SPECIALIZED GRAMMAR MODULE: AN AID IN ENHANCING THE GRAMMAR

COMPETENCIES OF THE GRADE 7 STUDENTS OF RINCONADA NATIONAL

TECHNICAL VOCATIONAL SCHOOL (RNTVS), IRIGA CITY

An Action Research

Presented to the

Schools Division Research Committee

Division of Iriga City

Submitted by:

JOHN KHEVIN C. GAMBAL

Secondary School Teacher II
Junior High School
RINCONADA NATIONAL TECHNICAL VOCATIONAL SCHOOL
Sto. Domingo, Iriga City

December 2021
I. ABSTRACT
This action research aimed to enhance the grammar competencies of the

Grade 7 student of Rinconada National Technical Vocational School with the aid of a

Specialized Grammar Module. Fifty Eight or 34.76% scored the average and poor level

of English Grammar skills in the Diagnostic Test. The researcher addressed the

problem by improving English Grammar Performance using the Specialized Grammar

Module which focuses on the least mastered skills. The results of the study showed that

the number of students who were within a poor level was reduced in the Evaluation

Test. There is a significant difference (p = 0.030) in the English performance of

Evaluation Test results between the unremedied printed modular modality and the

specialized grammar module. The findings stressed that the results of the Evaluation

Test of control and treatment groups have significant differences. It is proposed that

teachers and learners should be given enhancing and innovative activities through a

specialized grammar module to promote better English understanding and performance

by having students read, analyze, comprehend, reason, and perform. The Specialized

Grammar Module will aid students make connections across English skills and

concepts, and other disciplines. Following the concepts and activities in the specialized

grammar module, students should have time to discuss how they can improve English

related skills through building up from basic grammar activities. With careful planning,

implementation and evaluation, better English Grammar Competencies can be achieved

successfully by the learners.

Keywords: English Grammar skills, concepts and competencies; comprehend;

Specialized Grammar Module; innovative learning; least mastered and mastered skills
II. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It is with great fulfillment to have finished and accomplished an action research

that is testament of an Educator’s meaningful contribution to uplifting the service by

providing quality, accessible and top- of- the- line Education. It is with great delight to

mention the individuals and organizations that have been influential in the success and

accomplishment of this study.

Part of the success in the realization of this are English teachers who see the

many advantages this initiative will foster in the development of competent and

equipped with proper skills learners in the English Language and Communication. It is

with sincere thanks to Chrisa I. Paz and Ivy M. Reorizo.

As he is a man of great knowledge in the field of research, this is possible

because of the overflowing support of Rey M. Bueno, the school principal of Rinconada

National Technical Vocational School.

My warm and heartfelt appreciation to the technical assistance of Maria

Genoviva Quiańo, the Division Research Coordinator. Her relentless support in guiding

and leading researchers is a testament of your noble and unselfish contribution to this

field.

To all Education Leaders who never had a second thought in the objectives and

aims of this study, you have been essential in the aspirations and end- goals of this

study which is- to develop an effective teaching strategy and material, and promote

excellence in the English Language. My sincere appreciation to Claudia Marilou

Marpuri, Education Program Supervisor in English, Jerson V. Toralde, Chief-

Curriculum and Implementation Division, Maria Sheila V. Lagoda, Assistant Schools

Division Superintendent, and Danilo E. Despi, Schools Division Superintendent.

Amidst the challenges that I faced in its accomplishment; these people have

always replenished my motivation. My family served as an inspiration to keep on going

and the very reason which lead me to achieving this output.

Lastly, to the Almighty Father, who provided me with all the needed wisdom,

strength and guidance to the accomplishment of this study, I praise, glorify and offer

whatever service this will bring.

JOHN KHEVIN C. GAMBAL

Researcher
III. CONTEXT AND RATIONALE

English is the current, highly recognized international lingua franca. As the world

unites into a global community commonly engaged by modern technology, the need to

use the English language has become more and more apparent. Today more than any

episode in history, people from different regions of the world are able to communicate

fast because of the favors of technology. Adjacent with a person’s competent use of

technology, it has likewise become essential to hone the skills of speaking or writing

effectively in English if one were to partake in global commerce, especially that English

is widely used in business industries and in education. Moreover, English is learned and

studied in the modern world for its obvious practical importance, i.e. as a means to

communicate in the international level and as a means to optimize one’s access to

opportunities in the employment market (Estanislao, 2013).

