AKLAN STATE UNIVERSITY – College of Teacher Education

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BILINGUAL INSTRUCTION: IT’S EFFECT ON STUDENTS’ SCIENCE PROCESS

SKILLS OF JOSE BORROMEO LEGASPI MEMORIAL NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

CATTLEYA VICTORIANO CUSTODIO

A Research Paper Presented to the Faculty of College of

Teacher Education, Aklan State University,

Banga, Aklan, Philippines in Partial

Fulfillment of the Requirement

for the Course

MASTER OF ARTS IN EDUCATION

(Physical Science)

October 2017
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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

The linguistic and cultural diversity in the Philippines

brings much complexity to the issue of language policy in

education. With more than 7000 islands and 181 distinct

languages (Lewis, Simons, & Fennig, 2013), the Philippines

offers a challenging environment for implementing a language

policy that can serve the whole country.

Consequently, language policies for Philippines’ schools

have fluctuated greatly over the last century with a different

policy for nearly every generation. Until recently, the 1974 and

1987 Bilingual Education Policies determined the language of

instruction in schools to be Filipino and English. This is

despite the fact that about 80% of the population does not speak

either of these as a first language. (1987 Philippine

Constitution, Art. XIV Sec. 6-9).

In the 1999 and 2003 Trends in Mathematics and Science

Studies (TIMSS) study, the test results showed that the

Philippines was among the low-performing countries. TIMSS allows

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the countries to take the examination in the language of their

choice and the Philippines chose to take it in English which is

a second language to most Filipinos. As a result, according to

Fernandez et al. (2008) (in Tapispisan, 2015), the Philippines

was among countries who preferred to use the language of test

different from the language used at home (Fernandez et al.2008).

In Jose B. Legaspi Memorial National High School, I

observed that majority of our students seldom use English in

social communication. Rather, they were most conversely familiar

in using the vernacular and Filipino with code-switching in

English. In addition, most students failed to exhibit mastery

level of the different science process skills, most especially

when they were expected to manifest these during actual

performance of science experiments. Since the medium of

instruction in teaching Science is English, many students have

difficulty in communicating their thoughts if their teacher

requires them to express their ideas in pure English. Moreover,

many students tend to ask for the meaning or request for

translations of questions which is stated in English and even

request their answers in bilingual (Filipino-English).

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Indeed, there must be an existence of the influence of

language in the understanding of science concepts in order for a

science process skill to develop. Thus, the research study will

aims to find the effect of “language factor” that either serves

as facilitator in acquisition and development of science process

skills relative to the medium used in instruction and skills

assessment.

Statement of the Problem

This study will aims to find out the effect of bilingual

instruction to develop the science process skills of Grade 8

students of Jose B. Legaspi Memorial National High School,

Aranas, Balete, Aklan during the School Year 2017-2018.

Specifically, this study will aims to answer the following

questions:

1. What is the level of mastery on science process skills

skill of students’ in the control and experimental groups

before and after the intervention?

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2. Is there a significant difference on the level mastery in

science process skills of control group before the

intervention in the different assessments?

3. Is there a significant difference on the level mastery in

science process skills of experimental group before the

intervention in the different assessments?

4. Is there a significant difference on the level mastery in

science process skills of control and experimental groups

before the intervention in English assessments?

5. Is there a significant difference on the level mastery in

science process skills of control and experimental groups

before the intervention in bilingual assessments?

6. Is there a significant difference on the level mastery in

science process skills of control group after the

intervention in the different assessments?

7. Is there a significant difference on the level mastery in

science process skills of experimental group after the

intervention in the different assessments?

8. Is there a significant difference on the level mastery in

science process skills of control and experimental groups

after the intervention in English assessments?

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9. Is there a significant difference on the level mastery in

science process skills of control and experimental groups

after the intervention in bilingual assessments?

10. Is there a significant difference on the level mastery

in science process skills of control and experimental

groups before and after the intervention in the different

assessments?

Hypotheses of the Study

Based on the foregoing statements, the following hypotheses

were advanced:

1. There is no significant difference on the level of mastery

in science process skills of the control group before the

intervention in the different assessments.

2. There is no significant difference on the level of mastery

in science process skills of the experimental group before

the intervention in the different assessments.

3. There is no significant difference on the level mastery in

science process skills of control and experimental groups

before the intervention in English assessments?

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4. There is no significant difference on the level mastery in

science process skills of control and experimental groups

before the intervention in English assessments?

5. There is no significant difference on the level mastery in

science process skills of control group after the

intervention in the different assessments?

6. There is no significant difference on the level mastery in

science process skills of experimental group after the

intervention in the different assessments?

7. There is no significant difference on the level mastery in

science process skills of control and experimental groups

after the intervention in English assessments?

