Exposure to English Linguistic Environment and Reading

Motivation among Grade 6 pupils of Father Saturino Urios College

of Trento Inc.

Chapter 1

Introduction

Background of the Study

Language is a means of communication that is used to transfer ideas, information, and

feelings from one person to another. However, it has been estimated that half of the

world’s population is multilingual (Grosjean & Miller, 1994), and the acquisition of more

than one language has been connected with cognitive benefits throughout the lifespan

(Bialystok, Craik & Ryan, 2006).

Nowadays, English language is considered as an essential that is attended and used all

over the world as a means of communication. A good command of English is the

stepping stone to better educational, and job opportunities, and higher social status

(Charise, 2007). With the intention of equipping the younger generation with the

English communication skills required for higher education and career opportunities,
public and private schools in the Philippines introduced ESL/ EFL in their educational

systems.

Globalization has played a significant role in the teaching and learning process. It has

affected the what, how, and why of education. Today, acquiring a second (L2)

language has become necessary for international communication, and due to

globalization, English is the language that has generally been selected for such an

endeavor (Olmedo, M.I., 2014). However, English is taught from Grade 3 in the new K–

12 curriculum is difficult for Filipino students to understand primarily because it is a

foreign language. Accordingly, learners today have difficulty in understanding stories,

directions, and questions written and spoken in English as evidenced by the result of

the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) conducted last December

2019 where the Philippines ranked in the last place (79th) in reading comprehension.

It has been observed that poor background of knowledge in English hinders the

students’ understanding of their English lessons. Although it is used as a medium of

instruction, English is not spoken outside the classroom, and students feel awkward in

using it. Their confusion in using the many rules of grammar construction, the use of

appropriate punctuation marks, the agreement between the subject and the verb, the

spelling, and sentence fragments also add to their inability to understand. Several

factors could affect the language proficiency of a student and among these are the
exposure to the target language, motivation in learning the language, and the anxiety

towards learning the language.

Exposure to a second language occurs whenever individuals engage in conversations in

the second language with family members, friends, classmates, and colleagues;

whenever they read books, magazines, and newspapers written in that language;

whenever they come across information being disseminated in different multimedia

sources; or even when they are mere passive listeners in any activity or place in which

the second language is being spoken. Exposure to the second language is just one

factor that could affect language proficiency. A person’s desire to be engage or exposed

to the second language and eagerness to learn the target language is also another

factor. Motivation in learning English language affects language proficiency. Gardner

(2006) stated that motivations are options through which people decide their goals and

aims.

In general, when a student is highly motivated in learning a language, he will expose

himself more to the target language and use this language frequently. Being motivated

in using the language would also mean less anxious in using English as a second

language. Hence, the purpose of this study was to determine the Exposure to English

Linguistic Environment and Reading Motivation among Grade 6 pupils of Father Saturino

Urios College of Trento Inc.

Objective of the Study

This study aims to analyze and determine the Exposure to English Linguistic

Environment and Reading Motivation among Grade 6 pupils of Father Saturino Urios

College of Trento Inc.

Specifically, this study has the following objectives;

1. To determine the level of Exposure to Linguistic environment among Grade 6 pupils

of Father Saturino Urios College of Trento Inc. in terms of;

1.1 home

1.2 friends

1.3 school

1.4 media

2. To determine the level of reading motivation among Grade 6 pupils of Father

Saturino Urios College of Trento Inc. along with;

2.1 reading efficacy

2.2 challenge

2.3 curiosity

2.4 aesthetics

2.5 importance
 2.6 compliance

2.7 recognition

2.8 grades

2.9 social

2.10 competition

2.11 reading work avoidance

3. To determine the significant relationship between the level of Exposure to Linguistic

environment among Grade 6 pupils and the level of reading motivation among Grade 6

pupils of Father Saturino Urios College of Trento Inc.

Scope and Delimitation of the Study

This study is specifically designed to examine the Exposure to English Linguistic

Environment and Reading Motivation among Grade 6 pupils of Father Saturino Urios

College of Trento Inc. It was conducted among Grade 6 pupils. This study was

investigated within the extent of the level of Exposure to Linguistic environment as the

independent variable relation to home, friends, school and media. The dependent

variable is the level of reading motivation relation to reading efficacy, challenge,

curiosity, aesthetics, importance, compliance, recognition, grades, social, competition

and reading work avoidance.

