5198745-478465020000Chapter 1The Problem and its SettingIntroductionThe significance of reading skill on academic contexts always matters for second language learners in dealing with academic reading tasks. Raising the students’ awareness of the reading strategies will help them in the entire learning process and in-depth acquisition. Once the students apply the reading strategies while reading, the great effect of comprehending any text from various subjects can be observed.In the article written by Leonen (2018), she stated that Senator Grace Poe has filed a resolution calling for an inquiry into the “decline” in English proficiency of Filipino students. In Senate Resolution No. 622 entitled Decline in English Proficiency of Filipino Students, Poe (2018) stated that the State recognizes the vital role of communication and information in nation-building (Article II, Section 17), that English is commonly referred to as the lingua franca or the commonly used language in the world, a testament to the fact that English is the language of diplomacy, business and education; She called for an assessment of the present curricula in elementary and high school in light of “reports of narrowing advantage of Filipino graduates in the global language.
“Moreover, the request of Senator Poe was due to the report published in Philstar Global where Morallo (2018) specified the status of English proficiency level of college graduates in the Philippines which is lower than the proficiency target set for high school students in Thailand and the competency requirement for taxi drivers in Dubai coming from the preliminary results of what a two-year study showed. Further, according to Tan (2018), the general manager of Hopkins International Partners, mentioned in the Philstar Global, the average English proficiency score of a Philippine college graduate was 631.4 based on the metrics of the Test of English for International Communication. He explained that this was alarming considering that cab drivers in Dubai, United Arab Emirates were expected to have a Test of English for International Communication or TOEIC proficiency score of 650 while business process outsourcing agents should have a score of 850 in the metric.Meanwhile, in an article “Literacy in the Philippines: The Stories Behind the Numbers”, Cristobal (2015), she explained that the ability to read and write is a priority, so any effort to promote literacy by the government, organizations or even private individuals is celebrated. Furthermore, the Department of Education (DepEd) (2010) has already conducted its first Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil-IRI) which is the assessment component of ECARP.
It is nationally validated assessment tool for measuring the reading proficiency level of public elementary pupils in both English and Filipino subjects. The Department of Education spearheaded the 2017 National Reading Month (NRM) with one of its aims to strengthen the DepEd’s Every Child A Reader Program, making every Filipino child a competent reader appropriate for his/her grade level. This is an evident proof that the government is pursuing the implementation of developing proficient students and future productive citizens by putting the students’ reading comprehension skill into a higher level.Likewise, the Division of Batangas has implemented the Division Individual Reading Instructions and Comprehension Test (DIRICT). It is given every first quarter of the school year to all students in every grade level (Grade 7 to 10) using the standardized reading selection and questionnaires which aims to assess the students’ reading ability. This demonstrates that the government is stressing how vital reading is in the learning process.The Department of Education (DepEd) in Region IV-A, under the Division of Batangas Province within Malvar District has allocated four (4) Public Secondary Schools responsible for providing Secondary Education to the whole town.
The largest is the Malvar National High School (MNHS) which is also considered as the Implementing Unit (IU) located in Poblacion, Malvar, Batangas followed by Santiago National High School in Santiago, Malvar, Batangas, San Isidro National High School in San Isidro, Malvar, Batangas and Don Julio Leviste Memorial Vocational High School in San Andres, Malvar, Batangas which have the commonality of mission, vision and core values under the Department of Education itself. The focus of this study is to identify the extent of the metacognitive awareness of reading strategies and its effect on the reading comprehension level of selected grade 10 students in Public Secondary Schools of Malvar District, Malvar, Batangas. In the progress of this study, it can identify the reading strategies needed for the students to improve their reading comprehension level and succeed not just in their schooling but even in their adult lives as active citizens locally and international can be identified.It is in the above premise that the researcher is encouraged to assess the extent of metacognitive awareness of reading strategies and its effect on the reading comprehension level of selected Grade 10 students in Public Secondary Schools of Malvar District, Malvar, Batangas during the school year 2017-2018. It is presumed that the result of this research will be useful in emphasis of teaching reading strategies that the students do not usually use when to improve their comprehension level in the next school years.Theoretical FrameworkMetacognitive awareness of reading strategies is frequently related to the development of the reading comprehension level of the students. Two theories were used to better understand the relationship of the two.
