Thesis: EFFECTIVENESS OF MEDIA INSTRUCTION

IN TEACHING ENGLISH

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

Rationale and Background of the Study

The use of media to enhance teaching and learning complements traditional approaches

to learning. Effective instruction builds bridges between students' knowledge and the learning

objectives of the course. Using media engages students, aids student retention of knowledge,

motivates interest in the subject matter, and illustrates the relevance of many concepts. Media

can be used to motivate discussions or lock in concepts. Media provide teachers and students

with creative and practical ideas. They enable teachers to meet various needs and interests of

their students. They also provide students with a lot of language practice through activities using

newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, movies, books, Internet, etc, and tasks which develop reading,

writing, speaking and listening skills. As Harris (2011) pointed in his study on the influence of

media in teaching English, utilization of media (multi) in instruction entertain students and

encourage reading English in general, both inside and outside the classroom, promoting

extensive reading by giving the students the confidence, the motivation and the ability to

continue their reading outside the classroom.

English teaching in the Philippines nowadays is using a variety of techniques. A number

of media technologies are used as a tool to encourage students to learn English for effective

communication. English teaching and learning must not limit only in classroom but teachers

have to support students learning with a good teaching system and create environment that

allows students to practice their language skills upon their levels. In order to achieve effective

language teaching, students must have an opportunity to practice the language skills as much as
possible, both in and outside classroom; the teaching process must be consistent with the nature

and characteristics of the language; learning and teaching activities should be varied and

comprised of various activities for enhancing language skill practice, training students about how

to study language on their own to create self-reliant learners (learner independence) and

contributing to a lifelong learning by using foreign language as a tool for further education and

occupational purpose, which is a key component of a learning reform.

Learning English via the multimedia is one way to increase effectiveness of English

learning of students. Students can practice language by choosing topics and levels of lessons

from a wide variety of activities based on their interests and skill levels. Language learning from

multimedia is the utilization of materials and resources available to teachers as a medium to gain

knowledge for effective teaching and development of learners. Electronic lessons for instance

usually have selective contents, learning activities, exercises, and tests and allow students to

revise them at any time. Students will also be encouraged to respond to the contents of the

lessons. Also, electronic lessons can link to many other learning resources of the related subjects.

This learning technique provides students with interesting lessons that make study more fun, and

thus help to develop the students knowledge and skills efficiently. According to Miller (2010)

media instruction can help the learners to understand language in a real social and cultural

context, with practical and up-to-date information. Moreover, while searching information from

the internet, students will be able to improve their English reading skill; this is consistent with

the teaching and learning technique that fosters self-reliant learning or learner independence and

lifelong learning as underscored by Brown (2013). This open-ended learning style can reduce

restrictions and make the teaching more flexible and appropriate for a larger group of students.

Furthermore, it provides an opportunity for the learners to get to novel sources of learning that

meet their individual needs. Media instruction as an educational approach potentially reduces
barriers to access to traditional learning and encourages students to learn at their own pace

anywhere and anytime. Thus, with the implementation of the K to 12 program, the Department

of Education (DepEd) has encouraged the utilization of multimedia in aid of instruction For this

reason, the researcher proposes to study the effectiveness of media instruction in teaching

English to the primary pupils of Creative Montessori Center.

Theoretical Framework

This study is anchored on Jean Piagets Cognitive Development Theory.

Piaget's (1936) theory of cognitive development is about how a child constructs a mental

model of the world. The goal of the theory is to explain the mechanisms and processes by which

the infant, and then the child, develops into an individual who can reason and think using

hypotheses. To Piaget, cognitive development was a progressive reorganization of mental

processes as a result of biological maturation and environmental experience. Children construct

an understanding of the world around them, then experience discrepancies between what they

already know and what they discover in their environment.

Jean Piaget developed his cognitive-developmental theory based on the idea that children

actively construct knowledge as they explore and manipulate the world around them. The four

stages of Piaget's theory of cognitive development correspond with the age of the child; they

include the sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational stages.

The sensorimotor stage occurs from birth to age 2 and is characterized by the idea that infants

"think" by manipulating the world around them. The preoperational stage occurs from age 2 to

age 7 and is characterized by the idea that children use symbols to represent their discoveries.

