DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY

Dasmariñas City, Cavite

College of Liberal Arts and Communication

Graduate Studies

English Modules’ Effectiveness from the Point of View of the Junior High School Students

Submitted to the Faculty of the College of Liberal Arts & Communication Graduate School
De La Salle University - Dasmariñas

In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements in
GRES 203: Quantitative Research

Submitted by:
Junar P. Marquez

Submitted to:
Dr. Jeannie Perez

July 3, 2021
 ABSTRACT

The study utilized an explanatory and cross-sectional, non-experimental research design.

The paper is aimed to discuss the effectiveness of the English learning modules from the

perspective of Junior High School students. Also, the research is intended to test the hypothesis

that the English modules’ effectiveness and the Junior High School students’ level of development

do not have a significant relationship. A total of 361 respondents have participated in this study.

All of them came from different schools located in Muntinlupa or Cavite. The respondents were

given a survey questionnaire that adapts the Likert scale to document the affirmation or negation

of the respondents in the scenarios mentioned in the questionnaire. Using the Pearson r

correlation, the data revealed that the English modules’ effectiveness and the students’ level of

development have a strong correlation. These data suggest that there is a shred of sufficient

evidence that supports the rejection of the null hypothesis and the acceptance of the alternative

hypothesis.

Keywords: English modules’ effectiveness, students’ level of development, Junior High School

students.
 INTRODUCTION

“May this school year be marked with strong hopes and optimism that effective learning will

take place even amidst the odds and challenges.” - Pres. Rodrigo Duterte

The COVID-19 Pandemic has torn the world apart. It made us live a life far different from

the one we used to have, and no person, community, or country was able to stop it from happening.

The one option that we have is to cope and learn how to live the world with a fatal pandemic. The

Department of Education in the Philippines was urged to craft a learning continuity plan that

emphasizes the learning modality that would be available for utilization in both public and private

schools. Specifically, these are the Online Distance Learning and the Self Learning Modules. Both

public and private institutions offer Self Learning Modules, but most of the students in the public

institutions, considering the financial capabilities of their parents, were forced to have the Self

Learning Modules as their mode of learning.

According to an editorial article written by Liezle Precious Roldan Estrada (2021), the

effectiveness of modular learning comes differently depending on the home environment of the

student. Since modular learning demands intense guidance and supports coming from the parents,

and some of the parents were not able to attain high educational background, this could affect the

learning of the students. In addition, Estrada also mentioned that there is a lack of teacher-student

interaction which provides feedback about the learning progress of the students and of the students

are doing the activities right.

Shedding light on the modular teaching approach with the university students, research

conducted by Cristobal M. Ambayon (2020) revealed that a modular approach is an effective

approach in literacy learning for students in universities. It explains that modules allow students
to learn at their own pace which promotes convenience for university students. In addition,

Ambayon emphasized that the modular approach is a unique and effective way of teaching

literature to students, and faculties must undergo formal training in writing literature modules.

These results seem to be supported by another research paper. This time written by Alberto D.

Yazon (2017), the student-respondents of his research expressed that the “module is accompanied

by specific objectives which are stated in behavioral terms, measurable, realistic, and attainable.”

(p. 4) The respondents also mentioned that the concepts in the given modules are clear and easy to

understand, which is one factor that reinforces the students’ learning.

To emphasize the opinions of the teachers, parents, and students under Modular Distance

Learning, a study materialized by Ysthr Rave Pe Dangle and Johnine Danganan Sumaoang (2020)

reveals that the students are overwhelmed with the number of activities given to the students in

just one subject area. According to the parents, their child does not have enough time to finish all

the activities given within a week. Therefore, the researchers came up with a recommendation of

lessening the activities given in one module per subject area. With these problems encountered by

the teachers, parents, and students with Modular Distance Learning, it would be best if the

Department of Education will consider these issues.

To further discuss the considerations that the Department of Education must have in

implementing printed materials such as modules as the sole source of learning amidst the

pandemic, in a training manual written by Mary Burns (2011), she explained that having printed

materials as the sole source of learning weakens the interaction of the teachers with their students,

and this could affect the learning of the students drastically. Also, Burns mentioned that printed

materials might be unattractive to the students depending on the graphic appearance of such
materials. Lastly, she emphasized that one of the biggest considerations of printed materials will

be its production and transportation.

