CHALLENGES OF THE SHS STUDENTS COMMUNICATION SKILLS

IN THEIR FACE-TO-FACE CLASSROOM SET-UP

A Thesis Presented to our

Practical Research Teacher, Mrs, Cheryll Campos

of Tarlac National High School

San Roque, Tarlac City

A Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the

Senior High School

Academic Year 2022-2023

Presented by:

BERGONIO, RHOYETH

PABITO, KRISTEL

COCHICO, BRYAN

VALDEZ, GRACIEL ANN

SANTOS, KIM PETER

NIERRAS, MIKAELA
 Chapter I

The Problem and Its Background

Introduction

The Covid-19 Pandemic has led to an increase in the use of online learning educational

and communication purposes. Due to this pandemic, higher education institutions both public

and private, had to adjust to the new situation where face-to-face interaction and mass

gatherings are prohibited. Teachers and students are facing a tough situation to continue their

courses. As per the UNICEF data, schools for more than 168 million children globally have

been completely closed for almost a full year. More than 134 countries have implemented

nationwide closure and that is having a negative impact on the offering of courses and

completion of degrees and class activities (Rundle et al., 2020)

The occurrence of the Covid-19 Pandemic had changed a lot of perspectives and a lot of

practices in our way of life from education, interaction to communication. The communication

shifted from face-to-face interaction to distant online communication such as Zoom,Google Meet

and among others that are now considered to be the most powerful and pivotal devices and

platforms in the time of pandemic. People still managed to organize and conduct conferences

both in education in communication aspect as it allows and accommodates participants to be

connected in a single platform to help minimize the spread of the said disease. This also explains

that the most obvious changes observed was less face-to-face interaction as communication is

held through online communication platforms (Levine, 2021)

According to Merchant (2020), communication in an online setting takes a variety of forms

to be established for such as a tool for instructors to establish and grow a relationship with

learners. Communicating with students in an online environment differs from the traditional

environment since the online environment lacks body language as non-verbal cues
communication patterns. More so, in a face-to-face class, teachers have the advantage of using

body language and facial expression to help them connect and get their message across to their

students. When interacting in an online class, teachers do not have the advantage of using body

language to communicate with their students. They communicate virtually and lose the benefit of

seeing certain aspects of the body language which has relevant cues in communication.

This negatively impacts a student's ability to interact with teacher limiting their access in asking

questions and getting immediate response. Students also don't have regular contact with their

classmates who can encourage them to complete projects and assignments. Hence, the lack of

face-to-face communication between peers, students and teachers in an online setting could

cause social isolation. Many of the students and teachers who inevitably spend much of their

time online can start experiencing signs of social isolation. It coupled with a lack of

communication which often leads to several mental health issues such as stress, anxiety, and

negative thoughts.

However, to understand how students adjusted to the limited face-to-face learning

environment during the Covid-19 pandemic, this study focused on their experiences, challenges,

and. motivations acquired during that time. The study employed phenomenological research and

Collaizi's seven steps of data analysis. Twenty students were purposively selected and consulted

to share their learning experiences during the pandemic's limited face-to-face classes. The

findings showed that students' main challenges with attending limited face-to-face classes were a

lack of instructional time and collaboration, difficulty understanding the lessons and activities,

and an adjustment period. Nevertheless, despite these challenges, they are highly by

motivated to keep learning in class. Thus,. emerging themes. were also detected, such as

completing studies for the future, steadfast commitment to learning, fulfilling their life's
dreams, and appreciating education despite challenges. The findings demonstrated that
students must focus on their motivation to learn in adjusting to the limited face-to-face

classes. However, because there were only twenty participants in this study, those

individuals' viewpoints do not fairly reflect the student body across the country. In this regard,

the researchers recommended including teachers in the later years of the pandemic

researching difficulties and motivations. Primary education institutions should strengthen the

limited face-to-face classes, reevaluate the curriculum, equip the staff, modernize the facilities,

implement a strategic plan, and evaluate every part of the planto maintain teaching and

learning continuity in the new normal of education. (Bordeos, 2022)

Now as we go back to face-to-face classes, we have to realize that these technologies can help

improve the learning and teaching processes even in face-to-face classes. For example, students

can submit assignments and access learning materials via an LMS even in face-to-face classes.

