TOP PERFORMING K TO 3 PUPILS’

UNFAMILIARITY WITH THE IBANAG WORDS

USED IN MODULES AS DESCRIBED
BY THE TEACHERS

PSYCHOLOGY AND EDUCATION: A MULTIDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL

Volume: 15
Pages: 39-49
Document ID: 2023PEMJ1337
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10117369
Manuscript Accepted: 2023-13-11
Psych Educ, 2023, 15: 39-49, Document ID:2023 PEMJ1337, doi:10.5281/zenodo.10117369, ISSN 2822-4353
Research Article

Top Performing K to 3 Pupils’ Unfamiliarity with the Ibanag Words Used

in Modules as Described by the Teachers
Royete D. Soleto*, Vivian I. Buhain, Ligaya Z. Del Rosario
For affiliations and correspondence, see the last page.
Abstract
This study aimed to determine the top performing K to 3 pupils’ unfamiliarity with the Ibanag words used
in modules as described by the teachers. Specifically, this study aimed to answer the description of teacher
participants on the experiences of the said pupils using the modules written in Ibanag, explain the reasons
behind the pupils’ unfamiliarity with the vocabulary used in the module, and their teaching strategies in
teaching the modules. Schema Theory was used to determine the background knowledge of the top
performing k to 3 pupils with the Ibanag words used in the modules. The Researcher used a
phenomenological qualitative method of Moustakas (1994) to explore the phenomenon on the top
performing K to 3 pupils’ unfamiliarity with the Ibanag words used in modules as described by the
teachers. The study was conducted during the School Year 2021-2022 in Angancasilian Elementary
School. The teacher participants of the study were four (4) teachers from kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 2,
and Grade 3. Purposive sampling was applied by the Researcher since there was only one (1) teacher per
grade level with the total of four (4) teacher participants from the said Grade levels. In this design,
bracketing or epoche, horizontalization, textural description, structural description and essence were done.
The study revealed that top performing K to 3 pupils had vocabulary problems in answering the modules
written in Ibanag as described by teachers. They could not fully grasp Ibanag terms used in the modules.
Meanwhile, teachers gave clearer instructions to aid the difficult terminologies used in the modules written
in Ibanag. Thus, definition of terms should be included in each module and module writers should use
simple Ibanag terms in crafting the modules.

Keywords: teachers, modules, k to 3 pupils’, ibanag words

Introduction The stu d y of Pa rb a ( 2 0 1 8 ) s h o w ed th at

translanguaging was often used by the students and
The Department of Education (DepEd) adopted the t e a c h e r s to co m m u n i ca t e in view of the
implementation of the K to 12 curriculum which implementation of MTB-MLE on teachers’ shifting
covers the implementation of mother tongue as a language ideologies and teaching practices in
subject and as a medium of instruction in teaching Philippine mother tongue classrooms.
Kindergarten to Grade 3. Mother tongue has a great
impact on the learning of a pupil. It is being learned at Because of the Covid 19 pandemic, face to face classes
home through the help of the people around him. A were suspended to prevent the transmission of virus or
child is not afraid to talk because he is confident to use the COVID 19; but education did not stop. The DepEd
his first language in communication. narrowed the target objectives to be taught to the
students. Modes of delivery of instruction would be
In the Issues and challenges in teaching mother online or through printed modules. From face-to-face
tongue-based multilingual education in Grades 2 and 3 classes, it shifted into modular learning particularly in
by Alberto et al. (2016), findings revealed that the the province of Isabela. Pupils still continue their
respondents have problems on the unavailability of education by reading the given printed modules and
audio materials for the listening skills of the students. answering the activities on these. Parents or guardians
Limited Hiligaynon (local dialect) vocabulary and are only allowed to get the printed modules in the
unfamiliarity of the words became problems of the school, not the pupils, following the strict protocols of
teachers. They found it difficult to speak purely in the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department
Hiligaynon due to the teaching of different subjects of Education (DepEd).
where the medium of instruction is English. Limited
reading materials, particularly on profound Hiligaynon In Northern Isabela, modules written in Ibanag were
terms, became a challenge to the teaching. Hiligaynon being used in delivering the instruction from
words are long and difficult to spell. In a nutshell, lack Kindergarten to Grade 3. Ibanag is the mother tongue
of instructional materials intervened in the in Northern Isabela. In the modules written in Ibanag,
development of reading, listening, speaking and problems are inevitable to the learners particularly by
writing skills of the learners. Lack of training to teach the top performing k to 3 pupils. Unfamiliarity of the
mother tongue was also evident to the teachers. terms used in the modules hinder the learning of the

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Research Article

said pupils based on the description of the teachers and

parents.

