ASSESSING THE PROMINENT FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE

DIFFICULTIES IN USING ENGLISH LANGUAGE OF THE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

STUDENTS IN ACLC - NAGA

A Quantitative Research Presented to the SHS Department of AMA

Computer Learning Center, Naga City

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Senior High

School-General Academic Strand

AQUINO, ELLAME  

ASINAS, DAISY 

BARAGA, DIANA 

BELLEN, KEIFFE MICHAEL 

SANCHEZ, JERICHO DAEN 

OSDON, MICHAELLA 

VELASCO, ARWEN MARGARET

JULY 2023
 Chapter I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

As Kasim (2008) stated that the importance of English cannot

be denied and ignored since English is the most common language

taken everywhere. With the help of developing technology. English

has been playing a major role in many sectors including society,

politics, economy and education which is believed to be the most

important arena where the English language is needed.

In the Philippines English is one of the official languages

that is finally taught in the primary level of the tertiary level

in all schools. The Philippine educational system requires

English as curriculum of instruction at all levels beginning

Grade One. This policy aims to promote the proficiency of

learners in using the English language, throughout the years of

schooling (Separa, et al.) 

Although it is considered a second language in the

Philippines English is still not the common language that is used

in communication at school where students often meet together to

form their activities, exchange intellectual conversations and

documents. As a result, students may find difficulty in

developing their English language speaking skills that could

affect their performance when they enter the higher levels of

learning.  
 In this research, students from the ACLC Senior High School

are the central target as far as English language proficiency is

concerned. The researcher in this study intends to investigate

what various factors affect them in using the English language as

part of their communicative tasks. 

Statement of the problem 

This study aims to investigate the preferred motivational

strategies of ACLC Senior High students. Specifically, it seeks

to answer the following research questions:

1. What is the demographic profile of the students in terms of:

1.1. Gender

1.2. Age

1.3. School year level (Grade 12)

2. What are the factors that influence students' ability to use

the English language?

3. What strategies are suitable for improving the English

proficiency of students at ACLC-Naga?

Scope and delimitation of the study

 This study investigates in which is limited to 150 students

in Grade 12-GAS at the ACLC Senior High School, will concentrate

on coping mechanisms for English language challenges.    

The selected students of Gas strand from Grade 12 at ACLC-

Naga were selected as respondents because the number of years

they spent in school was efficient enough to fully determined the

extent of their knowledge and ability to properly and immediately

states what motivates them in their studies.

Significance of the study 

The study aims at providing skilled teaching methods of the

perception of the English language. The findings of this research

could be used as a useful guideline for English language

teachers, especially those teaching at the Senior High School

level. The study may also be used by students as references to

their studies. The general public could use it as a useful tool

to enhance their understanding of English.  

The results of this study may prove useful and beneficial to

the following:   

Students, it may benefit the student because this study is

conducted for them to know how prominent factors affect their

studies.  
Teachers the teacher may be encouraged to make their own

strategies to motivate their students in their studies and

attending their class. 

School institution, the school may benefit because this study may

help to have a better strategy to improve the difficulties of

their students in their studies.  

Future Researcher will be provided with a guide to pursue studies

on the difficulties of the students in English language.     

Theoretical framework 

To provide an anchor support for the present investigation,

the three main theories: 

Based on Self – determination Theory (SDT), learners may be

driven to learn by two sources – internal and external.  Learners

are either intrinsically motivated’ and engage in activities.

Because of their internal interests, joy and excitement, or

externally driven’ and perform an action with an anticipation of

some outcome other than the learning itself ( Deci & Ryan,

2008).  

Hertsberg’s two factor theory or motivator – hygiene theory

by behavioral scientist, comprises of two sets of Fredrick

factors. Herzberg There (1959), exist in which every

organization, job factors that create employee satisfaction and

others that cause dissatisfaction. 

The two sets are: hygiene factors (The term hygiene is used to

mean that these are maintenance factors) which refer to job

factors that are essential for motivating workers at the

workplace. They do not lead to satisfaction but the absence leads

to dissatisfaction. Examples are pay, company policies, fringe

benefits, physical working conditions, paid insurance,

interpersonal relations and job security. 

