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i

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

PURSUING THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS
IN TEACHING THE BASIC ENGLISH COURSE AT
THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY (TNU) SYSTEM

A Dissertation
Presented to
The Faculty of Graduate School
Batangas State University
Batangas City, Philippines

In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
Major in English

By:
LUU THI HUONG (JULIA)


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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE........................................................................................................................................

CHAPTER
I. THE PROBLEM..........................................................................................................6
Introduction.......................................................................................................6 ﾧﾧ
Statement of the Problem................................................................................13 ﾧﾧ
Scope, Delimitation and Limitation................................................................14 ﾧﾧ
Significance of the Study................................................................................15 ﾧﾧ
II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE....................................................................................18
Conceptual Literature......................................................................................18 ﾧﾧ
Research Literature.........................................................................................34 ﾧﾧ
Synthesis.........................................................................................................39 ﾧﾧ
Theoretical Framework...................................................................................42 ﾧﾧ
Conceptual Framework...................................................................................45 ﾧﾧ
Hypothesis.......................................................................................................48 ﾧﾧ
Definition of Terms.........................................................................................48 ﾧﾧ
III. RESEARCH METHOD.........................................................................................51
Research Design..............................................................................................51 ﾧﾧ
Subjects of the Study.......................................................................................52 ﾧﾧ
Data Gathering Instrument..............................................................................53 ﾧﾧ
Data Gathering Procedure...............................................................................54 ﾧﾧ
Statistical Treatment of Data...........................................................................56 ﾧﾧ

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Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

IV. PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA..................57
V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION...................................88
Summary.........................................................................................................88 ﾧﾧ
Findings...........................................................................................................90 ﾧﾧ
Conclusion......................................................................................................99 ﾧﾧ
Recommendations.........................................................................................101 ﾧﾧ

BIBLIOGRAPHY......................................................................................102
APPENDICES..........................................................................................110
A. Letters of Requests...................................................................................110 ﾧﾧ
B. Questionnaire............................................................................................117 ﾧﾧ

C. Documentation..................................145 ﾧﾧﾧ CURRICULUMN VITAE
..................................................................................................................158

LIST OF TABLES
Table

Title

Page

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Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

1 ﾧ. Distribution of Sample Respondents.................................................................52
2.

Assessment of the teacher respondents' awareness of the seven functions of
the English language..........................................................................................58

3.

Assessment of the seven functions of the English language according to the
degree of importance as perceived by the teacher respondents.........................59

4.

Application of the seven functions of the English language in Reading...........Error!
Bookmark not defined.ﾧﾧ

5.

Application of the seven functions of the English language in Writing............Error!
Bookmark not defined.ﾧﾧ

6.

Level of students reading performance in the seven functions of language
...........................................................................................................................67

7.

Level of students writing performance in the seven functions of language
...........................................................................................................................68

8.

T-test comparison of the student's language performance in the seven
functions of language.........................................................................................70

9a. List of seven functions of the English language in reading and
writing evaluated to be employed in teaching the Basic English
course by the respondents........................................................................
9b.

List of seven functions of the English language in reading and writing
evaluated to be employed in teaching the Basic English course by the
respondents.............................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.


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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

10a. List of seven functions of the English language in reading and writing and their
frequency of use according to the respondentsError!

Bookmark

not

defined.ﾧﾧ
10b.List of seven functions of the English language in reading and writing and their
frequency of use according to the respondents..................................................75
11a.List of seven functions of the English language in reading and writing and their
degree of importance according to the respondents....................Error! Bookmark not
defined.ﾧﾧ
11b.List of seven functions of the English language in reading and writing and their
degree of importance according to the respondents....................Error! Bookmark not
defined.ﾧﾧ
12.

T-test comparison of the student's language performance and teachers
assessment in the seven functions of language in Reading and Writing.............Error!
Bookmark not defined.ﾧﾧ

13.

