COMMON GRAMMAR ERRORS OF COLLEGE FRESHMEN

A Mini Study presented to the Faculty and Staff of La Consolacion College

Iriga City

BENEDIC V. BALUYOT

OCTOBER 2012

MOTIVATION

Image Analysis

WHY GRAMMAR?

• Grammar is the greatest joy of Language study. • Knowing the rules of sentence and word formation

gives me both delight and strength in order for me to communicate my thoughts well using the said language.

• The power to communicate lies on how one can effectively use the language in which he or she is using.

• Grammar proficiency is a key ingredient in effective communication.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

• This study aims to assess the grammatical errors made by college freshmen in La Consolacion College – Iriga S/Y 2012 – 2013.• Specifically this study aims to

answer the following questions.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM NO. 1

• What is the general profile of the students in terms of:

• Age• Sex• Course• School last attended• Interest• Current English subjects they are taking

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM NO. 2

• What is the general profile of college English Instructors in terms of:

• Age• Sex• Educational attainment• Subjects currently being taught

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM NO. 3

•What are the student’s difficulties in the English grammar?

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM NO. 4

•What approaches/bridging programs maybe adapted to remediate the grammatical errors?

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY• The descriptive-survey method was

used to determine the common errors of the college freshmen of La Consolacion College for school year 2012-2013. The data were obtained from the students who were classified as freshmen.

RESPONDENTS• The respondents were 64 college freshmen from :

A. Education Department

B. Information Technology Department

C. Hotel and Restaurant Management

Department

D. Tourism Department

RESEARCH INSTRUMENT• The main research instrument in this study was

the questionnaire. • It included the general profile of both the students

and instructors of English in the college department as well as the different difficulties of the students in the English grammar.

• The last part of the questionnaire stated the possible suggestions or recommendations for improvement.

RATING SCALEWeighted Mean Rate Description

4.1-5.0 STONGLY AGREE

3.1-4.0 AGREE

2.1-3.1 UNDECIDED

1.1-2.0 DISAGREE

0.1-1.0 STRONGLY DISAGREE

SIGNIFICANT FINDINGS (STUDENT’S DIFFICULTIES IN THE ENGLISH GRAMMAR)

ITEMS WEIGHTED MEAN QUALITATIVE DESCRIPTION

1. SV AGREEMENT 3.38 A

2. PRONOUN ANTECEDENT AGREEMENT

3.23 A

3. WORD USAGE 3.19 A

4. PASSIVE AND ACTIVE VOICE

3.07 A

5. SUBJECT RECOGNITION 3.04 A

6. KINDS OF CLAUSES 3.03 A

7. SENTENCE PATTERNS 2.98 U

8. TENSES OF THE VERB 2.65 U

9. PREDICATE RECOGNITION

2.46 U

10. ARTICLES A, AN AND THE

2.36 U

ITEMS WEIGHTED MEAN QUALITATIVE DESCRIPTION

11. PLACEMENT OF PUNCTUATION

2.03 U

12. PLACEMENT OF MODIFIERS

1.80 D

SUGGESTIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT

ITEM WEIGHTED MEAN QUALITATIVE DESCRIPTION

1. USING OF GRAMMAR ACTIVITES BY THE TEACHER

4.25 SA

2. PROVISION OF GRAMMAR WORKBOOK

4.15 SA

3. INTEGRATION OF SPELLING DRILLS

4.9 SA

4. CREATION OF ENGLISH CLUB

4 A

5. REINFORCEMENT OF THE USE OF ENGLISH AS MEDIUM OF COMMUNICATION

3.96 A

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM NO. 1

• What is the general profile of the students in terms of:

• Age• Sex• Course• School last attended• Interest• Current English subjects they are taking

FINDINGS• Age• 63% of the respondents are ages 16-18.• 33% of the respondents are ages 19 and above.• None of the respondents belong to the 15 under

bracket.• Sex• 84.61% of the respondents were females.• 15. 38% of the respondents were males.•  •  •  

• Course• 36. 53% of the respondents were taking Bachelor

of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Management.• 30.76% of the respondents were taking Bachelor

in Science in Tourism Management.• 19.23% of the respondents were taking Bachelor

of Elementary Education.• 9.61% of the respondents were taking Bachelor of

Science in Computer Science.• 3.84% of the respondents were taking Bachelor of

Secondary Education.

• School Last Attended• 19.23% of the respondents came from Nabua

National High School.• 17.30% of the respondents came from LCC-I• 11.53% of the respondents came from USANT• Interests• 36.53% of the respondents like to sing.• 36.53% of the respondents like to dance.• 40,38% of the respondents like to cook.