Some LMSs, like Canvas, likewise allow teachers to grade assignments easily. Our presentations

can likewise be better, as instead of solely relying on PowerPoint or Google Slides, students and

teachers can use Canva to be able to create better presentations. (Carpena, 2022)

Statement of the Problem

The study aimed to described regarding understanding the challenges in communication

between SHS students & Teachers during the face-to-face set-up in Tarlac National High

School (TNHS) for the academic year 2022-2023.

Specially, this study sought to answer the following questions:

1. What challenges are encounter in communication skills of SHS students in the

face-to-face classroom set-up?

2. What plan of actions can be proposed to address identified problems?

3. What is the implication of the study to face-to-face communication skills of SHS students?
 Significance of the study

This study aimed to determine the understanding of challenges in communication between

SHS students & teachers during the face-to-face set-up. It also aimed to identify the problems

encountered by the SHS students in the face-to-face classroom set-up. The study is relevant to

the students, techears, and school administrators.

To the School Administrators. The findings of the study may provide them better insight on
the

future planning and development for effective implementation of the SHS student & teacher

communication for face-to-face classroom set-up.

To the Teachers. The study may provide them with ideas on the effective implementation of
the

student-teacher communication in face-to-face classroom set-up.

To the Students. The findings may help them to cope up with the face-to-face set-up
and

student-teacher communication and improve their level of performance in their learning.

 Chapter II

Review of Related Literature and Study

This chapter presents the related literature and studies after the thorough and in-depth

search done by the researchers. Those that were included in this chapter helps in familiarizing

information that are relevant and similar to the present study.

Related Literature

Foreign

Communication means sending, receiving or exchanging ideas, information or messages

verbally or nonverbally. It can be categorized as verbal, written, or nonverbal; it also involves

listening and giving feedback. Therefore, communication skills are crucial for English learners

(Wambui, 2012). However, developing and practicing oral communication skills in the classroom

can be challenging (Cheekeong, Yassin, & Abdulrahman, 2014). According to Cheekeong et al.

(2014), there are three factors related to EFL oral communication issues: teachers, curriculum

and students. They argued that teachers do not encourage students to speak and employ

ineffective strategies for improving communication skills. Moreover, students can be afraid to

participate in classroom discussions because they lack confidence and want to avoid mistakes.

The authors also argued that the EFL curriculum typically focuses on the theoretical aspects of

language. Abu Alyan (2013) reported that a limited vocabulary, lack of extensive listening and

reading exposure, interference of L1 and lack of confidence are the major reasons for students’

weak oral communication skills. Accordingly, students can develop their skills if given quality

opportunities to communicate (Khambayat, 2017). In communicative situations, as Khamkhien

(2011) stated, students are sometimes unable to use the correct target language even if they

possess linguistic knowledge. Thus, linguistic knowledge is insufficient for communication;

practice is key. According to AlSaleem (2018), oral communication skills require high levels of

mental and cognitive processing as well as linguistic abilities in vocabulary, pronunciation and
grammar. In the classroom context, English teachers can employ various methods, including

discussions, role plays, demonstrations and group work (Khambayat, 2017), to help students

enhance their communication skills. Thakur, AlMashani and Almashikhi (2019) suggested that

students could develop communication skills if they were engaged in natural language practice

and proposed that classroom projects could allow students to use language more effectively.

An alternative method for improving communication skills is virtual classes. According to

Parker and Martin (2010), online classes enable students to communicate with each other as if

they were in the classroom. Additionally, Çakýroglu (2014) stated that virtual classrooms can

facilitate and enhance communication among students if the instructor provides highly

interactive setting. Yadav (2016) pointed out that although communication in virtual classrooms

is not as rich as in traditional classes, it can nonetheless help learners develop their skills.

Communication can be described as the process of transmitting information and popular

understanding from one person to another (Keyton, 2011). The word “communication” was

derived from the Latin “communis,” meaning “common.” Therefore, “communicating” means

“making common,” “making known” or “sharing” and involves verbal, non-verbal and electronic

means of human interaction (Velentzas and Borni, 2014). The definition underlines the fact that

no communication occurs unless a shared understanding emerges from the exchange of

information (Cheney, 2011).

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused serious changes in the educational landscape

affecting 94% of the world’s student population in more than 190 countries (UNESCO, 2020).

Most governments around the world have temporarily closed universities and schools in an

attempt to contain the spread of the virus (Zhang et al., 2020). All academic activities have been

switch to remote delivery, even in institutions in which online learning was not widely used

(Sangster et al., 2020; Toquero, 2020). This emergency transformation involved various

obstacles in remote learning (Crawford et al., 2020), such as, among others, lack of internet

access or appropriate equipment, lack of a quiet space of access to computers, learning resource

access issues.
 According to Singh (2021), research tells us lots of students struggle to interact with the

e-classroom because there was a lack of motivation from the disruption of a sense of community.

