Contextualized Instructional Materials in Teaching English for Grade VII: An Enhancement

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Prior to the K-12 curriculum, education was projected to be relevant and useful for society. To stress the philosophy of the K-12 curriculum, classrooms are now expected to observe contextualized instruction. The researcher seeks to determine the effectiveness and acceptability of contextualized instructional materials as used in the 7th graders of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo National High School. Through this study, teachers become motivated to explore better instruction options meeting K-12 standards. The instructional cycle follows a domino effect: from teachers' awareness to a modification of content and the execution of an implementation structure that provides contextualized learning. With this, the " ̃what's-in-it-for-me' schema of the students could be satisfied and learning becomes meaningful as students see real-world applications for their classroom exercises.

METHODS

This study used both descriptive and experimental designs where the survey method was employed following a five-point Likert scale. Pretest and post-test group design was used to test the effectiveness of the instructional materials. Validated pretest assessment tool was first given to the students. Then, the intervention or the contextualized instruction took place. Afterwards, a post-test assessment tool was given to the same group of students.

RESULTS

Based on the findings of the study, the school administrators and teachers assessed the instructional materials as acceptable. Based on the assessment given to the students with contextualization observed, the pretest scores showed average performance while post-test scores showed the closely approximating mastery with a higher performance level. This implied that a positive effect can be observed on student learning. By performing further analysis between the pretest and post-test scores, the study showed that the contextualized materials indeed improved the student learning.

DISCUSSIONS

Based on the results it is recommended that the instructional materials in schools be contextualized and further enhancement is also encouraged to engage student learning. Aside from school administrators and teachers, analyzing the areas from the learners' perspective could also areas for future research. Future research should use research materials that are appropriate to the level of students’ perception to further improve the contextualization of instructional materials.