Students' Vocabulary Knowledge and Level of Performance on Philiri Screening Test

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Vocabulary knowledge of language is vital in learning a new concept. It is also important for learning to read, speak, write and listen. It, too, is the core of the language. Students' vocabulary is their passport to understanding and interpreting a wide range of text. In this study, the researchers aim to determine the correlation of the level of students' vocabulary knowledge relative to synonym, antonym, verbal classification and context clues with their performance in PhilIRI screening test.

METHODS

The study made use of the descriptive method of research and test as the main data gathering instrument. Frequency, weighted mean and Pearson r-correlation were the statistical tools used in quantifying the data gathered. Respondents of the study were the grade 7-A students of Buhaynasapa National HighSchool, San Juan, Batangas.

RESULTS

Results of the study revealed that the level of students' vocabulary knowledge relative to synonym, antonym, verbal classification and context clues was on Did Not Meet Expectation level with the means of 57.78, 28.89,39.11 and 46. 22, respectively. Furthermore, it also revealed that the students were in Did Not Meet Expectation level in the PhilIRI screening test with the mean of 47. 56. It is further revealed that the level of student's vocabulary knowledge relative to synonym, antonym, verbal classification and context clues and their level of performance in PhilIRI screening test have no significant relationship with each other.

DISCUSSIONS

Students vocabulary knowledge did not affect the comprehension of the students on the passages on the screening test. One possible reason is that a reader can read the text again when he/she forgets or tries to get detailed information. This is supported by Willis (2008) who stated that by reading, someone can find the information he/she needs with specific information.In relation to this findings, Nagy (2005) mentioned that not all vocabulary instruction increases reading comprehension and one does not need to know every word in a text to understand it. This corroborates with the conclusion of Gungor (2016) that vocabulary size is not the only factor affecting reading comprehension and that the other factors and determinants of reading comprehension include gender, age, reading goals, and topic familiarity.