THE LEVEL OF BASIC ENGLISH GRAMMAR COMPETENCE AMONG

ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS IN ZSCMST

Review of Related Literature

The descending Filipino English proficiency

According to Cabigon (2015), the Philippines are regarded as one of the largest
English-speaking nations. English was adopted as the primary language of government,
business, and education by the American colonial administration after the end of the
Philippine-American War in 1902. English is currently recognized as one of the Philippines'
official languages by the Constitution. It is the language of business, science, technology,
government, and international communication, as well as the primary medium of instruction
in education (Cabigon, 2015). The Philippines is also one of the most popular destinations for
English as a second language (ESL) students, with two thirds of the population proficient in
English (Marias, 2021). One of the world's largest English-speaking nations is the
Philippines. In fact, English is one of the Philippines' official languages. However, based on
the EF English Proficiency Index, the Test of English for International Communication
(TOEIC), and the average score of Filipino IELTS takers, a gradual decline in English
language proficiency can be observed among Filipinos over time. The learners' motivation,
parental involvement, learning environment, teaching strategies, comprehensive input,
socioeconomic status, and age as indicators of Filipino English proficiency. The following
conclusions were reached by the authors after reviewing and analyzing a number of articles:
1) We may be able to strengthen our economy by consistently using the English language; 2)
there is still a lot of room for improvement in grammar, which could also help students feel
less anxious. 3) We still need to find a balance between teaching English as a second
language and fostering our cultural and local languages. The educational institutions that aim
to improve the quality of English language teaching, the curriculum developers who create
innovative English proficiency learning materials, and teachers who plan and implement
English classes to improve students' English proficiency will all benefit from this review.
Comprehensive Input

Learners benefit from the i+1 concept of language input in Stephen Krashen's Theory
of Language Acquisition. This has to do with the role that understandable input plays in
language learning. We should give the students exposure to language that they can
understand even if they are not familiar with the vocabulary and grammar. Before the
Department of Education, Filipinos had been exposed to the English language. No. of Order 8
of the Bilingual Education Act of 1973. In addition, business, entertainment, and even the law
have all been conducted in English. It should come as no surprise that the Philippines ranks
second in EPI among Asian nations. Even in the conversations that we have every day, we
are accustomed to speaking in what we call "Taglish." However, there is a pressing issue that
must be resolved right now. The Philippines dropped seven places from 20th place in 2019 to
27th place in EPI 2020. Even though the country is still regarded as an excellent option for
foreigners seeking English classes, the online ESL industry continues to expand annually.
According to McGeown (2012), the Philippines is known as the "world's low-cost English
language teacher." Although some aspects of tourism and the economy may benefit from it,
its effects on educators and the industry as a whole cannot be ignored. We won't go into
detail about this because it deserves its own article, but some people have asked if quality
ESL instruction can still be justified despite the claim that employing English-speaking
workers at "low cost" is legitimate. 2016 by Tupas and Salonga; Yeh, 2019). According to
Suarez, 2020, Filipino English has "deteriorated." She went on to say that outside of the
classroom, there isn't enough (good) model input. She made the observation that not all
English teachers possess the same level of fluency. We even had native English speakers as
teachers in the past. Under them, students in their 30s and 40s had the opportunity to learn the
language. In the context of language instruction, this suggests that the input that the students
receive may contain grammatical and pronunciation errors. We might be able to investigate
and get to the bottom of this problem by looking at the current English classroom and ESL
environments.

Reference

SANTOS, A., FERNANDEZ, V., & ILUSTRE, R. (2022). English Language Proficiency in
the Philippines: An Overview. International Journal of English Language Studies, 4(3), 46–
51. https://doi.org/10.32996/ijels.2022.4.3.7
A fundamental consideration in Language Testing