All the papers cited above view distance learning modules holistically. None was able to

specify the effectiveness of the distance learning modules in the discipline of the English subject,

and this is the primary reason why the researcher was urged to pursue this study and ask the point

of view of the students when it comes to their English modules. Specifically, this paper is aimed

to answer the following questions and hypothesis:

1. What is the Demographic Profile of the respondents in terms of:

a. Grade Level

b. Quarterly English Grade

2. How effective are the English modules for the Junior High School students in terms of:

a. Topic Contents

b. Assessments

3. What is the level of the students’ development under modular English learning in terms of:

a. Speaking

b. Writing

4. Is there a significant relationship between the English modules’ effectiveness and the students’

development under modular English learning?

 The data that will be gathered according to the problem stated above, will be used to prove

the hypothesis that there is no significant relationship between English modules’ effectiveness and

the students’ level of development.

This study is expected to be beneficial to all English teachers, parents, students,

administrators, and most especially, to the Department of Education. This study would be a good

reference for English teachers in crafting their language modules. They will be informed of the

considerations that they need to have in mind before they write, produce, and disseminate the

Distance Learning Modules to their students.

The parents of the students have the largest role in making this modality successful.

Therefore, they will need all the materials that they can utilize to properly guide their children as

they traverse the challenges of Modular Distance Learning. This research will be useful for the

parents as this paper will inform them of the actual situations that their children are experiencing

while learning through their English modules.

To the students, this paper will be useful for them because they will be informed of the

actual scenarios happening with most of the modular learning students. With such, they will be

able to make necessary adjustments and make their lives easier as they learn through their English

modules.

Lastly, to the administrators and the Department of Education, this paper would be a good

reference in crafting their learning continuity plan for the following school years. This will let

them know of the factors that they need to take into consideration to prevent such problems from

happening again. From the results of this research, the Department of Education, as well as the
administrators could organize a webinar series or training sessions for their teachers for the better

creation of the students’ Distance Learning Modules.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

The study is heavily anchored to Charles A. Wedemeyer’s (1981) Theory of Independence

and Autonomy and the Theory of Transactional Distance of Michael G. Moore (1973).

The theory of Independence and Autonomy characterized independent learning as an ideal

approach to promote learning freedom for the students. He mentioned that with the utilization of

independent learning, the students will take responsibility for their learning at their own pace and

progress. Also, the theory emphasizes that the teacher and students under this modality are

separated from one another, and teacher-student interaction will be done using any available

resources. Lastly, the said theory promotes learning as convenient since the student has the

freedom to look for the most comfortable learning environment for him/her (Wedemeyer, 1981).

On the other hand, the theory of Transactional Distance defines the term “distance” based

on the frequency of dialogues between the teacher and the students. Through this definition, Moore

differentiated the conventional and distance set-up of learning wherein he argued that conventional

set-up has greater interaction and less structure, while distance set-up has greater structure and less

interaction (Moore, 1973).

 METHODOLOGY

This section of the paper narrates the research methodology utilized by the researcher to

deal with the curiosity articulated above. Specifically, this part of the paper discussed the following

parts: Research Design, Population and Sampling Technique, Research Instrument, and Statistical

Instrument.

Research Design

The paper utilized cross-sectional, explanatory research to address the curiosity mentioned

by the researcher in the previous parts of this paper. Specifically, the research design is used to

measure the effectiveness of English modules from the point of view of the Junior High School

students.

Burke Johnson (2001) defined cross sectional study as a form of “contemporaneous

measurement” wherein the data are gathered within a single point of time or a relatively short time.

On the other hand, explanatory nonexperimental research is utilized specifically when the research

objective is to test a theory or hypothesis. It is used to answer the questions “why” and “how” of

a phenomenon.

Population and Sampling Technique

In the derivation of this study, a power analysis was conducted using the G Power 3.1

software. The analysis suggested a sample size of 134 to achieve an effect size of 0.3, an alpha of

0.05, and a power of 0.95. This study has even exceeded the required number of samples which

leads to an even more reliable result.