The second set of factors is motivational factors which cause

employee satisfaction. These are: recognition, sense of personal

achievement, personal growth and promotional opportunities,

responsibilities, challenging work, recognition for one's

achievement, responsibility, involvement in decision making and

sense of importance to an organization. Based on the observations

made from the pull and push factors impacting on teacher

attrition, the theory clearly discloses the main reasons why

teachers leave the profession. Primarily, teachers are concerned

with the hygiene factors which are their basic concerns and

secondly, the motivational factors.  

Gardner and Lambert's (1972) motivational theory emphasized

integrative and instrumental motivation as two important

motivational components. The main purpose of this study was to

examine how the two concepts of motivation and success in

learning a second language are related. Gardner and Lambert

describe how learners' attitudes to learning a second language

are measured and their dichotomous model describes learning

ability by classifying them as either integrative or

instrumental.  ESL research commonly employs Gardner and

Lambert's concept of integrative and instrumental motivation as

it relates to.

Self – determination Theory

(SDT)
Hertsberg’s two factor theory or motivator
– hygiene theory by behavioral scientist,
comprises of two sets of Fredrick factors.
Herzberg There (1959)

Gardner and Lambert's (1972)

motivational theory

Conceptual framework
 INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

Profile of the Data collection Preferred

students of students motivational
1. Age profile stratigies of
2. Gender Tabulation of the grade 12
3. Year level student's senior high
Motivational responses school
strategies that Administering of
education the
faculty questionnaire
teachers/
members used in
their teaching.

This study will guide the researcher on how to investigate

that problem through the following approaches - input, process,

output.

The input of this study includes the profile of the

respondents consists of age, gender and year level; the

motivation strategies that the education faculty members applied

in their teaching.

The process includes the data collection of the student

profile, administering of the questionnaire and tabulation of the

student’s responses that consist the motivational strategies of

education faculty members applied in their teaching.

 The output of this study will be preferred motivational

strategies of the selected Grade 12 General Academic Strand.

Hypothesis of the study

English is difficult for people who have difficulty

understanding or speaking it. But there are several ways to

understand language. Learners have the capacity to learn

languages, but institutional capacity building is needed to

facilitate this. 

Ho: There is no significant difference between the student’s

demographic profile and their perception towards the factors of

difficulties in using English language.

H1: There is significant difference between the student’s

demographic profile and their perception towards the factors of

difficulties in using English language.  

Definition of terms

To have clear understanding of the terms used in this study,

the following context were defined operationally and

contextually.
Assessing – this term means to evaluate or estimate the nature,

ability, or quality of.

Communication Skills - this term means the ability to convey

information and ideas effectively.

Developing Technology – this term means the use of scientific and

technology knowledge to solve practical problems, especially in

industry and commerce.

Technology Development means strategically focused research aimed

at developing investment-grade technologies essential to market

competitiveness.

Factors – this term means a circumstance, fact, or influence that

contributes to a result or outcome.

Language – this term means the principal method of human

communication, consisting of words used in structured and

conventional way and conveyed by speech, writing, or gesture.

Proficiency – this term means a high degree of competence or

skill; expertise.
 Chapter II

Review of Literature and Studies

This chapter is a review of various publications, journals,

books, master's thesis, and doctoral dissertations found related

in one way or another to the present research. All these writings

provided the necessary insights in the analysis and

interpretation of the results.

Related literature

According to Aquino (2005), English language has become an

international communication. The mastery of better English

language is deemed as having a lot of advantages in other ways.

This international language is not only used for communicational

purposes but also in the fields of education, and other aspects.

Omar (2006) has considered the importance of mastering English

language.

Based on Abdullah (2009), Reading text books, articles and

research publications are crucial determining factors of a

student’s that contribute to enhance their vocabulary. Given the

importance of acquiring knowledge, this study aims to find out

the factors of a wide knowledge gain from reading.

 Vince (2007) it has been observed in many research studies

that student’s acquisition of the first language is easy and

almost effortless but they always find out the problems and

mistakes when learning a second language. Based on the experience

of learning second language acquisition, which may ultimately

facilitate the learning processes.

In fact, second language is a developmental process, in

which the learners are inevitably making errors which should be

categorized and analyzed, and the process of how learners commit

such as errors should be studied.

