In Science Learning: Two Languages are Better than One
Keithlyn C. Rubio
Department of Linguistics
University of the Philippines – Diliman
09166960511
keithlyn_rubio@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
This study investigated the effects of language on
how students comprehend and answer science questions.
Two sets of exam sheets – one in English, the other in
Filipino – were given out to Grade 4, 5 and 6 students from
a private school in Los Baños, Laguna. The test consisted
of 13 questions obtained from the TIMSS 2003 and 2007
exam on Grade 4 science. The subjects in each class were
divided into 2 balanced groups; the first one as the control
group took the English set, while the other one as the
experimental group took the exam translated/adapted into
Filipino. A survey was also conducted to get necessary
information about the students (i.e. science grades, over-all
class standing, etc..) and what language or languages they
speak at home The present study concludes that: (a)
students who are good in English and Filipino are also good
in science; and (b) students who speak two languages at
home perform academically better than those who speak
only one.
1.
INTRODUCTION
Results from TIMSS (Third International
Mathematics and Science study) 2003 showed that the
Philippines ranked 41st and 42nd out of 45 countries in Math
and Science proficiency, respectively. Though a
comparison between the 1999 and 2003 results indicated a
significant improvement in both subject areas, Filipino
participants still scored below the international standard in
almost every question. This raised a lot of issues
concerning the mode of instruction and science
achievement in the country. Substantive studies have been
done to unravel the factors that affect science achievement.
Language has been surmised as one of the major reasons
for the poor performance of the Filipino participants. Other
scholars point to the mode of instruction in general. Many
of these studies involve pupils from public schools who
speak Filipino at home. The present study explores the
interactive effects of language with extralinguistic factors
such as science ability; over-all academic performance and
grade level in so far as they influence the child’s
performance in science.
2.
METHODS
Two sets of science questionnaires were initially
prepared to conduct the experiment. The test consisted of
13 questions that covered the three main areas of Science:
Life, Earth, and Physical Science. These items were chosen
from the TIMSS 2003 and 2007 4th Grade science exam
under three different cognitive domains: Reasoning,
Applying, and Knowing. The second set of exam is a
dynamically translated and adapted version of the first. A
survey form that asks for some information about the
students (i.e. how frequent they use Filipino at home, what
other language besides Filipino are they using, whether
they’re born in the Philippines or abroad, etc.) was also
included in every questionnaire.
One hundred twenty one pupils from a private
school in Los Baños, Laguna comprised the subjects of this
study: 37 were in Grade 4, 41 in Grade 5, and 43 in Grade
6. In this particular school, low achievement and high
achievement students were not segregated into separate
sections, that is one section doesn’t necessarily consist of
the top pupils of the whole batch. For the experiment, each
section was divided by the researcher into two equally
distributed groups. The GPA or Grade Point Average was
the basis of the researcher in distributing the pupils into the
control and experimental groups, with neither one enjoying
any academic advantage over the other. The control group
was given the English version of the exam. The
experimental group was given the Filipino version.
The participants’ responses were encoded and
analyzed using Minitab 15 statistical analysis software.
Two statistical tests were used to analyze the data: the
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and the T-test. ANOVA
was used to test the hypothesis involving more than two
subscripts, while T-test was used when two subscripts were
involved. Pearson correlation was also used to measure the
extent to which two variables are connected.
3.
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Numerous studies have been done as to what
language should be used as a medium of instruction.
Bernardo [2] conducted a study on the effects of the learner
and instructional variables on how Filipino-English
bilingual grade school students understand and solve
arithmetic word problems. He investigated two external
variables (problem re-wording and the language format of
the text) and two internal variables (the students’ grade
level and academic achievement) as to how these affect the
way a student solve word problems. His findings showed
students performing better over-all when the problems are
re-worded and written in the first language.
In a later study, Bernardo [3] determined whether
the language of a word problem would have an impact on
how Filipino-English bilingual students understand and
solve basic mathematical problem. The results showed that
students performed worse, both in their first and second
languages, in a mathematical problem presented in words
than in the same problem presented in purely numerical
format. This study confirmed findings from earlier research
that indicated the effect of language processes on
mathematical skills. In word problems, students were better
able to understand and solve problems encoded in their first
language.