In the study of Akintunde and Akuta (2021) titled researchers to conduct more studies on Ibanag to
“The Significance of Mother Tongue in Early preserve the language in view of the declining number
Childhood Education”, they found out that the use of of speakers.
the mother tongue in the early education of children
helps in facilitating learning. It serves as a motivation Teachers in Angancasilian Elementary School in
as the child moves from the known, which is the Northern Isabela only use modules to continue the
mother tongue to the unknown which is the second education in view of the DepEd’s protocol to promote
language or target language. Mother tongue helps the security amid the widespread of the COVID-19
child to acquire and converse in languages other than Pandemic by following the basics of social distancing,
his mother tongue. wearing of facemask, handwashing, and disinfecting
with the use of alcohol. Pupils were not allowed to go
However, on the similar studies in Yogyakarta in Java, to school. Instead, their parents visited the school
Indonesia from 2013-2019, many children in the island every Monday to get the printed modules prepared for
do not understand Javanese vocabulary particularly in each subject, then the pupils answered the activities on
krama level. This led to the study of Kusumaningtyas the modules at their homes with the guidance of their
and Sihombing (2021) on Designing Picture Book parents.
about The Javanese Vocabulary through Lift a Flap for
Children 4-5 Years old. The finding revealed that Now, based on the initial review of related literature
designing a picture book about Javanese vocabulary and knowledge from some of the participants of the
through Lift a Flap is helpful when the children from research, it was found out that no study has been
4-5 years old are promoted to elementary. conducted in Angancasilian Elementary School on the
said topic. The researcher felt that there was a need to
Also, in the study of Hapsah and Rahman (2019) on study the top performing K to 3 pupils’ unfamiliarity
Sundanese Language Vocabulary in Narrative Essay of with the module-based Ibanag lexis so that the future
Elementary School Students, findings from 16 essays findings would help them remedy the aforementioned
on the types of vocabulary revealed that Sundanese problems.
children borrowed 126 words to fill the lexical gap in
their narrative essays. Research Questions

Despite the introduction of the mother tongue to be 1. How do the teacher participants describe the pupils’
used as a subject and as a medium of instruction, experiences in using the modules written in Ibanag?
problems related to the vocabulary used in the printed 2. How do the teacher participants explain the reasons
modules are evident. In the study of Ocampo and behind the pupils’ unfamiliarity with the vocabulary
Belarde (2021), one of the results showed that students used in the module?
find it easier to pick the English counterpart of an 3. What teaching strategies do teacher participants
Ilocano word to fill lexical gaps in one of their utilize in teaching the modules?
languages.

The setting of the study was located in Angancasilian Methodology

Elementary School in barangay Angancasilian,
Cabagan, Isabela, district 1 of the said province where
there is only 1 teacher assigned per grade level. Qualitative Research
Teachers from Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade2, and
Grade 3 taught mother tongue subject which is Ibanag Qualitative research is a type of research where the
and it was being used as a medium of instruction to data are nonnumerical. The role of the researcher is to
other subjects. They utilized their teaching strategies to gather data through observation, questionnaires,
meet their target objectives. interviews (physical interview or virtual interview),
recordings in the actual setting, documentation, case
Due to the limited speakers of Ibanag in Northern studies or artifacts. Its focus is about quality or
Isabela, the Researcher was motivated to conduct this meaning of experience. The goals of the research are
study in Angancasilian Elementary School since he to understand, describe, and discover.
wanted to introduce more about the Ibanag dialect
through the use of Ibanag modules. He was also
motivated to pursue this study to persuade other

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Research Article

The Researcher employed phenomenology on this Below is a criterion of the research setting as adopted
qualitative research to determine the lived experiences from Holliday, 2002, p.38
of the teacher participants as they described the top K
to 3 performing pupils’ unfamiliarity with the Ibanag
words used in the modules.

