The Use of English and Filipino Language in Learning Climate Change of

Selected Grade 12 STEM Students

Kristine C. Balaan, Aila Marie M. Gula, Adrien Joshua G. Nepomuceno, April Joyce C. Valdez, Kyle Videña
Senior High School, International School, Lyceum of the Philippines University-Cavite

Abstract – This study attempted to find out whether Filipino or English is better in learning climate change
of grade twelve STEM students of the Lyceum of the Philippines University – Cavite Campus. It employed a
quantitative descriptive research design and implemented a researcher-made questionnaire. Pilot tested for
reliability and validity before administered to actual respondents. Findings revealed that students prefer using
English in learning climate change. No significant difference in gender and knowledge in the Filipino vocabulary
were noted in the respondents. However, there is a significant difference of the knowledge in the English vocabulary
and their language preference. In conclusion, the use of English of the students is more effective in learning climate
change. For future research, recommended a larger sample size of similar study across schools, inclusion of
teaching efficacy using local language and longer time of interval in teaching.

Keywords – better learning, climate change, effective language, use of English and Filipino.

Introduction
Language of instruction in the Philippines has
been a topic of controversy in the education of students
in various academic areas because of the code-
switching of Filipino and English; determining the
language that is more effective in understanding
concepts about climate change among senior high
school students will help academic institutions design
instructional material further extend the awareness in
the climate change among students.
One of the most important problems today that
people should pay attention to is climate change and the
linguistic diversity here in the Philippines which brings
more complexity to the issue on what language should
be used to teach people about climate change. Climate
change is a phenomenon where in the Earth’s climate
change in an unusual manner. It could be a change in
temperature, rain level, climate and a lot more. Climate
can change after a hundred or million year after, it
means it is a slow process and it takes time. According
to Illisa Ocko (2018), humans triggered CC because of
burning fossil fuels and killing trees that absorb the
carbon dioxide (CO2) that is emitted in the atmosphere.
With a lot of greenhouse gases global warming will
occur. According to Zeke Hausfather (2018), 95 % to
100% probability sure that global warming is caused by
human activities. Carbon Brief’s analysis in 2014 tells
us that our green gas emission is one of the reasons why
Earth is warming. Scientist agreed that climate change
is caused by human activities according to the National
Academy of Science, Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) and World Meteorological
Association (WMO), which see climate change as a big
threat and a huge problem today.
There are different languages used by different
people, but this study will focus only in two languages
which is the English and Filipino languages. The
researchers will try to seek whether language is a factor
in understanding information more effectively.
According to Beord (2016), Philippines have moved on
from a monolingual system under the American
colonial occupation to a bilingual system that associates
the Filipino language to English and recently to a
multilingual system that provides space for regional
languages at the beginning of education. Along with the
promotion of Filipino to unify the archipelago, English
has shift from the position of first to second language.
The linguistic phenomenon of code switching
refers to the mixing of two or more languages varieties
within a single utterance or conversation. Such a
practice is common in the Philippines, a nation of vast
linguistic diversity. According to Genevieve Quintero
(2018), English and Filipino are the official languages
of the Philippines. English is taught in schools and used
as a medium of instruction as early as kindergarten.
Tagalog and English coexist in a complex and ever-
evolving relationship. Some people prefer a language
they are most comfortable with, does not have to be
their own native language. A study in 2013 entitled
“Use of Filipino and English in Social Studies
Learning” shows that the use of Filipino or English as a
medium of instruction had improved the academic
performance of students in Social Studies.
Descriptively, the use of English as a medium of
instruction showed a better learning. (Gorgonio, J. P.
2014).
The study aims to; seek what language is more
effective for grade 12 STEM students in learning
climate change; and know if gender and vocabulary
knowledge is a factor in the preferred language of grade
12 STEM students about climate change.
Specifically, this research sought to answer the
following questions: a.) What is the relationship of the
knowledge in Filipino vocabulary on the use of English
and Filipino in learning climate change? b.) What is the
effect of the knowledge in English vocabulary on the
use of English and Filipino in learning climate change?
c.) What is the effect of gender on the use of English
and Filipino in learning climate change?
The results of the study will hopefully aid the
Department of Education’s advocacy which is DepEd
Advisory No. 18 s. 2010 and the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources’ climate change