Parameters used as basis in the design of functional activities for students and
teachers..............................................................................................................80

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure

Title

Page


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Socialist Republic of Vietnam
1

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

Research Paradigm ﾧ..........................................................................48


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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines
CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM

Introduction
The increasing use of the English language globally has had a large impact on
many other languages, leading to language shift and even language death, and to claims
of linguistic imperialism. English itself has become more open to language shift as
multiple regional varieties feed back into the language as a whole.
English is a global language. People hear it on television by politicians from all
over the world and whenever people travel, they see English sign and advertisement. A
language achieves a genuinely global status when it develops a special role that is
recognized in every country.
These points add to the complexity of the present day world situation, but they do
not alter the fundamental point. Because of the three pronged development of first
language, second language, and foreign language speakers, it is inevitable that a global
language will eventually come to be used by more people than any other language.
English has already reached this stage.
English is the dominant business language and it has become almost a necessity
for people to speak English if they are to enter a global workforce. Research from all over
the world shows that cross-border business communication is most often conducted in
English. Its importance in the global market place therefore cannot be understated,
learning English really can change people’s life.


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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

During the last decades, the world has witnessed lots of cultural, social, political,
economical and technological changes. In this new, global world, people have had to meet
the needs brought about by these changes in order to keep up with them. One of the most
important needs is language learning. By the help of the developments in technology and
science, people all over the world have to communicate with people from other countries,
which require the learning of different foreign languages. The most commonly used
language in the world is English. In fact English is known as a key to open the door into
bustling world of rapid changes and development. Everyday an increasing number of
people are trying to learn English for different purposes with the hope that they can use it
effectively.
One of the main goals of language teachers is to provide students with the tools to
be effective communicators in the teaching language. Often when students are assigned
projects and assignments their lack of practical tools to produce the actual language
becomes evident. In these cases, students might very well have the necessary resources to
accomplish the task, but teachers might need to consider a communicative approach to
teaching the language, focusing on the functions of language, to properly equip students
to complete assigned tasks. Those functions are namely: Instrumental showing the way an
individual satisfies the need by asking for something like “May I use your phone?”;
Regulatory stating controlling another’s behavior such as the teacher requests students
“stand up!”; Interactional used for maintaining interpersonal like wishing a friend a merry
Christmas; Personal is considered as where one talks about oneself “I feel so happy
today”; Heuristic is used to find out the world in general, for example: “is there any
solution for environment pollution?”; Imaginative focuses on where one talks about one’s


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Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

imagination like telling stories and jokes; Representational refers to seeking and giving
varied types of information like “ How many survivors were there in the terrorism in
France last week?”.
Many people believe it’s important to have knowledge on the functions of
language for specific purposes. Whether they are apologizing, expressing a wish or asking
permission, they use language in order to fulfill that purpose. Each purpose can be known
as a language function. Savignon (1983) describes a language function as the use to
which language is put, the purpose of an utterance rather than the particular grammatical
form an utterance takes. By using this idea to structure teaching, the instructional focus
becomes less about form and more about the meaning of an utterance. In this way,
students use the language in order to fulfill a specific purpose, therefore making their
speech more meaningful.
The basic communication goals can be expressed in terms of situations, functions
and topics. It is up to the teacher to plan the situations within which students will be able
to use their language for a purpose in the classroom context. By creating a situation the
teacher is providing the necessary context students need to use the language for a
function.
Language functions have two categories: micro functions which refer to the
specific individual use and macro functions which serve more overall aims according to
Finch (1998). Micro functions consist of seven functions such as physiological function
in terms of releasing physical and nervous energy, phatic function for sociability,
recording function, identifying function, reasoning function, communicating function,


