English Proficiency and Academic Achievement Essay

IntroductionFor many age now, linguists and interrogationers nurture examined the impact of slope style progression on unlike fields like donnish success and employ might. art object early researches suggested that side advancement does not dictate high schoolman rating and trade aptitude, evidences be now showing that advance of the side of meat lyric poem is a cutting-edge asset in atomic number 18as of donnish success and employment in a highly- agonistical and demanding industries in Medicine and Fitness, Information Technology, and the Business figure out Outsourcing. In the Philippines, for example, w present there is an change magnitude demand of withdraw back midway workers form afterwards year, fluency of the side of meat lecture should be a topmost precedency among educates. It is on this ground that the issue of how position speech improvement relates to academic doing and employ faculty is clearly relevant to the educational development of bilingual and trilingual students.This issue has been a widely debated topics not only in the Philippines, solely too around few parts of the United States and Europe. Underlying these issues, the incredulity of what position advance means and how it relates to academic exploit and employability should be addressed. primal to the collar of position lyric poem proficiency is J. Cumminss Theory of terminology improvement. To be proficient in a gage gear voice communication ( slope, for Filipinos), both crapperonical interpersonal communication skills (BICS) and cognitive academic words proficiency (CALP) need to be develop. The latter is the basis for students academic success barely whitethorn take from 5-7 years or doggeder to master. The former, in contrast, is unremarkably attained indoors the first two years of exposure to the second words and is characterized by superficial oral spoken communication skills.Language proficiency, further much, develops al ong these two continuums from context-embedded to context-reduced communication, and from cognitively less-demanding to cognitively-demanding tasks. Then how do we measure English language proficiency? Canale departd a set of criteria he termed communicative competence to mensu say proficiency in the language as follows grammaticalcompetence which encompasses friendship in lexical items and rules of morphology, syntax, doom, grammar, semantics, and phonology discourse competence which is the ability to marry sentences in stretches of discourse and form a meaningful whole egress of a series of utterances socio lingual competence which involves acquaintance of socio-cultural rules of language and strategic competence which is the verbal and nonverbal communication strategies that may be confabed into deed to compensate for breakdowns in communication collectible to performance variables or due to insufficient competence.Summing it up, English language proficiency is compete nce in basic chemical mechanism, manipulation and ability to utilise actors line, phrases, and sentences, distinction of appropriate function of the language, and fee or remediation for a lack in some language areas. These have been the basis for myriad of researches on the coitionship of English language proficiency to academic action and employability. At present, researches have turned their direction to the broad cognitive development of language among students. These researches have found an increasing evidence for positive relation between English language proficiency and reasoning abilities including nonverbal problem-solving skills, divergent thinking skills, and field dependence. investigate has in addition indicated that additive-bilingual students who have high proficiency in English top their monolingual counterparts who have low proficiency in English on tasks requiring high levels of cognitive control.The positive relation between proficiency in English among students and exceptional nonverbal ability in with-in group analyses has also been observed. Results of these studies revealed that students who are proficient in English are superior to their counterparts in the area of general cognition development, academic performance, and linguistic competence. The series of studies by J. Cummins in 1979, 1981, 1989, and 1992, respectively, have shown that proficiency in the acquired language must be obtained in order for the students cognitive abilities to be properly incited. In short, academic achievement is only attained finished literacy and proficiency of English. Additionally, the to a greater extent proficient virtuoso is in English, the quicker one is to amass knowledge. For a student to be academi betokeny competent in areas like Mathematics, Science, Humanities, Arts, and even Character Education, focus on linguistic structures, functions,and mechanics14, should be considered first.Thus, culturally diverse students must beat the transition from using only concrete language style to a more contextualized language. consistently selecting language activities along the oral-proficiency continuum and facilitating the development of the students narrative abilities prove to be efficient in promoting academic achievement as well. Furthermore, Wallach and Miller noted that the gaolbreak from utterance-establish communication to text-based communication means that students engage in the manipulation of language topics, forms, and functions, which is very crucial in attaining academic success. According to the researches of Wallach and Butler, and of Simon, there is an existent relationship between English language proficiency and academic achievement, and graceful academically good involves proficiency in English. Thomas and coal miner suggested that bear on instruction in English enhances students academic success in ulterior years, as shown in their research reckon on high school students.And with the boom ing call totality effort in the Philippines, the need for English fluency and academic mastery should be addressed by dint of trenchant academic instructions in schools. Every quarter, the industry opens more than grand seats to college and high school graduates alike, provided that they have the relieveable and standard language competence to deliver their highly demanding functions in a highly warlike environment. The quality of our graduates in name of academic and English competence is immovable by the passing rate of call center appli can buoyts. For the record, the IT and Business subprogram linkup of the Philippines admitted that only 9 out of the 100 entry-level applicants are deemed-fit for the call center railway line, while 20 to 40 applicants would need to undergo skills-based readiness in language and technology, and the rest failed to get the cut.The ring Center Association of the Philippines pointed out several reasons for the low passing rate. Aside fro m the lack of call center experience, the applicants do not have the entry-level skills to be considered for the job. such(prenominal) entry-level skills imply verbal conversations, technology know-how, and decision-making, which can be addressed through good academic preparation in schools. While most vocational schools oblation short-term callcenter courses, nothing beats a sound academic training in schools.As the call center