Research Design

The Researcher used a phenomenological qualitative

method of Moustakas (1994) to explore the
phenomenon on the top performing K to 3 performing
pupils’ unfamiliarity with the Ibanag words used in
modules as described by the teachers and to gather
information which is vital to the completion of the
study. This type of qualitative research helps to
Sampling Procedures
understand the lived experiences of the people. This
has something to do with the common experience of
The teacher participants of the study were four (4)
the top performing pupils in Angancasilian Elementary
teachers from Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 2 and
School. The phenomenon in this study is the top
Grade 3 of top performing K to 3 pupils. Teacher-
performing K to 3 pupils being described by the
participants described their experiences in teaching
teachers and their parents when they used the modules
and assisting the pupils with their modules written in
written in Ibanag and the reasons behind the
unfamiliarity with the lexis used in the modules. Ibanag lexis during the School Year 2021-2022. The
Researcher used purposive sampling since the
For the Epoche or bracketing, the Researcher set aside participants of the study were limited. In view of this,
his personal belief and knowledge upon investigating he included them all in his study.
the phenomena of the study on the top performing k to
3 pupils in Angancasilian Elementary School as Data Collection
described by the teachers to fulfill the purpose of the
study. He was permitted to listen to the description of Following the phenomenological method, the
the teacher-participants on the lived experiences of the Researcher used questionnaires to gather data and had
top K to 3 pupils’ unfamiliarity with the Ibanag words interviews to the teacher-participants. He took some
used in the modules. photos while gathering the data to support the study.

Horizontalization was being used to highlight Challenges were inevitable on the part of the
important statements of the teacher-participants in the Researcher since he has to visit the actual setting of the
study on the top performing K to 3 pupils’ participants amid the pandemic. From Quezon City, he
unfamiliarity with the Ibanag words used in the needed to get vaccinated to follow the protocols of the
modules. It is a phenomenological reduction process Local Government Unit of Cabagan, Isabela. During
where all participants statements were given with his travel back to Isabela, his vaccination card served
equal value by the researcher as based on the theme of as a way to enter the setting of the study. He asked the
this study. The Researcher removed all repeated consent of the barangay captain by showing his
statements as well as those unrelated to the statement vaccination card so that he was not placed in a
of the problem. quarantine area for fourteen (14) days. Next to this, he
made a request letter with a signature of his adviser.
Research Setting He had hard copies of the request letter for the head
teacher of the setting of the study and the other one
The location of the study was in Angancasilian was a receiving copy.
Elementary School in barangay Angancasilian,
Cabagan, Isabela where teachers from Kindergarten, For the gathering of data, the Researcher addressed a
Grade 1, Grade 2, and Grade 3 were the participants of request letter Monday morning to the Head teacher of
the study as they described the top performing K to 3 Angancasilian Elementary School who also served as
pupils’ unfamiliarity on the Ibanag words used in the the assistant principal of the said school. The nature of
modules. There was only 1 teacher per grade level due the study was discussed in front of the teacher
to the limited number of pupils in the said school. participants and the head teacher. After the signing of

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Research Article

the letter, he also asked the consent of the participants, the modules. Teacher participants wrote their
the teachers. Teacher-participants had started to responses on the interview guide questions to narrate
answer the questionnaires in school. The researcher their experiences and how these experiences affected
had some clarifications about their experiences in the learnings of the top performing K to 3 pupils in
teaching the Ibanag modules. Written names of the Angancasilian Elementary School.
participants are optional to them. Social distancing,
wearing of face mask and face shield were also Structural description was used to take the varying
observed while conducting the study. Documentation responses of the participants and to unify them into
was done to support this study. structural themes so that they represented the essences
or underlying structures of the experiences. For the
After the conduct of the study, the Researcher tabular format, it was applied in analyzing the data
analyzed and described the results to discuss the where there were responses of the teacher-participants,
outcome of the study. He arranged the gathered data codes of the responses, clusters, theme, and universal
into tabular format following the theme, textual space.
description, questions and coding. Next to this, he
drew conclusions and recommendations for the For the essence, the researcher synthesized the texture
completion of the study. and structure into expression.