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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

and pleasure function. Macro functions refer to the ideational function, interpersonal
function, poetic function, and textual function.
In the study of language, it is of significant importance that students develop their
language skills. These language skills are vital tools for complete communication. These
are reading, writing, listening and speaking.
Writing is one among the basic skills in learning a language. It is both social and
cognitive process. Students view writing as a necessity. They are aware that this can
improve thinking as well. Students find writing as most difficult among the language
skills because of its complexity. Their writing skill is one way to know their academic
success or performance and it is also a basic requirement to participate in any endeavor in
their personal life as well as in the global economy.
The basic level of writing required by colleges or universities for incoming students
who want to study is not met since there are large number of adolescent graduates from
high school who are not equipped with the basic literacy skills needed like lacking the
ability to write to meet the growing demands of the college curriculum. Students who
have poor writing skills are also referred to as low performing writer. They are those
students whose writing skills do not meet the adequate demands of the class.
Writing difficulties like all other learning problems can be frustrating on the part of
the students’ education and self -esteem. A student who has problem in writing would
experience interference in his learning. He is unmotivated and lacks enthusiasm to write
because of his inadequacy of the skill.
Problems that confront teachers regarding students’ problems in writing are focused
on what students will write and how to motivate them to write about interesting topic. If

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Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

students do not have the proper or right perspective, writing for them becomes a boring
act. So that teachers look for a way to combine other skills in teaching for students to
have freedom to meaningfully express them.
Reading as a language skill helps students expand their knowledge in large
messages or paragraphs. It is one of the most important skills that a person can acquire. It
helps the learner to understand the world by enabling them to learn about the past and
plan for the future. For academic success, reading is important since it is also considered
a critical skill. In the educational system reading is well integrated that either educational
or academic success is considered synonymous to reading success.
Reading is the key that unlocks the door in the world of enjoyment. Reading is
perhaps the most important language skill to develop in all learners, requiring a multifaceted process. Therefore, reading should become indispensable to learner because if
they don’t learn reading especially from the beginning, they would surely find difficulty
in learning other skills.
Students do not become good readers due to the following reasons: poor ability or
for making insufficient effort, unsuitable course books, which do not encourage them to
read and do not raise their interest of reading, wrong attitude of the teachers and students
about the subject, inappropriate teaching methods and classroom techniques.
Reading difficulties become most apparent when the reader is unable to grasp the
meaning from a text passage. Reading may be affected by the difficulties of the text, the
vocabulary of the words used in the text, and the reader’s familiarity with the subject
matter, among other factors. Moreover, reading difficulties have been caused by

inadequate instruction, insufficient exposure and practice, deficient word recognition


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Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

skills, deficient memory capacity and functioning, significant language deficiencies,
inadequate comprehension monitoring and self-evaluation, unfamiliarity with text
features and task demands, undeveloped attentive strategies and inadequate cognitive
development and reading experiences.

In the process of integration and development in international
economic relations of Vietnam nowadays, one of the decisive factors
relating to the society’s economic development of the Nation is to extent
the foreign economy, in which learning a foreign language is one of the
most important contents to contribute that process. It is really necessary for
Vietnamese people to learn foreign languages in general as well as English
in particular when Vietnam country enters to integrate the world economy,
especially Vietnam becomes an official member of WTO. Cited from the
Resolution adopted by the tenth Party Congress, Vietnam is planning to try
to become a country where its people could speak English as a second
language like the Philippines today in 2020.
In April 2009, the Ex - Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr. Ly Quang
Dieu visited Vietnam and had a very sincere advice to Vietnamese that
Vietnam should train English for unemployed people in order to reduce the

rate of the poor. The demand of using English in universities, colleges,
banks, restaurants and offices is quickly increasing, so teaching English as
a global language is very significant and effective.


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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

With this scenario, as an English Language teacher of Thai Nguyen University
handling Basic English course, the researcher become interested to look into the writing
and reading performance of First Year College students in the seven functions of language
and come up with enrichment activities gearing towards enhancement of writing and
reading performance.

Statement of the Problem
This study aimed to determine the reading and writing performance of first year college
students taking up Basic English course in the seven functions of language at Thai Nguyen
University (TNU) System during the Academic Year 2013-2014 with the end view of proposing
functional enrichment activities.

Specifically, it sought answers to the following questions:
1. How are the Basic English course in the seven language functions being carried out in the
beginning College English course in terms of:

2.