For the development and use of any language test, a precise definition of language
ability is necessary. Such a definition usually comes from a general theory of language ability
or a syllabus for teaching languages. Many language testers now take a broader view of
language ability, despite the fact that much of the development of foreign second language
proficiency tests continues to be based on a skills and components framework like that
proposed by Lado (1961) and Carroll (1961a). For instance, Oller came up with the idea of a
"pragmatic expectancy grammar" to describe the skills needed to correctly "map" aspects of
discourse to the elements of the extralinguistic contexts in which language is used (Oller
1979b). The terms "communicative language ability" (Bachman and Clark 1987),
"communicative language proficiency" (Bachman and Savignon 1986), and "communicative
proficiency" (Bachman and Palmer 1982a) are used elsewhere. This broader perspective on
language proficiency (Bachman, 1988) is distinguished by its recognition of the significance
of context beyond the sentence to the appropriate use of language. The recognition that
communicative language use involves a dynamic interaction between the situation, the
language user, and the discourse, in which communication IS something more than the
simple transfer of information, is related to this broadened view of communicative language
ability. This context includes the discourse of which individual sentences are a part as well as
the sociolinguistic situation that governs, to a large extent, the nature of that discourse, in
both form and function.2 The research on communicative language instruction reflects this
dynamic perspective on communication (for instance, Johnson, 1982; Savignon, 1983), as
well as strategies for communicating across languages (Faerch and Kasper, 1983). and has
been incorporated into communicative competence frameworks (Hymes, 1982b; 1980,
Canale and Swain; 1983 Canale; 1972, 1983, Savignon) "Pragmatic mappings" between the
components of discourse and the extralinguistic context are also based on this dynamic view
of language use (Oiler, 1979b).
Reference:

Bachman, L. F. (1990). Fundamental considerations in language testing. Oxford university

English Learning Strategy and Proficiency Level of the First Year Students

Thai students have been learning English for years and it is essential, only a limited
amount of success has been achieved in learning English in Thailand. Second or foreign
language researchers have attempted to identify the causes of the issue and potential solutions
as a result of teachers and educators of second or foreign languages' frequent complaints
about students' subpar language proficiency. The best methods for teaching and learning
English have received a lot of attention and research. Language learning strategy use has
been found to be the most important factor in second language acquisition in numerous
studies (Chamot, 2004, & Garder, 2007). As a result, numerous educators and researchers
have prioritized language learning strategies over teaching strategies. Deneme, 2008, Deneme
et al., 2008; Khamkhien et al., 2010.

In addition, a number of studies have focused on determining the connections between

Reference:

Kunasaraphan, K. (2015). English learning strategy and proficiency level of the first year
students. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 197, 1853-1858.
Assessing and Testing Learners' Language Proficiency.

The current state of language testing and assessment dates back less than a century.
Obviously, written and oral examinations have been conducted in universities for many more
centuries. However, these examinations evaluated mastery in a variety of fields, such as
philosophy, science, or history. These examinations never assessed language as a skill.
During the First World War, the earliest official documentation on the testing and evaluation
of language proficiency, ability, or capability can be traced back to the period. There were
three phases to the skill-based testing of language, in this case English. These were
categorized as pre-scientific, psychometric-structuralist, and psycholinguistic-sociolinguistic
by Spolsky (1975) (cited in Morrow, 1979, p. 144). The influential article titled
"Communicative language testing: revolution or evolution,” Morrow renamed these three
phases as the Promised Land, Vale of Tears, and Garden of Eden. The assumptions about the
nature of learning (in psychology) and the nature of language (in linguistics) are echoed and
reflected in these three stages. When we consider the nature of education, we are aware of
three paradigm shifts, beginning with behaviorism and progressing through cognitivism and
social constructivism. At first, the mind was viewed as a tabula rasa, and the only way to
learn was through systematic inputs and positive and negative reinforcement. This changed
with cognitivism, which presupposed that the mind could recognize patterns and would
change what was taught. Learning became more important than the "empty" output or the
repeated application of previously learned information. However, we have moved beyond the
assimilation of knowledge by accepting the social constructivist philosophy. It is never
merely transmitted and is also never assimilated. Today, everyone who learns is seen as part
of the construction of knowledge. As a result, the focus has shifted from knowledge
comprehension to interpretation. These paradigm shifts can also be found in assumptions
regarding language's nature. At one point, it was thought that only sentences and words made
up language. Later, language as a cognitive tool came into focus. Today, language is being
given more weight as the primary tool for thinking. Depending on the, language usage itself
may exhibit high degrees of variation. According to Alderson and Wall (1993), the term
"washback" or "backwash" refers to the impact that testing has on education. Teaching and
learning are affected by tests and exams (Bachman and Palmer, 1996). For instance, in
classrooms, the teaching and learning of such knowledge is given importance if tests and
examinations focus on knowledge reproduction. It was hoped that the switch from objective
multiple choice to task-based tests would improve proficiency and positively influence
language teaching and learning. Teaching was influenced by the testing procedures, and
communicative language instruction gained a lot of popularity. The testing of integrated skills
is still advocated for this purpose in relation to standardized proficiency tests. The majority of
coaching facilities are compelled to emphasize tasks that also facilitate fluency rather than
just accuracy instruction.

Reference:

Durairajan, Geetha. (2019). Assessing and Testing Learners' Language Proficiency.