In the Philippines, as cited in various Deped Programs and Memoranda, English

has long been a part of the curricula of varied academic programs. Curriculum has

changed drastically but the learning of English remains intact in the essentials of any

curriculum. With K to 2 coming to fore, English is offered in both the Junior and the

Senior High School curricula. It is also the medium of instruction in teaching other

subjects such as Mathematics and Science, among others. Filipinos are regarded to be

among the more fluent speakers of the English language. This is one of the reasons
that fellow Asians from other ASEAN countries have chosen to study here in the

Philippines or resort to learning English from Filipino mentors.

DepEd Advisory No. 242, s. 2014 June 9, 2014 which is I n compliance with

DepEd Order No. 8, s. 2013 which focused on designs for teachers of English in

multilingual settings who want to develop expertise in teaching the different language

skills. Based on the latest approaches to English language teaching, and anchored on

recent pedagogical issues and developments, the program catering workshops provided

participants with both theoretical foundation and hands on sessions. The trigger

emphasized in the enhancement of grammar teaching skills of teachers of English from

both public and private elementary schools.

In an article written by Cabigon (2015), the Philippines is recognized globally as

one of the largest English speaking nations, with the majority of its population having at

least some degree of fluency in the language. English has always been one of the

country’s official languages and is spoken by more than 14 million Filipinos. It is the

language of commerce and law, as well as the primary medium of instruction in

education. Cabigon further noted that key stakeholders from the government, academe,

private, and nongovernment sectors acknowledged that even if Filipinos are generally

competent in English, concerns on how much of a competitive advantage have been

raised. The stakeholders agreed that the country needs to scale up with its efforts to

improve the teaching and learning of English, considering that these are vital skills of

the workforce. This is an initiative that can potentially strengthen the Philippines’ distinct

economic, political or educational advantage in this part of the world, particularly in the

ASEAN economic region.

 Despite the economic benefits of being an English-speaking nation, Filipinos

have not fully maximized its potentials. Studies show that the Filipinos' grasp of the

English language is slipping while other Asians are catching up fast. In 2008, an online

article by Karl Wilson in “The National” revealed that Filipinos scored an overall mean of

6.69 for the macro skills in English in terms of listening, writing, reading, and speaking.

This indicates a rather low profile at the backdrop of international standards. Historically,

the English proficiency of Filipinos has been consistently stable across 1993 to 2000

before a gradual decline has been reported in the following years.

Even more alarming is the rising percentage of those who are incompetent in

English which doubled from a measly 7% in 1993 to 14% in 2006 (UK Essays, 2013).

Anent the above, grammar is regarded as one of the fundamentals of language.

Regardless of any language, competence in grammar is foundational to one’s ability to

communicate in a particular language. One’s good grasp of grammar implies the ability

to send clearer messages, and the likelihood of being intelligible and understood by

others. Moreover, one can also produce good quality writings with a competent mastery

of grammar (Bradshaw, 2013).

English Grammar presupposes eight parts of speech namely: noun, pronoun,

adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunctions, interjections and verbs. Students are taught

to be competent in the fictional use of these grammatical elements. However, the

researcher who has relatively spent years in the English language teaching career has

noted that one of the main problems of the students is their functional grasp of subject-

verb agreement. ESL students’ problematic difficulties in their use of subject-verb

agreement are becoming more obvious and rampant, and it cuts across the different
grade levels where students belong. From the primary school towards the university

level, many students are noted in their speech and writing as not being able to abide

with the rules of subject-verb agreement. Errors on subject-verb agreement were found

not only in students’ essays but even in writings of colleges in universities.

The more worrisome dimension of this problem is that such fiasco extends even

to professionals who use English in their lectures or those among the honorable

members of state and national assemblies or those engaged in varied media outfits.