Data Analysis Trustworthiness

For the analysis of data, the Researcher followed Trustworthiness by Lincoln and Guba 1985 as cited by
Moustakas (1994) phenomenological method for the Connelly (2016) in her study on Trustworthiness in
bracketing or epoche, horizontalization, textural Qualitative Research concerned a true value of
description, structural description and essence. qualitative data, analysis and interpretation. It
encompasses five (5) criteria.
For the Epoche or bracketing, the Researcher set aside
his personal belief and knowledge upon investigating Credibility, also known as internal validity, refers to
the phenomena of the study on the top performing K to the confidence in the truthfulness of data and their
3 pupils in Angancasilian Elementary School as interpretations. On the experiences of the Researcher,
described by the teachers to fulfill the purpose of the he went to the actual setting of the study which was
study. He was permitted to listen to the description of Angancasilian Elementary School to gather the data.
the teacher-participants on the lived experiences of the After more than three (3) weeks of collecting data, he
top K to 3 pupils’ unfamiliarity with the Ibanag words interpreted them based on the themes, bracketing,
used in the modules. horizontalization, and imaginative variation.

Horizontalization was being used to highlight Dependability, which refers to reliability of the study,
important statements of the teacher-participants in the describes the consistency of data of the study. There
study on the top performing K to 3 pupils’ was also another person who analyzed the data aside
unfamiliarity with the Ibanag words used in the from the Researcher to determine the reliability of the
modules. It is a phenomenological reduction process data.
where all participants statements were given with
equal value by the researcher as based on the theme of Confirmability refers to objectivity of qualitative
this study. The Researcher removed all repeated research. It is about neutrality of data from the two or
statements as well as those unrelated to the statement more people for the accuracy of data, relevance, and
of the problem. Themes were done in the statements of meaning. Personal opinions of the researcher, as well
the teacher-participants that contain the phenomenon. as of other persons who analyzed the data, were set
These were first collected with repetitive statements aside.
from the said participants and overlapping statements
were described. Categorizing together the remained Transferability means external validity. The teacher
statements was done into similar meaning units. participants gave enough details in the study and to the
setting where this study was conducted. The
Textural description represents the meaning and Researcher can transfer the study near his workplace
essence of the experience (Moustakas, 1994). The with the same number of participants.
responses of the participants were based on their
experiences as they described the top performing K to The authenticity of this study was evident. There were
3 pupils’ unfamiliarity with the Ibanag words used in no studies conducted yet on the Ibanag modules in

