TAGALOG AS MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION IN SCIENCE | 1

EFFECTS OF USING TAGALOG AS MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION IN TEACHING

GRADE 6 SCIENCE

Jasmin S. Galano

Abstract

Mother Tongue-Based-Multilingual Education has been a long-debated topic in the

educational arena. Educational researchers found out that although MTB-MLE may enhance

students’ understanding of a concept, it poses a challenge in enhancing students’ English literacy.

This study aims to determine the effects of using Tagalog as the medium of instruction in a

synchronous class on students’ understanding of a science concept and its relationship to their

motivation towards science learning. Thirty-seven (37) 6th grade online students were involved in

the study. Pre-test and post-test scores were collected and the respondents answered the Students’

Motivation Towards Learning Science Questionnaire after the treatment. Analysis of data showed

that there is no significant difference in students’ understanding of a science concept after

instruction in Tagalog (p=.334). There is also no significant difference between the achievement

of students who were instructed in English compared to that of those who received instruction in

Tagalog (p=.117). Lastly, the relationship between students’ motivation towards science learning

and their post-test scores after instruction with a specific medium, Tagalog, and English, showed

a low correlation (r=234 and r=.272, respectively). Also, observations from the synchronous class

meeting revealed that students prefer speaking using code-switching. The findings of the study

revealed the effect of Tagalog as the medium of instruction in a highly-urbanized setting.

Recommendations and implications of this topic are discussed in the paper.

Keywords: Mother Tongue-Based–Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE), science teaching, elementary

teaching, academic performance, learning motivation

 TAGALOG AS MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION IN SCIENCE | 2

Introduction

For learning to become successful, one must be able to recognize, examine, and reflect on

their ideas. In schools, direct instruction facilitated by the teacher promotes interaction among

students. This serves as an avenue for the exchange of thoughts, promoting understanding of

students about the lesson and teachers about students’ performance. Language serves as the bridge

for any teaching-learning process to take place. Because of this, teachers must identify what

language is appropriate to use for students to have an opportunity to express their learning.

According to Spolsky (2004), when people hear and when sociolinguists analyze a

discourse, the content or message are not the only points that can be understood, it also reveals the

“age, gender, social class, probable place of birth and education, level of education and other facts

about the speaker and his or her attitude, and provide clues to the situation and context” (p. 9).

Bolinger (1968) also asserts that language influences conceptualization which is integral for

linguistic expression. It is therefore justifiable to take into consideration how language serves as a

tool for learning, not only of a concept in a class but also of the characteristics of individuals

involved.

As mandated by the Department of Education (DepEd) Order no. 39 s. 2016, known as the

Adoption of the Basic Education Research Agenda, teaching strategies must be studied, applied,

and evaluated to make the teaching-learning process more effective especially in the light of the

K-12 Curriculum. To determine what strategies can be used, five sub-themes from the Teaching

and Learning theme must be explored. These are (1) instruction, (2) curriculum, (3) learners, (4)

assessment, and (5) learning outcomes.

Concerning language being an integral tool for teaching, the national institution presses

that the General Research Question “What factors affects the teacher’s delivery of the
 TAGALOG AS MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION IN SCIENCE | 3

curriculum?” be answered. This can be answered by studying one of the mentioned topics,

Language, in terms of the medium of instruction and Mother Tongue-Based-Multilingual

Education (MTB-MLE). The medium of instruction is defined as the language used by the teacher

to deliver content and initiate conversations in the class. This does not necessarily have to be the

first language of the students. On the other hand, the mother tongue is defined as the language used

by a person from early childhood. It is known as the primary language learned by a person which

in turn is used to communicate with others.

The Mother Tongue-Based-Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) is implemented in Grades

1, 2, and 3 from the school year 2012-2013 in the Philippines when the K-12 Curriculum was

implemented. This aims to improve students’ understanding of lessons by promoting social

interactions through the use of their native language. In these primary levels, teachers are to deliver

instruction according to the Lingua Franca (e.g. Tagalog, Kapampangan, Pangasinense, Iloko,

Bikol, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Waray, Tausug, Maguindanaoan, Maranao, and Chabacano) and

learners can express their insights through the same language. When a child is promoted to 4 th

grade, they will be taught with either English or Filipino as the medium of instruction, depending

on the nature of the subject.

When the study on mother tongue began in 1948 by Jose D. Aguilar, Hiligaynon was used

as the medium of instruction. Results revealed that students taught in Hiligaynon performed better

in Reading, Mathematics, and Social Studies compared to those who were taught in English. This

was followed by several studies, which lead to the Regional Lingua Franca (RFL) Pilot Project in

1999-2001 where three languages were involved: Tagalog, Cebuano, and Ilokano (Department of

Education, 1991). For the first year of implementation, the use of these languages in the

experimental groups resulted in higher mean scores in Mathematics, Science, and Sibika, but not
 TAGALOG AS MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION IN SCIENCE | 4

in Wika at Pagbasa than the control groups. In the following year, students from the experimental

group performed better in all subject areas, but not in English. This led to further development on

what languages can be considered as part of instruction in the mother tongue, considering that

students perform better in most subject areas and they are also observed to become more active

during class discussions.

