ENGLISH PROFICIENCY EVALUATION OF BS CRIMINOLOGY

STUDENTS IN ST.MICHAELS COLLEGE

An Undergraduate Thesis Presented to the Faculty of

The College of Criminology
St. Michaels College
Iligan City

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree

Bachelor of Science and Criminology
Major in Criminology

By

GLINALYN T. SIALONGO
CARLA KENN CRYSTAL M. PACULBA

March, 2021
 Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

Introduction

It has become a vital tool in interacting with other people to bond or

link our interests, work, relationships, and other concerns we may have. It serves

as a vehicle to convey dead or details in communicating with different groups of

people. “Because English is so widely spoken, it has often been referred to as a

“world language”, the lingua franca of the modern era, and while it is not an

official language in most countries, it is currently the language most often taught

as a foreign language.

English is widely spoken in the Philippines. It is used as the business

language as well as the medium of instruction in schools and universities. It is

the language used by the people all over the world in order to communicate to

anyone. ” English is one of the most widely poke languages in the world and,

because it is the preferred language for international commerce, English as a

Second Language (SSL) schools exist in most industrialized countries. By way of

contrast, native languages are often heard in colloquial and domestic settings,

spoken mostly with family and friends. The use of English may be thought to

carry an air of formality, given its use in school, government and various

ceremonies. A percentage of the media such as cable television and newspapers

are also in English; major television networks such as ABS-CAB and GAMMA 7)

and all AM radio stations broadcast primarily in Filipino. English proficiency

sustains a significant call center industry for American companies.

 English is the language most often studied as a foreign language in

the European Union, by 89% of schoolchildren, ahead of French at 32%, while

the perception of the usefulness of foreign languages among Europeans is 68%

in favor of English ahead of 25% for French. Among some of the non-English-

speaking EX. Countries, the following percentages of the adult population claim

to be able to converse in English: 85% in Sweden, 83% in Denmark, 79% in the

Netherlands, 66% in Luxembourg and over 50% in Finland, Slovenia, Austria,

Belgium, and Germany. (Lawessay.net)

In 2012, excluding native speakers, 38% of Europeans consider that

they can speak English, but only 3% of Japanese people. Books, magazines, and

newspapers written in English are available in many countries around the world,

and English is the most commonly used language in the sciences with Science

Citation Index reporting as early as 1997 that 95% of its articles were written in

English, even though only half of them came from authors in English-speaking

countries.

English literature predominates considerably with 28% of all volumes

published in the world [lecher 2011] and 30% of web content in 2011 (from 50%

in 2000). Thus, the English language is very necessary to all forms of task and

roles that makes it very important in Education that the use of the language be

taught. Hence, people must study English to know its proper uses and
application. “Without grammar, English—and all other languages—would be

gibberish. Grammar—the art of writing and speaking correctly by adhering to

usage standards and rules—allows people to communicate.

Without common form and structure, and left to their own devices,

people wouldn’t understand each other’s word order or sentence construction.

According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBS), the prescriptive

approach to grammar, in which rules had to be memorized and ententes parsed,

has been replaced with a descriptive approach, in which analysis and observation

are key concepts of language change and development. When learning a foreign

language, it is imperative to study the grammar to understand how it is

structured. Hence, English language being used as medium of interaction,

instruction and output in work must be taken seriously when taught in school

regardless of what major course a student is taking, for it is necessary to know

how it is used and spoken to be able to be competitive and credible on their future

profession. In this study, the researcher aims to ascertain the Level of English

proficiency of SMC Criminology students.

Theoretical Framework

The study used the listed theories as bases of some facts presented by this

research.

This study recognizes the Natives approach introduced by NOAA Chomsky which

holds that language acquisition is innately determined, and that we are born with

a genetic capacity to acquire language. All human being has that capacity which

predisposes us to a systematic perception of language around us, resulting in

the construction of an internalized system of language. This explains the

situation wherein a child acquires language even before their pre-school. Hence,

all human beings are genetically equipped with abilities that enable them to

acquire the language being exposed or taught.

A theory of Bandeau is used in this study as the core theory in which it simplifies

behavior of self-efficacy in learning as the people’s beliefs about their capabilities

to produce designated levels of performance that exercise influence over events

that affect their lives. It focuses on how people feel, think, motivate themselves

and behave. This theory emphasizes the power of a person to acquire learning

through believing in his/her abilities by the psychological actors like motivation,

concentration, or Self-encouragement.

Similar to this belief, Carl Rogers put forward the following insight regarding the

experiential theory. The theory upholds that significant learning occurs in an

environment where threat to the learner is reduced to a minimum, and that

learning is most likely to occur and to last when it is self-initiated. This explains

that interest in learning must be felt by the person and should not be forced so
that the acquisition would be faster and that the Another supporting theory is

the Bandanna’s social learning theory which states hat “an individuals’ behavior

is influenced by the environment and the characteristics of the person. This

means that the environment of a person consisting different factors or exposures

and the traits or characters of the person could highly affect his/her behavior to

learning. Again, Carl Rogers and others have developed the theory of facilitative

learning. The basic premise of this theory is that learning will occur by the

educator acting as a facilitator, that is by establishing an atmosphere in which

learners feel comfortable to consider new ideas and are not threatened by

external factors.

