Introduction

Grammar comprehension is an essential skill for communication in any language. It is the ability to
understand the structure, rules, and principles of a language. In the Philippines, English is the medium of
instruction in schools, and it is a requirement for students to have a good understanding of English
grammar to pass their exams and succeed in their academic and professional pursuits. However, many
students struggle with grammar comprehension, especially those in the Humanities and Social Sciences
(HUMSS) strand.

Siargao Island Institute of Technology is a secondary school located in Siargao Island, Surigao del Norte,
Philippines. The school offers the HUMSS strand to its Grade-XI students. The HUMSS strand is a highly
academic program that focuses on developing critical thinking, communication skills, and social
awareness. However, many students find it challenging to improve their grammar comprehension,
which affects their ability to excel in their studies.

This research aims to investigate the effectiveness of different teaching strategies for improving
grammar comprehension among Grade-XI HUMSS students of Siargao Island Institute of Technology.
The study seeks to identify the teaching strategies that are most effective in enhancing the students’
grammar comprehension skills and to provide recommendations for teachers on how to improve their
grammar teaching methods.

Background of the Study

Grammar comprehension is an essential aspect of language learning, and it plays a crucial role in
effective communication. However, many students struggle with grammar comprehension, and this
affects their academic performance and future career prospects. The HUMSS strand is a program that
requires students to have a good understanding of the English language and its grammar rules.
Therefore, it is essential to identify effective teaching strategies that can help students improve their
grammar comprehension skills.

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the use of innovative teaching strategies to
enhance students’ learning outcomes. The traditional lecture-based approach to teaching grammar has
been criticized for being ineffective and uninspiring. Many educators now recognize the need to adopt
new teaching strategies that are more student-centered and engaging.

Research has shown that the use of interactive teaching strategies, such as games, group work, and
multimedia, can improve students’ grammar comprehension skills. These strategies provide
opportunities for students to practice and apply their grammar knowledge in real-life situations, making
learning more meaningful and enjoyable.

Objectives of the Study

The primary objective of this research is to investigate the effectiveness of different teaching strategies
for improving grammar comprehension among Grade-XI HUMSS students of Siargao Island Institute of
Technology. Specifically, the study aims to:

1. Identify the teaching strategies that are most effective in enhancing students’ grammar
comprehension skills.

2. Determine the students’ perceptions of the different teaching strategies used in the study.

3. Provide recommendations for teachers on how to improve their grammar teaching methods.

Research Questions

To achieve the research objectives, the following research questions will be addressed:

1. What are the different teaching strategies used to improve grammar comprehension among Grade-XI
HUMSS students of Siargao Island Institute of Technology?

2. What is the effectiveness of the different teaching strategies in enhancing students’ grammar
comprehension skills?

3. What are the students' perceptions of the different teaching strategies used in the study?

4. What recommendations can be made for teachers to improve their grammar teaching methods?

Methodology

This research will use a mixed-methods approach, which involves both quantitative and qualitative data
collection and analysis methods. The study will be conducted in Siargao Island Institute of Technology,
and the participants will be Grade
English is the current, highly recognized international lingua franca. As the world unites into a global
community

commonly engaged by modern technology, the need to use the English language has become more and
more

apparent. Today more than any episode in history, people from different regions of the world are able
to

communicate fast because of the favors of technology. Adjacent with a person’s competent use of
technology, it

has likewise become essential to hone the skills of speaking or writing effectively in English if one were
to partake

in global commerce, especially that English is widely used in business industries and in education.
Moreover,

English is learned and studied in the modern world for its obvious practical importance, i.e. as a means
to

communicate in the international level and as a means to optimize one’s access to opportunities in the
employment

market (Estanislao, 2013).

In the Philippines, English has long been a part of the curricula of varied academic programs. Curriculum

has changed drastically but the learning of English remains intact in the essentials of any curriculum.
With K to

2 coming to fore, English is offered in both the Junior and the Senior High School curricula. It is also the
medium

of instruction in teaching other subjects such as Mathematics and Science, among others. Filipinos are
regarded

to be among the more fluent speakers of the English language. This is one of the reasons that fellow
Asians from

other ASEAN countries have chosen to study here in the Philippines or resort to learning English from
Filipino

mentor In an article written by Cabigon (2015), the Philippines is recognized globally as one of the
largest English-
speaking nations, with the majority of its population having at least some degree of fluency in the
language.

English has always been one of the country’s official languages and is spoken by more than 14 million
Filipinos.

It is the language of commerce and law, as well as the primary medium of instruction in education.
Cabigon

further noted that key stakeholders from the government, academe, private, and nongovernment
sectors

acknowledged that even if Filipinos are generally competent in English, concerns on how much of a
competitive

advantage have been raised. The stakeholders agreed that the country needs to scale up with its efforts
to improve

the teaching and learning of English, considering that these are vital skills of the workforce. This is an
initiative

that can potentially strengthen the Philippines’ distinct economic, political or educational advantage in
this part

of the world, particularly in the ASEAN economic region.

Despite the economic benefits of being an English-speaking nation, Filipinos have not fully maximized

its potentials. Studies show that the Filipinos' grasp of the English language is slipping while other Asians
are

catching up fast. In 2008, an online article by Karl Wilson in “The National” revealed that Filipinos scored
an

overall mean of 6.69 for the macro skills in English in terms of listening, writing, reading, and speaking.
This

indicates a rather low profile at the backdrop of international standards. Historically, the English
proficiency of

Filipinos has been consistently stable across 1993 to 2000 before a gradual decline has been reported in
the

following years. Even more alarming is the rising percentage of those who are incompetent in English
which

doubled from a measly 7% in 1993 to 14% in 2006 (UK Essays, 2013).

Anent the above, grammar is regarded as one of the fundamentals of language. Regardless of any
language,
competence in grammar is foundational to one’s ability to communicate in a particular language. One’s
good

grasp of grammar implies the ability to send clearer messages, and the likelihood of being intelligible
and

understood by others. Moreover, one can also produce good quality writings with a competent mastery
of

grammar (Bradshaw, 2013).

English Grammar presupposes eight parts of speech namely: noun, pronoun, adjective, adverb,

preposition, conjunctions, interjections and verbs. Students are taught to be competent in the fictional
use of these

grammatical elements. However, the researcher who has relatively spent years in the English language
teaching

career has noted that one of the main problems of the students is their functional grasp of subject-verb
agreement.

ESL students’ problematic difficulties in their use of subject-verb agreement are becoming more obvious
and

rampant, and it cuts across the different grade levels where students belong. From the primary school
towards the

university level, many students are noted in their speech and writing as not being able to abide with the
rules of

subject-verb agreement. Errors on subject-verb agreement were found not only in students’ essays but
even in

writings of colleagues in universities. The more worrisome dimension of this problem is that such fiasco
extends

even to professionals who use English in their lectures or those among the honorable members of state
and national

assemblies or those engaged in varied media outfits. Errors in subject-verb agreement are becoming
wide spread

and it seems as if many people are either no longer aware of the rules or they simply undermine the
importance

of grammar rules, for as long as they are able to convey their message (Tafida & Okunade, 2016).

Although the rules on subject-verb agreement have been introduced to students as early as their
primary education,
they still face problems in acquiring the linguistic competence in their communicative command or use
of English.

Nayan (2009) also concurs with this that despite being instructed of the grammatical rules at younger
age, ESL

(English as a second language) learners are not adept in deploying their knowledge of rules in their
actual

communicative use of English.