Correlation between the Level of Language Attitude and Motivation Towards

Grammar Proficiency of Selected Fourth Year Students of Alexis G. Santos

National High School-Liciada, Bustos, Bulacan School Year 2014-2015

by

Princess Celestine DS. Alacon

Sahra P. Caparal
Rozel G. de Guzman
Sarah G. Galvez
Rona C. Mendoza

September 2014
Abstract

This research focused on the correlation between language attitude and motivation
towards grammar proficiency of selected fourth year students of Alexis G. Santos
National High School-Liciada, Bustos, Bulacan during the school year 2014-2015. There
are 30 students in class, 25 of which are females and 5 are males and majority of them are
15 years of age. Most of the respondents hail from Liciada and Catacte, while a handful
reside in the outskirt barangays near the school. Furthermore, the class is predominantly
Roman Catholic.
The general problem of this study is: Is there a significant relationship that exist
among the level of language attitude and motivation towards grammar proficiency of
selected fourth year students of Alexis G. Santos National High School.
The data gathered was organized and collated manually using the scoring system
included in the Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB Survey) and in the United
Nations Language Proficiency Examination (LPE). Descriptive statistic using the
percentage method, mean and standard deviation were utilized to see the levels of
language attitude, language motivation and grammar proficiency of the respondents. The
Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used to measure the relationship among the
variables.
There exists a small or weak positive correlation between the language attitude
and motivation towards grammar proficiency. This means that if the language attitude
and motivation of the student increases, his grammar proficiency will also increase. And
if the language attitude and motivation of the student decreases, his grammar proficiency
also decreases. However, the chance of this scenario taking place is quite low. There is a
significant relationship that exists between the levels of language attitude and motivation
towards grammar proficiency of the respondents in the study.

Rationale

The term attitude would be defined as “a disposition to respond favourably or

unfavourably to an object, person, institution, or event”. Attitude also considers as “the
sum total of a man's instinctions and feelings, prejudice or bias, preconceived notions,
fears, threats, and convictions about any specified topic”. It also points out here that
attitude is thus “linked to a person’s values and beliefs and promotes or discourages the
choices made in all realms of activity, whether academic or informal” (Gardner, 1985).
From the behaviouristic perspective, motivation is "quite simply the anticipation
of reward". However, the cognitivists view the term motivation as being more related to
the learner's decisions stated, "the choices people make as to what experiences or goals
they will approach or avoid, and the degree of effort they exert in that respect". However,
in the constructivists' definition of motivation, they place "further emphasis on social
contexts as well as the individual's decisions". Despite the differences, in all the
definitions of motivation given by the three schools of thought the concept of "needs" is
emphasized, that is, "the fulfilment of needs is rewarding, requires choices, and in many
cases must be interpreted in a social context" (Brown, 2000).
The term grammar proficiency will be used to mean the explicit awareness of how
language works. Grammar is an abstraction, a hypothesis about the way that language
works. The theory of generative grammar pays tribute to this exploratory role of grammar
and perhaps helps to correct a perception that 'grammar' is a stored set of rules that we set
out to learn. It also defines proficiency as the "ability to make use of competence." This is
not quite performance which is when "proficiency is put to use". Nonetheless the term
can thus mean skills that are associated with performance. Proficiency is defined as a
`dynamic concept', which is assuredly the type of concept we are dealing with in second-
language acquisition. It is also said that grammatical proficiency is the ability to make
judgements about the acceptability and appropriateness of an utterance with specific
reference to grammatical notions (Chomsky, 2002).

Statement of the Problem

The general problem of this study is: Is there a significant relationship that exist
among the level of language attitude and motivation towards grammar proficiency of
selected fourth year students of Alexis G. Santos National High School?

Specifically, this study sought answers to the following questions:

1.) What is the profile of the respondents in terms of:

1.1 age
1.2 gender
1.3 address
1.4 religion
2.) What is the level of the language attitude of selected fourth year students of Alexis G.
Santos National High School?
3.) What is the level of the language motivation of selected fourth year students of Alexis
G. Santos National High School?
4.) What is the level of grammar proficiency of selected fourth year students of Alexis G.
Santos National High School?