advocacy campaign in what language to use in teaching
students and raising awareness more effectively that
will bring about actions about fighting climate change.
It is also the hope of this study to raise the
consciousness of publishers, writers, and environmental
advocates to include different languages for students to
understand more about climate change.
This study of young learners’ perspectives on
the use of two languages and its use as a medium of
instruction may be useful to early grades teachers as a
base on the student’s educational information.
Hopefully, it will also help educators in modifying their
curriculum and teaching strategies based on what the
students know about climate change and their language
as a means of learning.
This study is focused on the learning and
comprehension of senior high school students of the
Lyceum of the Philippines University-Cavite Campus
(LPU-C). The study is comparative in nature and
focused on senior high school students that know
English and Filipino and have subjects taught in
multilingual. The research sample will be coming from
Grade 12 STEM students attending school in LPU-C in
General Trias City, Cavite. The primary data gathering
method will be through survey using a questionnaire to
determine the students’ understanding of climate
change based on their preferred language namely;
English or Filipino. This research will use purposive
and convenience sampling in which an equal
representation for age and gender among the
respondents was applied. The gathered data will be
analyzed using Chi Square and Fisher’s Exact Test.
The research data is based on questionnaires of
SHS grade 12 STEM students on their understanding
towards climate change by using English and Filipino
language in learning. It focused on the gender, and
vocabulary knowledge as variables in interpreting what
language is better for the students in learning about
climate change.
Materials and Methods
This study employed the descriptive research
design (Kafle, 2013). The knowledge of STEM students
towards climate change were gathered and coded
through survey and were described accordingly.
Sampling Technique
The participants were limited to one hundred
(100) selected grade 12 STEM students of LPU-C
located at Governor's Dr, General Trias, Cavite. The
study used purposive sampling and convenience
sampling (Halloway, 2013). Since purposive and
convenience sampling was used, the respondents were
chosen based on their availability and willingness to
participate. The criteria applied in the selection process
included being a STEM student of LPU-C, and can
speak two languages namely the English and Filipino
language.
Data Collection & Analysis researchers have the professor translate the English
The data was gathered through survey. reading materials to Filipino. Additionally, the
Questionnaires via Google document forms was used to
researchers based the idea from the vocabulary
gather the information needed from Grade 12 STEM
knowledge and Likert scale to form an appropriate
students, the researchers used this method in order to
get accurate information in a more convenient way. The question related to climate change in a research of Gee
researchers equally divided the respondents, to get a in 2018 entitled “English Proficiency and Language
fair answer from both male and female students. The Preference: Testing the Equivalence of Two Measures”.
researchers also prepared two sets of questionnaires, The reliability and validity of the research instrument
one that is translated in English language and the other developed by the researchers were tested using SPSS
in Filipino language. The researchers used the Likert by getting the Cronbach’s alpha. The result of the test is
scale and Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (VKS) Test to
0.877 which means that the research instrument is
give the respondents a more flexible way to express
good.
their answers, yet making it easier for the researchers to
examine the gathered data. VKS Test basically
measures the progressive degrees of vocabulary
knowledge in a series of word definitions (Paribakht, Results and Findings
1993).
Chi square and Fisher’s Exact Test was
employed in data analysis (Freeman, 2018). The
answers were grouped and categorized according to
commonalities and difference in their properties. The
features of the common responses were then identified
and finally the themes were determined.

Generation and Validation

The first part of the questionnaire is reading the
English and Filipino reading material. The reading
material is based from the book of Reynolds and
Johnson entitled “Exploring Earth Science” (2015) in Figure 1. Graph of using English as a medium of
instruction of climate change.
which followed by a set of questions in a Likert scale in
order to assess what language is better in understanding Based on Figure 1, there are 54 students who
the reading material given. The second part is the VKS prefer using English while there are 46 students who
Test in which a set of 5 English and 5 Filipino words prefer using Filipino. The mean of the categories is
that came from the book “Unfamiliar Filipino Words” 2.408 or ‘Agree’ which means they prefer using English
of Xean Hyun are given and the respondents are to than Filipino.
assess if they know the words very well, know the
meaning of the words, familiar with the words, and do
not know the words. Through this questionnaire, the
researchers would be able to know which language is
more effective for the students to understand.

