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ENGLISH PROFICIENCY ENHANCEMENT TRAINING

SESSION GUIDE
for DAY 1

SESSION TOPIC: Back to the Basics: A Re-Introduction to Fundamental Grammar and

Reading Concepts in the Academic Context

PARTICIPANTS’ PROFILE: Teacher-Participants of the NTOT for English

NO. OF PARTICIPANTS: _____

Male: _____ Female: _____

DURATION: 6 hours

I. OBJECTIVES: The six-hour session aims to equip the target participants with
communicative competence and proficiency in the English language needed for the
effective understanding and delivery of the curriculum. At the end of the session, the
participants are expected to:
a. display enhanced reading skills necessary in the comprehension of various
complex texts entailed in the curriculum for the respective subject area; and
b. display a deepened understanding of grammatical structures necessary in the clear
delivery of the curriculum.

II. KEY UNDERSTANDING / CONTENT: Fundamental Grammar and Reading

Concepts in the Academic Context

III. REFERENCES

Doctor-Rosales, J., Bicomong-Espino, L., Jasul, V. & Garcia, C. (2009). Developing

study and thinking skills in the academe. Quezon City: GMK Publishing.

Dagdag, L., Padilla, M., Ranin, V., Esguerra, A., Roxas, F., Buluran, C., Tarrayo, V.,
Abayan, E., Duque, C., Clutario, J., Gimutao, L., & Marquez, J. (2010).
Winning strategies for study, thinking and writing skills. Malabon City: Mutya
Publishing House, Inc.

English proficiency of Pinoy students, teachers lagging — survey. (2017, February

21). GMA News Online. Retrieved from:
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/644114/english-proficiency-
of-pinoy-students-teachers-lagging-survey/story/

Open Resources for English Language Teaching (ORELT) Portal. (n.d.). Grammar
across the curriculum. Retrieved from: http://orelt.col.org/module/unit/5-
grammar-across-curriculum

York University. (n.d.). Applying the PQ3R reading method. Retrieved from:
file:///D:/Downloads/PQ3R-Worksheet.pdf

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IV. TRAINING PLAN

OBJECTIVES
The participants KEY LEARNING POINTS METHODOLOGY/ACTIVITY
should be able to:
1. develop a core set According to the 2017 English INTRODUCTION (5 mins)
of critical reading Proficiency Index released by Education Include a short discussion on the rationale
skills and First Ltd., an international education behind this training.
knowledge of company, the Philippines displays high
reading strategies proficiency in the language ranking 15th MOTIVATION (15 mins)
for among 80 non-English speaking countries
understanding, – behind Malaysia, which ranked 13th, Provide a reading material (preferably
retention, and and Singapore, 5th. Although the statistic expository in nature, around 500 to 1000
assimilation of may seem satisfactory, Rex Wallen, the words or 1 to 2 pages long), the topic of
scholarly articles; Hopkins International Partners' General which is related to the subject matter
2. display Manager, reports that the trajectory of taught by the participants. Give the
familiarity with Filipinos’ performance is declining, while participants two minutes to preview or
specific its Asian counterparts are improving. He, survey the reading material.
grammatical moreover, states that the level of English
categories used in proficiency of Philippine college After two minutes, tell the participants to
academic texts; graduates is “lower than the target formulate questions regarding the
and English proficiency of High school material. Some of the questions they may
3. use grammatical students in Thailand (“English generate are as follows:
structures and proficiency of Pinoy students,” 2018).”  What is the reading about?
categories for  What key points or subtopics are
academic tasks This is alarming not only for English included?
such as defining, teachers, but also for teachers of other  What evidence is presented to support
describing, learning areas delivered in English as these points/arguments?
comparing and academic commentators claim that the  What is/are the main conclusion/s?
contrasting, etc. lack in English proficiency may be  How important is the reading to you?
contributive to students’ low How does the reading connect to your
comprehension of the subject matter. field of specialization?
Given this, it is important to ensure and
improve teachers’ English proficiency in Tell the participants to write down their
order to ensure that the curricula are well questions. Write down some of the most
understood and translated in the common questions raised on the board
classroom. then proceed to reading the material
provided.

PROCESSING (60 mins)

The trainer will break the material into

appropriate and manageable sections,
ensuring that the participants read
actively and critically. Ask the
participants to look for the answers to the
questions they posed earlier.

Periodically, pause the reading to let the

participants address the questions raised.
Tell the participants to answer the
questions by writing down paraphrased or
summarized notes on the section read.

Once finished reading the whole text, ask

the participants to review their questions
and notes. Tell them to reflect on how
challenging the reading was. Lead the
discussion by asking the following

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questions:
 How important is the reading to your
field of specialization?
 What kind of reading material was
presented?
 How long did it take you to read and
understand this reading? How
difficult was it?
 What additional comments,
criticisms, or questions would you
like to share?
The ability to use English is important for ABSTRACTION (180 mins)
academic work as it is the language used
to gather information and knowledge Explain the nature of the reading material
from books, the Internet and other to the participants and the significance of
information hubs. English is also used to being able to effectively comprehend
communicate in the workplace and is an such materials.
important means for access to higher
education. Therefore, there is a need to Discuss the different types of expository
learn how to use English academically; paragraphs: definition, description, cause
that is, for defining, comparing, arguing, and effect, comparison and contrast,
reporting, describing, commenting, process. Choose at least two of the most
debating and the like. Success in all these common in the participants’ field of
academic functions requires mastery of specialization. Present exemplars of the
both genre structure and specific chosen genres. Incite the participants’
grammatical structures and categories motivation to read by conducting games
(Open Resources for English Language like vocabulary quizzes or picture
Teaching [ORELT] Portal, n.d.). puzzles. Give the participants 20 minutes
to read the materials.
The most common rhetorical pattern or
genre in the academic context is Using these exemplars, lead the
EXPOSITORY, which refers to any participants to discern the unique
material serving to expound, set forth, structure and features of each paragraph
inform or explain. type by asking the following questions:
 How are the reading materials
different from one another?
 What is the main idea of Text A?
 How is the main idea supported? Cite
details from the text.
 What is the main idea of Text B?
 How is the main idea supported? Cite
details from the text.

Highlight the grammatical features

present in the chosen genres. For
example, in a paragraph by description,
the order of adjectives may be discussed;
in a paragraph by cause and effect,
transitional devices may be discussed;
etc. Use the sample reading materials as
both springboard and context for the
discussion of grammar.
APPLICATION (100 mins)

Prepare another set of exemplars of the

same genres discussed earlier and develop
a short reading comprehension test for
each, with at least 10 items checking both
literal and inferential comprehension.

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Divide the group in two. Ask the

participants to count off. All participants
who counted off odd numbers will be
tasked to read Text A, while those who
counted off even numbers, Text B. Give
the participants 20 minutes to read then
distribute the test materials, which should
be accomplished in 20 minutes.

Tell the participants to look for a partner

with the same reading material and test.
Let them exchange papers and discuss
their answers. After 10 minutes, discuss
the correct answers.

Finally, tell the participants to craft their

own expository paragraph (with at least
200 words) using any of the two genres
discussed. After 30 minutes and using the
same pairing, ask the participants to
evaluate their partner’s work, paying
close attention to grammaticality.