Preparation and field testing of communicative language materials for the fourth grade pupils of De La Salle Zobel

• Main Author: Briones, Jocelyn C.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 1999
• Subjects: Language and languages > Study and teaching; Teaching > Aids and devices; Testing; De La Salle Zobel > Students; School children; Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research; Elementary Education; Language and Literacy Education
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/1966
• Institution: De La Salle University

Many students nowadays have difficulty expressing themselves in English. This can be attributed partly to the lack of instructional materials that provide practice in communicating within a wide range of varying social contexts. Most books that are being used in schools are still structural despite claims of being communicative and are therefore inadequate in preparing students for actual, real-life communication.This study is an offshoot of the attempt to reorient language teaching at De La Salle Zobel. The objective of the research is to define the language needs of the fourth grade pupils in the said school and increase their communicative efficiency through practical instructional materials that cater to the learning interest and language preferences of the students.To determine the common core needs, a profile of the learners was specified according to the socio-cultural linguistic orientation prescribed by Munby. From this specification, most of the skills and linguistic forms to be taught were drawn. These predetermined linguistic functions and abilities were organized according to Harmer's conceptual framework. It was found to be most suited to the type of school or clientele the researcher worked with as the paradigm was designed for general classes. Though essentially an extension-variation of Don Byrne's Three P's model - namely, Presentation, Practice, and Performance - Harmer's theoretical design uniquely incorporates both rough and fine input as an adjunct to communication output. The paradigm however was modified to ensure utility of presentation and teachability of content. Hence, teasers or priming activities as well as texts familiar or of interest to students were used. The efficacy of these materials was determined after three different try-outs. Materials evaluation was done and test data were collected, organized, analyzed, and interpreted according to a non-experimental research design. Field testing was done with reference to the curriculum triangle presented by Carroll. In this model both instruction and testing were derived from the specifications of the learner's communicative needs.The study showed that the grade four students of De La Salle Zobel have a very utilitarian orientation about the language they are learning. They believe that English is a tool that can assist them in their social and intellectual pursuits. For this reason, the students need ample opportunities in speaking and writing. Since the goal is developing communicative efficiency among students who belong to a general class and who have a wide range of language proficiency, a book that offers practice in using English will surely serve the students' interest and common purposes.