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Research Article

Angancasilian Elementary School particularly on the their names on the questionnaires optionally. So, in the
top performing K to 3 pupils. Even though the analysis of data, the Researcher used pseudo names to
Researcher was far from the actual setting of study, he protect their identity. For the confidentiality of the
was motivated to conduct this to acquaint other people data, the researcher did not share the collected
on the existence of the Ibanag minority in behalf of information so that these would not be linked to other
Ibanag modules.
data by anyone else. For the results communication,
Validation of the Instrument the researcher ensured that this paper is free of
plagiarism and accurately presented the data.
The Researcher used questionnaires that were
conducted to the participants of the study to gather the Four (4) teacher-participants were voluntarily
desired data on top performing K to 3 pupils’ participated in the gathering of data. Since then, the
unfamiliarity with the Ibanag words used in the consent letter was discussed in details to the head
modules as described by the teachers that mainly teacher of the said school, teachers participated
focus on the common experiences of the top voluntarily to help the researcher.
performing K to 3 pupils in the unfamiliarity of Ibanag
lexis in the modules, reasons behind their unfamiliarity The Researcher gave a letter of consent to the head
with the lexis used in the module, and how teachers teacher of Angancasilian Elementary School who also
described their experiences in assisting the pupils with worked as an assistant principal of the said school. The
the module. nature of the study was discussed to him together with
the teachers during their break time. After discussing
The validators who are experts in the field validated
the content of the questionnaires. The contents of the the purpose of the study, he signed the consent letter.
guided questions for the interview were parallel to the The Researcher had a receiving copy of the approved
objectives of the study, so the Researcher focused consent letter.
mainly on the targeted problems to be solved.
When it comes to anonymity, the researcher did not
Role of the Researcher know yet the teacher-participants of the study until he
visited the school for the gathering of data. They did
The Researcher did not include his personal not give specific personal information to protect their
knowledge on this paper or any experiences that may identity.
affect the interpretation of the result. There were no
personal, work-related, or supervisory relationships For the data pseudonymization, names of the teacher-
with the research participants. Instead, he used participants were anonymized to protect their identity.
questionnaires validated by the experts in the field, This is similar to the confidentiality where the
follow-up interview questions and documentations in
researcher stored the personal data of the four (4)
his study in gathering the data. Issues on
teacher-participants and protected them in view of the
trustworthiness were discussed from the previous page
following the discussions of Lincoln and Guba 1985 right to privacy.
on trustworthiness.
The Researcher considered all possible sources of
Ethical Considerations in Research harm in this study. Sensitive questions that irritate the
teacher-participants were reconstructed into objective
Research ethics is important to promote integrity, questions.
rights of the participants, and cooperation (Bhandari,
2019). On this part, the Researcher made sure that the Research communication was done by the Researcher
teacher-participants are informed and safe for research to avoid plagiarism and research misconduct. The
subjects. Researcher honestly collected the data where he
traveled to the setting of the study, from Quezon City
For the ethical issues, the Researcher gave an informed
to Isabela. Documentation was done to show the actual
consent to the head teacher of Angancasilian
conduct of the study. Falsifying of data was never
Elementary School who also served as an assistant
principal of the said school. He discussed the nature of done by the Researcher because of his interest in his
the study to the teacher-participants. study to promote integrity.

For the identity of the teacher-participants, they wrote

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Profile of the Participants I encountered some questions from them about the
meaning of the words that are found in the modules
that are written in Ibanag. I also observed this from the
parents of the achievers where they ask to simplify the
directions of the activities since there are difficult
Ibanag used in the modules. (Teacher J)

The phenomenon was anchored on the theoretical

framework of schema theory by floating sets of
questionnaires to the research participants with open-
ended questions. With this approach, research
For the profile of the teachers’ participants of the
participants fully and freely describe their own
study, teacher L is a Kindergarten teacher and a
experiences and as a Researcher, his distinct role is to
teacher III from the DepEd Isabela, 31 years old.
collect the data and interpret them. In line with the
Teacher T is a master teacher from DepEd Isabela and
theory, teachers must take this problem seriously upon
is designated to teach Grade 1 pupils. Grade 2 pupils
teaching appropriate vocabulary instruction for their
was assigned to teacher J. She is 28 years old. In the
students. When learning new words, the lack of
same way, Teacher C is 42 years old and is assigned to
schema, often due to limited reading, proves a
teach Grade 3 pupils.
common problem for developmental education
students (Willingham & Price, 2009; Willingham,
Results and Discussion 2009).

This is similar to the study of Anudin (2018) where

This section provides the presentation of the data common problems in MTB-MLE are inadequate
relative to the statements of the problem of the study. books/references written in mother tongue, lack of
The researcher uses the tabular format following the vocabulary and insufficient teacher training.
theme of the SOP, the verbal transcription of the
participants, and the coding of the responses. Its It was obvious that the abovementioned related
analysis and interpretation of the data are combined in literature and study that lack of schema and inadequate
the portion of the study. books/references written in mother tongue to the top
performing K to 3 pupils lead to difficulties in
How do the teacher participants describe the answering the modules due to the difficult Ibanag
pupils’ experiences in using the modules written in terms used in it. To address the problem, the author of
Ibanag? the Ibanag module must use basic Ibanag terms in
writing.
Theme 1. Top performing K to 3 pupils had
vocabulary problems as described by their Theme 2. Top performing K to 3 pupils have weak
teachers. performance as described by their teachers.