They felt isolated away from the real classroom situation. He also stated that the interaction

online between students and teachers can never match up to physical classrooms. In physical

classrooms, teachers could be very detailed and explaining of materials. The case is different in

online classrooms. There are no chalkboards in the teacher’s home, nor are there physical objects

the teacher can use to drive the point home. Communication online is far, and distant. A student

can shy away from communicating online because they do not want to be in the face of others. If

they were in the physical learning environment, they would gladly find a way of reaching their

teacher one on one.

Resilience is the most important component in retaining teachers in the field. Teachers

with a higher level of resilience have the mental and physical energy reserves to effectively deal

with challenges. Effective coping will result in instructors who are more effective and have more

fulfilling professional and personal lives. Enhanced resilience can result in better student

results. (Masten, et. Al. 2001). As previously said, resilience is both the process and the

result of effectively adjusting to harsh or hard life circumstances. The American Psychological

Association (APA) defines it as the flexibility of one's ideas, feelings, and behaviors, as well as

the capacity to adjust to both internal and external factors.The COVID-19 is more than just a

mental issue; it has brought about unanticipated challenges that schools must address as soon as

possible. To implement responsive and proactive actions, it is required that higher education

institutions develop a resilient learning system utilizing data that are both evidence-

and-needs-based.Teachers are essential in making sure that pupils benefit the most from the

modules that are taught to them during pandemic Department of Education Order No. 12 series

of 2020, which created new learning delivery modalities at all levels and is represented in the

Learning Continuity Plan was implemented due to the adjustments that were required

(Guiamalon et. Al, 2012).It is seen that there is a difference of learning atmosphere and that
changes the attitude of learners during the transition period from Hybrid learning to the face – to

– face classes that impacted the learning process greatly.The pandemic brought on by the

COVID-19 virus which put the educational system to the test, presented several challenges for

educators.The teachers’ workload refers to the amount of time that a teacher must devote to

teaching, as well as administrative duties, supplemental and extracurricular activities, and

co-curricular tasks. (Nosain, 2016). The routine tasks of teaching, such as giving lectures,

creating lesson plans, grading assignments and others, constitute the bulk of the teaching effort.

As a result, teachers must take part in a variety of extracurricular activities such as counseling

and setting up parent – student meeting.Nooruddin and Baig (2014) described student behavior

management as one of the contemporary issues frequently faced by the school community. In

light of this, it is crucial to control student conduct in order to fulfill the Department of

Education’s mission statement, the school head will have responsibility for establishing this type

of atmosphere for the teaching and learning process.According to Mkandawire (2010), the

curriculum is the sum total of all the experiences supplied to students by the school. Numerous

factors, like as location, politics, the economy, teacher preparation, and facilities, can make the

implementation of a curriculum challenging.Teacher resiliency extends much beyond the

capacity to survive and thrive in the face of adversity. Resilient instructors have been described

as individuals who are able to maintain educational goals and deal with the unforeseen events

inherent to being a teacher (Gu and Day, 2013).One of the most vital components keeping

instructors in the field is resilience. Resilience, in general, is the capacity of an individual to

rapidly and successfully recover from adversity.

Local

In December 2019, an outbreak of a novel coronavirus, known as COVID-19, occurred in

China and has spread rapidly across the globe within a few months. COVID-19 is an infectious

disease caused by a new strain of coronavirus that attacks the respiratory system (World Health

Organization, 2020). As of January 2021, COVID-19 has infected 94 million people and has

caused 2 million deaths in 191 countries and territories (John Hopkins University, 2021). This

pandemic has created a massive disruption of the educational systems, affecting over 1.5 billion
students. It has forced the government to cancel national examinations and the schools to

temporarily close, cease face-to-face instruction, and strictly observe physical distancing. These

events have sparked the digital transformation of higher education and challenged its ability to

respond promptly and effectively. Schools adopted relevant technologies, prepared learning and

staff resources, set systems and infrastructure, established new teaching protocols, and adjusted

their curricula. However, the transition was smooth for some schools but rough for others,

particularly those from developing countries with limited infrastructure (Pham & Nguyen, 2020;

Simbulan, 2020).