 The study had Junior High School students (grades 7-10) as the primary respondents of the

study. In total, this research had 361 respondents with a mean grade level of 3.00 (SD=1.02).

Wherein 47 (13%) represents the Grade 7 students, 47 (13%) represents the Grade 8 students, 124

(34.3%) represents the grade 9 students, and 143 (39.6%) represents the grade 10 students. These

respondents have been chosen randomly. These respondents came from different schools is Cavite

and Muntinlupa.

Research Instrument

The Likert Scale, that was constructed by an American social scientist Rensis Likert, was

designed to assess the respondents’ opinion, attitude, and perception about a specified

phenomenon. This scale guides the strength of the respondents’ affirmation or negation to a

mentioned scenario.

The researcher has utilized a survey questionnaire as the primary instrument of the

researcher. The survey questionnaire has provided the researcher continuous data which led to the

measurement of the effectiveness of English modules within the point of view of the Junior High

School Students. The instrument is a guided response type of questionnaire. Using the Likert scale,

the respondents were asked to rate the effectiveness of their English modules and their level of

development during the extent of their utilization of the English modules. Before the instrument

was administered to the research respondents, it was first tested for validity and reliability in

accordance with the research problems stated in the preliminary parts of this paper.

Statistical Instrument

This research used Descriptive (mean, standard deviation) and Inferential (Pearson r

Correlation) statistics to answer the underlying curiosity of this paper. Descriptive Statistics was
used to answer the first three questions of this paper including the module effectiveness and

students’ level of development. On the other hand, Inferential statistics were used to answer the

fourth question, and test the hypothesis articulated in the preliminary parts of this paper.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

This section of the paper presents the data gathered as well as the findings that the

researcher arrived at in measuring the effectiveness of the English modules within the perspective

of Junior High School students. The researcher has set a 95% confidence level and a 0.30 effect

size.

Table 1. Demographic Profile of the Respondents

A. Grade Level

Frequency Percentage Mean

Grade 7 47 13%

Grade 8 47 13%

Grade 9 124 34.3% 3.00

Grade 10 143 39.6%

Total 361 100%

The table presents the distribution of the respondents per grade level. Both 47 (13%) of the

respondents are grade 7 and grade 8 students. While 124 (34.3%) of the respondents are grade 9

students and 143 (39.6%) are grade 10 students.

B. Quarterly English Grade

Frequency Percentage Mean

75-79 20 5.5%

80-85 96 26.6%

86-90 119 33% 3.01

91-95 110 30.5%

96-100 16 4.4%

Total 361 100%

The figures in the table above disclose the quarterly English grade of the respondents. the

largest number of respondents have a quarterly grade of 86-90 in English (33%). The second will

be the respondents with 91-95 quarterly grades in English (30.5%). The third will be the

respondents with 80-85 quarterly grades in English (26.6%). The fourth will be the respondents

with 75-79 quarterly grades in English (5.5%). While the least number of respondents will be

allocated to those with 96-100 quarterly grades in English (4.4%).

Table 2. English Module Effectiveness

Mean SD Interpretation

Topic Contents

1. I believe that the content of our modules in 5.19 0.07 Somewhat Agree
English is clear and easy to understand.
2. I believe that the content of our modules in 5.26 0.07 Somewhat Agree
English creates a comfortable learning
environment.
3. Our English modules use examples that are 5.56 0.07 Agree
related to the module's lecture portion.
4. Our English modules use original content and 4.84 0.08 Somewhat Agree
are not copied from any online or published
sources.
 5. Our English modules are free from any type of 4.73 0.08 Somewhat Agree
error.
6. The English modules properly provide my 5.46 0.07 Agree
needs as the learner as far as the English subject is
concerned.
7. Our English modules clearly enumerate our 5.48 0.07 Agree
learning goals for each module.
8. The complexity of the topic presentation in our 5.56 0.07 Agree
English modules is appropriate to my learning
level.
9. The content of our English modules are written 5.24 0.07 Somewhat Agree
in conversational style for easier understanding of
the concepts.
Average Mean 5.26 0.07 Somewhat Agree