Errors in subject-verb agreement are becoming wide spread and it seems as if many

people are either no longer aware of the rules or they simply undermine the importance

of grammar rules, for as long as they are able to convey their message (Tafida &

Okunade, 2016).

Apparently, the observed deterioration among students in their application or

usage of correct grammar in English language pervades not only those in the

elementary level but also in the secondary level of education. Since K to 12 uses spiral

progression, the grammar competencies are expected to be mastered by the learners in

the early stages as a prerequisite for them to cope with the more advanced grammar

lessons in the higher levels of their education. In addition to the above, the K to 12

Basic Education Curriculum uses the Spiral Progression Principle in English language

teaching. In the spiral curriculum design, key concepts are presented repeatedly

throughout the curriculum, but with deepening layers of complexity. As such, learning

competencies in English are taught at an increasing levels of difficulty and

sophistication. This allows the students to progress from the foundational level to higher

levels of language use. Thus, the performance in English of the language learners,
especially in writing which focuses on subject-verb agreement, is a crucial part in their

language learning as it greatly affects their performance in the succeeding grade levels.

IV. INNOVATION, INTERVENTION AND STRATEGY

The proponent created a specialized grammar module catering the least

mastered skills in grammar. Activities and tasks will be in-lined with the set of

competencies appropriate for the grade level which will follow the most essential

learning competency. Thus, the module made will be a supplementary material in

teaching English targeting a specific skill.

A set of activities and tasks, both in digital and printed copies were provided to

the children and teachers. It is designed to renew and promote the objectives of

grammar competencies which encourage them to better understand the rules in subject

and verb agreement, syntax, effective construction of grammatically correct sentences

gearing towards paragraph development observing the proper semantics. The English

teachers are well oriented on how the module will be facilitated and evaluated once the

learners have already returned their output.

The module is of three sets that will be given every week among the Grade 7

students of Rinconada National Technical Vocational School. These sets will be on

simple subject and verb agreement, sentence construction and paragraph development.

The module is now part of the academic activities which is a means of remedial

instruction and program in the development of grammar competency which is an aid for

the learners in the ease of their academic achievement in the regular curriculum.
V. Action Research Questions:

This study aims to improve the grammar competencies of the Grade 7

students of Rinconada National Technical Vocational School, Iriga City with the

use of a Specialized Grammar Module.

Specifically, it aims to answer the following questions:

1. What is the present performance level of Grade 7 learners in Grammar

Competency?

2. What are the least mastered skills or topics in grammar that need more

instructional emphasis?

3. How effective is the specialized grammar module in improving the grammar

competencies?

VI. Action Research Methods

a. Participants and/ or other Sources of Data and Information

The Grade 7 students are the main respondents and main sources of data

and information of this action research.

b. Data Gathering Methods

The data gathering methods are the Pre- Test and Post Test in English

focused in

Grammar and the result of the utilization of Specialized Module in Grammar.

c. Data Analysis Plan

The researcher will use the following statistical tools: frequency distribution,

percentage technique, weighted mean, and Five- Point Scale.

 Frequency Count. This refers to the number of times that a particular score

or observation occurs. This will be used to determine the tabulation obtained

in the grouping of scores.

Percentage Technique. The percentage technique will be utilized in quantifying

the grouping of scores for a competency.

P = Σ R ˣ 100
N

Where: P- Percentage
Σ- Summation
R- Number of Responses
N- Total Number of Respondents

Mean of Grouped Data. The mean of Grouped data will be used to quantify
the grouping of score for the learners performance.

sum of the values

Mean =
Number of values

Five- Point Rating Scale. The Likert- type scale will be employed in
qualifying and interpreting the weighted mean for each indicator, consisting of
the following interpretations:
Scale Range Interpretation
5 4.20- 5.00 Very Effective (VE)
4 3.40- 4.19 Effective (E)
3 2.60- 3.39 Moderately Effective (ME)
2 1.80- 2.59 Less Effective
1 1.00- 1.79 Not Effective
VII. DISCUSSION OF RESULTS AND REFLECTION

This part includes the discussion of results and reflection of the study. The data

presented in this part follows the arrangement of the problems as set in the Action

Research Questions.