Inevitably, schools and other learning spaces were forced to migrate to full online learning as

the world continues the battle to control the vicious spread of the virus. Online learning refers to

a learning environment that uses the Internet and other technological devices and tools for

synchronous and asynchronous instructional delivery and management of academic programs

(Usher & Barak, 2020; Huang, 2019). Synchronous online learning involves real-time

interactions between the teacher and the students, while asynchronous online learning occurs

without a strict schedule for different students (Singh & Thurman, 2019). Within the context of

the COVID-19 pandemic, online learning has taken the status of interim remote teaching that

serves as a response to an exigency. However, the migration to a new learning space has faced

several major concerns relating to policy, pedagogy, logistics, socioeconomic factors, technology,

and psychosocial factors (Donitsa-Schmidt & Ramot, 2020; Khalil et al., 2020; Varea &

González-Calvo, 2020). With reference to policies, government education agencies and schools

scrambled to create fool-proof policies on governance structure, teacher management, and

student management. Teachers, who were used to conventional teaching delivery, were also

obliged to embrace technology despite their lack of technological literacy. To address this

problem, online learning webinars and peer support systems were launched. On the part of the

students, dropout rates increased due to economic, psychological, and academic reasons.

Academically, although it is virtually possible for students to learn anything online, learning may

perhaps be less than optimal, especially in courses that require face-to-face contact and direct

interactions (Franchi, 2020).

 Sarvestani et al. (2020) found in this study that students are having a hard time coping

with remote learning because of the poor communication between them. They further posited

that social issues like this influences the students’ motivation and intention to study online.

According to Asia Society Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte had made clear in

September 2020 that resumption of face-to-face classes is not allowed until a viable vaccine for

COVID-19 is found and widely and responsibly available. The World Health Organization

acknowledges that school closures of course have negative impacts on child health, education,

development, family income, and overall economies. During the early stages of the pandemic,

academicians and students went to alternative online delivery as mitigating measures to continue

learning through virtual spaces. Alternative ways other than online teaching are used like online

platforms such as Facebook as the primary tool, and Messenger for free online communication

amid the pandemic.

Learning Management System technology not only allows individuals to share materials,

but also communicate with one another through a wide variety of modalities. Communication or

interaction among students is a key element of the learning process. Online interaction has been a

major focus of computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) researchers.

CSCL is an emerging branch of the learning sciences that is concerned with studying how

people can learn together with the help of computers. CSCL researchers have demonstrated the

value of peer interactions and elaborated many of the conditions under which students can use

technology to profit from working together. However, interaction does not simply happen in

learning environments like LMS. It must be planned carefully and can be tough to maintain.

Nonetheless, giving students the ability to collaborate with one another through virtual

workspaces is seen as beneficial not only for learning, but also for preparing students for a

global, knowledge-based economy. As a result, educators must incorporate chances for student

peer interaction into their curriculum and equip students with the tools they need to connect,
collaborate, and develop new knowledge. Learning activities that take place outside of the

classroom and on websites that are not part of the course. Students appreciate file management

and asynchronous communication tools the most for collaboration, but they don't just rely on

online tools; they also use face-to-face and telephone communication to engage and work (Lonn,

2022).

Related Studies

Local

Face-to-face learning is one of the most effective ways to learn knowledge and skills

because it often combines different ways of learning including writing, reading,

discussion,presentations, projects, group work, film clips, demonstration, and practice.

According to Du (2022) Face-to-face classes are essentially teacher-centered, wherelive

interaction between a learner and an instructor is made apparent - creating the most traditional

type of learning instruction. Learners can benefit from a greater level of interaction with their

fellow students as well. In face-to-face learning, a better understanding and

recollection of lesson content is made secure while class members are also given a better chance

to bond with one another. According to an article by Manila Times (2022) Vice President and

DepEd SecretarySara Z. Duterte signed the DepEd Order (DO) 44, series of 2022,

which required both private and public learning institutions to transition to five-day

face-to-face classes startingNovember 2, 2022 as it believes in-person classes "promote

academic development and the overall mental health and well-being" of the students.

According to the College of Arts and Technology (2022), there are certain advantages of

learning in a classroom such as better comfort is being felt while learning in a classroom setup.