Based on the concept of reading comprehension, there are cognitive activities that are interrelated to each other so comprehension will be produced with the help of the three metacognitive reading strategies such as global reading strategies, problem-solving reading strategies and support reading strategies. Louca (2003) cited the Model of Cognitive Monitoring where according to Flavell (1979), the monitoring of wide variety of cognitive enterprises occurs through the actions and interactions among four classes of phenomena such as metacognitive knowledge, metacognitive experiences, goals (or tasks) and actions (or strategies).Similarly, the term to refer to an individual’s awareness of thinking and learning. He provided the following explanation: “Metacognition refers to one’s knowledge concerning one’s own cognitive processes and products or anything related to them, e.g. the learning-relevant properties of information or data” (p. 232). He also added: “Metacognition refers, among other things, to active monitoring and consequent regulation and orchestration of these processes in relation to the cognitive objects or data on which they bear, usually in the service of some concrete goal or objective” (p.
232). (Nazarieh, 2016; Flavel; 1976)Likewise, Bentahar (2012) furthermore explained what Flavel (1979) pointed out- that metacognition falls into three components. The first component is the metacognitive knowledge which is according to Schneider (1988), metacognitive knowledge is stable and can be articulated. It refers to one’s acquired knowledge about cognitive processes, those that aim at overseeing, controlling, and regulating the cognitive processes. Metacognitive knowledge consists of three variable categories: person that includes the knowledge one has about the self as well as one’s abilities in comparison to or in contrast with the peers, task that refers to one’s knowledge about a task and strategy when using contextual clues or dictionary to when coming across difficult words.
The second component is the metacognitive experiences which are viewed as conscious thoughts about one’s cognitive processes that are occurring at a particular moment (Flavell, 1979). The last is cognitive monitoring and strategy use where the interconnection between metacognitive knowledge, metacognitive experiences, cognitive goals, and cognitive strategies is the core of cognitive monitoring (Cantrell et al., 2010).
Another theory has connection to the present study is the well-known Schema Theory of Interactive Model of Reading which explains that the readiness and awareness of the reader is significant to at least have a preview of the text which falls under global reading strategies.In particular, Schema Theory of reading with the term “schema” that was first used in psychology with the meaning of “an active organization of past reactions or experiences”. It assumes that a written text does not carry meaning by itself.
Rather, a text only provides directions for readers as to how they should retrieve or construct meaning from their own previously acquired knowledge. It can be used to help guide students to comprehend a text from the global point of view. Therefore, its roles in comprehension cannot be ignored. t is an explanation of how readers use prior knowledge to comprehend and learn from text which is connected to the global reading strategies where the background knowledge is important to have an idea about the text. (An, 2013; Rumelhart, 1980).Indeed, the combination of metacognitive knowledge, experiences and cognitive monitoring and strategy, readiness and awareness of the reader are significant to improve the reading comprehension level of the students.
Similarly, with the use prior knowledge to have a definite preview or interpretation of a text whether it is pre-reading, while reading or post-reading can improve the reading performance of the students.Conceptual FrameworkThis framework shows the overall outline of the study. It can be expressed by using the independent-dependent framework (ID).563196201295Profile of the StudentsAgeSexMonthly Family IncomeParent’s Highest Educational AttainmentReading Comprehension Level00Profile of the StudentsAgeSexMonthly Family IncomeParent’s Highest Educational AttainmentReading Comprehension Level4469570199390Metacognitive Reading StrategiesGlobal Reading StrategiesProblem-Solving StrategiesSupport Reading Strategies00Metacognitive Reading StrategiesGlobal Reading StrategiesProblem-Solving StrategiesSupport Reading Strategies INDEPENDENT DEPENDENT260731033210500 Figure 1 Research ParadigmFigure 1 shows the conceptual paradigm of the study. The arrow reveals the relationship of the extent of metacognitive awareness reading strategies and its effect to the reading comprehension level with the use of Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory (MARSI).
Shown in the independent variable are the profile of the respondents in terms of age, sex, monthly family income, parent’s highest educational attainment and reading comprehension level.Displayed in the dependent variable are the metacognitive reading strategies used by selected grade 10 students in Public Secondary Schools in Malvar District, Mavlar, Batangas. The reading strategies are as follows: GLOB for global reading strategies includes setting purpose for reading, activating prior knowledge, checking whether the text content fits purpose, predicting what text is about, confirming predictions, previewing text for content, skimming to note text characteristics, making decisions in relation to what to read closely, using context clues, using text structure, and using other textual features to enhance reading comprehension; PROB for problem-solving strategies include reading slowly and carefully, adjusting reading rate, paying close attention to reading, pausing to reflect on reading, rereading, visualizing information read, reading text out loud, and guessing meaning of unknown words; and SUP for support reading strategies include taking notes while reading, paraphrasing text information, revisiting previously read information, asking self-questions, using reference materials as aids, underlining text information, discussing reading with others, and writing summaries of reading.Statement of the ProblemThe main objective of the study determined the extent of metacognitive awareness of reading strategies and its relation to the reading comprehension level of selected Grade 10 students of Public Secondary Schools in Malvar District, Batangas.The study specifically sought answers to the following questions:What is the profile of the respondents in terms of: Age; Sex; Parent’s Highest Educational Attainment; Family Monthly Income; and Reading Comprehension Level?What is the extent of metacognitive awareness of reading strategies of the students to the following factors:2.