Significance of the Study

This section provides the benefits that the students, teachers, parents and school
administration will be able to get.

The Students. They will be able to realize that their attitude and how they
motivate theirselves can help them in conquering their difficulties in English grammar.
Students believe about learning and themselves as learners plays a key role in
determining their success as learners. Research evidence is very clear on this issue. If a
student believes that no matter what they do, they won’t succeed in a course, even being
in a course with a highly rated effective teacher does not change the effects of those
beliefs. Because their beliefs matter so much, we must show students that their efforts do
make a difference and explain why we proposed they use certain strategies.

The Teachers. They will become aware that good everyday teaching practices
can do more to counter students’ apathy than special efforts to attack motivation directly.
They will also be able to realize that an open and positive atmosphere inside the
classroom can increase the motivation and develop positive attitude of the students.
They should possess consistency and strictness, knowledge on the field, patient and being
nice emerged as the most appreciated characteristic. It seems that these characteristics of
the teacher succeeded in getting students’ attention.

The Parents. Other individuals who may foster or undermine students L2

motivation are family members, particularly parents. The degree that parents are
implicated in their offspring’s attitude development, parents will also affect their child’s
language learning it argues that parents can actively and passively affects attitude in two
ways. First by influencing beliefs about language learning and the L2 community and
second the attitudes towards the specific language course.

The School Administration. This study will facilitate the administration to

recognize the needs of the students in terms of grammar proficiency. It can lead the way
to be able to conduct a program or an activity that will patch or either ignorance to
grammar proficiency. Administrators should focus on teacher motivation because
effectively motivated teachers provide the most favourable setting for students. They
should facilitate environments allowing classroom teachers such opportunities. Such
processes would use intrinsic motivators, prompt self-reflection and development to
prompt a cooperative, trusting relationship.

Scope and Delimitation

This study focused on the correlation between language attitude and motivation
towards grammar proficiency of selected fourth year students of Alexis G. Santos
National High School-Liciada, Bustos, Bulacan.
The questionnaires that the researchers used are the Attitude/Motivation Test
Battery (AMTB Survey) by Robert C. Gardner and the United Nations Language
Proficiency Examination (LPE) in English.
The English-language version of the Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB)
was developed for use with secondary school students studying English as a foreign
language. The survey adapted from the AMTB was structured with a multiplicity of
statements on a five-point Likert scale that would help in tapping the three research areas
towards language learning, in order to generate the information to penetrate in depth.
Total 20 items, under five sub-scales were gauged to explore students’ ‘attitudes towards
English language’ (10 items); ‘motivation towards English language’ (10 items). The
questionnaire items were also modified as to focus English as the target language,
simplifying the language of instructions and item constructs, in order to make it more
meaningful and contextually relevant for the participant respondents. The students will be
asked to rate each item on a 5-point Likert scale (5-strongly agree, 4-agree, 3-neutral, 2-
disagree and 1-strongly disagree) so as to determine their level of agreement with each
item statement. Higher scores corresponded to greater agreement with each statement.
The survey tool was then shared with experts for its content validity.
The United Nations Language Proficiency Examination (LPE) is the official
examination of language skill. Examinees can take this examination after finishing level
8, the highest level of the language training program (or if he/she can document having
an equivalent level) and if he/she meet the other eligibility requirements. This
examination takes place once a year. It is a written exam involves writing approximately
250 words on one of the two subjects given within the time limit of 50 minutes.
Examinees will be asked to answer multiple-choice questions that test their capacities in
listening comprehension, reading comprehension, vocabulary and grammar. The purpose
of the LPE is to test candidates' written and spoken knowledge in any of the six official
languages of the United Nations. Candidates who pass one or more examinations may
qualify for language-related incentives. The higher the score they will get, the higher the
proficiency in grammar they have. The researchers will only adapt and use the last part of
LPE which contains exercises about grammar that is consisting of 30 items.

Conceptual Framework

This part of the documentation discusses the conceptual framework of the studies.
The conceptual framework was used in research to outline possible courses of action or to
present a preferred approached to project. The researchers used the theoretical framework
of the study as the basis of designing the conceptual framework.