The environment is familiar and therefore, comforting. It is also said that students can understand

better from ‘real world’ examples and stories from classmates and teachers and with this,

students have the opportunity to learn from other students as well. This helps build camaraderie,

and in turn, have better connections with people from different backgrounds. Itis also known

that students can concentrate better in a classroom because of less distractions and
lastly it promotes collaboration with others easily because not all schoolwork is done

individually

In addition to this, an editorial of Business Mirror (2022), describes how face-to-face

learning is much better compared to online learning because, “in-person communication make

our brains happier.” In a typical class in a campus, teachers are able to strategize in terms of their

lessons because it is least likely that they need to still compress their lessons to fit in their

modules. A student who can meet and directly communicate with a real teacher turns out to be

more enthusiastic compared to reading a pile of modules during modular classes. Because of this,

students can develop more and feel more comfortable interacting with others while learning from

each other in a classroom set up.On the contrary a study of (Paul & Jefferson, 2019), expresses

that the traditional classroom modality is restrictive, inflexible, and impractical. Also, an article

of Bowden,2017)expresses concern that face to face classes ask for travel time and cost as some

of the students need to travel and this warrants transportation costs. It also requires

daily attendance that can be restrictive or inconvenient for most students. Some students who are

timid and shy may have trouble approaching the teacher with their questions in mind. It is also

said that long hours of sitting is required through each class even if a learner may already know

most of the material.

According to an article by the University of the People (2022), face-to-face learning has

been the standard way of instruction for the past centuries. While online learning is becoming

popular nowadays, in-person study is still considered to be the best option for some people. With

face-to-face learning, teachers have a better means in understanding the interest of students, and

it is easier to generate exciting tasks about a subject. It is also easier to hold students

accountable for their own learning such as for adolescents and young adults.

Foreign

It is necessary to study communication, since every administrative function and operation

requires some sort of direct or indirect communication. The school administrators work with and

through other individuals, whether planning and organizing or leading and monitoring. This
means that the communication skills of each individual affect personal as well as organizational

effectiveness (Brun, 2010; Summers, 2010). It seems fair to conclude that lack of effective

communication is one of the most inhibiting forces for organizational effectiveness

(Lutgen-Sandvik, 2010).

Technological developments have created a shift from traditional to internet-based

classrooms. Therefore, questions have emerged about the effectiveness of virtual classrooms in

enhancing students’ skills, and multiple qualitative and empirical studies have investigated this

topic. While several studies showed students' preference for online learning, a lack of

face-to-face communication can make it difficult to establish and nurture relationships with

teachers and peers. The literature showed that online learning helps students improve their skills

and increases their confidence. A case study by Abu Baker, Latiff and Hamat (2013) examined

the perceptions of 11 EFL students with low proficiency levels after they engaged with an

asynchronous discussion tool to develop their oral communication skills. The results showed that

the majority of students felt more comfortable and confident communicating in online

classrooms than in face-to-face settings. The participants agreed that in face-to-face

communication, they were afraid of being judged by their classmates when speaking English.

The researchers argued that when physical barriers are reduced, online learning platforms can

offer opportunities for students to improve their oral skills.

A study by Salbego and Tumolo (2015) recorded the perceptions of 10 teachers and

students with experience in traditional and virtual classrooms. The aim was to compare the

characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of these two settings. Participants were asked to

answer an online questionnaire regarding their experience with Skype voice call classes

compared to traditional classes. The study findings showed that all participants had a positive

view of online classes. They felt that speaking and listening were the focus in the virtual

classroom because they needed to listen carefully and frequently ask for clarification. In

addition, students agreed that they felt more comfortable speaking in online classes than in

traditional classes. However, some students shared that the lack of face-to-face communication
and technical issues were major obstacles to improving their communication skills. The

researchers stated that teachers should emphasise speaking and listening skills in online classes,

as these skills can be hard to develop in traditional classrooms.

The study titled Influence of Student-Teacher Communication on Students’ Academic

Achievement for Effective Teaching and Learning by Amandi & Paul (2017) revealed that that

students have a strong positive relationship between their level of communication and their

academic achievement in schools, student have a very weak positive relationship between their

attitude and their academic achievement in school, the findings also revealed a very strong

positive relationship between students’ benefits on student-teacher communication and their

academic achievement in the department.

In the study of Liu et al. (2021), on sentimental analysis in student-teacher

communication for effective learning, findings revealed that there are many emotional hurdles

prevent student-teacher communication's (STC) intellectual progress that can promote healthy

feelings towards the class environment. The study also suggested the use of sentiment analysis

where feelings were drawn from the students' teaching records based on the concurrent

exploratory approach. STC is introduced, which can manage numerous e-learning fields to check

the student-teacher communication for effective learning.