• English Subjects Currently Taking• 82.68% of the respondents are taking Study and

Thinking Skills.• 44.23% of the respondents are taking English Plus.• 7.69% of the respondents are taking

Developmental Reading.•  

CONCLUSIONS• Mont of respondents belong to the typical age

bracket for a college first year student.• Most of the respondents are females thus covering

the number of males.• The course that is attractive in La Consolacion is

Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Management due to its career opportunities.

• Due to lack of tertiary schools in Nabua, most of its high school graduates opted to go to Iriga and enroll in college institutions in Iriga.

• La Consolacion College is one of the schools in iriga that is mostly patronized by the neighboring towns of Iriga when it comes to treating education.

• Most of the respondents like cooking and that is why they belong to Hotel and Restaurant Management course.

• Almost all the respondents are following the English subjects based on the

RECOMMENDATIONS• Improve the recruitment program of the school

when it comes to tertiary education.• Enhance more the facilities and programs of the

school.• Open more courses to meet the demands of the

incoming first year students.• Improve the recruitment program of the

Education. IT and Tourism department to encourage more students to enroll.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM NO. 2

• What is the general profile of college English Instructors in terms of:

• Age• Sex• Educational Attainmentl• Subjects currently being taught

FINDINGS• 50% of the college instructors in English belong to

41-45 years old age bracket.• 25% of the college instructors in English belong to

46 and above age bracket.• 25% of the college instructors in English belong to

31-35 years old age bracket.• 99% of the teachers in English in the college

department are females.

• 100% of the college instructors in English are Masteral degree holders. 99% are English Major and 1% major in Curriculum and Instructions.

• The English subjects are currently being handled by one instructor only.

CONCLUSIONS• The college instructors in English belong to the

typical age bracket for a college teacher.• The English area in the college department is

dominated by female instructors.• The college instructors in English in the college

department are qualified to teach the subject for they have their M.A degree.

• The subjects assigned to the instructors are general education subjects, major subjects for the BSED students majoring in English and course content subjects for BEED students.

RECOMMENDATIONS• The school should encourage male teachers to

teach English in the college department.• The school should encourage the English

instructors to pursue further studies (doctoral degree).

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM NO. 3

What are the student’s difficulties in the English grammar?

FINDINGS

• The study’s findings showed that the respondents agreed on having difficulties on the following grammar points:

• A. Subject-Verb Agreement• B. Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement• C. Subject Recognition• D. usage of passive and active voice• E. usage of verb moods• kinds of clauses and word usage

• The respondent were also uncertain whether they had difficulties on the following:

A. predicate recognition

B. placement of punctuation

C. tenses of the verb

D. sentence patterns

E. the usage of articles a, an and the

CONCLUSION• The respondents really are having difficulties in

some areas of grammar particularly in subject-verb agreement, pronoun-antecedent agreement, subject recognition, usage of active and passive voice, kinds of clauses and correct usage of a word.

• The respondents were indefinite on the predicate recognition, placement of punctuation, usage of verb tenses, identifying sentences patterns and usage of articles a, an and the. There is a probability that they were just confused on the item.

• Students with diverse backgrounds are weak in the same skills in English Grammar.

RECOMMENDATIONS• The errors committed by the respondents must

not be considered as signs of incompetence but as a manifestation of their transitional competence (Datar 1999).

• A teacher should consider the needs of the students in order for him or her to address these through her daily instruction.

• The use of comprehensible methods and materials can help the respondents improve their grammatical skills

• The teacher should have a constant supervision and follow-up of the students’ grammatical performance.

• The students should also establish a positive attitude towards grammar so that learning will go smoothly.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM NO. 4

•What approaches/bridging programs maybe adapted to remediate the grammatical errors?

FINDINGS• The respondents strongly agree on the integration

of spelling drills English classes at least once a week.

• The respondents agree on the reinforcement of the use of English as a medium of communication daily.

• The respondents strongly agree on the provision of grammar book to improve their grammatical skills.

• The respondents agree on the creation of English Club in the college department in order to augment their tutorial needs.

• The respondents strongly agree on the use of interactive grammar activities in order to boast their interest to learn grammar.

CONCLUSION • The respondents are really persistent and

enthusiastic to improve their grammatical skills.• The respondents really want to have a work book

for them to practice and apply grammatical rules.• The respondents want to experience different

kinds of approaches when it comes to delivery of instructions in grammar.

• For the respondents the creation of an English Club will help them overcome their grammatical errors and gain more confidence whenever they speak or write their thoughts.

WITH THIS, THE STUDY RECOMMENDS THE FOLLOWING• integration of spelling drills English classes at

least once a week.• reinforcement of the use of English as a

medium of communication daily.• provision of grammar book to improve their

grammatical skills.• creation of English Club in the college

department in order to augment their tutorial needs.

• usage of interactive grammar activities in order to boast their interest to learn grammar.

CONCLUSION• The research finds the result of

the study a priority of the administration, faculty, students and parents. Proficiency in grammar should be obtained by a student so that he or she can express his or her thoughts well.