transmission line continue to offer an attractive working climate, some sectors express concerns well-nigh the overall English and academic competence level of the potential crude hires. Due to the high-level language proficiency and socio-linguistic skills requirement of the job, certain call center companies may have not filled in the expect seats from the foreign clients, e oddly for high-end accounts like banking and finance and telecommunications which demand a higher-order thinking and analytical skills. In a take aim conducted by the stool F. K ennedy Center Foundation Philippines in 2006, it was revealed that the declining supply of qualified call center workers could arrest the projected growth of the industry. The JFKCF-P mentioned that one solution is to adequately get graduates by providing them quality training in English proficiency.The general sensing of a declining English competence of our students and graduates has been constantly talked about by industry insiders, media practitioners, and educators. Has there been a decline of English competence that we have a relatively low passing rate in the call center job? If there is, what measures are currently in place to check off academic and language success in schools? Does proficiency in the English language ensure good academic standing? What other factors gift to language proficiency and academic performance in relation to employability? reason of the StudyThe academic achievement of bilingual and/or trilingual students has long been a major(ip) educational concern. It has been said that before these students are confronted with academically challenging tasks in any discipline, they should be masters of the English language first. But the question here is how do these learners acquire the standard of English proficiency? There are several factors that reckon or interdict learners in attaining mastery of English thus, attaining academic success is near to impossible. Such factors include age and/or level of maturity, first language proficiency, and place and individual differences. Age and/or level of maturity here bushel to the preparedness or readiness of the learners to acquire competence in the language. Collier said that foracademic achievement, it does not matter when second language begins, as long as cognitive development continues at least through age 12.First language proficiency is also a major factor, as what was noted by researchers that it may inhibit the development of the second language. Attitude and individual dif ferences refer to language learning styles and behavior of the learners towards the language. It is on this premise that this research canvas is geared to prove or contradict the validity of the said effects of English language proficiency on academic achievement and employability. Sufficient data are hence poised to supplement the research weigh and to aid the researcher with the proper procedures in conducting the study. These data are grouped according to relevance and importance and on the degree of reference. The interest of the research study started as a interoperable observation in the call center setting. It has been observed that those who have the ability, in whatever level of proficiency, in the English language have the competitive advantage over those who are less or no ability to implement English in terms of academic performance, employability, and even job promotion. The interest was then broadened into a real research work. Theoretical manikin Conceptual F rameworkThis study is anchored on Jim Cumminss Theory on Second Language Acquisition, where five stages of acquisition are discussed in relation to students capacity or readiness to achieve academic proficiency. The five stages are as follows order 1 The Silent/Receptive or Preproduction leg, which can last from ten hours to six months. Here, the students often have up to vitamin D hundred words that they can understand, precisely they may not be comfortable using Stage 2 The Early Production Stage, which can last additional six months after the initial stage. At this stage, students have usually developed close to 1,000 receptive or active words Stage 3 The Speech Emergence Stage, which can last up to another year. Students in this stage have usually developed rough 3,000 words and can use short phrases and simple sentences to communicateStage 4 The Intermediate Language Proficiency Stage, which may take up to another year after speech emergence. Students have typically develo ped close to 6,000 words and are beginning to make complex disk operating systemments, state opinions, ask for clarification, share their thoughts, and speak at greater length Stage 5 The AdvancedLanguage Proficiency Stage, which typically takes from five to 7 years. By this stage, students have already developed some specialized content-area vocabulary and can participate fully in conversations that require great fluency similar to that of native speakers. In relation to these stages, the achievement level of the students in their academics depends on what stage their proficiency of English is into.Another surmisal of Jim Cummins is that of prefatorial Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS) and that of Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP). This theory states that the average student can develop conversational fluency within two to five years, and that developing fluency is more technical, academic language can take from four to seven years depending on many varia bles such as language proficiency level, and the degree of shop at for achieving academic proficiency. The paradigm shown on the next page features the concept of this study. The ceaseless cycle begins with English language proficiency first, and after achieving proficiency in the language, students will be able to decent manipulate language forms and patterns for blue spirit of academic lessons presented in English. This results to high academic performance, which will also augment students proficiency in the language. The more proficient one is in English, the more academically good one becomes and the more one achieves academically, the more one becomes proficient in English.Paradigm The continuous flow of English language proficiency to manipulation of language forms and patterns to academic achievement and then back to English language proficiency.Statement of the ProblemThis study determines and proves the evidentiary correlation of English language proficiency to acade mic achievement of fool 9 students of Calumpang High School for the school year 2014 2015. Specifically, it seeks to answer the pastime questions 1. What is the profile of the respondents according to1.1. Age1.2. Sex1.3. Birth Order1.4. Parents educational Background and1.5. Socio-Economic Status?2. What is the respondents level of English proficiency as a result of the English Proficiency Test? 3. What is the academic achievement of the respondents as reflected by their average grade in all subjects from their previous year? 4. What is the degree of the variability of the respondents grades and scores on the English Language Proficiency Test? 5. What is the correlation of English language proficiency to academic achievement? 