Jallil et.al (2013) conducted a study in order to

investigate and classify the grammatical errors of 44 students of

Department of English at ACLC private school of Naga. The

students enrolled in a paragraph writing course in the first

semester of the academic year 2008/2009. These errors was first

classified into seven major categories and then they were divided

into subcategories. It was observed that the category that

included the largest number of errors was the errors of

prepositions, which comprised 29% of the total errors. On the

basis of the students results, the researcher found out that

their language ability and difficulties should be focuses, to

improved their linguistic competence that is an important part of

communicative competence.
Related studies

An analysis of university students' fear of speaking a

foreign language Mehtap Bademcioglu, et. al., 2016; Procedia-

Social and Behavioral Sciences, Volume 232, Pages 382–388. Recent

research, including those of Horwitz (1986) and MacIntyre and

Gardner (2009), focuses on how anxiety affects learning a foreign

language (1994).

With this in mind, the objective of this study is to

determine whether there are any notable differences in the

students' anxiety when speaking a foreign language based on their

gender, language proficiency, whether they have received English

language preparation, or the type of high school they attended.

320 male (65.6%) and 168 female (34.4%) English pre-college

students from Istanbul Technical University made up the research

group. The data collection method made use of the Turkish

translation of the Horwitz and Cope (1986) Foreign Language

Speaking Anxiety Questionnaire. Independent samples T-test and

one - way ANOVA were used to analyze the data.

The results of the T-test revealed that female students

scored higher than male students. Additionally, based on the

findings of the T-test, it can be said that students who have

received English language preparation had lower levels of

anxiety. Furthermore, ANOVA findings showed that students'

language proficiency and the type of high school they attend have

no bearing on their speaking fear. In a nutshell, gender and

having received English language preparation have an impact on

the anxiety associated with speaking a foreign language.

A sizable portion of language learners who are learning a

foreign language report feeling anxious while doing so. The goal

of this study was to determine how anxious students were about

learning a foreign language when they were in preparation class

and when they were in fourth grade at Cumhuriyet University in

Sivas, Turkey. Additionally, it was intended to investigate the

impact of gender on students' foreign language anxiety. According

from Turkey the study involved 98 students (57 of them were

female), who participated freely in the first and second phases

of the study while progressing from preparatory class to fourth

grade. The Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale was used to

gather research data. Although students' levels of concern about

learning a foreign language were found to be moderate in both

preparation class and fourth grade, students' levels of anxiety

were marginally greater in fourth grade than they were in

preparatory class. Men, however, were found to have higher levels

of anxiety when speaking a foreign language.

 A discussion of the causes and effects of anxiety is

followed by a presentation of the study conducted with the

participation of the freshman students studying at the Department

of English Language Teaching EL T Faculty of Education Dicle

University. The results show that there is a significant

relationship between the students' levels of foreign language

anxiety and their achievement in speaking courses.

The study was conducted during the second semester of the

2015-2016 academic year to assess the factors influencing

students' attitudes towards English along with their socio-

communicative functioning, as identified by BSE -Second-year

students from Quirino State University. The highlights of the

study are as follows: (1) Respondents to the study are primarily

female, Ilocano, Technology and Livelihoods (TLE) college

students and of normal college age sophomores; (2) Respondents

agreed with statements on the personal factors, motivational

factors, school-related factors, and family factors as aspects

affecting their attitudes towards English during their socio -

communicative functions. (3) Respondents' age, college education,

and ethnicity influence their perception of their personal

perception of the English language; (4) Respondents' college

education and ethnicity influence their perceptions along with

their motivation as factors influencing their attitudes towards

the English language along with their socio-communicative

functioning; (5) Respondents' university career has something to

do with their perception of academic aspects as factors affecting

their attitudes towards the English language during their socio-

communicative functions; (6) Respondents' college education and

ethnicity are related to their perception of domestic problems as

factors affecting their attitudes towards the English language

and their socio-communicative functioning. The study results

suggest that; (1) Students should pursue and be more interested

in the use of the English language in its socio-communicative

functions as it is conducive to their future profession; (2)

Teachers should continue to motivate and encourage students to

use the English language by communicating with others to practice

and prepare students for their actual classes; (3) The Bachelor

of Secondary Education course must offer activities and seminar-

workshops that improve the students' language skills,

particularly in the use of English; (4) Parents should support

and encourage their children to use the English language as a

powerful tool to achieve their dreams.