1 Global Reading Strategies;2.2. Problem-Solving Reading Strategies; and2.3 Support Reading Strategies?Is there a significant difference in the extent of metacognitive awareness when the respondents are grouped according to their profile?Is the level of reading comprehension significantly dependent on the extent of metacognitive awareness of reading strategies of the respondents?Hypotheses1. There is no significant difference between the extent of metacognitive awareness of reading strategies of the students when they are grouped according to profile.
2. The level of reading comprehension is not dependent on the extent of metacognitive awareness of reading strategies of the students.Scope and Limitations of the Study This study determined the extent of the metacognitive awareness of reading strategies and its effect on the reading comprehension level of the students when grouped according to profile. This objective was achieved by the use of a questionnaire based from administration of Metacognitive Awareness Reading Strategy Inventory (MARSI) and collection of the Division Individual Reading Instructions and Comprehension Test (DIRICT) with the reading comprehension level result of selected 258 Grade 10 in public secondary schools of Malvar District, Malvar, Batangas such as Malvar National High School, Santiago National High School, Don Julio Leviste Memorial Vocational High School and San Isidro National High School in the school year 2017 – 2018 and the reading comprehension level that was collected from their English teachers.Significance of the StudyThe following groups of people will greatly benefit from this study:Administrators. This study will inform school administrators be informed about how effective the reading strategies they practice, the quality of reading materials they use and the impact of reading programs they implement to foster good reading study habits. It may also make them aware of ways to improve their reading programs and the best learning intervention tools they could use to enhance students’ reading skills, which in turn may develop their comprehension levels.
English Coordinators. The results of the study will guide English coordinators to improve the reading strategies they use in the classroom focusing on the metacognitive reading strategies for the reading comprehension enhancement of the students.English Teachers. The results of this study will be the baseline for the English teachers to identify the reading strategies needed and appropriate for the students. It may help them to focus more on students’ specific needs in comprehension and use more effective reading materials, lesson plans and reading activities that could provide effective motivation styles for students to develop better reading techniques and to improve their reading study habits.
Guidance Counselors. The awareness on the metacognitive reading strategies of the students may somehow reflect their behavior inside the classrooms and provide reasons why students do not follow orders and rules at once. This study will help guidance counselors to have a deeper level of understanding on how the level of reading comprehension of a particular students can affect confidence, eagerness towards studies and low academic achievements. In this way, they will be more supportive and be motivated to develop a comprehensive school-counseling program that also promotes an active reading.
Parents. The results of this study will give awareness to parents on their children’s reading practices. They will fully understand the value of their roles and influence on their children’s study habits particularly in reading.
Also, this will encourage them to help their children by focusing on the importance of reading and to work hand in hand with teachers in improving their children’s reading skills.Students. This study will provide students the knowledge on their actual strengths and weakness in reading. They will identify which particular reading skills they need to enhance and how reading study habits affect their comprehension skills in reading. They will appreciate the benefits of reading in their everyday lives to their academic success. Also, they will learn to embrace the love for reading and eventually be inspired and gain more experiences that would help them in future reading challenges.Future Researches.
They could use this study as reference. Definition of Terms The following terms are defined operationally for a better understanding of the study.Cognition. It is the acquisition of knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses.Global Reading Strategies.
These are being used if reading is intentionally done with carefully planned techniques by which learners monitor or manage their reading.Metacognitive Awareness. It is the identification of the extent of the learners’ idea about the reading strategies he is using when reading.
Metacognition. This refers to thinking or knowing one’s awareness. Metacognitive Reading Strategies. These strategies refer to understanding the way students learn and helping them to better understand the academic text that is being read for better reading comprehension result.Problem Solving Strategies.
These are the actions used by readers when difficulties arise while understanding the text.Reading. It is an activity when one is able to decode words, phrases, sentences and paragraph.Reading Comprehension. This refers to the understanding of what is described in the text rather than obtaining meaning from isolated words or sentences. It is the process of making meaning from the text. Reading Strategies.
These are different approaches applied while reading to easily understand the text while and after reading.Schema. It is the relevant background knowledge, prior knowledge or just plain experience when students make connections to the text they read. Schema theory.
This explains how readers use prior knowledge to comprehend and learn from text.Support Reading Strategies. These intend to aid the reader in comprehending the text such as using dictionary, taking notes, underlining or highlighting textual information.