Time and Place of the Study

This study took place at Father Saturino Urios College of Trento Inc. during the school

year 2021 – 2022. This study was also conducted among Grade 6 pupils of Father

Saturino Urios College of Trento Inc.

Significance of the Study

Findings of this study will be beneficial to the following:

Teachers. This study will create an avenue for the teachers to evaluate their teaching

approaches to better instill learning to the students. It is also helpful for teachers to

identify what best approaches and practice will make the students more engage and

appreciative with the lessons with other subjects.

School Administrators. School administrators will be well-informed about the trends

of teaching and students’ learning in school. Assessment of facilities, school

environment, and policies implemented in school may also be a basis for considerations

based on the findings of this study.

Department of Education. Findings of this study will provide DepEd officials the data

as the basis of giving directives to educational institutions. This study may also give the

department a wider perspective on how to help educators in terms of providing quality

education and producing globally competitive students.

Policy Makers. Findings of this study will provide the policy makers the opportunity to

have a clear perception that will help them in making guidelines with the use of

educational tools and approaches. With this information, new policies may be

formulated for the improvement of school management.

Students. This study will give the regular students an idea on the effect of blended

learning and how important education is. This will motivate them to be more focused on

their studies.

Parents. This study will provide the parents with information that may help them to be

more focus on the study of their children and to motivate them to focus on their

studies.

Researcher. The development of this research paper will help the researcher to gain

knowledge in their chosen field. The documentation of this study can serve as reference

for future researcher and developers who will conduct related studies.
Operational Definition of Terms

For the purpose of understanding some terminologies used in the study were defined

operationally.

English Language - is an Indo-European language in the West Germanic language

group. Modern English is widely considered to be the lingua franca of the world and is

the standard language in a wide variety of fields, including computer coding,

international business, and higher education.

Linguistic - Set of conventional symbols used for writing, based on a correlation

between individual symbols and spoken sounds.

Reading Motivation - refers to an individual's personal goals, values, and beliefs with

regard to the topics, processes, and outcomes of reading (Guthrie & Wigfield, 2000).
Conceptual Framework

Exposure to Reading Motivation

Independent
Linguistic Variable Dependent Variable
 reading efficacy • curiosity

Environment  challenge • aesthetics

 home  importance • compliance

 friends  recognition • grades

 school  social • competition

 media  reading work avoidance

Figure 1. Conceptual Diagram of the Study

Figure 1 shows the conceptual diagram of the study. It consists of two variables, the

independent variable which is the Exposure to Linguistic Environment with the following

indicators; home, friends, school and media. The Dependent variable which is the

Reading motivation consists of the following indicators; reading efficacy, curiosity,

challenge, aesthetics, importance, compliance, recognition, grades, social, competition

and reading work avoidance.

 Chapter 2

Review of Related Literature

This chapter contains an in-depth discussion of the literature and studies. Furthermore,

this chapter provides a synthesis of the literatures and studies used and their

significance to the development of this study.

Foreign Literature

According to Cooper & McIntyre (1998), if it is accepted that learning is claimed to be

dependent on certain types of interpersonal and social interaction, it follows that

circumstances that make these forms of interaction desirable or at least congenial

become a necessary prerequisite of effective learning. It can also be said that the

appropriate forms of interaction help the learner solve his or her problems in the

learning process.

Guthrie & Wigfield (2000) give a more thorough definition based on several theories of

reading motivation. They define reading motivation as “the individual’s personal goals,

values, and beliefs with regard to the topics, processes, and outcomes of reading.”

Reading motivation is therefore “a multifaceted construct with multiple constituents”

(Guthrie et al., 2006) mentioned above although it is characterized by the degree of

engagement in reading whatever the constituents.

Benson (2001) defined outside-of-class language exposure term as, “any kind of

learning that takes place outside the classroom and involves self-instruction, naturalistic

learning or self-directed naturalistic learning.” The forms of outside classroom language

exposure can include: listening to English program on the radio, watching English

program and movies on the television, traveling to English speaking countries, talking

face to face with English native speakers (L2 interaction), using English language in real

life situations, surfing the internet using English language as well as, reading English

books, magazines, and newspapers.

