TEACHING COMPETENCIES AS RELATED TO ENGLISH PROFICIENCY OF GRADE 7 STUDENTS OF PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN TACLOBAN CITY: INPUTS TO PEDAGOGY IN TEACHING

Abstract

ADELINA D. MACABENTA, Holy Infant College, Tacloban City. TEACHING COMPETENCIES AS RELATED TO ENGLISH PROFICIENCY OF GRADE 7 STUDENTS OF PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN TACLOBAN CITY: INPUTS TO PEDAGOGIES IN TEACHING. Adviser: DR. LILIA P. ADRALES This study anchored on the theory that English proficiency is affected by several factors – one of which is teachers’ competence. Hence, this study determined the relationship between teaching competencies of English teachers and level of English proficiency of Grade 7 students of public secondary schools of Tacloban City Division during the school year 2013-2014 as inputs to pedagogies in teaching. Specifically, it answered the following questions: what is the profile of the English teachers in terms of educational attainment, experience in teaching; what is the level of teaching competence of Grade 7 English teachers in terms of the following of formulation of objectives, art of questioning, development and selection of instructional materials, use of teaching methods/strategies, and assessment of learning outcomes; what is the level of English proficiency of Grade 7 students in the following skills grammar, reading and vocabulary, speaking, listening, and writing; and is there a significant relationship between each of the teaching competencies of English teachers and the level of English proficiency of Grade 7 students? It tested there is no significant relationship between each of the teaching competencies of English teachers and the level of English proficiency of the Grade 7 students. The study was conducted in selected public secondary schools of Tacloban City Division. It employed 696 Grade 7 students and 17 English teachers. The descriptive-correlative method was used using a survey questionnaire for the teachers and students and an evaluation test for the students. The data were statistically treated using descriptive measures such as frequencies and percentage for the profiles of the teachers, weighted mean for the level of teaching competence, arithmetic mean and mean percentage score for the level of English proficiency; and inferential measures such as Pearson r for the relationship between each teaching competence and level of English proficiency. The teachers’ overall level of teaching competence was 4.38 which was interpreted as “competent.” In teaching competence in terms of assessment of learning outcomes, the teachers had a weighted mean rating of 4.51 which was interpreted as “very competent.” In the other four areas, they were considered as “competent” with the following mean ratings: 4.41 for the competence in formulating instructional objectives; 4.39 in the use of teaching methods/strategies; 4.36 for art of questioning; and 4.25 in the development and selection of instructional materials. The overall mean percentage score of the students was 69.4 which was interpreted as “approaching proficient” level only. The skills which the students got the lowest mean percentage scores were in reading and vocabulary with an MPS of 56.8; listening with MPS of 60.4; and grammar with MPS of 68.6. All these had interpretations of “approaching proficient” levels. On the other hand, the students got mean percentage scores of 83.8 and 77.6 for writing and speaking, respectively; both were interpreted as “proficient” level. The coefficient of correlation (Pearson r) for the relationship between the overall level of teaching competence and English proficiency level of students was .243 with a corresponding p-value of less than .01. This means that the relationship was significant at the .01 alpha level. As to the specific teaching competencies, all had significant positive associations with the level of English proficiency. On top of these was the use of teaching strategies with a Pearson r value of .478 and was significant at the .01 alpha level. This was followed by competencies in terms of assessment of learning outcomes and in terms of art of questioning with r-values of .374 and .239, respectively; which were both significant at the 01 alpha level. For the competencies in terms of development and selection of instructional materials, and in terms of formulation of objectives, the r-values were .203 and .194, respectively, which were both significant at the .05 alpha level. From the findings, the output of the study which is a list of suggested teaching strategies is recommended for use to serve as guide of teachers in English.