Level of the language Level of the grammar

attitude and motivation proficiency of the

of the respondents respondents

Figure 1. The Conceptual Framework of the Study

The research is diagrammed on two (2) blocks. The first block contains the first
variable which is the level of the language attitude and motivation of the selected fourth
year students of Alexis G. Santos National High School. The second block contains the
second variable which is the level of the grammar proficiency of the selected fourth year
students of Alexis G. Santos National High School.
The diagram further shows the effects of the first variable to the second variable
as well as their flow of movement as represented by an arrow.

Methods and Techniques of the Study

For the researchers to be able to find out the correlation between the language
attitude and motivation towards grammar proficiency of the selected fourth year students
of Alexis G. Santos National High School, the researchers used a standardized test for
language attitude, motivation and grammar proficiency. The researchers personally
administered the questionnaires to the respondents. Permission was sought from the
office of the principal of the school to allow the researchers to conduct a survey. The
results were analyzed by a statistician to see the relationship among the variables.

Research Instruments

The instruments that were used in the study were consisted of two sets of
questionnaires for the selected fourth year students of Alexis G. Santos National High
School. The first questionnaire that the researchers used was Attitude/Motivation Test
Battery (AMTB Survey) by Robert C. Gardner to measure the respondents’ attitude and
motivation towards English subject and the second questionnaire is the United Nations
Language Proficiency Examination (LPE) in English to measure their proficiency in
grammar.

Data Processing and Statistical Treatment

The data gathered was organized and collated manually using the scoring system
included in Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB Survey) by Robert C. Gardner and
United Nations Language Proficiency Examination (LPE) in English.
Descriptive statistic using the percentage method, mean and standard deviation
were utilized to see the levels of language attitude, language motivation and grammar
proficiency of the respondents. The Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used to
measure the relationship among the variables.

Profile of the Respondents

Table 1 presents the age profile of the respondents.

Table 1
Distribution of Respondents According to Age

Male Female TOTAL

Age of the
No. of No. of No. of
Respondents % % %
Respondents Respondents Respondents
14 0 0 1 3.33 1 3.33
15 5 16.67 19 63.33 24 80
16 0 0 5 16.67 5 31.43
TOTAL 5 16.67 25 83.33 30 100%

As seen in the table, we gathered the highest percentage for the age of 15 which
was 80% from the five (5) males and nineteen (19) females. The other five (5) females
were at age of 16 years old who took 31.43% of respondent population. And the
remaining one (1) female took the 3.33%. 16.67% was the percentage of the male
respondents and 83.33% was the percentage of the female respondents for the total of
100%.
 Table 2 presents the gender profile of the respondents.

Table 2
Distribution of Respondents According to Gender
No. of
Gender %
Respondents
Male 5 16.67
Female 25 83.33
Total 30 100%

As seen in the table 2, there are thirty (30) fourth year students of Alexis G.
Santos National High School who participated in our research.
The respondents were dominated by twenty-four (25) females who took the
83.33% of the class and the six (5) males took 16.67% only with the total of 100% of
respondents.
Table 3 presents the residency of the respondents.

Table 3
Distribution of Respondents According to Residency

Male Female TOTAL

No. of No. of No. of
Respondent Respondent Respondent
Residence s % s % s %
Liciada 1 3.33 5 16.67 6 20
Catacte 0 0 5 16.67 5 16.67
Malamig 1 3.33 3 10 4 13.33
Malawak 0 0 4 13.33 4 13.33
Buisan 2 6.67 1 3.33 3 10
Cupang 0 0 2 6.67 2 6.67
Camachilihan 0 0 2 3.33 2 6.67
Manatal 1 3.33 1 14.29 2 6.67
Paltok 0 0 1 3.33 1 3.33
Bagbaguin 0 0 1 3.33 1 3.33
TOTAL 5 16.66 25 83.34 30 100%