Ellis (2002) proposed that the more regularly the structure has been used, the more

willingly the learner will be familiar with or produce the language. He assumed that

learners might not be counting words as they speak or listen; nevertheless, when

learners process one there is a decline in processing time that indicates this increase,

accordingly the perceptual and motor systems adjusted by the experience of a

particular language. He emphasized that the learners can acquire the language by

repeated exposure to the TL. Throughout this exposure, the learner normally uses the

linguistic features of which the language is composed. Considerably, he does not argue

that L2 learners should learn TL by hearing the language only. Nevertheless, the two

methods should be united, as pedagogical rules were appropriately successful when

applied in process with a number of helpful exemplars of their application.

Exposure to English language is something learners run into in their everyday life.

Interest and motivation are essential factors when it comes to language learning, but

one should distinguish between reward and work when bringing different types of

media in the classroom. Learners recognize when they are being taught when they are

at school, and they may concentrate on what the teacher is presenting. But when they

sit on their computers at home, watching a film or playing a game, they might learn

words and phrases and use them in real life situations. This is called incidental learning

(d’Ydewalle, G., & De Bruycker, W., 2007).

According to Fred Genesee, a well-known professor from psycholinguistics at McGill

University in Montreal (The New York Times, 2007), a constant language system should

be presented before a child so that learning comes as naturally as possible. Likewise,

parents or caregivers must guarantee that children get a certain amount of exposure to

the target language. For both adults and children, the vital key to learning a language is

through immersion and by having a connection with the environment they are part of.

Cummins et al. (2007) mentions several further researches that have both proved and

disproved the advantages of using computers but two points are pertinent here. Firstly,

computers motivate students because they enjoy working with technology, and

secondly, “the educational potential of technology has much more to do with pedagogy

than with the technology itself” (p.91).

In her article, Lambine's (2008) entitled with “English just isn't a foreign language

anymore”, she clarified that the more exposure to the language the children can get

outside the school the more they learn the target language. Generally, learners in their

last three years in school (at ages 16-19) were asked to respond to the statement “I

consider English to be more like my second mother tongue than my first foreign

language”. The learners generally agreed to this, distinguishing it from other foreign

languages they had begun to learn afterward stage.

To find out learner’s exposure to low frequency words through watching movies, Webb

(2010) investigated the scripts of 143 movies. The results showed that there is not

adequate exposure to make certain learning unless learners keep a normal habit of

watching movies for a long time. In the course of long exposure to movies, it is

probable for learners to acquire the low frequency words under the condition that they

recognize the most frequent 3,000 words families.

However, Seitz (2010) found that this was difficult to assess because its nature was

multidimensional. However, for student success in reading, there is a need for

consistent involvement by reading specialists in the whole learning process. Another

factor is self-efficacy.

Furthermore, given that learners need to know thousands of words and that classroom

time is limited, learners should engage in out-of-class language activities to enlarge

their vocabulary knowledge to meet the vocabulary demands for understanding input

(Verspoor et al., 2011).

Ghaderpanahi 's (2012) study regarding using films alone as a form of language

exposure to facilitate English language learning. He considered that the impact of movie

watching couldn't be more effective than communicative activities, which involves more

learner participation and interaction.

According to Abdulah (2013) English language has become an international medium of

communication among the people on earth. The mastery of good English is deemed as

having an edge and can bring a lot of advantages in many ways. This international

language is not only used for communicational purposes but also in the fields of

technology, commerce, education and many other aspects of life. Malaysia, that aims to

be a developed country by the year of 2020, has long considered the importance of

mastering this language. The government has planned and subsequently implemented

many policies to ensure Malaysians master the English language starting from primary

schools to tertiary levels of education.

According to Al-Harbi in 2015, “Language is a social phenomenon, and it is naturally

used in social-communicative settings. “As such, interaction with the viewing material is

crucial for this new learning process to transform the newly acquired linguistic skills
from passive to active.” Watching the news processes information while music allows

one to repeat the lyrics that improve pronunciation.

Language exposure at home, media, and technology may impact learners’

understanding of their English lessons taught inside the classroom. First, children's

language exposure at home plays an essential role in their early language abilities

regardless of the language spoken and language produced. These exposures are

composed of the speech children hear and the language children construct (Lewis et al.,

2017).

