote an alternative to Official

English.

ELJMC (2019) This course is a three-unit course that

aims to improve the English language proficiency of

College Freshmen by learning critical grammar structures

necessary for communicative functions such as narrating,

describing, giving directions, etc., and to acquire

adequate vocabulary needed for academic study. The learner

will master fundamental grammar concepts and apply this

knowledge to written documents, oral speaking skills, and

End-of-Course assessment.

Most and Least Gained Competencies

The Department of Education, through the Bureau of

Curriculum Development – Curriculum Standards Development

Division, in collaboration with the Assessment Curriculum

and Technology Research Centre (ACTRC), started working on

the identification of essential learning competencies in

the middle of 2019 as part of its ongoing review of the

intended curriculum. Bureau specialists, academic experts,

and field implementers worked to reach a consensus

regarding the criteria to be used in determining these

competencies. Initiated by Secretary Leonor Magtolis-

Briones, the K to 12 curriculum review is not just meant

to fulfill one of the provisions of Republic Act (RA)

105333 to review the curriculum, but is also part of her

commitment to ensure quality, relevant and liberating

education for all. After the four phases of the

curriculum, a review is completed, the Secretary will

convene the Curriculum Consultative Committee to present

the findings as provided for in Section 6 of the same

Republic Act. The review focuses on articulation within

and across learning areas to identify gaps, issues, and

concerns across learning areas and grade levels.

Specifically, the review covers the following:

 mapping of the essential and desirable learning

competencies within the curriculum;

 identification of prerequisite knowledge and skills

needed to prepare students for essential learning

competencies; and

 analysis of the interconnectedness of prerequisite

knowledge and skills among the learning competencies

for each subject area.

Essential learning competencies are defined

as what the students need, considered indispensable, in

the teaching-learning process to building skills to equip

learners for subsequent grade levels and subsequently, for

lifelong learning. On the other hand, desirable learning

competencies were defined as what may enhance education

but may not be necessary for building foundational skills.

A list of characteristics of essential learning

competencies was provided to help reviewers decide which

among the learning, competencies are deemed most

important.

Learning competency is essential:

1. It is aligned with national and/or local standards/

frameworks (eg: “scientifically literate

Filipinos”).

2. It connects the content to higher concepts across

content areas.

3. It applies to real-life situations.

4. If students leave school, it would still be

important for them have this competency above many

others.

5. It would not be expected for most students to learn

this in settings other than through formal

education.

Relative to the mandate of DepEd Order No. 44, s.

2015 titled Guidelines on the Enhanced School Improvement

Planning (SIP), the school with its stakeholders

collaboratively prepares the SIP after a though analysis

of their school and learner situation. This policy

emanates from the Governance of Basic Education Act of

2001 (RA 9155), which mandates the State to empower

schools and learning centers to make decisions on what is

best for the learners they serve. RA 9155 also entrusts to

the school heads and authority, accountability, and

responsibility to develop school education programs and

the SIP. Furthermore, school heads are tasked to

established school and community networks and to encourage

active participation of teachers' organization, non-

academic personnel of public schools, and parents-

teachers-community associations, especially in doing local

initiatives for the improvement of the school.

Since English Plus is a program designed to help

students as a refresher in of their Senior High School

Core English Courses to improve their communication skills

and become more globally competitive, this study will

adapt the guidelines of the Department of Education, as

stated in the issued Division Memorandum No. 61, s. 2019

of Tarlac City Schools Division, on reporting the list of

most and least learned competencies.

Synthesis of the Reviewed Literature and Studies

All of the articles mentioned above are studies

that help to strengthen and support our proposed study.

These are related to our variables: English Plus most and

least gained competencies and English Plus module

enhancement. These articles offer suggestions for how we

should approach and pursue ours. Although the findings and

outcomes of these studies differ, we cannot deny the fact

that they all have one thing in common: they all address

students' grammar competence in order for them to achieve

English language proficiency. These have given us a

broader perspective on grammar competence and allowed us

to consider where to begin and where the study will take

us. Based on these prior studies, we can be confident that

our research will produce an effective and fruitful

outcome, allowing us to devise appropriate solutions to

the observed problem.

It implies that language proficiency in English has

long been observed in many schools, colleges, and

universities. The researchers have also created programs

to test the students' comprehension in order to assess

their competency. Although the subject English Plus is

taught in college, it appears that there is room for

improvement. To ensure that this study has the potential

to contribute to the needs of the school, we will conduct

a test to assess the students' English grammar

competencies through the assessment of their most and

least gained grammar competencies in the English Plus

course. The researchers will analyze the data that comes

with their test scores from midterm and final exams,

obtain the number of learners who correctly answered each

test items, rank the test items in descending order based

on the numbers of learners who correctly answer each item,

determine the competency on which each test item is based,

and get the top 2 most learned competencies as well as the

lowest 3 to determine which parts need remediation in

order to progress to the next level with a sufficient

amount of competency, and to see where the teachers and

even the institution might be able to meet them halfway.

Chapter 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

In this chapter, the researchers thoroughly discuss

and expand on how the study will be carried out using a

step-by-step approach known as methodology. It presents

the research design, area of study, population, data

collection instrument, instrument administration, and data

analysis method that the researchers will use to ensure

the success of the study.

 To begin, the researchers used a descriptive research

design in the hopes of defining the Eduardo L. Joson

(ELJMC) BEEd, 1st year students' A.Y. 2021-2022 in English

Plus grammatical competencies in terms of: classes of

words, sentence elements, types of sentences, correct use

of verbs, modifiers, subject-verb agreement, and pronoun

usage – the grammatical competencies that students are

expected to learn as written in the English Plus syllabus

empowered by CHEd Memorandum Order No. 59, S. 1996.