Upon the administration and after the conduct of the examination, the collected

data and the result of the pretest and posttest in the first and second trial runs were

evaluated and analyzed.

Problem 1. What is the present performance level of Grade 7 learners in Grammar

Competency?

Table 1
Level of the English Grammar Competence of Grade 7 students (Control Group)
in the Diagnostic Test (N = 28)

Score Range Diagnostic Test Percent Level of

(30 item test) Frequency Mathematics
Performance

24 – 30 15 10.71 Very Good

17 – 23 45 32.14 Good

10 - 16 60 42.86 Average

9 below 20 14.29 Poor

Total 140 100.00

MEAN 20.076 Good

 Table 1 shows the level of the English Grammar competence of Grade 7

students based on their results on the 30-item Diagnostic Test in English Grammar.

In the Diagnostic Test, out of 28 students, there are 3 or 10.71% students who

belong to score range from 24-30 and that three students belong to a Very Good level

of English Grammar Performance. However, there are 9 or 32.14% students who

belong to Good level of English Grammar Performance; 12 or 42.86 % Average; and, 4

or 14.29%, with Poor level of English Grammar Skills. The mean of the students is

placed at 20.076 which means that generally, the students have a Good level of

English Grammar skills.

Problem 2. What are the least mastered skills or topics in grammar that need

more instructional emphasis?

Table 2
Levels of the Least Mastered Skills or topics in grammar that need more
emphasis based from the results of the Diagnostic Test

Areas No. of Items Mean SD Interpretation

Simple 6 2.96 1.50 Average

Subject- Verb

Compound 7 3.60 1.87 Average

Subjects- Verb

Irregular 14 4.66 3.36 Low

Nouns- Verb

Indefinite 6 2.29 2.20 Low

Pronouns-
Verb
Demonstrative 6 3.29 2.07 Low
Pronouns-
Verbs
 Complete 5 2.79 2.53 Average
Subject- Verbs

Subjects with 16 5.81 3.68 Low

Dangling
Modifiers

Table 2 shows that the level of test performance in grammar of the respondent

Grade VI pupils when taken as a whole is average (M = 25.24, SD = 8.89). Specifically,

they also scored average in Simple Subject- Verb (M = 2.96, SD 1.50), Compound

Subjects- Verb (M = 3.60, SD = 1.87), and Complete Subject- Verbs (M 2.97, SD =

2.53).

Problem 3. How effective is the specialized grammar module in improving the

grammar competencies?

Table 3
Effectiveness of the Specialized Grammar Module in Improving the Grammar
Competencies specifically the Identified Least Mastered Skills

Score Diagnostic Test Percentage Post Test Percentage

Range Frequency
(30 item Frequency
test)

24 – 30 15 10.71 48 34.29

17 – 23 45 32.14 76 54.29

10 - 16 60 42.86 14 10

9 below 20 14.29 2 1.43

Total 140 100.00 140 100

MEAN 15.60 Average 21.41 Very Good

 Table 3 shows that the Effectiveness of the Specialized Grammar Module in

Improving the Grammar Competencies specifically in the identified least mastered skills

which is on the rules of Subject and Verb Agreement is found to be Very Good (f=

21.41). It can be inferred that more than 90% of the class has achieved mastery level

and only less than 2% remains to have not met the necessary competency in Grammar

Competencies. It can be inferred that the Grammar Competencies has achieved the

desired objectives it is intended to deliver to the respondent or the learners.

VIII. ACTION PLAN

Goal: To improve the grammar competencies of the learners with the aid of a

Specialized Grammar Module focused on the least mastered skills findings.

Program Objective: To recommend actions to implement the utilization of the

Specialized English Grammar Module as an intervention to improve the English

performance of the Grade 7 students of Rinconada National Technical Vocational

School- Main Campus.

Table 5. Action Research Work Plan and Timelines

Activities September October November January

2021 2021 2021 2022

 Submission of Proposal
for Approval

 Reproduction of
Specialized Grammar
Module
  Distribution of
Questionnaire and
Retrieval

 Tabulation of Results and

Interpretation of Data
Gathered

 Preparation of the
Terminal Report

 Review/ Submission of
the Completed Action
Research

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