Local Literature

Acero (2000), explained that the primary task of the teacher is to motivate and guide

the learners to accomplish their learning activities. This involves looking for ways by

which students may develop interest and desire to learn and plan interesting activities

to achieve the objective using appropriate strategies.

Abrugar (2001) as cited in Ceballo (2006), stated that motivation plays a significant role

in learning helping students to better achieve particularly in learning English. She also

said that motivation does not only involve teachers but by other factors as well, such as
intrinsically (within the individual) and extrinsically (from the environment of the

individual).

Arenas (2004), stated that the principle of cause- effect is apparent in the study of

motivation and behavior. Motivation is the cause and behavior are the effect. Thus, it is

motivation that gives direction and thrust to one’s behavior. Without motivation,

behavior may not occur.

This processing of words and text can also be defined as "literacy" or as Castello and

Charlton (2007) explained, “the cognitive processing of text information, a motivational

attitude toward reading, and the integration of texts into everyday life” (p.697). The

authors asserted that through this cognitive process of reading, readers learn to apply

the meanings of the words and sentences that they comprehend to their present

knowledge. Castello and Charlton posited that readers can then incorporate and

evaluate the content of these readings to their own lives and experiences, as well as

use the text as basis for future actions.

Some of the researchers cited by Montalban(2010) included Sutton & Krueger , who

asserted that “reading, writing, and mathematics are, or should be, inseparable”.

Montalban also quoted Hiebert & Wilkinson, who suggested that “most reading and

thinking strategies should be taught in the content areas, rather than isolated reading

lessons.”
Second language acquisition also involves many interrelated factors. Dulay et al. (2011)

identify four broad features of the environment which may affect not only the rate but

also the quality of second language acquisition. They are the naturalness of language,

the learner’s role in communication, the availability of concrete referents to clarify

meaning, and the target language models. Whether a language environment is natural

depends on where the focus of communication is. If the speaker’s focus is on the

content of the message communicated, the language environment is natural. Studies

show that second language learners in a natural language environment where the focus

is on communication achieve overall better results than those who study in a formal

environment where the focus is on acquiring linguistic rules. They also claim that

second language learner needs opportunities to match his own knowledge with that of

native speakers. An ideal situation for learning a second language is therefore a total

immersion situation or a real-life situation.

This lack of interest in reading is an issue that should be duly addressed, as a research

conducted by Gaona and Gonzalez (2010) further affirmed the positive relationship

between reading habits and academics. In their research entitled Relationship Between

Reading Habits, University Library and Academic Performance in a Sample of

Psychology Students, Gaona and Gonzalez sought to determine whether students who

read frequently, like to read, and go to their university library often do better with

regards to their academic performance. The researchers predicted that those who read
more and those who visit the library often would end up having better results in

academics.

Magno (2012) stated on Philippine ESL Journal that besides motivational factors, other

factors that may affect language learning include consecutive trial and error learning. It

has been observed in many research studies that children’s acquisition of the first

language is easy and almost effortless but they always find problems and make

mistakes when learning a second language. Based on the experience of learning the

first language, it is always beneficial to analyze the influence of the first language on

the second language acquisition, which may ultimately facilitate the teaching and

learning processes.

Gustilo (2012) in her article entitled Learner’s Errors: The Case of Filipino Writers said

that lexicon is the major meaning-carrying element in language and that is why its

acquisition is an integral part of learning a second language. Lexical learning is an on-

going process. Lexicon acquisition is also a mental discipline with memorization of

vocabulary lists under traditional teaching method. Both first and second language

learning attach great importance to vocabulary leaning for a number of years within the

language teaching program. The format of the mental lexicon is different from the first

language to second language. The relative stability of responses to word association is

indicated in monolinguals, but not found in second language learners. Meanwhile, the

second language mental lexicon is only different from the first language lexicon as the
former has a far smaller amounts of words and does not need the sophisticated storage

and retrieval faculty of the first language mental lexicon.

Gurrea and Vincent (2013) published in Journal of English and Literature that it is useful

for students to master the specific features of the English lexical system when learning

English as a second language. Two main categories can be found in the lexical

characteristics of English. They are the lexical form and lexical meaning. Furthermore,

they stated that two levels of second language behavior for the students should be

emphasized: firstly, to be able to write grammatical sentences with confidence, and

secondly, to be able to express their own meaning in the writing.