However, the use of Filipino as the medium of instruction in higher elementary grades is

still being analyzed. Namanya (2017) found out that students’ English literacy was negatively

affected after the use of MTB-MLE in instruction. From a different perspective, in terms of

understanding a science concept, Espique (2018) involved students of 8-10 years old,

Pangasinense and English were used to teach Science in experimental and control groups,

respectively. Students who were taught in Pangasinense but took tests in English had a hard time

answering questions compared to those who were taught in English. The sudden change of

language from direct instruction in Pangasinense to tests in English caused the students in the

experimental group to encounter difficulty understanding the questions. When test scores were

analyzed, the mean percentage of scores of students in the experimental group were significantly

lower than those who were taught in English.

This result is contrary to what Reyes (2010) concluded from her study which involved the

same level of students. The study took place in Quezon City, a highly urbanized setting. The

experimental group was taught in Tagalog and the control group was taught in English. In terms

of qualitative observations, students in the experimental group were more active than those in the

control group. When summative test scores of the students were analyzed, it was learned that

students who were taught in English performed lower than those who were taught in Tagalog.
 TAGALOG AS MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION IN SCIENCE | 5

Application of MTB-MLE might not only depend on the socio-cultural background of the

learners but the socio-economic setting as well. This presents an opportunity to determine if

teaching Science using the mother tongue is effective in a specific setting or not.

Apart from considering the applicability of mother tongue as the medium of instruction,

the effect on academic performance in Science and students' motivation towards learning the

subject matter should also be considered as a topic of interest. That is why this study aims to

answer the following research questions:

1. Is there a significant difference between the academic performance of students before and

after direct instruction in Science in Tagalog?

2. Is there a significant difference in the academic achievement between students who were

taught in Tagalog and English?

3. What relationship does motivation towards learning science in a specific medium of

instruction have on students’ academic performance?

The scope of this study focuses on involving Grade 6 students from First City Providential

College, a private school in the City of San Jose del Monte, Bulacan. Limitation of the study

includes students’ internet connectivity, their device’s bandwidth, and other external factors such

as their families’ socioeconomic status and varying situations in their home.

Methods

I. Research Setting

The study will be conducted in First City Providential College, a private school located at

San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan. The said locus is a highly urbanized city where that native

language is Tagalog. The learning delivery model (LDM) of the school comprises of online,

hybrid, and offline. Students with Online LDM receive learning modules and submit their activities
 TAGALOG AS MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION IN SCIENCE | 6

through the learning management system (LMS) and participate in synchronous classes. Hybrid

LDM students also use the LMS but may not participate in synchronous classes due to intermittent

internet connection. Lastly, students of offline LDM get their printed modules from the schools

through their parent or guardian, submit their answer sheets after a week, and have a consultation

thru a call or text with their subject teachers for feedback.

II. Respondents of the Study

Thirty-seven (37) online students will be involved as respondents in this study. Hybrid and

offline students will not be included since students from both LDM cannot participate in the

synchronous classes due to unavailable devices and/or unstable internet connection.

III. Research Design

The experimental design used for this study is the pretest-posttest randomized control

group. In this design, measurements shall be done before and after the treatment. Two treatments

were involved in the study. The control group was given English as the medium of instruction

(SE). The experimental group was taught with Tagalog as the medium of instruction (ST). Before

the instruction, both groups answered a pre-test and a post-test was given after the instruction.

After the post-test, all students answered the Students Motivation Towards Science Learning

(SMTSL) questionnaire.

IV. Data Gathering Procedures and Instruments

Since the nature of the study is about determining the effects of teaching science using

Tagalog as the medium of instruction, two aspects will be analyzed: academic achievement and

motivation towards learning science. In terms of academic achievement, pre-test and post-test

questionnaires with 10-items each will be answered by the students. The 10-item pre-test and post-
 TAGALOG AS MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION IN SCIENCE | 7

test questionnaires were developed by the teacher after following the approved Table of

Specifications prescribed by the institution.

For students’ motivation towards learning science, The Students Motivation Towards

Science Learning (SMTSL) questionnaire by Tuan, Chin, & Shieh (2005) will be adopted. The

questionnaire contains 35 items covering 6 areas. Seven questions are given for self-efficacy, 8

questions for Active learning strategies, 5 questions for Science learning value, 4 questions for

Performance Goal, 5 questions for Achievement Goal, and 6 questions for Learning Environment

Stimulation. Negative questions were given in Self-Efficacy and Performance Goal to elicit

authentic responses.

