CAUSES OF LOW LEVEL COMMUNICATIVE SKILLS OF THE JUNIOR HIGH

SCHOOL STUDENT IN USING ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN EASTERN MINDORO

COLLEGE S.Y. 2019-2020

Introduction

The English language is the instrument of communication in

our post primary institutions, higher institutions as well as the
official language of the country. Therefore, senior high school
students need effective English language to function properly or
perform better,(Fema, 2003) was of the view that “a person is
functionally literate when he acquired knowledge and skills in
reading and writing which enables them to engage effectively in
all those activities in which literacy is normally assumed in his
culture group”. English language normally has four basic skills,
namely listening, speaking, reading and writing. It is the medium
of instruction in our schools and compulsory school subject that
must be passed at all levels of education (Danladi, 2008). Language
is also considered the most important and foremost for learning.
It is primary tool allows teachers to mediate source for students
to access the whole curriculum. Medium of instructor is English
language from basic level till higher education.

A language is a systematic means of communicating ideas by

the use of sounds,gestures, signs or marks. It is the code used to
express oneself and communicate to others. It is the mental faculty
or power of vocal communication. Any means of communicating ideas,
specifically human speech, and the expression of ideas by the voice
and sounds and articulated by the organs of the throat and mouth
is a language. This is a system of combining words to create
meaning used by a particular group of people. Language is something
specific to human, that it to say, it is the basic capacity that
distinguishes human from all other living beings. Language,
therefore, remains potentially a communicative medium capable of
expressing ideas and concepts as well as moods, feelings and
attitudesHowever, it is not good to note that the causes of low
level communicative performance of students in English language at
public examinations in recent times has been explained as a major
cause of decline in the general academic performance and standard
of education in Nigeria. Oluwole, (2008) was of the view that
“having difficulty in grasping fully the contents and concepts of
the various subjects of the curriculum taught in target language
seem to be one of the most serious problems that English as a first
language students face in their particular course of study. This
might be due to their weaknesses in English language (the medium
of instruction) which may have negative consequences on their
overall performance.

Communicative skills are always in the picture for the general

success of life. From talking to your classmates or teachers in
school and buying groceries to working with employees at your
company. All these activities need someone to communicate
effectively with each other. Communication is the vehicle that
allows the human race to recall the past, think in the present,
and plan for the future. It enables people to manage relationships
with others and to interpret and interact with the environment.
Effective communication is a learned skills. Most people are born
with the physical abilities to acquire necessary communication
tools, but such potential does not guarantee that they will learn
to communicate effectively.

In terms of the variance in language anxiety due to study

level, it is revealed that there is no positive relationship
between the learners' anxiety and their proficiency, and that
junior students are more anxious than the freshmen. It reveals
that the cause of the poor communicative skills is low level of
self-confidence. While three of the factors concern the lack of
well-trained teachers, students' lack of English background
knowledge and students' limited opportunity to use English with
native English speakers, the third factor is related to the
Affective Filter variable of self-confidence, in which it is
mentioned that the lack of self-confidence caused the students to
become shy and afraid of making mistakes. For self-confidence, the
participants reported that they have low self-confidence prior to
the study. Their lack of self-confidence in using the language is
linked to their lack of performance in various language skills
causing them to become afraid or embarrassed of making mistakes
(Souriyavongsa et al. (2013).
Most of them claimed that they are least confident in oral
communication skill because of their low vocabulary and grammar
knowledge, as well as their pronunciation.

"Maybe in small group like this I more confident.”(Lee,

Interview) "I can be more confident in small groups like discussion
group "(Sia, R.N). Generally, the participants had shown the
increase in their self-confidence level after engaging in the
activity. Initially, their lack of self-confidence in using the
language is linked to their poor proficiency in various language
skills causing them to become afraid or embarrassed of making
mistakes, (Souriyavongsa et al. (2013). Krashen (1982 mentioned
that learners with high self-confidence and good self-image could
acquire second language better. Students are afraid to speak or
communicate with other because of lack of confidence. English
language is universal among human being who use it for
communicating.

