Chapter I

INTRODUCTION

In entering the school, there are many things that a parents must know for their

children. The mental, physical and emotional must be check before they got started to the

next stage of their life and that is to enter to the school.

Let the children explore more by exposing them to nature and outside environment

converse with the children and provide them information, which will motivate them to

formal study (Acerado, 2007). No one can hurry the learner to learn because they learn

on their interest and the things that they want to learn. In this, they can easily learn what

they need to learn. The learner must have to choose on the time that they are already

prepared for the task of entering the school to the major field in this world especially

math and language. Both of these are related with each other.

Language plays an important role in our everyday life interactions. It is used by

human to do communication with other people in conveying and sharing idea, feeling,

emotion and information both in spoken and written forms. It also serves the human

needs in their everyday communication in any situation. In language, it helps an

individual to express his thought and expression that a person wants to express what is

behind on his mind. Language is classified into (3) three types: the first language, the

second language and the foreign language. First language is the language that a person

has learnt from birth or within a critical period, or that a person speaks the best and so is

often the basis for sociolinguistic identify. First language is also called the mother
tongue, native language or L1. Second language is the language that is not the mother

tongue, but that is used for public communication. In other words second language is a

non-native language officially recognized and adopted in a multilingual country as a

means of public communication. Foreign language is a language indigenous to another

country. It is also a language not spoken in the native country of the person referred to.

For us to become fluent in the second language and the third language, we must have

more knowledge and fluent in our first language because if we don’t know our first

language so we are not became fluent in the second language and the third language.

Thus, the teachers should teach first the first language or mother tongue to the learners in

the Mathematics subject to learn better in the second language and the third language.

Mathematics is one of the basic subjects of Grade 3 pupils of whatever school they

have because of the K-12 school curriculum. It is an abstract science of numbers,

quantity and space. It is one of the instruments in all disciplines leading to manpower

development which usually involve quantity. In this 21st century, commonly known as

technological world has been supported the past articles or research about math and

evolved more important research that can be used in everyday living. The mathematics

subject is difficult to some learners and hate this subject because they find it difficult.

They must possess the power of logical reasoning to answer the question about

mathematics. In mathematics, some of questions are tricky and difficult to get the

meaning of it. One of these topics is solving word problem. We all know that word

problem in mathematics is different from each other in terms of difficulty. There are

students who can solve easy word problem but have trouble if the problem is too

complex. Maybe sometimes the questions is too difficult to understand so that the
teachers translate the problem into an easy way. In teaching mathematics, Mother tongue

is used as a media of instruction. It is used from kindergarten to grade 3. To become

knowledgeable in mathematics, the learners must learn his first language. This is a good

practice to become fluent in this subject.

Understanding a matter of things in different languages is not easy. Someone may

have a high understanding level on using his first language or mother tongue. Every

individual has his/her own ability, capacity, skill, talent or expertness and for being a

student he must know his/her ability to enhance it to attain his/her goal. As early as an

individual know his ability, there is a big chance to improve or widen this ability

especially among parents and teachers have a big role in guiding the learners.

Since solving word problem is a difficult topic for some students. The teachers need

to give an emphasis about this topic. They are the one who guide his student to learn. It

is important in teaching to think the best strategies to teach the learners in easy way. The

learners learn on how the teachers handle his students and what the strategies used in

teaching for a better learning of his students.

Background of the Study

The researcher, a future elementary school teacher is concerned about this matter

related to the mathematics performance of Grade 3 pupils using Mother tongue. One of

the most crucial changes that face the teaching profession on today is how to maximize

the effectiveness of teaching services to motivate their early learners to learn with their

young ages and available resources.

 The researcher experienced a trouble in solving when it comes the topic about

solving word problem during his elementary days. He found that answering word

problem is not easy as we thought because sometimes the words used is tricky and

reasonable. The researcher also encounter some mistakes by getting the correct answer to

the questions because of the wrong process that he take in answering the word problem.

He cannot figure out on how his teacher derived the correct answer to the given question.

That is why the researcher undertake this study to help the pupils to enlighten their

knowledge and mind about the subject of mathematics.

Since Mathematics and language are important tools needed by a child in his

everyday living, the skills involved in mathematics and languages like comparing,

reading, communication, etc. are the basic tools for learning as he gains a certain degree

of skills in it. This ability is the one way of measuring the understanding level of a

learner. Essentially, the teacher should guide the children to know their weakness so that

the challenges of giving the right thing to the right child at the right time will be met.