Category 1. This category shows that top performing Category 1. Top performing K to 3 pupils have weak
K to 3 pupils had vocabulary problems as described by performance as described by their teachers in their
their teachers. It revealed that the said pupils performances. They find it hard to answer the
encountered difficulties in answering the modules activities in the Ibanag modules.
because of some terms are not easily understood.
If I will describe their performance in the said
They have encountered difficulty in answering the modules, it is very weak. (Teacher L)
modules, especially some words they have used are It became a big help for the pupils who are interested
not easy to be understood by the K to 3. (Teacher L) to learn Ibanag as they can already understand and
There is a need to give them more examples than the answer the activities in the module. However, there are
usual for them to completely understand the lesson, pupils who do not find them helpful because they
most especially the words that are being used in the prefer to learn and use Tagalog. They just find it hard
module. Whenever they encounter words or terms that to understand the activities/lessons in the modules.
are difficult for them to understand, they should be (Teacher T)
translated to Tagalog or the language they understand It is very challenging on my part on how to monitor
the most. (Teacher T) the performances of my achievers due to pandemic
Whenever I collect the answer sheets from the parents,

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where there is no face-to-face class. I can say that I described by their teachers.
cannot view holistically their performances because
there are some objectives of our lessons that aren’t Category 1. This category is about the top performing
met. (Teacher J) K to 3 pupils’ unfamiliarity with some vocabularies
Intelligent pupils have good performance. But most of used in the modules as described by their teachers.
them have poor performance because they only rely on They explained the reasons behind the pupils’
their parents in answering the modules. Most of them unfamiliarity with the vocabulary used in the modules
have no interest in learning their modules. (Teacher C) since they cannot fully grasp Ibanag terms used in it.

The phenomenon was anchored from the theoretical Because some of it is very deep and it is new for the k
framework of schema theory by floating sets of to 3 pupils (Teacher L)
questionnaires to the research participants with open- They only use Ibanag sometimes whenever they
ended questions. With this approach, research interact with people within their home, school and
participants fully and freely describe their own other places. They are used to an environment with
experiences and as a Researcher, his distinct role is to people using Tagalog or English which explains that
collect the data and interpret them. In line with the they can’t fully grasp words/terms in Ibanag. (Teacher
theory, teachers must take this problem seriously upon T)
teaching appropriate vocabulary instruction for their They often use simple Ibanag terms in communication.
students. When learning new words, the lack of (Teacher J)
schema, often due to limited reading, proves a Because some of the words are unfamiliar to them.
common problem for developmental education They find it difficult to understand. (Teacher C)
students (Willingham & Price, 2009 page 55;
Willingham, 2009). The phenomenon was anchored from the theoretical
framework of schema theory by floating sets of
Javier and Jubay (2019) found out in their study questionnaires to the research participants with open-
“Exploring Parent-Teacher Collaboration to Improve ended questions. With this approach, research
Students’ Vocabulary Skills”, that there is a participants fully and freely describe their own
development in the performance of the students upon experiences and as a researcher, his distinct role is to
conducting the pre-test and post-test. It also revealed collect the data and interpret them. In line with the
that parent-teacher collaboration has a significant theory, teachers must take this problem seriously upon
difference before and after the activity. They teaching appropriate vocabulary instruction for their
recommended that parent-teacher collaboration must students. When learning new words, the lack of
be the next priority of the Continuous Improvement schema, often due to limited reading, proves a
Program (CIP) of the school, particularly on the common problem for developmental education
students’ vocabulary skills. students (Willingham & Price, 2009 page 55;
Willingham, 2009).
This is similar to the study of Anudin (2018) where
common problems in MTB-MLE are inadequate This is similar to the study of Santillan and Daenos
books/references written in mother tongue, lack of (2020) titled “Vocabulary Knowledge and Learning
vocabulary and insufficient teacher training. Strategies of Senior High School Students”, where the
results revealed the need to enhance the curriculum,
It was obvious that the abovementioned related specifically on vocabulary, to facilitate learning of
literature and study that lack of schema and inadequate strategies and to provide more practice of the
books/references written in mother tongue to the top K vocabulary-learning strategies (VLS) through reading.
to 3 pupils lead to difficulties in answering the Also, in a similar study by Anudin (2018), common
modules due to the difficult Ibanag terms used in it. To p r o b l e m s in M T B - MLE are i n a d e q u a t e
address the problem, the author of the Ibanag module books/references written in mother tongue, lack in
must use basic Ibanag terms in writing. vocabulary and insufficient teacher training.