Adetula (1985) studied how schooled and
unschooled Nigerian children use problem solving
strategies to solve basic arithmetic like addition and
subtraction. She also tackled the effects of language on
problem solving techniques. Her findings showed that
children initially have the capacity to add and subtract
without formal instruction. The only difference that
schooling makes is on the type of strategies children may
use. Schooled children have been found to use indirect
solving techniques as a result of formal schooling. She also
concluded that children, schooled or unschooled, perform
better if the problems are presented in their first language.
Nillas (2002) investigated the relationship
between language and mathematics achievement. Results
showed that students who took the English version test
outperformed those who took the Filipino version of the
test in all content areas (fractions/numbers, measurement,
data presentation, geometry, and algebra). She noted that
this happened because Filipino students generally learned
mathematics in their second language, English.
Howie (2002) examined the performance of the
South African pupils in TIMSS. She investigated on the
relationship between mathematics achievement and the
pupil’s proficiency in English, as well as other variables.
She attributed the poor performance of South African
students in the TIMSS 2003 exam to the language of
instruction and the variation of the mother tongue of the
teachers and students.
4.
RESULTS
Thirteen questions comprised the exam – all of
which were obtained from the TIMSS 2003 and 2007
exam. The scoring system was also derived from TIMSS:
each question is worth one point except for the third
question, which was a constructed-response question, worth
two points. The test items covered three cognitive domains
(reasoning, applying and knowing) and three content
domains (physical science, life science, and earth science).
Table 1 shows the performance of the students in the three
content domains.
Grade
Level
Grade
4
Mode
English
Filipino
Sample
Size
18
19
Physical
Science
13
14
Life
Science
12
14
Earth
Science
9
8
Grade English
5
Filipino
Grade English
6
Filipino
Total
20
21
22
21
121
15
13
17
15
87
16
17
20
18
97
11
9
15
13
65
Table 1. Performance of the samples in three different content domains
Looking at the scores per question, it is evident
that student performance varied according to topic. The
table above shows that more students, an average of 97 out
of 121, answered the questions correctly in the Life
Science questions while a mere half of the total sample got
the Earth Science questions correctly. Differences in
performance per topic may be associated with learning
factors, such as their science curricula.
The over-all scores of the pupils to the given
exam suggest that they perform well in the English or in the
Filipino tests. The mean score was 9.612 out of 14 points,
with the students scoring 9.967 in the English test and
9.292 in the Filipino test. Below is a table showing how
well the pupils performed on a per grade level and per
language basis.
Grade 4
8.95
Grade 4
9.25
English = 9.967
Grade 5
9.95
Filipino = 9.292
Grade 5
8.42
Grade 6
10.82
Grade 6
10.16
Table 2. Mean score per grade level and mode.
Over-all mean (121) = 9.612
As can be seen above, there is a weak but significant
difference between those who took the exam in English and
those who took them in Filipino. Those who answered the
English version performed better than those who took the
Filipino version. It is also evident that for the English test
takers, pupils in the higher level scored higher than the
lower levels. This didn’t hold true for pupils who were
tested in Filipino version where the Grade 4 pupils scored
higher than those in Grade 5. There may have been other
contextual factors at work which may explain this
inconsistency. Two of these may be the competency of the
instructors teaching science and the curriculum itself.
Another critical variable investigated in the
present study was that of the class standing of the pupils –
over-all and on a per subject basis. Their last quarter grades
in three subjects on their report cards correlated positively
with the outcome of their performance in the experiment.
Pearson correlation
Scores
P-Value
Science Grade
0.531
0.000
English Grade
0.541
0.000
Filipino Grade
0.404
0.000
Table 3. Correlation of total scores and class standing
With a P-value of 0.000 in these subject areas,
the correlation between each of their grades in the three
subjects and their scores in the experiment were found to be
highly significant. It was first assumed that the variable to
which the score will be of highest correlation is the science
grade. It was a pleasant surprise to discover that those who
scored best in the experiment were students who were not
only good in science but were also good in English AND
Filipino.
Mayari, et al [4] in their paper entitled “Mathtalino sa Unang Wika, e sa Ibang Wika?” conducted a
similar study on the mathematical abilities of public school
pupils with language as the independent variable. Their
findings coincide with those of previous studies wherein
Filipino-English bilingual students performed better when
the exam was written in their first language. Contrary to the
results obtained by Mayari et al [4], English test takers
performed better than Filipino test takers in my study.
Over-all class standing was also a factor that
figured prominently in this study. For this purpose, the
subjects were divided into the upper 50% and the lower
50% with the high achievers being expected to perform
better than low achievers. Below is the table showing the
performance of the upper 50% and the lower 50% in the
tests.
