Keys: Improved Oral Proficiency Skills of Grade 11 Gas Students of Sangbay Integrated School

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

English language competency is one of the basic competencies which should be acquired by everyone in order to enter the international market and survive in the global scene; however, speaking English is a common problem among students today. Oral language proficiency impedes literacy acquisition. These could have been attributed to limited vocabulary, poor comprehension, insufficient knowledge, and lack of confidence. These were manifested to low scores during task performances and poor interaction during class session collaborations. In this study, the researcher generally aimed to improve the oral proficiency skills of grade 11 General Academic Strand (GAS) students of Sangbay Integrated School. Further, it sought to determine the effect of the specialized module "Key to Empower Young LearnerS" (KEYS) to Improve Proficiency Skills after the conduct of the intervention.

METHODS

The study utilized descriptive-comparative design wherein statistical tools used in the analysis of data were Mean and Standard Deviation, Paired Samples t-Test and Eta-squared. Mean and standard deviation were used in describing the pre-test and post-test scores of students while Paired Samples t-Test was utilized to determine the significant difference in the scores of respondents before and after the implementation of the intervention.

RESULTS

The results of the study showed that most of Grade 11 GAS students got low level of performance in oral proficiency test; however, in general, 66.67% of GAS students are considered as competent speakers, where, they can maintain theme, follow topics switches and to use main attitude markers, stumble and hesitate at times but reasonably fluent otherwise. Further, prior to the conduct of the intervention, most of the respondents are marginal and extremely limited speakers. The result clearly showed that there is a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test where it revealed that the intervention crafted was useful and relevant in improving oral proficiency skills.

DISCUSSIONS

In general, the results demonstrated a need to hone their skills in accuracy, fluency, and comprehensibility. In the same manner, KEYS should be enhanced, or other similar interactive activities should be adapted to improve oral skills where learners are expected to engage in a communicative situation using acceptable, polite, and meaningful communicative strategies.