How do the teacher participants explain the The above literature and study show how important
reasons behind the pupils’ unfamiliarity with the vocabulary is. On the teachers’ description on top k to
vocabulary used in the module? 3 pup ils’ u n fam iliari ty with some of the
lexes(vocabularies) used in the module, they described
Theme 1. Top performing K to 3 pupils cannot that the words used are very deep and the pupils find it
fully grasp Ibanag terms used in the modules as difficult to understand unfamiliar words. In this

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situation, definition of terms should be included at the “Exploring Parent-Teacher Collaboration to Improve
front or back of each module to unlock difficult Students’ Vocabulary Skills”, that there is a
terms. development in the performance of the students upon
conducting the pre-test and post-test. It also revealed
Theme 2. Top perfo rm ing K to 3 pupils that parent-teacher collaboration has a significant
experienced difficulty in the words that are found difference before and after the activity. They
in the Ibanag modules. recommended that parent-teacher collaboration must
be the next priority of the Continuous Improvement
Category 1. Top performing K to 3 pupils experienced Program (CIP) of the school, particularly on the
difficulty in the words that are found in the Ibanag students’ vocabulary skills.
modules. Responses from the participants revealed that
achievers encountered difficulty in understanding It was apparent with the aforementioned related
unfamiliar words. This served as a challenge for them literature and studies that the reasons behind the
because they cannot fully grasp the words/terms in unfamiliarity of the top K to 3 pupils with the lexis
Ibanag used in the module that led for help or support used in the module are inadequate books/references
from their parents, teachers, and elders. They also written in mother tongue, lack of vocabulary,
prefer Tagalog modules than Ibanag ones. insufficient teacher training, and curriculum on
vocabulary since majority of the responses from the
They describe their experiences as very difficult participants revealed that achievers encountered
especially in understanding some unfamiliar words difficulty in understanding unfamiliar words. To
found in the module. (Teacher L) encourage the pupils to read helps in learning new
To those pupils who are interested, it became a words, teachers must also motivate the parents to
challenge for them to learn because they have their guide their children in unlocking the difficult terms
parents or guardians/elders who guide and teach them. used in the module.
(Teacher T)
One of their experiences is difficulty in understanding What teaching strategies do teacher participants
some words that are new to them. Reading Ibanag utilize in teaching the modules?
texts are challenging also. (Teacher J)
They said that they prefer Tagalog modules than Theme 1. K to 3 teachers described their teaching
Ibanag because Tagalog modules are easy to instruction/strategies with the use of Ibanag
understand. (Teacher C) modules amid the pandemic.
In view of this, the findings were anchored on
Category 1. K to 3 teachers described their teaching
theoretical framework of schema theory. In line with
instruction/strategies with the use of Ibanag modules
this, teachers must take this problem seriously upon
amid the pandemic. Common responses from the
teaching appropriate vocabulary instruction for their
participants revealed that their teaching strategies were
students. When learning new words, the lack of
schema, often due to limited reading, proves a based on the level of the achiever.
common problem for developmental education
If I will describe my teaching instruction/strategies
students (Willingham & Price, 2009 page 55;
with the module based Ibanag I will only use words
Willingham, 2009).
that are familiar to the students for them to easily
This is similar to the study of Santillan and Daenos understand the lesson and I will only give activities
(2020) titled Vocabulary Knowledge and Learning that are suitable to the learners’ level. (Teacher L)
Strategies of Senior High School Students, where the For us teachers, we give them the easiest way for them
results revealed the need to enhance the curriculum, to learn, we give clear instructions with enough
specifically on vocabulary, to facilitate learning of examples, provide more illustrations for them to fully
strategies and to provide more practice of the understand it. We also give the freedom to ask
vocabulary-learning strategies (VLS) through reading. questions whenever they find a hard time
Also, in a similar study by Anudin (2018), common understanding it with the use of messenger or phone
p r o b l e m s in M T B - MLE are i n a d e q u a t e calls. (Teacher T)
books/references written in mother tongue, lack in I simplify the activities that focus only on the target
vocabulary and insufficient teacher training. objectives of the curriculum due to pandemic. Having
that connection to the parents/guardians helps a lot to
Javier and Jubay (2019) found out in their study, answer their clarifications on the lessons. (Teacher J)