Lindgren and Muñoz (2013) showed that out-of-class exposure to the foreign language

was the second-best predictor of learners’ reading and listening comprehension after

cognate linguistic distance. Especially watching (subtitled) movies seemed to be

positively correlated with learners’ reading and listening proficiency.

According to Mabuan (2015) second language lexicon acquisition is related to the

students’ ability to recognize vocabulary. Active and passive vocabularies come from

different levels of recognizing the lexicon. On one hand, learners’ passive vocabulary

includes the total number of lexical items that they can understand correctly. A new

lexical item seldom accumulated straightly into the learners’ passive vocabulary, but it

usually passes a transition stage of partial understanding. Students increase their

understanding for a new word when they read the word more often. On the other

hand, students’ active vocabulary consists of the total number of lexical items that they

can accurately use in speech and writing.

According to Miranda et al., (2019), to align the country’s curriculum and meet the need

of the global market where quality education become a must for everyone, the

Philippine educational system adapted a modern and more dynamic curriculum where it

followed the 12-year program. The Philippine government implemented the K to 12

curricula to enhance the educational system of the country to accelerate the mutual

recognition of Filipino graduates and professionals across the world. Learners are

expected to master 21st-century skills and develop core competencies that are essential

to meet the demands of the global market.

Through these related studies that focuses on the possible impacts of blended learning

on student’s performance, this may help on the research paper on providing

information, data, and evidence which support the study.

 Chapter III

Methodology

This chapter presents the description of the research methods to be use, the

respondents of the study, the instruments to be use, the procedures and sources of

data utilized in analyzing the data gathered.

Research Design

The researchers will use descriptive research design in this study. According to

Rebmann (2020), descriptive research design is a method in describing the

characteristics of the population that is being conducted in the study. This kind of

research method focuses on “what” of the research. It is scientific design that requires

observation and description of the subject without influencing it. This includes

recording, analysis, and interpretation of the current nature, processes of phenomenon.

This study will also utilize a quantitative way of collecting, analyzing and interpreting

data. In the quantitative phase of the study, structured questionnaires are given to

respondents, interviews will also be conducted for better understanding of the

quantitative results.
Research Respondents

The target population for this study consisted of Grade 6 pupils at Father Saturino Urios

College of Trento Inc. They were purposively selected. The researchers went

personally, to the respondents to explain to them the content of the questionnaire to

enable them to understand and answer the questions given. The respondent of the

study is composed of thirty (30) Grade 6 pupils at Father Saturino Urios College of

Trento Inc. One of the vital processes to keep this study successful. All of these

participants were selected through random sampling.

This sampling method is conducted where each member of a population has a

capability to become part of the sample. The chosen respondents are containing of

thirty (30) respondents from selected Grade 6 pupils at Father Saturino Urios College of

Trento Inc. Those respondents were chosen by the researchers because they are

suitable and applicable to the study.

Research Instrument
The researcher used the questionnaire tools to use an instrument that contains a series

of questions for the participants for the purpose of gathering information. The

questionnaire was the main instrument used in gathering of data. The questionnaire

was in form of checklist. In the formulation of questionnaire items, the researchers used

a simple and clear language to enable the respondents to understand and answer the

question adequately.

The respondents will be asked to rate each question using a five-point scale as follows:

Likert’s Scale

Numerical Quantitative Weighted

Value Interpretation mean

5 Always 4.20-5.00

4 Often 3.40-4.19

3 Sometimes 2.60-3.39

2 Rarely 1.80-2.59

1 Never 1.00-1.79

Statistical Treatment
There were thirty (30) respondents in the study. The statistic devices used in the study

are employed as follows:

Frequency Count = wherein the number of the respondents’ responses were

determined. It was done through simple sampling.

Percent = this was used in the computation of the percentage equivalent to the

frequency count and in computing percentage as a measure of portion using this

formula:

P=X/N X 100

Where:

P= Percentage

N= Total number of Respondents

X= Number of Frequency

100= constant

Mean = this was used to describe a set of data as to what point the item values. A

single value appears typically all the scores.

Ranking = this was done by arranging the number of items according to the number

of frequencies. The item with the highest number of Frequency has the highest rank.
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