8. There is no significant difference on the level mastery in

science process skills of control and experimental groups

after the intervention in English assessments?

9. There is no significant difference on the level mastery in

science process skills of control and experimental groups

before and after the intervention in the different

assessments?
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Theoretical Framework

This study was anchored on Comprehensible Input Construct

according to the psycholinguistic development and learning of

Krashen (1981) cited by Garrison and Mora (2008). Krashen

explained that in order to be comprehensible and promote second-

language fluency, the students’ first-language proficiency must

be one level more complex than its second- language proficiency.

This allowed for the language to understand while also

challenging the learners to increase their second-language

proficiency. Comprehensible input provided in school contexts

through certain planned strategies, including the use of

concrete contextual referents and the lack of restriction on the

use of the students’ primary language.

This construct supported the “Basic Interpersonal

Communication Skills-Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency

Theory” of Cummins (2008) that “there is a common underlying

language proficiency in bilingual students that facilitates

transfer of learning between a student’s first and second

language.” The transfer of learning took place when a certain

“threshold” of proficiency was attained in the first language.

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Skills, ideas and concepts the students learned in their first

language would be transferred to the second language.

Conceptual Framework

This study will revolve around the notion that learning and

concept, a requisite in the development of science process

skills, is dynamically influenced by certain “language factor.”

For concept learning to occur in linguistically diverse

classrooms, teachers must consider the linguistic complexity of

the language used in instruction and skills assessment and the

language proficiency of the students in order to provide

comprehensible input. If new concept were introduced in an

unfamiliar language and the concept. This dual challenge of

unknowns made learning and skill development tough for students.

In this study, the mean difference of test results during

pretest and posttest of the control group with English as medium

of instruction in same media and different media of assessments

will be compared. Likewise, the mean difference of test results

during pretest and posttest of the experimental group with

English as medium of instruction in same media and different

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media of assessments will be compared. Moreover, the mean

difference of test results during pretest and posttest of the

control and experimental group with English as medium of

instruction in same media and different media of assessments

will also be compared. The following diagram will show the

expected flow.

Pretest Treatment Posttest

(Medium of Assessment) (Medium of Instruction) (Medium of Assessment)

English English
Control Group English
Bilingual Bilingual

English English
Experimental Group Bilingual
Bilingual Bilingual

Figure 1 shows the flow of comparison in and between groups in the

study.

Significance of the Study

This study will be beneficial to the field of education;

hence, it will bring significant impact to the following:

Department of Education. DepEd as the curriculum developer

and policy maker might use in future modification of curriculum

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and policies governing the use of language as medium of

instruction and in the evaluation of instruction.

School Administrators. The result of this study might

benefit the school administrators since they could implement

some curriculum enhancements in their respective schools on the

practice of using language as media for social communication.

They could suggest also to their respective teachers to consider

the language used in formulating questions on their assessments

in their particular subject.

Teachers. They could adopt or make some innovations on

their teaching strategies and methodologies, most especially in

the use of language as media of instruction and in test

construction or in skills assessment.

Students. They are the direct group that would be affected

by policy changes and curriculum developed and implemented by

Department of Education.

Definition of Terms

Bilingual Instruction. In this study, it referred to the

use of two language: English and Filipino during classroom

instruction by the teacher.

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Science Process Skills. In this study, it referred to the

underlying skills and premise which govern the scientific

method. It was classified into two groups: basic and integrated.

The basic skills were the following actions in no particular

order: observing, classifying, measuring, inferring, predicting

and communicating. The integrated skills were the following

action, in no particular order: formulating a hypothesis,

identifying, and controlling variables, operational definitions,

experimenting, graphing and interpreting data.

Assessment. In this study, the term referred to the

written, oral, and/or demonstrated/ performed activities to

evaluate students’ learning, or acquisition of skills taught in

the subject.

Media of assessment. In this study, the term referred to

the language used in constructing the tests/ or framing

questions asked orally to evaluate the students learning or

acquisition of skills.
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CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

Walter & Dakker (2008) as cited by Tapispisan (2015) said

that the Philippines is among the top ten countries in the world

in terms of multilingualism. The 2000 Philippine Census reported

that 65 million out of the 76 million Filipinos are able to

speak the national language as a first (L1) or second language

(L2); while the 2008 Social Weather Stations Survey reported

that about three fourths of Filipino adults said they could

understand spoken English. This data showed that most Filipinos

are language-proficient in English and Filipino, it does not

deny the fact that most Filipinos do not use English and

Filipinos as their first language or mother tongue (L1). Thus,

the use of English or Filipino as the medium of instruction in

Philippine schools greatly mattered to most Filipino educators.