A professor in La Trinidad Academy

technically checked this study. The researchers
searched for related books and studies about climate
change to bring about the reading material and the
 Table 1. Relationship of gender and language or 28 students which is still higher than the 48.1% or 22
preference. students who voted for Filipino prefer to use the
Gender * Preference Crosstabulation English language over the Filipino language. Lastly, the
Count fourth category shows that there are 7 students who do
not even know the Filipino words but 5 out of 7 or
Preference Total
71.4% of the students prefer English than the Filipino
English Filipino language. The most known Filipino word on the
Gender Male 29 21 50 questionnaire is “hamog” with having 87 students
Female 26 24 50 know its meaning and 60 students can easily explain it
Total 55 45 100 to others. The least known Filipino word is
“balangaw” with having 78 students not familiar with
the term.
In Table 1, it states that 58% or 29 male STEM
students who are currently in grade 12 prefer using Table 3. Comparison of knowledge in
English than Filipino as their learning language about English vocabulary and language preference.
climate change while 21 male students voted for English Vocabulary * Preference Crosstabulation
Count
Filipino. On the other hand, 52% or 26 female students
Preference Total
who are currently in grade 12 also prefer using English English Filipino
than Filipino while 48% or 24 female students prefer to English Know very 5 4 9
Vocabulary well
use Filipino when learning about climate change.
Know the 41 20 61
However, there is only a small gap between the English meaning
and Filipino language for female students. Familiar 8 21 29
Does not 1 0 1
know
Total 55 45 100
Table 2. Comparison of Knowledge on Filipino
Vocabulary and Language Preference. In Table 3, it shows the connection of English
Filipino Vocabulary * Preference Crosstabulation vocabulary and language preference. The first category
Count shows that only 5 out of the 9 students or 55.6% who
Preference Total know the English vocabulary very well prefer using the
English Filipino
English language. The second category shows that 41
Filipino Know very 0 1 1
Vocabulary well out of the 61 students who know the meaning of the
Know the 22 16 38 English words on the questionnaire prefer using
meaning
English. The third category shows different findings
Familiar 28 26 54
because out of the 29 students who are familiar in the
Does not 5 2 7
know English vocabulary, 21 or 72.4% of the students prefer
Total 55 45 100 using Filipino. In the last category, 1 student do not
know the English words on the questionnaire but yet
prefer using English in learning about climate change.
Table 2 shows the connection of Filipino
The most known English word on the questionnaire is
vocabulary and language preference. In the first
“greenhouse gases” with having 63% or 63 students
category, 1 student know the given Filipino words in
know it meaning and can easily explain it to others. The
the questionnaire very well so he or she prefer using
least known English word are the “aquifers” and
Filipino than English. In the second category, 22 out of
“particulate matter” with having 50 students not
38 or 57.9% of the students know the meaning of the
familiar and does not know their meaning.
Filipino words given by the researchers but still prefer
English than Filipino. On the third category, while a lot
Table 4. Statistics of relationship of the three variables
of students are familiar with the Filipino words, 51.9%
and language preference.
 Variable p-value
Gender 0.546
Knowledge on Filipino 0.506
Vocabulary
Knowledge on English 0.002
Vocabulary
Based on the statistics on Table 4, gender does
not have any correlation about the preferred language.
The p-value that was calculated by using chi-square is
0.546 which is larger than the significance level or
alpha value.
As shown in the output, the obtained p-value of
0.546 which means there is not enough evidence to
reject the null hypotheses so we can conclude that
gender based on the statistics does not have any
significant relationship with language preference.
Based on the statistics on Table 4, Fisher’s
Exact Test was employed because 4 values or 50% have
expected count less than 5. This basically means that
the results of using chi-square will not be as accurate
and as valid. The two variables which is the Filipino
vocabulary and the language preference have effect on
each other because based on the statistics, the p value
that was calculated using the Fisher’s exact test is 0.506
which is significantly higher than the alpha value of
0.05. Therefore, we can conclude that Filipino
vocabulary does not have any significant effect on
language preference.
Based on the statistics shown on Table 4, the
two variables; English vocabulary and language
preference have a p-value of 0.002 which means there
is enough evidence to reject the null hypothesis that
there is no connection between the two variables.