The researchers have two purpose on why they conduct this

research problem. The first is, they want to know the causes of
the students why they having the low level of communicative skills.
They notice that most of the Junior High School students in Eastern
Mindoro College has the low ability of communicating using English
Language. Most of them are shy to talk with other people because
they are afraid of being judged in using wrong words in
constructing a sentence. They afraid that when they try to speak
or construct English when talking or speaking they will corrected
by others. They didn’t ask questions because of hesitation and
low confidence. We all know that students need to be practical and
deeper knowledge about the subject they are learning in school.
Second purpose is, they want to inform the students that
communication skills is important in our daily lives. It is
essential for the successful future career of a student. In today
competitive world, communication skills in business are the most
sought after quality of an educated person. Reading, writing and
listening carefully are the three most important communication
skills for students. These skills like most of the communication
skills sounds too familiar as a result of which we take them for
granted. They want to know how can they help the students improve
they’re communicative skills in using the English language. And by
this purpose they can help them to gain their self-confidence.
 According to the Ministry of Education in Oman (1996), basic
aims to make the learner gain necessary skills for life by
developing his/her communication skills, self- learning, and
ability to use critical thinking to deal with the science and
modern technology 9Al Abri, 2008).Obviously, it is necessary to
develop communication skills. English oral communication skills
are part of this skills set, and thus, students should be supported
to gain these skills. Learners of English in Oman often do not
have opportunities to speak English outside the classroom, and for
many of them, the course book is the only place where they meet
English (Al Zedjali, 2009).Although speaking is considered a main
language skill that students should improve, it has been widely
noticed that they face many difficulties in speaking English. They
conclude, that the main goal of English Language is to promote
student’s abilities to use correctly and effectively in
communication (Davies& Pearse, 2000). Even though practices
eliminates learner’s shyness(Bazir, Azeem,& Dogar, 2011)oral
activities are often overlooked in classroom practices and it helps
the student to improve their communicative skill and be active in
communicating using the English language.
Statement of the Problem

This study aims to determine the main causes of low level

communicative skills that the Junior High school students in
Eastern Mindoro College encountered, which aims to make the learner
gain their necessary skills for life by developing their
communicative skills.

This study seek to answer the following questions:

1. What are the main causes of low level communicative skills among
the junior high school student of Eastern Mindoro College?
2. What are the ways that the researchers can provide to help the
students to improve their communicative skills?
3. What are the effects of low level communicative skills in
student’s daily activities?
Significance of the Study

The results of this research cover a lot of range which

involves anyone related to the school system or in the field of
education. Having knowledge of the topic would help give measures
on how to cater to students, it help them improve in the English
communication.
1. The School Administration. Manage and appoint subject teachers
to conduct different teaching practices that could help the
students. They should also launch various activities in which
students can participate to improve their skills in English based
on the conclusion of the research. The administration can provide
campus rules and in turn encourage the students to abide to the
rules laid.
2. The Teachers. Conduct their specified teaching practice or
develop new homeroom strategies in which students would be
encouraged to speak English. The teachers would be the key players
in terms of taking action upon the student’s educational
development as well as their fluency in English communication. The
research should be the reference for them to build any strategy or
develop new teaching mechanics.
3. The students. The main variable of the research should see the
research as a reference to their status in English communication.
The research can tell them to what extent could they improve their
English speaking skills and in turn to develop it by themselves by
initiating techniques to encourage others to speak English with
them. The students should see where changes in events by the school
administration get their idea from to help them develop.
4. The Parents. They should get hands on the research should see
the state of their child in terms of English communication. It
allows them to encourage the students to speak in English at home
or just support the mechanics and rules that the school may
implement to develop and improve English communication among the
students.
5. The Researchers. This study would help the researchers to be
aware and knowledgeable about the causes of low level communicative
skills of the students. It would help them to be a better analyst
and it can be a help as a future reference for more studies in the
future.
Scope and Delimitations

This study focuses on The Causes of Low Level Communicative

Skills of Junior High school students. It is limited only for forty
(40) students of Grade 7 SSC of Eastern Mindoro College.
Conceptual Framework

Low Level of
Communicative Skill Learning English Language

1. Lack of well-trained
teachers Learning development

2. Lack of English Background

Knowledge

3. Lack of Self-confidence Social skills

Definition of Terms

The following words are operationally used in this study.

Knowledge – the information that is acquired by the students

through ways of learning or observing and its crucial to
developing their English speaking skills.
Students – the main variable to which the research is directed
upon. They are the key players in understanding communication
skills and the knowledge of English.
Academic – it is to describe a specific educational variable
inside the educational system.
Education – the system in which the student gains knowledge and
attain the necessary education to develop their skills.
Effective – pertains to the success in fulfilling a desired
consequence or result.
Improve – Develop the ideas of communication skills of the
students.
Self-confidence – play a vital role in improving the student’s
ability in communicating.
Level – the degree or ratings in which a student can be grouped
based on their similarities performance.
Study – the act of learning that can develop a student’s skill,
performance and knowledge.
Listening – developing the ability to accurately receive and
interpret messages in communicating process.
Communication – play a vital role in socializing with other
people to develop their communication skills.
Language – play a very important role in human life.