For the teaching model applied by the school, science classes followed an online flipped

classroom set-up. First, the students read materials from their learning management system (LMS)

then interact with their teacher and classmates during the synchronous meeting for clarification of

concepts. The control and experimental group received the learning materials through the LMS in

English then participated in the synchronous discussion where the treatments ST and SE were

applied.

V. Statistical Treatment

Scores from the mentioned instruments were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 26. For

descriptive statistics, means and standard deviation for each treatment were identified. To

determine if there is a significant difference when Tagalog was used as a medium of instruction,

dependent samples t-test was used for the pre-test and post-test scores of ST. Significant

differences in the academic achievement between SE and ST were analyzed through independent

samples t-test. And lastly, to determine the relationship between motivation in learning science
 TAGALOG AS MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION IN SCIENCE | 8

and academic achievement, the Pearson Correlation Coefficient was used (Amrai, Motlagh, Zalani,

& Parhon, 2011).

VI. Ethical Considerations

Recognizing the school administration’s authority, the request of using the science class

was communicated to the school principal through a letter. Upon approval, the parents of the

learners were informed about the study, its purpose, and the confidentiality of the data that will be

gathered.

Results/Analysis/Discussion

I. Descriptive Statistics

A summary of descriptive statistics for dependent measures in paired samples (pre-test and

post-test of ST) and group statistics (posttest scores of SE and ST) is shown in Table 1 and Table

2, respectively.

Table 1. Descriptive Statistics for ST

N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation

PreTest 23 4.00 10.00 6.9130 1.72977

PostTest 23 2.00 10.00 7.3043 1.74342

Valid N (listwise) 23

Scores from 23 students in the ST group and 14 students in the SE group were used for the

data analysis of the study. In Table 1, it is shown that mean of Tagalog (ST) from the pretest is

6.91±1.73 while the mean after the lesson was taught in Tagalog is 7.30±1.74.
 TAGALOG AS MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION IN SCIENCE | 9

Table 2. Descriptive Statistics of Post Test for ST and SE

N Minimum
Maximum Mean Std. Deviation
ST 23 2.00 10.00 7.3043 1.74342

SE 14 6.00 9.00 8.0000 .87706

Valid N (listwise) 14

On the other hand, Table 2 shows the comparison of descriptive statistics of posttest scores

from the two groups. Posttest mean of ST or Tagalog group is 7.30±1.74 whereas students who

were taught in English (SE) garnered a mean of 8.00±0.88.

Table 3. Descriptive Statistics for Motivation and Post Test Scores of ST

Mean Std. Deviation N

Motivation 140.6522 16.86203 23

PostTest 7.3043 1.74342 23

Table 4. Descriptive Statistics for Motivation and Post Test Scores of SE

Mean
Std. Deviation N
Motivation 141.3571 17.08624 14

PostTest 8.0000 .87706 14

In terms of motivation and post-test scores of the ST group (Table 3), the mean for

motivation is 140.65±16.86 and the mean for post-test is 7.3±1.74. Data were collected from 23

respondents. For the SE group (Table 4), the mean for motivation is 141.36±17.09, and post-test

scores have a mean of 8.00±.88.

 TAGALOG AS MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION IN SCIENCE | 10

II. Test Analysis

Table 5. Paired Samples Test for ST

Sig. (2-
Paired Differences tailed)
95% Confidence Interval
of the Difference
Std. Std. Error Lower Upper
Mean Deviation Mean t df
Pair PreTest - -.39130 1.90070 .39632 -1.21323 .43062 -.987 22 .334

1 PostTest

Due to the means of the two scores (pretest and posttest) and the direction of the t-value, it

can be concluded that there is no statistically significant improvement in the students’

understanding of the science concept after being taught in Tagalog; t(22) = -.987, p>.0005. This

may mean that after teaching the science concept in Tagalog, it does not yield a statistically

significant improvement in learner’s understanding of that concept; it has neither improved nor

worsened.

Table 6. Independent Samples Test of Post Test for ST and SE

Levene's Test for

Equality of
Variances t-test for Equality of Means
95% Confidence
Mean Std. Error Interval of the
Sig. (2- Differenc Differenc Difference
F Sig. t df tailed) e e Lower Upper
PostTest Equal variances 4.302 .045 1.385 35 .175 .69565 .50236 -.32420 1.71550
Score assumed

Equal variances 1.608 34.116 .117 .69565 .43255 -.18328 1.57459

not assumed

From Levene’s Test for Equality of Variances, the Sig. value is less than .05. This means

that variability from both conditions is not the same. Therefore, the results from the second row

shall be considered for analysis. At the .05 alpha level, the probability value (.117) is greater than
 TAGALOG AS MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION IN SCIENCE | 11

the significance level. Therefore, there is no statistically significant difference between the

performance of students who were taught in English to that of those who were taught in Tagalog.

