ABSTRACT
This study assessed the English language instruction of teachers and the performance level of Grade III learners at Pardo Elementary School, Cebu City, during the 2024-2025 school year, aiming to inform a learning continuity plan. The results show that most respondents are female, between 31-50 years old, married, and have advanced education, with many holding Master's degree units. Teachers reported a high level of effective English language instruction, with a strong emphasis on Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) strategies, online training in communicative language teaching, and coaching with communications experts on oral language instruction. These approaches contributed to the positive English language teaching methods in use. Grade III learners largely achieved a "Near Mastery" grade of 80-89 across literacy competencies. A significant relationship between teachers' instructional quality and learners’ performance was found. However, teachers faced challenges such as inadequate instructional materials, reading comprehension issues, and low confidence in speaking English. The study underscores the importance of addressing these challenges through professional development programs that enhance teachers' language skills, boost their confidence, and equip them with strategies for managing diverse classroom settings. The findings suggest that further collaboration among the school, teachers, and the Department of Education is essential to improving English language instruction. It is recommended that the school invest in adequate resources and instructional materials while offering targeted professional development to strengthen teachers' English proficiency, particularly in speaking, and integrate effective teaching strategies like TBLT and communicative approaches. This will help overcome classroom challenges such as overcrowding and language interference, ensuring continued progress in students' literacy skills.
Keywords: Administration and Supervision, Descriptive Method, Facilitating Basic English Skills, English Performance, Learning Continuity Plan, Cebu City, Philippines
INTRODUCTION
The use of random signs and symbols to express ideas is language. It is an instrument of interaction. Today, both locally and internationally, English has increasingly become the primary means of communication at home, in school and in the communal domain. Therefore, English users need to communicate in English correctly and fluently all over the world. It is therefore necessary to take English language teaching and learning seriously, particularly for communication purposes, to meet economic needs and to meet worldwide demands for English language skills (Morris & Leavey, 2021).
It is not necessary to overemphasize the value of oral competence in any language. Palmér (2020) states that spoken language is the main way for students to communicate and forms a vital part of their process of language learning. Communicating involves sending and receiving information that is comprehensible, interpreting the information, and evaluating their expertise. They are able to beef up and improve more advanced language skills through communication abilities.
Listening and speaking are prerequisite skills to reading and writing. A learner must develop his/her oral skills first before he/she is able to read and write. Once a learner can listen to a language and speak it, then he/she can progressively learn how to read and write effectively (Resnick & Snow 2019).
The key priority of the teachers and students concerned is in most schools, not in the other two skills, on reading, and writing. The listening and speaking skills are not so important both for the teacher and the student. It can be tedious to teach students who have minimal exposure to and knowledge of the English language. English is a second language for most students as the English language is used in their house, in markets and elsewhere in their first language, most of whom have significant difficulties in writing and communicating because these are productive skills.
English teaching in most third world countries has generally been a problem as learners, even during exams, do not understand its application in their immediate and future needs. Learners successfully progress through many stages of their academic profile without the requisite English language competence, so there is limited attention paid to the language (Focho, 2019). In his report, Rees (2020) says that the medium of instruction and accomplishment is directly proportional and that weak English language skills have a negative effect on learner success. As a research environment teacher, the researcher noted that teachers should best use successful instruction in the English language to increase the level of literacy of Grade III learners in the new school set-up. Using these directions well will have a direct effect on both the degree of literacy and the academic performance of learners. This research is therefore conducted to come up with a suggested advocacy strategy for literacy.
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