The theory connotes that learning will be effective if it is not forced. Instead, the

learner should feel comfortable in seeking guidance and instructions in the

learning process through the educator who serves as facilitator. Next theory is

the sensory stimulation theory. Its basic premise is that “effective learning occurs

when the senses are stimulated.” By stimulating the senses, especially the visual

sense, learning can be enhanced. However, this theory says that if multi-senses

are stimulated, greater learning takes place.

Stimulation through the senses is achieved through a greater variety of colors,

volume levels, strong tenements, facts presented visually, use of a variety of

techniques and media. Hence, learning is most effective with the aid of facilities

and other strategies that stimulate senses. The last theory cited is the

Reinforcement theory developed by B. F. Skinner. The theory states that behavior

is a function of its consequences. The learner will repeat the desired behavior if

positive reinforcement (a pleasant consequence) follows the behavior.

Positive reinforcement, or ‘rewards’ can include verbal reinforcement such as

‘That’s great’ or ‘You’re certainly on the right track’ wrought to more tangible

rewards such as a certificate at the end of the course or promotion to a higher

level in an organization. Negative reinforcement also strengthens behavior and

refers to a situation when a negative condition is stopped or avoided as a

consequence of the behavior. Punishment, on the other hand, weakens behavior

because a negative condition is introduced or experienced as a consequence of

the behavior and teaches the individual not to repeat the behavior which was

negatively reinforced. A set of conditions is created which are designed to

eliminate behavior.

Conceptual Framework

This study focus on the Criminology Students of Saint Michaels College on

the enhancement basis of English proficiency.

The independent variables of this study were the criminology students of

Saint Michaels College which includes the age, gender, parents, educational

attainment, average of families of the respondents, monthly income, ethnic

affiliation, language spoken at home, school problems/facilities, while the

dependent variables were the degree of students of difficulty in English

proficiency.

The paradigm shows that this study has taken is to identify the

enhancement basis of English proficiency of criminology students of Saint

Michael’s College.
Dependent Variable Independent Variable

Respondents’ Profile Respondents English

Speaking Proficiency
Level in terms of:

Age a. Pronunciation
Gender b. Tone
c. Fluency
Parents Educational
Attainment
Average of Families of the
Respondents
Monthly Income
Ethnic Affiliation
Language Spoken at
Home
School Problems/
Facilities

Figure 1 Research Paradigm

Statement of the Problem

This study aimed to determine the enhancement basis of English

proficiency of criminology students of Saint Michael’s College.

Specifically, it attempted to answer the following questions:

1. What is the profile of the students of that school in terms of:

1.1 Age;

1.2 Gender;

1.3 Parents Educational Attainment;

1.4 Average Monthly Family Income;

1.5 Ethnic Affiliation;

1.6 Language Spoken at Home;

1.7 School Problems/ Facilities;

2. What are the respondents’ proficiency level in English in terms of:

2.1 Pronunciation;

2.2 Tone;

2.3 Fluency;

3. Is there a significant different between the respondents profile and their level

of English Proficiency.
Null hypothesis

Ho1: There is no significant difference on respondent’s profile, and their

English proficiency.

Scope and Delimitation

This study was limited to determine the level of English proficiency of

criminology students, which identifies with respondents profile: age, gender, and

parents’ educational attainment, average of families of the respondent’s monthly

income, ethnic affiliation and language spoken at home.

The study involved 100 criminology students currently enrolled in Saint

Michaels College. Located at Quezon Avenue, Iligan City specifically during the

school year 2019-2020.

Definition of Terms.

Definition of terms

In order to have a common understanding of the study, the following

terms are defined operationally.

Educational Attainment. As it was used in the study, this refers to the

highest level of schooling each student’s parent attended and successfully

completed.

Ethnic Affiliation. As it was used in study, this refers to the respondent

assertions about their own group membership like Cebuano, Maranao,

Hiligaynon, Tagalog and Maguindanaon.

Families Monthly Income. As it was used in the study, this refers to the

respondent’s total income earned by all family members in a month.

Fluency. As it was used in the study, this refers to the study of being

able to speak correctly, effortlessly, with confidence and smoothly.

Intonation. As it was used in the study, this refers to the manner of

producing or uttering tones pitch accuracy, providing a rising and falling tone,

wherever required.

Language. As it was used in the study, this refers to the expression and

communication of emotions or ideas.

Language Spoken at Home. As it was used in the study, this refers to

the language the respondents speaks most often at home.

 Proficiency. As it was used to the study, this refers to the advanced

degree of competence, as in an art, vocation, profession or branch of leraning.