The relevant research that were cited were the elements that

could contribute to and improve student motivation. Classroom and

school environments are demonstrating high ability and competing

for increasing the academic performance of some students,

according to (Meece, Anderman, & Anderman, 2006), (Lyke & Young,

2006), and (Meyer & environments grades can Turner, 2006); as a

result, the classroom climate serves as the foundation for

teacher-student relationships and interactions that are essential

for motivating students to learn. To motivate kids to learn,

however, the inner motivation is more important. To motivate kids

to learn, however, the inner motivation is more important.

Teachers can take into account the arousal of intrinsic

motivation and take this motivation into account when developing

their lesson plans by using motivational strategies.

The use of English in Philippine education has been

ineffective for a variety of reasons. The absence of trained

teachers is one of the most obvious causes. Many schools have

teachers who are not fluent in English, which makes it difficult

for them to instruct kids in the language. The absence of English

exposure is another factor. It is challenging for many pupils in

the Philippines to become proficient in English because they are

unable to use it outside of the classroom. On the other hand, the

Philippines has always had a significant linguistic diversity,

with at least 218 languages being spoken there as of the 2007

census. This is a reflection of the lengthy history of

colonization in the Philippines and its challenging topography,

which has led to the spread of numerous languages across the

archipelago.

Given the linguistic diversity of the nation, the

Philippines has benefited from the development of a robust

multilingual sector. In 2012, the Philippines surpassed India to

take the top spot in the world for voice outsourcing.

Additionally, it helps the Philippines by fostering the growth of

a bilingual sector.

There were 218 languages spoken in the Philippines overall,

according to the 2007 census.

The difficulty of teaching English as a second language (ESL)

continues to rank among the top concerns of researchers and

educators worldwide. In order to create an environment conducive

to effective language teaching and learning, it is essential in

this situation to relate the instructional material to the

learners' cultural backgrounds and to identify and address any

needs they may have. Language instructors were given a

comparatively longer amount of time to monitor and evaluate their

teaching methods in Almusharraf's (2020) case study.

Gap-bridge of the study

 The provided information lacks a clear and specific research

gap statement. However, based on the information provided, a

potential research gap could be:

Despite the significant linguistic diversity in the

Philippines, the current English education system faces

challenges in effectively teaching English as a second language

(ESL) to students. This is attributed to the lack of trained

teachers fluent in English and limited English exposure outside

the classroom. Moreover, there is a need to incorporate

motivational strategies and consider students' cultural

backgrounds in ESL instruction. However, there is a gap in

research exploring the specific approaches or interventions that

can address these challenges and improve the effectiveness of

English language education in the Philippines.

Further research is required to investigate effective

strategies for training English teachers, increasing English

exposure opportunities, and developing culturally relevant

instructional materials and techniques in order to enhance

English language acquisition among students in the Philippines.

 Chapter III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter deals with the Research Design, Population and

Sampling, Research Instrument, Data Gathering Procedure, Data

Processing and Statistical Treatment of Data.

Research Design

The research design for this study could be a mixed methods

design, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative data

collection methods. The quantitative data would be gathered

through the survey questionnaire, providing a broad overview of

the difficulties faced by senior high school students in using

the English language. The qualitative data from the interviews

would offer deeper insights and contextual understanding of the

factors contributing to these difficulties.

Research Locale

The research will be conducted at ACLC-Naga, specifically

targeting senior high school students in that institution. ACLC-

Naga would serve as the research locale to focus on the

experiences and difficulties faced by students in their English

language usage within that particular educational setting.

Respondents of the study

The sampling technique used could be stratified random

sampling. In this approach, the population (Grade 12 students in

ACLC-Naga) would be divided into strata based on relevant

characteristics (e.g., courses or programs). From each stratum, a

random sample of students would be selected to ensure

representation across different groups. The research respondents

would be senior high school students in ACLC-Naga, specifically

from the Grade 12 level. The total number of respondents would be

150 students.