Table 7. Correlations for ST Motivation and Post Test Scores

Motivation PostTest
Motivation Pearson Correlation 1 .234
Sig. (2-tailed) .282
N 23 23
PostTest Pearson Correlation .234 1
Sig. (2-tailed) .282
N 23 23

A Pearson product-moment correlation was run to determine the relationship between

motivation in learning science and post-test scores after Tagalog as the medium of instruction.

There was a low relationship between motivation and test scores. This relationship is also not

statistically significant (r = .234, n=23, p =.282).

Table 8. Correlations for SE Motivation and Post Test Scores

Motivation PostTest
Motivation Pearson Correlation 1 .272
Sig. (2-tailed) .347
N 14 14
PostTest Pearson Correlation .272 1
Sig. (2-tailed) .347
N 14 14

On the other hand, with English as the medium of instruction, the relationship between

motivation in learning science and post-test scores is also low. In addition, this relationship is not

statistically significant (r=.272, n=14, p=.347). Considering the value of r2 or the coefficient of

determination, the value for Table 7 is .05 and .07 for Table 8. This means that only 5% and 7%

in the variation in the post-test scores can be explained by motivation in learning science after

Tagalog and English as the medium of instruction, respectively.

 TAGALOG AS MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION IN SCIENCE | 12

The results of this study suggest a different perspective on the effect of applying MTB-

MLE in Science teaching. Although Espique (2018) found out that teaching in Pangasinense might

cause a significantly lower achievement to students who took examinations in English language

and Reyes (2010) concluded that teaching Science in Filipino yields a statistically significant

improvement in learner’s understanding of a science concept and participation in class, this study

revealed that a different situation or setting causes a variation on the effectiveness of using mother

tongue as the medium of instruction in teaching a science concept.

Also, despite the difference in the medium of instruction applied by the teacher during the

synchronous discussion of the lesson for the ST and SE group, some of the students from both

groups insisted on code-switching when sharing their insights with the class. Code-switching or

language alternation refers to the use of two or more languages when participating in a single-

context conversation. In this case, students from both groups did not speak in pure Tagalog or

English although it was used by the teacher. Instead, a “mixture” of both languages were used by

the students to explain their ideas in class, with the medium of instruction as the dominant

language.

Conclusions, Recommendations, and Implications

The study involved thirty-seven (37) 6th-grade students from a private school in San Jose

del Monte, Bulacan. Two treatments were utilized in the study namely, ST which includes 23

students who were taught in synchronous class with Tagalog as the medium of instruction, and SE

with 14 students receiving synchronous discussion in English. Before the procedure, students were

informed of their involvement in the study, and their guardians were informed as well. Pretest and

Posttest were administered, scores were collected and analyzed. After the treatment for each group,
 TAGALOG AS MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION IN SCIENCE | 13

all of the students answered the Students Motivation Towards Science Learning (SMTSL)

questionnaire.

In conclusion, it was found out that there is no significant difference in students'

understanding of the science lesson before and after synchronous discussion with Tagalog as the

medium of instruction (p=.334). Also, when the post-test scores of the ST and SE groups were

compared, there is no significant difference (p=.117). Lastly, the relationship between students’

motivation towards science learning and their post-test scores after instruction with a specific

medium, Tagalog, and English, showed a low correlation (r=234 and r=.272, respectively).

When synchronous classes were observed, it was noted that some students from both

groups preferred to share their insights using code-switching. They answered the teacher’s

question using Tagalog and English in a single sentence despite the teacher’s use of either Tagalog

or English in their class.

The researcher suggests the following recommendations. The effectiveness of using

Tagalog as the medium of instruction might show different results if the learning material found

in the students’ LMS is also in Tagalog. The treatments may be given for a longer period to

determine if it will cause a significant effect on students’ understanding of a science concept or

motivation towards learning science. A study on the effects of code-switching to Science teaching

and learning may also be explored. Lastly, other factors that may affect students’ understanding of

a concept or learning motivation in an online class such as average internet speed, socio-economic

status, or students’ varying situations at home may also be studied.

Following Namanya’s (2017) assertion that MTB-MLE affects students’ English

proficiency especially in a globalized community where English becomes the dominant language,

the use of mother tongue in instruction shall be carefully studied before its application. It is
 TAGALOG AS MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION IN SCIENCE | 14

therefore integral to consider what languages are the students exposed to in their usual day-to-day

interaction and what language should students be able to master to cope with globalization before

determining what must be used as a medium of instruction.

 TAGALOG AS MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION IN SCIENCE | 15

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