The data shows that majority of the respondents were living at Liciada, Bustos,
wherein there were one (1) male and five (5) females that took 20%. 16.67% from five
(5) females were the residents of Catacte, Bustos. Malamig, Bustos took 13.33% from the
four (4) respondents composed of one (1) male and three (3) females. There were four (4)
females that are presently residing at Malawak, Bustos with 13.33%. There were two (2)
males and one (1) female respondents living at Buisan, Bustos that took 10%. There are
two (2) females presently residing at Cupang,Pandi who took 6.67%. There are two (2)
females presently residing at Camachilihan, Bustos who took 6.67%. There are one (1)
female and one (1) male living at Manatal, Pandi who took 6.67%. Paltok, Pandi took
3.33% from the one (1) female respondent. The remaining one (1) respondent was a
resident of Bagbaguin, Pandi with 3.33%.
Table 4 presents the religion of the respondents.

Table 4
Distribution of Respondents According to Religion

Boys Girls TOTAL

Religion No. of No. of No. of
% % %
Respondents Respondents Respondents
Catholic 3 10 19 63.33 22 73.33
Iglesia Ni
2 6.67 1 3.33 3 10
Cristo
Born Again
0 0 5 16.67 5 16.67
Christian
TOTAL 5 16.67 25 83.33 30 100%

As seen in the table, Roman Catholic took the highest percentage which was
73.33%, it was composed of three (3) males (10%) and nineteen (19) females (63.33%).
There were three (3) respondents which were Iglesia ni Cristo that took 10%, 6.67% from
the two (2) male respondents and 3.33% from one (1) female respondent. The remaining
five (5) female respondents were Born Again Christian (16.67%) for the total of 100%.
Table 5 describes the level of language attitude of selected fourth year students of
Alexis G. Santos National High School.
Table 5
Level of Language Attitude of Selected Fourth Year Students of Alexis G. Santos
National High School
Level of Language
Raw Scores No. of Respondents
Attitude
34-50 9 Highly Positive
17-33 21 Moderately Positive
0-16 0 Negative

The table describes that twenty-one (21) out of thirty (30) respondents have
moderately positive language attitude and the remaining nine (9) of them got highly
positive language attitude. And according to our study, no one of the respondents got a
negative language attitude.
 Table 6 describes the level of language motivation of selected fourth year students
of Alexis G. Santos National High School.

Table 6
Level of Language Motivation of Selected Fourth Year Students of Alexis G. Santos
National High School
Level of Language
Raw Scores No. of Respondents
Motivation
34-50 29 Highly Motivated
17-33 1 Moderately Motivated
0-16 0 Not Motivated

The table describes that most of the respondents have highly motivated level of
language motivation and only one of them got the moderately motivated level of
language motivation. And according to our study, no one of the respondents got a not
motivated level of language motivation.
Table 7 presents the level of Grammar Proficiency of Selected Fourth Year
Students of Alexis G. Santos National High School.

Table 7
Level of Grammar Proficiency of Selected Fourth Year Students of Alexis G. Santos
National High School
Raw No. Of Level of Grammar
% Mean
Scores Respondents Proficiency
21-30 0 0 0 Highly Proficient
11-20 14 46.67 12.5 Moderately Proficient
0-10 16 53.33 8.25 Low Proficient

As seen in the table is the scores of the respondents and their respective level of
grammar proficiency. No one got the scores higher than 20 which corresponds to a highly
proficient student in grammar. There are fourteen (14) students who got the scores
ranging in 11-20 that took 46.67 percent of the population with the mean of 12.5. They
are considered as moderately proficient students in terms of grammar. And scores
ranging in 0-10 were gained by sixteen (16) students that took 53.33 percent of the
respondents which have 8.25 as its mean. They are considered as low proficient students
in terms of grammar.
Table 8 shows the correlation between the level of language attitude and
motivation to the grammar proficiency of the selected fourth year student of Alexis G.
Santos National High School-Liciada, Bustos, Bulacan school year 2014-2015.
 Table 9
Correlation between the Level of Language Attitude and Motivation towards
Grammar Proficiency of Selected Fourth Year Students of Alexis G. Santos
National High School

