EFFECTS OF CODE-SWITCHING IN STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION or Bridging From Known To Unknown: The Use of Code-Switching in Unlocking Di cult Texts by JESSA P. GO BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY • The decline of English pro ciency among Filipino students have been very alarming for the past three years. According to a study conducted by Hopkins International Partners, the sole authorized Philippine representative of the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) in February 2018, the level of English pro ciency of college graduates from the Philippines is lower than the target English pro ciency of high school students in Thailand. It also showed that the Philippines lags behind most of its ASEAN neighbors in English pro ciency. • The ability of Filipino students to understand texts in English and the skill to relay the language in more speci c purposes seem to decline year by year. • The Philippine Education has given so much regard to the teaching of the English language equally with its own national language. English pro ciency is one of the most sought-after skills in the Philippines since the demands of the global scene are continuously rising. • Filipino students are expected to learn and acquire English as a second language. To manifest learning, students must be able to use the language in many forms. • Much of the literature on code-switching (e.g. Gumperz 1971, 1976; Gumperz and Hermindez-Chavez, 1970; Valdes-Fallis 1976, 1978; McClur, 1977) has focused on its social and pragmatic functions. • While other studies have focused on the e ects of code-switching to the classroom participation of students, this study will focus its lenses on the role of code-switching to the improvement, if there would be any, to the students’ language learning, speci cally to the understanding of English texts. The aim of this study is to provide a pedagogical support to teachers in delivering di cult texts to students. Statement of the Problem The main goal of this study is to determine the e ects of code-switching as a pedagogical tool in understanding reading texts in English to the Grade 9 students of Walingwaling National High School for school year 2020-2021. Speci cally, it seeks to answer the following questions: ffi fi ff fi fi ff fi fi ffi ff fi ff fi fi fi fi 1. What is the mean performance in reading comprehension in the pretest and posttest with and without the use of code-switching in the reading comprehension classes of Grade 9 students? 2. Is there a signi cant di erence in the mean performance in reading comprehension between the pretest and posttest with and without the use of code-switching in the reading comprehension classes of Grade 9 students? 3. Is there a signi cant di erence between the posttest scores of the two groups (control and experimental)? Signi cance of the Study This study is relevant to the following stakeholders: School Administrators. The results of this study would enlighten the administrators about the augmentation that code-switching could o er in teaching subjects wherein English is the medium of instruction. This could help them train teachers in the e ective use of codeswitching when dealing with the delivery of reading texts. Teachers. The ndings of the study would help teachers design lesson plans with code-switching techniques to better cater the needs of the students in understanding di cult texts. This study would o er them a choice to modify their strategy in delivering reading texts without compromising the mastery of the target language. Students. Through this study, students may have a wider chance to adapt to reading texts in English with di erent levels of di culty. They would be able to con dently acquire the target language through the teacher’s intervention in code-switching. This would lessen their intimidation in learning to understand di cult texts. METHODS Research Design - This study may employ quasi-experimental, more specifically nonequivalent control groups design. Participants - The participants of the study are 80 Grade 9 students who are enrolled in Online Distance Learning. One section will be assigned to control group while the other section will belong to experimental group. Data-Gathering Tool - The study may use teacher-made test questionnaire on reading comprehension. Two sets will be made —one for pretest and one for posttest. Data-Gathering Procedure - The study will be conducted online via conferencing applications such as Google Meet or Zoom. Test questionnaire will be administered online through Google Forms. References (Sample Only) Balgoa, N. G. (2019). Filipino english teachers in japan: "Nonnativeness" and the teaching and learning of English. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 10(2), 256-263. doi:http:// dx.doi.org/10.17507/jltr.1002.06 ffi fi ff ff ffi ffi ff fi ff fi Battle, A., & Looney, L. (2014). Teachers’ intentions to stay in teaching: The role of values and knowledge of adolescent development. Education, 3, 369–379.