Grade
Level
Grade
4
Grade
5
Grade
6
Mode
English
Filipino
English
Filipino
English
Filipino
No. Of
Pupils
18
19
20
21
22
21
Upper
50%
10.22
10.3
11.4
9.64
11.28
11.4
Lower
50%
7.67
8.2
8.5
7.2
10.37
8.91
Mean
8.95
9.25
9.95
8.42
10.82
10.16
Table 4. Upper 50% VS. Lower 50%
The initial assumption that the high achievers
will perform better appears to be true in all levels. The
highest disparity is seen in Grade 5 (English) with a mean
score of 11.4 for the upper 50% compared to 8.5 for the
lower 50%. Though variations between the English and
Filipino test-takers were weak and insignificant in the
upper 50%, Filipino test takers at this level performed
slightly better, with the exception of the 5th graders wherein
the mean score of the English test takers (11.4) is
significantly higher than those who took the Filipino
version (9.64). With the lower 50%, however, a great
disparity is seen in the 6th grade with an average score of
10.37 for the English and 8.91 for the Filipino test takers.
Of all the variables investigated, “other languages
spoken at home” were seen to be of highest relevance to the
results obtained. Eighty (80) out of 121 pupils (66%) speak
another language aside from Filipino at home. 76 (95%) of
this 80 speak English. Table 5 reveals that there is a high
correlation between the performance of the pupils in the
exam and the other languages they speak at home. For the
purpose of this study, only English and Filipino will be
analyzed. The table below summarizes the performance of
the pupils in all grade levels between those who speak only
Filipino at home and those who speak both English and
Filipino.
Languages spoken
at home
Grade
4
Grade
5
Grade
6
Mean
9.571
10.182
10
11.143
8.63
10.47
Filipino test takers
Filipino only
9
8
Filipino and English 10.111 8.909
9.167
10.462
8.72
9.83
Over-all samples
7.769
8.733
10.1
9.545
9.615
10.815
8.71
10.15
English test takers
Filipino only
Filipino and English
Filipino only
Filipino and English
6.333
10.091
Table 5. Performance of Bilinguals versus monolinguals
P-value (over-all) = .031
Students who use English and Filipino at home
scored significantly higher (mean score = 10.15) than those
who speak nothing but Filipino (mean score = 8.71.) For
the English test takers, perhaps not surprisingly, those who
speak English and Filipino at home scored higher with an
average score of 10.52 versus those who speak only
Filipino with the score of 8.75. This is the case in all levels
as can be seen in the table (Grade 4 = 10.091 vs. 6.333,
Grade 5 = 10.182 vs. 9.571, and Grade 6 = 11.143 vs. 10).
This only goes to show that students that are proficient in
two languages perform academically better than those who
speak only one language.
5.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
This study was conducted to investigate the
effects of language and other variables on how students
comprehend and answer science questions. Of all the
variables investigated, other languages spoken at home
tended to be of greatest influence to the pupils’
performance. This paper showed that (a) students who are
good in English and Filipino are also good in science; and
(b) students who speak two languages at home perform
academically better than those who speak only one.
6.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
[1]Adetula, L. O. (1985). The Effects of Language and
Schooling on the Solution of Simple Word Problems by
Nigerian Children. A Report from the Project Using the
Microcomputer to Teach Problem-Solving Skills. Program
Report 85-17. Wisconsin Center for Education Research,
Madison.
[2] Bernardo, A. B. I. (1999). Overcoming Obstacles to
Understand and Solving Word Problems in Mathematics,
Educational Psychology, 19(2), 149-163.
[3] Bernardo, A. B. I. (2002). Language and Mathematical
Problem Solving Among Bilinguals, The Journal of
Psychology, 136(3), 283-297.
[4] Mayari, R. (2010). Math-alino sa Unang Wika, e sa
Ibang Wika: A Language Experiment on Math Problem
Solving. Diliman, Quezon City.
[5] Howie, S. (2002). English Language Proficiency and
Contextual Factors Influencing Mathematics Achievement
of Secondary School Pupils in South Africa.
[6] Martin, M. O., Mullis, I. V. S., et al. (2004). TIMSS
2003 International Science Report.
[7] Nillas, L. (2002). Does Language Make a Difference:
A TIMSS-R Analysis, The Mathematics Educator, 6(2),
95-112.
[8] TIMSS 2003 Philippine Report
[9] Minitab® 15.1.30.0.