Variables Mean SD Correlation

Language 32.90 5.64

0.11
Attitude
small or weak
Grammar 10.23 2.43
positive correlation
Proficiency
Language 38.80 3.48
0.14
Motivation
small or weak
Grammar 10.23 2.43
positive correlation
Proficiency

As seen in the table the variables of the researchers are language attitude,
language motivation and grammar proficiency, wherein the language attitude of selected
fourth year students of Alexis G. Santos National High School has a mean of 32.90 and a
standard deviation of 5.64, while the their language motivation has a mean of 38.80 and a
standard deviation of 3.48 and their grammar proficiency has a mean of 10.23 and a
standard deviation of 2.43.
The result of the correlation between the language attitude and motivation
towards grammar proficiency of selected fourth year student of Alexis G. Santos National
High School were 0.11 and 0.14 which signifies a small or weak positive correlation.
It is the same with the study of Hadi Farjami entitled The Effect of Academic
Study on Grammar Attitude, Grammar Motivation, and Perception of Grammar
Relevance said that attitude and motivation of the students in English subject can affect
their grammar proficiency. Grammar learning has some intrinsic value for learners and
their liking for it cannot be easily suppressed. Teachers confronted with the task of
grammar teaching can be suggested to provide language experience to boost students’
motivation and positive attitude towards grammar learning.

Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations

This research focused on the correlation between language attitude and motivation
towards grammar proficiency of selected fourth year students of Alexis G. Santos
National High School-Liciada, Bustos, Bulacan during the school year 2014-2015. There
are 30 students in class, 25 of which are females and 5 are males and majority of them are
15 years of age. Most of the respondents hail from Liciada and Catacte, while a handful
reside in the outskirt barangays near the school. Furthermore, the class is predominantly
Roman Catholic.
Most of the students have a “moderately positive attitude” while 9 in the class got
“highly positive attitude” as revealed in the tests. And interestingly enough, no one of the
respondents got a “negative attitude”. The study also reveals that most of the students
were “highly motivated” and only one was “moderately motivated”. The study also
shows that 46.67% of the respondents were “moderately proficient” in grammar while
53.33% of the respondents were “low proficient” in grammar and none of the respondents
were “highly proficient” in grammar.
A Pearson Correlation Coefficient of 0.11 suggests that there exists a small or
weak positive correlation existing between language attitude and grammar proficiency.
And a Pearson Correlation Coefficient of 0.14 suggests that there exists a small or weak
positive correlation existing between language motivation and grammar proficiency.

Based on the summary of the study, the researchers have the following
conclusions:
1. There exists a small or weak positive correlation between language attitude and
grammar proficiency of the respondents in the study. This means that if the
language attitude of the student increases, his grammar proficiency will also
increase and if the language attitude of the student decreases his grammar
proficiency will also decrease. However, the chance of this scenario taking place
is quite low.
2. There exists a small or weak positive correlation between language motivation
and grammar proficiency of the respondents in the study. This means that if the
language motivation of the student increases, his grammar proficiency will also
increase and if the language motivation of the student decreases his grammar
proficiency will also decrease. However, the chance of this scenario taking place
is quite low.

Based on the foregoing, the researchers have the following recommendations:

1. Further study can be pursued using the same model but a different set of
standardized tests. The researchers feel that the test should be appropriate to the
age of the respondents.
2. Other factors may be thought to moderate the relationship between the
independent and dependent variables should be also measured.
3. Ways to improve the levels of the language attitude, motivation and grammar
proficiency of the students should be instituted.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Brown, Douglas, “Principles of Language Learning and Teaching”, (New York, USA:
Longman Publisher), 2000, pp61-62.

Chomsky, Noam, “On Nature and Language”, (United Kingdom: Cambridge

University Press), 2002, pp19-25.

Farjami, Hadi, “The Effect of Academic Study on Grammar Attitude, Grammar

Motivation, and Perception of Grammar Relevance”, (Iran: Department of
English Language and Literature,Semnan University), 2012, pp8-9.

Gardner, Robert, “The Social Psychology of Language”, (Suffolk: The Causer Press
Ltd.), 1985, pp148-150.