Factors Causing Difficulties in English language and its Effect on Academic Performance of Grade 12 ABM Students in BCP SY 2018-2019

Abstract

The English language has been commonly accepted as an active universal language in the world. People who study the English language consider it as their proficiency. Hence, nowadays, many people, particularly students, ought to master the English language. Mastering the English language is an important skill for students to have. By mastering the language, the students can improve themselves both in academic and life skills. Once students can comprehend well, they can be assets of society. The teaching of English is focused on the ability of learners to be capable of mastering the four language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing (Depdiknas, 2003: 6). Moreover, learners should have abilities in reading and listening to support their speaking and writing. The researchers used questionnaires distributed to 50 selected Grade 12 ABM students and used the Likert scale since it is the most reliable way to measure opinions, perceptions, and behaviors. The Questionnaire serves as the source of the respondent's demographic profile and the information analyzed by the researcher in the interpretation of data. Based on the indicators in the questionnaires, respondents agree with a weighted mean of 2.93 that they have difficulty in grammar, agree with a weighted mean of 2.61 in pronunciation and agree with a weighted mean of 2.87 in vocabulary. They moderately agree with a weighted mean of 2.23 in the comprehension category. Each learner has his issues but the most commonly observed factors in this study are vocabulary becomes a huge problem, understanding the grammar structure of the new language, pronunciation, and inability to understand or comprehend new words. Some of the students prefer to write words in their mother tongue first and form sentences by translating the words in English. Other studies revealed that other Filipino students have difficulty using the English language.