1.1.

awareness

1.2.

degree of importance,

1.3.

teaching reading; and

1.4.

teaching writing?

What is the level of students’ reading performance? relative to:
2.1.

Instrumental

2.2.

Regulatory

2.3.

Interactional

2.4.

Personal


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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
2.5.

Heuristic

2.6.

Imaginative

2.7.

Representational

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

3.

What is the level of students’ writing performance in the seven functions of language?

4.

Are there significant differences between reading and writing performance of
students?

5.

How do the teachers assess the reading and writing performance of students based on
the seven functions of language?

6.

How do the assessment of teachers and performance of students in reading and
writing compare?

7.

What functional enrichment activities in the English language may be proposed?

Scope, Delimitation and Limitation
This study focused on determining the first year college students’ reading and
writing performance in the seven functions of language in the Basic English Course at
Thai Nguyen University (TNU) System, Vietnam. The study dealt about the student’s
writing and reading performance in terms of instrumental, regulatory, interactional,
personal, heuristic, imaginative and representational language functions as well as the
teachers’ assessments on the said language functions. The output of the study is in the
form of functional enrichment activities to improve students’ weaknesses on Basic
English Course along these language functions.
The study covered the four (4) Thai Nguyen Universities in Thai Nguyen City and
used 53 teachers teaching Basic English course and 1,266 First Year College students who

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Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

were presently enrolled in the Academic Year 2013-2014. Students who were not enrolled
in the Basic English course as well as those in the higher levels were not included in the
study. Results of the study were limited on the information from the respondents in the
Academic year 2013-2014.

Significance of the Study
The study was deemed beneficial to the Administrators of Thai Nguyen
University, English teachers, First Year students, Parents and Future researchers.
Administrators. Results of the study will guide them in the curriculum
development by evaluating the different English proficiency enhancing activities. These
will also serve as a guide for the realignment of the existing curriculum of Basic English
to meet their institutional goals and objectives.
Faculty of Basic English. Results of this study will make the faculty, teaching
Basic English aware of the student’s performance in writing and speaking. These will
provide them insights on what classroom learning activities would be appropriate to
enhance the language proficiency of their students. Likewise, the teachers might propose
some enrichment activities to improve the student’s writing and reading performance.
First Year Students. Findings of this study will make them aware of their present
performance in writing and reading. These will give them a challenge to improve their
weak points and enhance their over-all performance in Basic English.
Parents. Through this study, parents of the first year students will become aware
of the English performance of their children which will make them more supportive and

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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

cooperative in school activities specifically on the improvement of the skills in the Basic
English of their children.
Future researchers. Results of this study will serve as reference for their
undertaking.


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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines
CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

This chapter presents the review of conceptual and research literature which
provides the right direction to complete the research study, synthesis, theoretical
framework, conceptual framework, hypothesis and definition of terms.

Conceptual Literature
The concepts reviewed serves as the basis of the study. It included the following:
teaching the English language to beginners, English language functions, evaluation of
reading and writing performance, and English language enrichment activities.
Teaching the English Language to Beginners. English as an international language
and the most widely used in the world today is used in international meetings and
conferences. It is also the language used in education. Many non-English speakers study
the language since learning the language would open doors to many opportunities and
success.
Teaching the English language to beginners is not an easy task. Numerous
problems are encountered from students ranging from mispronunciation of words, wrong
spelling, incorrect grammar, and lack of confidence. So, that there are suggestions or tips
on how teachers can teach English to beginners. Myers (2014) shared her methodology
on teaching English to absolute beginners. These include making sentences out of words
on cards and letting students memorize and repeat short dialogues. In teaching students,
vocabulary should be the focus instead of grammar especially for production. It is


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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

suggested that walls in the classroom should be covered with useful familiar language.
Likewise, the teacher must use direct method of teaching using mime, gestures, visual
aids and wall charts.