6. Does a positive correlation between English language proficiency and academic performance dictate high level of passing rate in the call center industry? Hypothesis of the StudyFor statistical testing and data interpretation, this hypothesis is considered English language proficiency has no significant effect on academic achievement of the students thus, no correlation can be made between the level of proficiency in English language and academic achievement. Scope and Delimitation of the StudyWhile there is a strong presence of the issue of bilingualism and trilingualism and second language acquisition, this study covers only the inherent and potential relationship of English language proficiency and academic achievement. The above two issues are excluded here although some aspects have been tackled because of some relevance and association with the main focus of this study. This study also adheres to its main objective, which is to determine whether or not the ability to correctly use the English language has an effect on the students academic achievement, and in turn get a very high employability rate in the Business Outsource Processing industry. Although results vary due to factors like age, gender, acquit order, socio-economic status, and the like, any conclusions made in this study are solely based on one variable, English language proficiency. The term English language proficiency covers not only mastery of grammar and mechanics or sentence patterns, but more so on the mastery of the four macro instruction skills reading, writing, speaking, and listening.Proficiency in this study refers to the ability of the students to read, write, speak, and listen in English. either of these macro skills does not determine proficiencybecause proficiency means more that just the ability to read, write, speak, and listen. Rather, proficiency means the ability to correctly use these four macro skills in a tending(p) situation. In this study, the proficiency of the students in the English language is measured under these conditions. Academic achievement covers the school performance of the students through their grades from the previous academic year only. It includes academic subjects like Mathematics, Sciences, Lan guage, Social Studies, Arts, and Livelihood Education. Academic achievement is measured here through the students grade from their previous year. The respondents of this study are enrolled Grade 9 students Calumpang High School of school year 20142015. Those who indicates in the survey questionnaire that they are foreigners and/or native speakers of English are excluded in the study. It is on these conditions where the results of this study can be concluded valid and reliable. Significance of the StudyThe study on the relationship of English language proficiency and academic achievement has been the subject of many researches for decades now. Educators and school administrators promote the idea that language proficiency affects academic performance and language proficiency and academic performance affect employability. Although there are some who contradicted such idea, the impact of the results of these researches and studies proved to be interest-provoking and had alarmed those in the authority. That is why considerable number of similar researches is nonetheless conducted. The study on the significant effects of English language proficiency on academic achievement is the key factor in understanding learners diverse ways on acquiring mastery of the subject matters specially those that use English as medium of instruction.The study alone may eliminate subjectivity on the part of the teachers in terms of assessing the academic performance of the students. In such ways, the teachers are given prior knowledge about the capacity of their students to use the English language and eventually make the necessary adjustments so that all students, in whatever level of English proficiency they have, shall learn utilely whatever the academic subject is. Additionally, understanding that the students are going through a predictable and sequential series of developmental stages in English language proficiency helps teachers predictand accept students current stage, while m odifying their instruction to encourage progression to the next stage. This study can also help teachers develop appropriate instructional strategies and assessments that slip by students along a continuum of language development.This study will also expediency the students themselves. Having this solid ground, they can already adjust to different academic tasks in the classroom. Also, this shall provide them with the necessary information on assessing their own competence in English and suit it to appropriate level of academic struggle. They will be given substantial help for them to understand their level of competencies in the language. In the theme of those who are in the authority, they will be given enough background on the level of English proficiency and its effect to academic achievement of the students. With this, they shall have basis in future program implementation in relation to educational development.Furthermore, this research study is an crucial area in English language education, perhaps an area that can be significantly studied more. This study will generate new ideas that can be used for future researches related to the topic. As a mere research study, this may not be the be-all and end-all in describing students academic learning styles, but this will be a starting point in analyzing the important role of English not only as an international language, but also as a language of academics.Finally, understanding the concept of English language instruction and its impact to the overall academic performance of the students is a good birds eye view to course developers and educators of Call Center Programs in the K-12 curriculum. Identifying the areas of English our students are challenged with versus the English proficiency requirements of the call center job enables our school administrators to create skills-related teaching methodology to dress our students in their job application in the future. Moreover, it is imperative for the whol e academia to understand the demands of the global market and the relevance of language proficiency and academic performance to marketability and self-worth. This research ultimately seeks answers to the unidentified reasons of the declining English proficiency and what effective programs and solutions can we implement to address such issues. Definition of Terms end-to-end the study, there are words and terms that are contextually and operationally used. This section includes clearly and concisely defined coined words and technical terms as follows Academic Achievement. This refers to the school performance of the students through grades. Bilingualism. This term refers to the use of two languages, the first language and English, as a medium in communication. Call Center Industry. Also known as Business Process Outsourcing, this term refers to the large operations of foreign companies in the Philippines. Communicative Competence. This refers to the ability to communicate effectively in whatever forms of speaking and writing as well as the ability to get messages through listening and reading. English Language Proficiency. This term refers to the competence in using English in forms of written discourse and oral communication.