Exploration of Grade 10 English Curriculum towards Enhanced Communicative Competence of Grade 10 Students of Bolbok Integrated National High School

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

With today's popularity of various social media sites, many students spend longer periods using these platforms than their academics. With this predicament, students' communicative competence is at risk. Due to the alarming gradual decline of Bolbok INHS students’ English proficiency as revealed by the result of the NCAE for the last 3 years, improving the communicative competence of the students through varied interventions towards enhancing their communication skills is the main reason for the conduct of this study.

METHODS

The descriptive method of research was used in this study with questionnaire as the main data gathering instrument aided by unstructured interview. The responses of subjects to the administered questionnaire were recorded, tallied, analyzed, and interpreted. The frequency distribution table, ranking, weighted mean, t-test, and Analysis of Variance were thestatistical tools used in the analysis of data.

RESULTS

English teachers perceive that students have satisfactory communication skills when it comes to decoding the meaning of words, in getting the main idea, in using the correct forms of words, and in distinguishing between facts and opinions. The communication skills perceived by the students with high importance are about getting the main idea, using vocabulary appropriately, listening to music, speaking with family members, reading books, and writing messages. In addition, highly significant differences were noted among the perceptions of the students on the communication skills needed in relation to their academic studies, whereas, no significant differences were noted on the comparison of the students' perception with regards to the extent of their communication skills needed in relation to their future professions. Finally, there is a highly significant difference on the perception of the teachers on the importance of communication skills compared to that of the students in the areas of speaking, reading, writing, and listening.

DISCUSSIONS

The results suggest that English teachers should focus on enhancing students' communication skills through varied interventions, conduct comprehensive and well-designed steps in teaching English, make continuous assessment of students' communication skills with emphasis on speaking enhancement and written output, provide thorough discussion and give more exercises to address the deteriorating ability of students tocommunicate and comprehend while at school and in their preparation for their future profession.