Hence, there is a need of encouragement to the students through guidance to develop

their abilities.

The researcher is motivated to have this study just because of a new implemented

curriculum by Pres. Benigno Simeon Aquino III which is K-12 progam that involved the

new subject called Mother Tongue. The researcher wants to determine if the mother

tongue that use in teaching and learning Mathematics as media of instruction has

significance in learning of the students. Therefore, this study helps us teacher to think a

new strategies and techniques that will use in teaching Mathematics using mother

tongue.
Objectives of the Study

This study aims to assess and determine the pupils performance in mathematics

using mother tongue and developed a localized activity book in solving word problem

that can enhance the Grade 3 pupils of Macalelon Elementary School. Particularly, it

sought to attain the following objectives:

1. Assess the pupils performance in mathematics using mother tongue.

2. Develop a localized activity book in solving word problems.

3. Evaluate the level of acceptability of localized activity book as to:

3.1 Accuracy of Material

3.2 Content of the Material

3.3 Presentation and Originality of the Material

3.4 Clarity of the Material

4. Determine if there is a significance difference on the performance in

mathematics of the students before and after using the localized activity.

Significance of the Study

The researcher pursues this study to assess the pupils Mathematics performance

using Mother Tongue and determine if there is a significance on the pupils performance

in mathematics of the students before and after using the localized activity book. He

hopes that the findings of this study will provide some insights and information on how

the teachers can enhance the effective involvement in learning using Mother Tongue.
This will be a guide also not only to the students but also to the future researchers, pupils

and parents.

For the pupils. This study will provide information about the level of their

understanding in Mathematics using Mother Tongue so that they can practice themselves

to have a better performance in learning Mathematics. It will enhance the knowledge of

the pupils about mathematics and guide as their reading material to learn and to explore

more about mother tongue.

For teachers. This may be provide insight on what teaching strategies they will use that

can be appropriate to mathematics performance of the learners so that the learners will be

able to learn easily. It provides some information about their profession that will gives

them an idea to think of what style will they use in teaching this subject to assess their

students learning Mathematics.

For parents. This may provide information on the understanding level of the learners so

they can guide and help the learners to have a good status in learning Mathematics. It

will guide to widen their knowledge about Mother Tongue to serve for teaching their

children when they are not in school.

Scope and Limitations

This researcher limited the study in assessing the pupils performance in Mathematics

using Mother Tongue of the selected Grade 3 pupils in Macalelon Central Elementary

School. Topics include the knowledge of the pupils in solving word problem and

developed a localized activity book that will improve the knowledge in problem solving
in Mathematics of Grade three pupils. It utilized a descriptive method of research with

the aid of questionnaire as the main instrument and used weighted mean for the statistical

treatment. The actual respondents of the study are forty (40) Grade 3 pupils of Macalelon

Central Elementary School, Section 2. The time frame of the study was from January

2019 to April 2019.

Definition of Terms

For the purpose of this study and to facilitate understanding of this research, the

following terms are defined conceptually and operationally to have a better

understanding of the study:

Accuracy refers to the condition or quality of being true, correct, or exact; freedom from

error or defect; precision or exactness; correctness

(dictionary.reference.com/browse/accuracy). In this study, it refers to one

criterion that measures the acceptability of the developed localized activity book.

Content of the Material refers to the information provided through the medium, the

way in which the information was presented, as well as the added features

included in the medium in which that information was delivered (McLuhan). In

this study, it refers to the specificity, clarity and relevance of the content of the

developed booklet.

Grade 3 pupils refers to the group as respondent in the researcher’s study.

Localized Activity Book refers to an activity book which contains activities about

solving word problem in mathematics using mother tongue being studied and
 answered by the pupils. In this study, it refers to the developed material by the

researcher that focused on improving the Mathematics performance in solving

word problems using mother tongue of the Grade three pupils of Macalelon

Central Elementary School.

Mathematics Performance refers to the performance of the Grade 3 pupils in learning

Mathematics subject. Mathematical performance of Grade 3 pupils using Mother

Tongue.

Mother Tongue refers to the language used by the researcher in the questionnaire that

he made.

Originality of the Material refers to the quality of being able to express oneself in an

independent and individual manner. (dictionary.com/browse/originality). In this

study, it refers to one criterion sought for the acceptability of the developed

material, particularly the developed localized activity book by the researcher; that

is, being original.

Solving word Problem refers to one of the topics in Mathematics that the researcher

chose and he made it a set of questions.