Therefore, we can conclude that the grade 12 STEM
student’s knowledge on the English vocabulary have an
effect on their language preference which is English.
Discussion
The primary purpose of this study is to find out
what is the preferred language of selected grade 12
STEM students about climate change. It also to seeks
the effect of vocabulary knowledge, and gender in the
use of English and Filipino language as a medium of
instruction about climate change.
Our results revealed that no significance
difference in terms of gender in preferring what
language to use as a medium of instruction about
climate change. Our results are in contrary to the study
of Anna Tatarintseva in 2002 entitled “The Influence of
the Gender Factor to the Learning Styles of Secondary
Students in the Process of Language Learning” which
shows that females are more successful in using
English than most males nine countries.
The findings also show that there is no
correlation between knowledge on the Filipino
vocabulary and language preference. Based on the
statistics and graphs shown in the results, 50 out of 93
students who know the Filipino words still prefer
English as a medium of instruction. The students are
more comfortable using the Filipino language in
speaking but they have little knowledge on the Filipino
vocabulary.
Furthermore, the statistics also showed that
there is an effect between the English vocabulary and
language preference. The results of the English
vocabulary survey show that 41 out of the 61 students
who know the meaning of the English words on the
questionnaire prefer using English. The results gathered
by the researchers mean that there are more students
who is familiar and prefer the use of English language
as the medium of instruction towards the climate
change. Our results is similar to the results of the study
of Uematsu in 2012 where English is used as a foreign
language and is taught using the English vocabulary.
As it was said on the related studies, English
and Filipino coexist in a complex and ever evolving
relationship. Some people would prefer the language
they are most comfortable with, which means it can be
Filipino and English. The results of our study are
similar to the study of Belhiah in 2017 entitled “English
as a Medium of Instruction in the Gulf” which has also
been said that the use of English language as a medium
of instruction is effective and showed a better learning
for the students.
Conclusions
 Language is one of the important factors that
should be given attention because it is the excellent key
to learning and achievement of students in various
academic subject areas. The results of this study show
that grade 12 STEM students prefer English language
because they have a deep knowledge on the English
vocabulary. It also shows that gender does not have an
effect when choosing whether to use English or Filipino
in explaining about climate change. Additionally,
knowledge on the Filipino vocabulary also does not
have an effect in what language to use when explaining
about climate change. The results of the study are Figure 1. Graph of using English as a medium of
important in order to assess what language is to use instruction of climate change.
when explaining about climate change and to enhance
what language are preferred by most of students.
Gender * Preference Crosstabulation
Learning more about the English language can better
help the student’s understanding about climate change. Count

Moreover, enhancing the student’s Filipino proficiency Preference Total

can also help especially when explaining climate English Filipino
change on people who do not know English.
Gender Male 29 21 50
Female 26 24 50
Recommendations
Total 55 45 100
A larger sample size of the same study across different
schools should be conducted. If there is a wide
population of respondents, it would strengthen the Table 1. Relationship of gender and language
reliability and validity of the same research study. preference.

Future research should look into the inclusion of Filipino Vocabulary * Preference Crosstabulation
efficacy of teaching through different local languages in Count
the academic performance of the respondents. This is Preference Total
subject for future research to find out whether local English Filipino
languages can influence better on explaining climate Filipino Know very 0 1 1
Vocabulary well
change. Know the 22 16 38
meaning
Longer time covered when making the study and using Familiar 28 26 54
the other modes of assessments to look into other Does not 5 2 7
aspects of cognitive abilities. This would provide a know
comprehensive data and information in understanding Total 55 45 100
the learning capabilities of the students every school
year as well as source in what kind of teaching Table 2. Comparison of Knowledge on Filipino
intervention to be utilized in the class. Vocabulary and Language Preference.

Appendix
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60AE5F0EC5FF98.app01.eu00.prod.alma.dc03
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