Research Instruments

The research instruments for this study could include a

survey questionnaire and interviews. The survey questionnaire

would gather quantitative data by asking the senior high school

students in ACLC-Naga about their difficulties in using the

English language. The questionnaire could include Likert scale or

multiple-choice questions to assess various factors that

contribute to their difficulties. Interviews could be conducted

with a subset of the respondents to gather more in-depth

qualitative data and to explore their experiences and

perspectives further.

Data Gathering Procedure

 The researchers would develop a survey questionnaire

consisting of items related to the factors contributing to

difficulties in using the English language. The questionnaire

would be distributed to the identified respondents, who would be

given sufficient time to complete it. The completed

questionnaires would be collected and used for quantitative data

analysis.

A subset of respondents would be selected for interviews to

gather qualitative data. The researchers would conduct individual

or group interviews with the selected students, using open-ended

questions to explore their experiences, perceptions, and specific

difficulties they face in using the English language. The

interviews would be audio-recorded (with consent) and transcribed

for qualitative data analysis.

Statistical Treatment Tool

The statistical treatment tool for the quantitative data

collected through the survey questionnaire could include

descriptive statistics (e.g., means, frequencies) to summarize

the responses and identify the prominent factors contributing to

the difficulties in using the English language.

 Percentage Technique. This was used to determine the

percentage of responses and obtain the qualitative meaning of the

data.

The formula used was:

n
P = __________ X 100
N

Where:

P = is the percentage 

n = is the number of responses

N = is the total number of respondents

Weighted Mean. The formula for calculating the weighted mean

is:

Where:

Mw = is the weighted mean

f   = is the frequency

x   = is the weight

n = is the number of respondents

 fx = is the summation of the

products of the frequencies                       

times the weight

Weighted Mean.  It was used to characterize

the level of implementation of the curfew

ordinance in reducing theft and robbery.  

This was used to treat the data as indicated

below:

Weighted Interpretation

4.81- 5.00 Always

3.41- 4.80 Often

2.61- 3.40 Sometimes

1.81 – 2.60 Seldom

1.00 – 1.80 Never

 ASSESSING THE PROMINENT FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE
DIFFICULTIES IN USING ENGLISH LANGUAGE OF THE SENIOR HIGH
SCHOOL STUDENTS IN ACLC – NAGA

Greetings dear respondent, we the researchers are conducting a study with its purpose of
determining to investigate the student who has difficulty using English language. The
respondent is expected to show unbiased response and to answer truthfully. Your responses will
be anonymous and will never be linked to you personally. Your participation is entirely
voluntary.
Thank you for your cooperation.
____________________________________________________________________________

Direction : Please provide the following information either by filling in the data and just put a
check mark that corresponds to your responses.

PART 1 ( PROFILE OF THE RESPONDENTS )

Name(optional): _______________________________________________Age:__________
Strand& Grade Level:___________________________________________Date: _________
Address: _____________________________________ Gender: Male
Female

A. YES OR NO TYPE
Direction: Please put a check mark that corresponds to your responses.
1. Does your teacher use mother-tongue while teaching English?
____ Yes ____ No
2. Do you think English is a difficult language to learn?
____ Yes ____ No
3. Does English language help you in pursuing your career?
____ Yes ____ No
4. Do you think learning English is necessary?
____ Yes ____ No
5. Do you think teachers should speak English more often in the classroom?
____ Yes ____ No
6. If there would be English only Policy in the classroom, do you think you'll like it?
____ Yes ____ No
7. Does the English-only policy make you uncomfortable in class?
____ Yes ____ No
8. Do you experience any apprehension when utilizing English language?
____ Yes ____ No
9. Do you use English language in communicating with your fellow students?
____ Yes ____ No
10. Do you intend to hire a tutor solely to advance your English learning?
____ Yes ____ No

B. LIKERT SCALE
Direction: Put a check in the corresponding column.

5 4 3 2 1
Indicators (Always) (Often) (Sometimes) (Seldom) (Never)
1. Having difficulty in using
English language.

2. Can understand but, can't

speak English fluently.
3. Actively participating in
class with the English-
related subject.
4. Feel shy and not confident
in using English language
when speaking.
5. Learning English is hard to
comprehend.