Bleyer (2012) on the other hand emphasized that in teaching Basic English to
beginners teacher must speak slowly and clearly and makes sure that beginner students
understand her lessons. Students’ names and nicknames must be remembered by teacher
and students as well as the place where they live as these will serve as basis to practice
Basic English structures. Basic things such as sounds of the alphabet, spelling, reading
rules and Basic English grammar structures should be the starting point for teaching.
In teaching English to beginners, teachers must remember not to overwhelm
students with new materials; show students that lessons can be fun, they can participate in
the activities and perform well (busy teacher .org/3773 –how-to-teach-english-tobeginners.html). In designing the curriculum, teachers must bear in mind the following:
for lesson material, it is important to go slowly in introducing information to students
until they are comfortable with what they covered; for teacher talking in the classroom, it
should be slowed down as students will never understand if it is done rapidly and for drill
exercises teacher must enunciate clearly and talk loudly for the entire class to hear. As for
practice, teacher must choose practice that are simple, easy to understand and easy to
explain. Demonstration is the best option as using lots of words may confuse students. As
they improve, more complex activities may be introduced. For having fun, students must
be given opportunity to learn in a different way through language studies as the goal of
every language teacher is to let students communicate with her and others in a positive
creative environment.


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Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

Andrews (2005) on the other hand provided tips for teaching ESL beginners and

pre-literate adults. These are making sure personal connection comes first; use
interruptions as teaching moments that trump whatever lesson the teacher planned; try to
minimize; feed students’ stomachs sometimes, not just their minds; try to meet students
half way; communicate slowly, clearly and directly; and avoid books that are too childish.
In addition, the following are suggested in teaching English for beginners: smiling
helps as it is something that can be understood on a universal level especially in building
rapport with the students and support capacity; finding an assistant as it creates a great
atmosphere in the class where students help each other in the learning process and makes
things easier; use of realia such as flash cards and other visuals; knowing of few basic
words and phrases in the students’ language; speaking slowly; teaching of all four skills;
repeating commands; and chill, relax, be calm, and avoiding stress as well as building a
strong rapport with students (busy teacher, org/ 4793-top -8- tips –on- teaching- absolutebeginners. html).
English Language Functions. Language is a system of arbitrary symbols used by
members of a society to communicate with one another as defined by Clifford Praetor,
head of the Second Language Teaching Department of the University of California. It is a
system of rules, unconsciously present in the mind, that enables humans to relate sounds
and meanings (Delahunty et al, 1994). Language is a means by which sounds and
meanings are related. There is some sound symbolism in language, that is , there are
words whose pronunciation suggests the meaning (Fromkin et al, 1974). If one has the
knowledge about language words to form phrases, phrases to form sentences can be
combined. This is because knowing a language means being able to produce new


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Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

sentences never spoken before and to understand sentences never heard before. This
ability according to Chomsky (1972) is referred to as the creative aspect of language.
Halliday (1975) stated that language is systemic because it is paradigmatically
organized which means any piece of language on any scale can be described as the output
of a system of choices and that as the child moves into the mother tongue, language
functions give way to the generalized meta-functions of language. In this process, in
between the two levels of the proto language system, an additional content is inserted.
Instead of one level of content, there are now two: the lexico-grammar and semantics.
Function refers to systemic and non- systemic linguistics. There are three particular
types of functions in systemic linguistics and these are micro-function which makes use
of constituents like subject, actor, or theme; macro-function which deals with the
language used in early child-language such as functions of imagination, discovery,
interaction and others and meta-function which is the generalized functional principle of
linguistic organization. Meta-functions comprised of three types namely: the ideational,
the interpersonal and the textual.
According to Blor et al (1995) these three functions operate simultaneously in the
expression of meaning. In ideational function leaner’s experience is expressed where
elements of the external word and that of consciousness are expressed. The two subfunctions in the field of parameters of register which are reflected in ideational function
are the experienced and the logical. The experiential functions concern with content or
ideas with the system of transitivity as the outcome. The following are the six process
types of transitivity systems: material, mental, relational, behavioral, verbal and
existential. Logical function is concerned with the relationships between ideas.