Assessments

1. The activities given are aligned with the 5.60 0.06 Agree
learning objectives set in our English modules.
2. I am ready to answer the objective assessments 5.40 0.07 Agree
in our modules because everything was discussed
in the topic presentation.
3. The performance tasks given to us are 5.08 0.08 Somewhat Agree
differentiated and based on our learning interests.
4. The assessments in our modules in English 5.43 0.07 Agree
measure our learning mastery in the specific
competency presented in each material.
5. The performance tasks given to us sustain our 5.09 0.08 Somewhat Agree
interests.
6. The performance tasks given to us are 5.43 0.07 Agree
appropriate for individual learning.
7. The assessments in our English learning 5.73 0.06 Agree
modules process the things I have learned as a
student.
Average Mean 5.39 0.07 Agree

The table shows that the average English module effectiveness in terms of Topic Contents

is 5.26 (SD = 0.07). On the other hand, the mean English modules’ effectiveness in terms of

Assessments is 5.39 (SD = 0.07). These results suggest that the Junior High School respondents

are either “Agree” or “Somewhat Agree” when it comes to the effectiveness of their English

modules in terms of its Topic Contents and Assessments.

 Table 3. Students’ Level of Development

Mean SD Interpretation

Speaking

1. Our English learning modules help me develop 5.66 0.07 Agree

my conversational skills using the English
language.
2. Our English learning modules allow me to 5.64 0.07 Agree
express my thoughts and ideas in spoken form.
3. My English vocabulary has improved because 5.52 0.07 Agree
of our learning modules in English.
4. I was able to develop my grammatical 5.50 0.07 Agree
competence in English through our learning
modules.
5. I was able to develop English pronunciation 5.39 0.08 Agree
through our learning modules.
6. My confidence to speak in English has 5.08 0.07 Somewhat Agree
increased after utilizing our learning modules.
Average Mean 5.47 0.07 Agree

Writing

1. Our learning modules in English allow me to 5.66 0.07 Agree

express my thoughts and ideas in a written form.
2. My utilization of the different punctuations has 5.46 0.07 Agree
improved after utilizing our learning modules in
English.
3. My grammatical competence in written form 5.49 0.07 Agree
has improved because of our learning modules in
English.
4. There is an improvement in my writing diction 5.56 0.06 Agree
after utilizing our learning modules in English.
5. Our learning modules in English teach us how 5.62 0.07 Agree
to unify our thoughts into one writing
composition.
Average Mean 5.56 0.07 Agree

The table presents that the average level of development of the students in terms of

speaking is 5.47 (SD = 0.07), while the mean level of development of the students in terms of

writing is 5.56 (SD = 0.07). These results suggest that majority of the respondents agree that their

English learning modules help them improve their macro skills in speaking and writing.
 Table 4. Correlation between English Modules’ Effectiveness and Students’ Level of

Development

English Modules’ Students’ Level of

Effectiveness Development

English Modules’ Pearson Correlation 0.78**

Effectiveness df 359

p 0.00

N 361

Students’ Level of Pearson Correlation 0.78**

Development df 359

p 0.00

N 361

The figures above present that Pearson r correlation was employed to measure the

relationship between English Modules’ Effectiveness (M=85.10, SD=16.19) and Students’ Level

of Development (M=60.56, SD=12.05); r (359) = 0.78, p = 0.00, R^2 is .61. These results suggest

a strong correlation between English Modules’ Effectiveness and Students’ Level of Development,

and a significant relationship is evident between the two variables.

CONCLUSIONS

This paper statistically documents the effectiveness of the English learning modules within

the perspective of Junior High School students. The results revealed that the Junior High School

students either “somewhat agree” or “agree” that their English modules are effective for the

continuation of their learning. Also, the students have expressed an element of uncertainty when
it comes to the content clarity and comfortable learning environment that their learning modules

in English provided with an average response of “somewhat agree”. Further, the students have

affirmed that their learning modules provide them the topics based on their needs as English

learners, which complements the acknowledgment of the students that their English learning

modules enumerate the students’ learning goals.