And this issue became a great concern due to deteriorating

performance in Science and Mathematics, most especially in

international standardized tests such as the TIMSS in recent

years. Notably, to address this issue, several steps were made

to set reforms and improve the quality of education in the

country.
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Foreign Studies on Multilingual Instruction

According to Shaeffer (2010) as cited by Malonisio (2012),

“multilingual education is now emerging.” He stated that there

are pieces of evidence which show that supportive Ministry of

Education policies exist in countries like Cambodia, Singapore,

China, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Afganistan, New Zealand and

Australia. Ministries in Malaysia, Indonesia, Timor Leste,

Central Asia, and the Pacific are showing greater willingness to

experiment with multilingual education. A new national language

policy in Thailand supports minority language in education.

Role of Language in Science Process Skill Assessment

Balanay & Roa (2013) reported that applying student-

centered approach in a science experiment will develop the

students’ scientific skills in observing and measuring. The

student-centered approach enhances personal growth and

encourages students to utilize self-regulation like following

class instruction or procedure. Saturnelli & Repa (1995) said

that “for all students, performance on the hands-on test of

science process skills was found to be less associated with

reading than was performance on the multiple-choice test of

science process skills.” Marsh (2002) commented that “the way in

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which questions are structured and test administered are

particularly sensitive to language barriers.”

Studies of Bernardo (1999) and Fernandez et al. (2008)

confirmed the findings of the TIMSS studies that students showed

better understanding and solving abilities when the problems

(test questions) were written vin their first language.

Balce (2010) concluded that using science activities

measuring science process skills written in English with

translations in Filipino as the mother tongue increases science

achievement of grade 5 pupils with varying abilities.

Furthermore, Reyes (2010) revealed that Grade 5 pupil

participation and sharing of ideas were found to be more

enthusiastic, spontaneous and articulate in Filipino than in

English. Evaluation score were also better in the class

conducted in Filipinos= than in that conducted in English. This

suggests that communication and thinking skills were better

manifested by students if their first-language was used. Hence,

according to Reyes, using Filipino as the mother tongue in

teaching Science would be more effective than using English.

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Role of language in Skills Acquisition

Language played an important role in skills acquisition as

reported by Whang (in Malonisio, 2012) “that Korean-English

bilingual could not solve certain Mathematics word problem

written in English, yet solved the same problem in Korean.’ The

findings of Samuel (2004) (in Malonisio, 2012) revealed that the

“use of English language as medium of instruction in Mathematics

may create problems in learning the subject. This is because the

change in the medium may create unfamiliarity to the concepts

taught and may slow down or retard their Science and Mathematics

learning.” Futhermore, Molonisio (2012) revealed that use of

multilingual instruction increased the performance of students

in mathematics.

Synthesis

Some studies showed that achievement in science in the

Philippines were deteriorating and some educators attributed

them to the multilingual nature of the learners. Some local

researchers and educators showed that authentic assessment using

the learners’ mother tongue increased their science achievement.

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CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

Research Design

The research design that will be used in this study is the

experimental method using the randomized pretest-posttest

control group design. Fraenkel & Wallen (2006) said that this

design was one of the best and most practical ways to assess the

impact of an intervention or treatment on two randomized groups,

one control and one treatment. A pretest in different language

will be conducted to find out the students’ level of mastery in

their science process skills considering the language used in

the assessment and to serve as the baseline date for

comparability of the subjects. The same test will be given as a

posttest to determine students’ progress after the intervention

and to establish the mean difference of the result in the

different assessment. The two group in this study are: the

control group with English as the medium of instruction, and the

experimental group with bilingual instruction.

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Locale of the Study

This experimental study will be conducted in Jose Borromeo

Legaspi Memorial National High School during the third grading

of the School Year 2017-2018. The school is located at Barangay

Aranas, in the Municipality of Balete.

The Subject of the Study

The subjects of this study are the 60 randomly selected

regular grade 10 students of Jose Borromeo Legaspi Memorial

National High School enrolled in School Year 2017-2018.

Sampling Technique

Random sampling will be done first from the list of 92

regular students to get a sample of 60. They are then matched

according to their scientific ability. This is will be used to

ensure that the students selected in both groups are those with

similar scientific ability. This is done by choosing students

from the list based on their score in the National Career

Assessment Examination (NCAE), specifically in their scientific

ability.
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Research Instrument

A 30-item test will be constructed by the researcher that

will be validated by the experts. The test consisted of

multiple-choice questions measuring the mastery level of the

subjects’ science process skills. The items in the first set are

written in English; the second set is translated to Filipino-

English.

Kuder and Richardson Formula 20 (KR-20) will be utilized to

determine the reliability of the instrument.

Data Analysis

In analyzing the data that will be obtained, mean and t-

test will be used. Mean is used to determine the level of

mastery in science process skills of the subjects while t-test

is used to test the significant difference between the

independent and dependent variables.

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Malonisio, M. (2012). Multilingual instruction: Its effect on

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