To be able to evaluate their performance and

determine their most and least learned competencies, the

researchers will write a letter of request to the

professor involved and will collect the Table of

Specifications (TOS) of the English Plus course, the

aforementioned student-respondents' copies of midterm and

final exams, as well as the test scores of these students.

The identity of the students will remain unknown to

respect confidentiality.

To analyze the data that comes with their test

scores, the researchers will obtain the number of learners

who correctly answered each test items, rank the test

items in descending order based on the numbers of learners

who correctly answer each item, determine the competency

on which each test item is based, and get the top 2 most

learned competencies as well as the lowest 3.

The following materials/tools were used by the

researchers to collect data and information: Table of

Specifications (TOS) of the English Plus course, English

Plus Syllabus, student-respondents' copies of midterm and

final tests, and their test scores.

Since the middle of 2019, the notion of most and

least learned competencies of students has been employed

as part of the year-end report of DepEd division schools

as part of its ongoing examination of the planned

curriculum. The K to 12 curriculum review, initiated by

Secretary Leonor Magtolis-Briones, is not only intended to

meet one of the provisions of Republic Act (RA) 105333 to

review the curriculum, but is also part of her commitment

to provide quality, relevant, and liberating education for

all. The study will adapt and make minor changes to this

approach in order to determine the competencies that

students learn the least and maybe propose an English Plus

Bridging Program Module enhancement in which these

competencies will be given equal focus.

To collect the data, the researchers will ask for

permission from the said course teachers to collect the

midterm and final test results of first-year BEEd students

—the chosen respondents. The researchers will use a

descriptive research design to assess the most and least

grammatical competencies in English Plus among first-year

English major students at Eduardo L. Joson Memorial

College

Research Locale

The research will be carried out at Eduardo L. Joson

Memorial College at Saranay District, Guimba, 3121,

Palayan City, Nueva Ecija. Palayan City is the capital of

the Philippines' Nueva Ecija province and a 5th class

component city.

ELJMC is the birthplace of scholars; this institution

aims to give free high-quality education to Novo Ecijano

younth from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds who

are bright and intellectual.

Eduardo L. Joson Memorial College (ELJMC) was

established on January 24, 2005, and is operated and

managed by the Nueva Ecija Government under the capable

leadership of Hon. Aurelio "Oyie" Umali, Provincial

Governor of Nueva Ecija.

Sample Size

This study's respondents are first year BEEd students

of Eduardo L. Joson Memorial College. These students'

midterm and final exam scores in English Plus will be

gathered and analyzed to determine the least and most

gained competencies. Since the study's goal is to identify

the least and most learned grammatical competencies of the

English plus course, no statistical tools will be used to

establish the sample size of the student population.

Therefore, statistical methods are not required in this

study. identifying what are the most and least learned

grammatical competencies in English Plus course of BEEd

students is vital to achieve the outcomes both from CHEd

and DepEd which states that BEEd students should manifest

skills in communication, higher order thinking and use of

tool and technology to accelerate learning and teaching

from CMO No. 74, s. 2017 (Policies, standards and

guidelines for Bachelor of Elementary Education), and

produce graduates who apply the language conventions,

principles, strategies and skills in (1) interacting with

others, (2) understanding and learning other content

areas, and (3) fending for themselves in whatever endeavor

they may engage in. K to 12 Curriculum Guide for English

subjects' outcomes "The ultimate goal of the Language Arts

and Multiliteracies Curriculum (LAMC).

Data Gathering Procedure

The study's goal is to discover the students' most

and least learned English Plus competencies. As a result,

in order to describe their performance in terms of the

competencies: grammar structures, vocabulary knowledge,

and cohesive devices, we will need their test scores in

the course's midterm and final exams, check its alignment

with the Table of Specifications (TOS), determine which

among each item falls under the aforementioned

competencies, and obtain each student's test scores in

each test item. After that, we will be able to rank the

top five most learned as well as the top five least

learned by taking the percentage or average of right

answers per 10 sub-competencies from midterms and 9 from

finals. Thus, the outcome will be written in numbers with

interpretation.

The researchers were the first to collect data and

information, and this was done to answer the study's

specific research questions. Therefore, primary data

collection was used.

A descriptive research design was utilized to

identify the most and least competencies of students who

took English Plus assessments solely based on data

received from them, with no attempt to influence it.

Analysis of Data

1. To respond to the first problem: How may the

grammatical competence in E English Plus be described in

terms of (1) Classes of Words, (2) Sentence Elements, (3)

Types of Sentences, (4) Correct Use of Words, (5)

Modifiers, (6) Subject-Verb Agreement, and (7) Pronoun

Usage, the researcher will adapt the level of proficiency

used in the Department of Education, in which the

researchers will count the number of the respondents who

got the items in each competency correctly and identify

the level of proficiency at which the respondents are

performing based on a numerical value. The numerical

values are as follows:

a. Beginning (74% and below)

b. Developing (75-79%)

c. Approaching Proficiency (80-84%)

d. Proficient (85-89%)

e. Advanced (90% and above)

2. To respond to the problem's second and third

statements: What are the most and least learned

grammatical competencies of students in English Plus,

the researchers will obtain the number of learners who

correctly answered each test item, rank the test items

in descending order based on the number of learners

who correctly answer each item, determine the

competency on which each test item is based, and

obtain the top 2 most learned competencies as well as

the lowest 3.
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