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Psych Educ, 2023, 15: 39-49, Document ID:2023 PEMJ1337, doi:10.5281/zenodo.10117369, ISSN 2822-4353
Research Article

In view of this, the findings were anchored on activities/lessons in the module. (Teacher T)
theoretical framework of schema theory. In line with Whenever they go to school every Monday to get the
this, teachers must take this problem seriously upon sets of modules, I always explain the queries in Ibanag
teaching appropriate vocabulary instruction for their for them to better understand the lessons. (Teacher J)
students. When learning new words, the lack of I’ll tell them to have patience and understanding in
schema, often due to limited reading, proves a teaching their children the Ibanag modules. (Teacher
common problem for developmental education C)
students (Willingham & Price, 2009 page 55;
Willingham, 2009). This is connected to the schema theory since students
with limited schemas, or prior knowledge, have more
This is similar to the study of Santillan and Daenos difficulty learning new words (Jenkins & Dixon,
(2020) entitled Vocabulary Knowledge and Learning 1983). In this way, teachers generally use words that
Strategies of Senior High School Students, where the are familiar to the students by giving clear instructions
results revealed the need to enhance the curriculum, with enough examples.
specifically on vocabulary, to facilitate learning of
strategies and to provide more practice of the According to Sanchez (2017), language plays a pivotal
vocabulary-learning strategies (VLS) through reading. role in the ways in which students both acquire the
Also, in a similar study by Anudin (2018), common curriculum and are assessed on it. Based on the
p r o b l e m s in M T B - MLE are i n a d e q u a t e findings, there is a development in the culture and
books/references written in mother tongue, lack in society. On the other hand, parent-participants
vocabulary and insufficient teacher training. embrace challenges in helping their children who are
not adept in their first language. Thus, it recommends
Dayagbil, et al. (2021) on “Teaching and Learning to pursue a re-orientation program on MTB-MLE to
Continuity Amid and Beyond the Pandemic”, revealed the parents. Their involvement in the curriculum
that during the lockdowns, adjustments were made by planning and production of materials is highly
the teachers in designing lessons following the DepEd encouraged.
policies. Due to limited internet connection, majority
of the students experienced difficulty in accomplishing Section 4 of Republic Act 10533 states that basic
the requirements and activities. education shall be delivered in languages understood
by the learners as the language plays a strategic role in
It was apparent with the aforementioned related shaping the formative years of learners.
literature and studies that the teaching strategies of the
The above literature and study proved that the role of
teachers are based on the levels of the top performing
mother tongue particularly when answering some
K to 3 pupils amid the pandemic. Teachers must also
clarifications in the Ibanag modules is vital to better
motivate the parents to guide their children in
understand the lesson since queries from the parents
unlocking the difficult terms used in the module and in
are inevitable when clarifying the instructions based
guiding them in answering the modules.
from the responses of the participants. Teachers must
Theme 2. Teachers of top performing K to 3 pupils continue to use simple words in giving instructions
and activities.
handle some queries from the parents in the Ibanag
modules. For the textural description, the experiences of the
teacher participants were: they followed the DepEd
Category 1. Teachers of top performing K to 3 pupils memorandum to promote security in view of the
handle some queries from the parents in the Ibanag pandemic; they gave clear instructions to aid the
modules. They are complying and preparing according questions from the parents on the unfamiliar Ibanag
to the guidelines of the Department of Education words used in the modules; they shared common
including the health protocols. When it comes to the problems on adjustment of teaching with the use of
queries of the parents, they explain very well and printed modules only as the pupils experienced
answer these clearly and precisely in Ibanag. difficulty answering the Ibanag modules.

By explaining to them well and simplify the For the structural description, the location of the study
clarification for them to understand well. (Teacher L) was conducted in Angancasilian Elementary School in
By answering it clearly and precisely through phone barangay Angancasilian, Cabagan, Isabela where
call or online. We also wish to include the opinions of teachers from Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 2, and
the elders or guardians for them to also understand the Grade 3 were the participants of the study as they

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Research Article

described the top performing K to 3 pupils’ Bhandari, P. (2019). A guide to ethical considerations in research.
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