The concrete operational stage occurs from age 7 to age 11 and is characterized by the idea that

children's reasoning becomes focused and logical. The formal operational stage occurs from age
11 to adulthood and is characterized by the idea that children develop the ability to think in

abstract ways.

In teaching English to elementary school students, teachers deal with young learners

whose characteristics are different from adult learners. Several children characteristics are

regarding their cognitive development and attention span. The cognitive development stage is

stated by Piaget (1972) as cited in Pinter (2011, p.9). He believes that in each stage children have

quality of thinking which is relatively consistent across different tasks. For elementary schools

students, their cognitive developments lay on concrete operational stage. In this stage, children

begin to think logically and use their experience to solve problem. Nevertheless, they are only

able to solve problem which are applied to concrete examples and objects in real life (Pinter,

2011, p. 12). Another characteristic is attention span. Attention span is defined as the amount of

time in seconds the child remains on task without distraction (Mustafa, 2008). In learning,

attention span can be seen when children pay attention to the teacher or focus on the learning.

Musthafa (2010) argues that unlike adults who have long attention span, children only have

attention span less than 15 minutes.

Knowing those characteristics of children is an essential requirement for the teacher in

creating effective instruction as stressed by Musthafa (2010).

Research Paradigm

EFFECTIVENESS OF MEDIA INSTRUCTION

IN TEACHING ENGLISH

INPUT PROCESS OUPUT

1.Profile of Grade I Pupils in 1. Analysis and

terms of the following: Interpretation of

a. Age a. Profile
Model Lesson Design
b. Sex b. Multimedia Used in
c. Interest
2. Multimedia Used in Teaching Teaching English
c. Level of Effectiveness
English 3. Development of Model
a. films
b. videos Lesson Plan Using Media to
c. songs
d. articles (news) Teach English
e. social media (social networking
Figure I
sites) Paradigm of the Study
3. Level of Effectiveness

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to determine the effectiveness of media instruction in teaching English to

Grade 1 students at Creative Montessori Center .

Specifically, this study aims to answer the following sub-problems.

1. What is the profile of the Grade I pupils in terms of:

a. Age
b. Sex
c. Interest
2. What media tools are utilized in teaching English to Grade I pupils?
3. What is the level of effectiveness of media instruction in teaching English to Grade I

pupils?

Assumption

Media instruction is effective in teaching English to Grade I pupils.

Scope and Delimitation of the Study

The study takes into scope the media utilized by the teachers in teaching English to Grade

I pupils at Creative Montessori Center. It looks into the profile of the Grade I pupils s in terms of

age, sex, and interest as well as the level of effectiveness of media instruction in teaching

English. The study is delimited to the development of a model lesson design incorporating the

use of media in teaching English. Likewise, this study is delimited to the Grade I pupils at

Creative Montessori Center this school year 2016 2017.

Significance of the Study

With the scope that shall be covered by this study pertinent to the use of media in

teaching English, this is considered beneficial to the following:

The School Administrators
The findings of this study will give them the status of the school where provision for

multimedia resources is concerned. In turn, this shall compel them to see the effectiveness of

media instruction in teaching English; thus, seeing the need to update and upgrade its facilities

and equipment.
The English Teachers
The findings of this study will encourage them to optimize the use of media in

instruction, particularly in the teaching of English so as encourage active participation from the

pupils.
The Pupils
The results of this study will provide them an environment in which they learn best as

classroom instruction is made more interesting and fun with the use of media in instruction.
The Parents
The findings in this study will show parents how their children learn and benefit from an

instruction aided by the use of media or multimedia.

The Future Researchers
 The results of this study will allow them to replicate it to see if it will yield similar or

different results, if not explore other areas of media instruction or utilization as basis for

improving instruction and class participation.

Definition of Terms

The following terms in this study are defined operationally to give the reader a clearer

and better understanding on how these terms are used.

Age. It refers to the age bracket used representative of the school age of the Grade I

respondents.
Effectiveness. This refers to the efficacy or helpfulness of a tool or strategy used in aid of

instruction in English.
Media. This refers to the tools or resources used by the teachers in teaching English

which caters to the interests of the pupils such as songs and videos and help further their

learning.
Sex. It refers to the determiner used in the profile of the respondents as to whether they

are male or female.