Assessment of students' English language competence in a State University: Basis for the development of contextualized instructional material

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the students' English language competence in a state university and to develop contextualized instructional materials for English. The participants of this study were the two-hundred fifty (250) randomly selected second year students of the Iloilo Science and Technology University from varied programs, namely: BS Architecture, BS Information Technology, BS Information Systems, BS Industrial Technology, BS Hotel and Restaurant Technology, BS Automotive Technology, and BS Community Development for school year 2016-2017. The variables in the study were: student participants' (a) English language competence; (b) attitude towards English; and (c) English language exposure. The instruments used were the following: (1) Teacher-made English Diagnostic Test; (2) Attitudinaire on English; (3) Language Exposure Questionnaire; and (4), Structured Interview. The researcher-made diagnostic test is intended to measure the students' English language competence in four components namely, Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary, Writing, and Grammar. The test, attitudinaire, and language exposure questionnaire were critiqued by a jury of experts in English language instruction. Frequency count, percentage analysis, means, and standard deviations were the statistical tools used in this study. The results of the study showed a "Low" description for Reading Comprehension and Writing, and an “Average" description for Grammar and Vocabulary. Students attitude were "Negative', as revealed by the attitudinaire result. The questionnaire on students' English language exposure showed an "Average" result. Furthermore, the information gathered from the structured interview indicated an endorsement for the development of contextualized English language modules for Engineering and Information Technology.