When it comes to the technical side of the students’ learning modules, the students are

convinced their learning modules are free from any type of error and plagiarism. Also, the students

responded that the complexity of the topics being articulated in their English learning modules is

within the grade level of the students, which might also be the result of the learning modules’

clarity.

For the Department of Education (2016), learning the English language derives meaning.

Therefore, we treat language as the primary instrument of thought. To achieve this ideology

assessments and feedbacks must be emphasized regardless of the modality in education.

Interestingly, the respondents of this study with average response of “agree” are convinced that

their learning modules in English are effective in terms of their assessments. The respondents

believe that formative assessments are still being emphasized even under the modality of modular

distance learning. They believe that the formative assessments given in their English modules

measure their understanding and identify their needs as students (CERI, N.D). Most of the

respondents agreed that they are ready to answer the learning assessments of their English modules

because the activities are aligned with the learning objectives set and are properly achieved in the

learning content of the modules.

The English language is indeed the most dominating language in the world (Nishanthi,

2018), for this language bridges the gap of every country, community, and citizen when it comes
to spoken and written discourse, which is the reason why global communicative competence using

the English language has been the emphasis of this subject under the K to 12 Curriculum. The

subject aims for the students to be syntactically and semantically competent in using the language

in any social situation (DepEd, 2016). Having these goals narrated, it is safe to infer that the

Department of Education is still succeeding in emphasizing these goals under the modality of

modular distance learning since most of the students have agreed their English learning modules

have helped them develop their communicative competence in speaking and writing. They agreed

that their vocabulary and grammatical competence in both spoken and written discourse with the

help of their modules. Further, the respondents expressed that their pronunciation, diction, and

cohesion have improved because of these learning modules.

To conclude the results of the present study, the English modules’ effectiveness and the

students’ level of development exhibited a strong relationship, which means that the English

modules have played an important role in the Junior High School students’ academic development.

The students’ level of development has coefficients of 11.19 units, and for every unit increase in

the English modules’ effectiveness, the students’ level of development increases by 0.58. Further,

the results presented above give enough reason to reject the null hypothesis and accept this paper’s

alternative hypothesis.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The results presented in this paper suggest the fact that the English learning modules still

have room for improvements since an element of uncertainty was evident in the responses of the

research participants. Therefore, the researcher recommends the following people to do their part
in bridging the gap seen in the results of the study. Specifically, these are the parents, English

teachers, Department of Education, and future researchers.

First, the parents are the only people who have direct contact with the students during these

challenging times. Therefore, their consistent guidance towards the learning of their child will play

a vital role in the student’s academic success. Further, parents must be the ones to be at the

student’s side whenever there is something that the student does not understand about the learning

module most especially when the student is dealing with the English module, which is a critical

and crucial subject.

Next, because the respondents are somehow uncertain whether the competencies are

discussed and if the English learning modules are free from any form of plagiarism, the English

teachers must be very keen when it comes to their diction in writing the learning modules of the

students. They must use words that are easy for the students to understand. English teachers must

remember that the purpose of a self-learning module is to separate the teacher from his/her

students. Therefore, English teachers must consider everything that would make independent

learning successful including their writing diction. In addition, teachers must also be mindful of

their sources, for it may weaken the credibility of the distance learning modules.

It is noticeable in the guidelines on the evaluation of self-learning modules released by the

Department of Education that the criteria set by the department in the formulation of its self-

learning modules are too broad. This could lead to a state of confusion for its teachers, which could

also affect the effectiveness of the formulated self-learning modules. With this, the researcher

recommends the Department of Education to craft and release detailed guidelines on the

formulation of the self-learning modules per subject.

 Finally, future researchers must bear in mind that the present study assessed the

quantitative opinion of the students when it comes to the effectiveness of the English learning

modules. Therefore, the results presented above may be influenced by biases. To strengthen the

objectivity of the same research topic for future research, the researcher suggests the use of

objective instruments such as an English Proficiency Test to justify the opinion of the students in

terms of the students’ level of development and English modules’ effectiveness.

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https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1264560.pdf

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https://www.oecd.org/site/educeri21st/40600533.pdf

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