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Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

Functions are expressions of feeling and attitude that do not typically correspond to
grammatical categories. Wilkins (1976 ) pointed out that these categories could provide a
clear rationale, from the standpoint of learner requirements, for selecting the language to
which the learner will be exposed and which the learner will be supposed to acquire.
Functions of language promotes the constructive interaction between linguistics and such
neighboring

disciplines

as

sociology, cultural

studies, psychology, ethnology,

communication studies, translation theory and educational linguistics (Mackenzie, 2008).
According to Halliday (1978) the seven functions of language is referred to as the
functional view of language where the interest lies on what the language can do, or in
what the speaker, child or adult can do with it. These language functions are instrumental,
regulatory, interactional, personal, imaginative, heuristic, and presentational. This
functional account of language used support the communicative language teaching
linguistic theory.
The language used by children to satisfy needs and desires, and to make requests,
or the language used by older children to persuade is referred to as instrumental function
of language which is transmitted when the buying and ordering situations is dramatized
by students and is being captured in letters of order and invitation of students.
Furthermore, Christodoulou (2009) stated that instrumental function of language

is language used to fulfill a need on the part of the speaker which is directly concerned
with obtaining food, drink and comfort. Instrumental function of language can also be
understood by using language to get things. However, regulatory function of language, is
used to control the behavior of others to do what one wants such as instructing and
demonstrating and when writing list of directions or memos and classroom rules.


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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

Interactional language function on the other hand is used to establish and define
social relationship.

Mohr et al (2007) explained that interactional language is the

language used to build and maintain relationship. It can be compared to transactional
language, which normally carries a message and is the language used to get things done.
Learners in a multi-lingual group, chatting together before a class begins are using
interactional language. Teachers can present elements of interactional language, and raise
learners’ awareness of interaction language by exposure to video and authentic
conversation. Learner can learn to use paralinguistic features such as gesture, eye contact,
and body language, and linguistic features to maintain an interactional conversation
including functions such as expressing interest and asking for clarification.
The language used to express feelings, opinions, and individuality is covered in
personal language. Sharing personal background and in talking about one’s stance on an

issue are some areas where this language is manifested and this can best be reflected in
the students’ autobiographical essay. Creating a world of one’s own, and expressing
fantasy through drama, poetry and stories are avenues where imaginative language can be
used.
The ability to use and appreciate language as a creative medium is reflected in
imaginative language. It is based on a model where an environment is created to a child
through sounds, stories, make-believe, poetry and creative writing. The rubric of this
language function allows learner to play with the target language the use of puns, rhyme,
alliteration, and other poetic and literary devices. Creating and considering possibilities
are the principal purpose of imaginative function.


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Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

Use of language in exploring the environment, in investigating and acquiring
knowledge as well as understanding are the functions of heuristic language. This
language of inquiry is utilized in History questions. In transmitting this certain language
function effectively the letters of invitation and order are written. Using the language to
learn and discover is the heuristic function of language. Learners using heuristic language
learn through question and answer and by exploring the environment.
Moreover, the uses of language to communicate information, to report facts,
synthesize material, and inferences and conclusions are the informational functions of
language. The students can convey the informative language through giving of
information on current events, general information, and scientific data. This describes the

sharing of information to enhance knowledge.

Thompson (1994) stated that various

kinds of information sharing, whether about one's personal feelings, or about something
observed in the real world, may be combined for second language learner. Thus, the
informational function, which includes both ideas and feelings, is one of exchanging
knowledge.
Learning the language is both a social and cultural phenomenon.
Becoming literate is a language function as it is tool for literacy and represents thinking.
Evaluation of Reading and Writing Performance. One that requires students to
demonstrate that they have mastered specific skills and competencies by performing or
producing something is termed as performance assessment or evaluation (https:/ /www.
/learner.org./ workshops / social studies/ pdf/session7/7 ﾧ Performance Assessment.pdf).
It calls for the assessments of the following: designing and carrying out experiments;
writing essays which requires rethinking of students, to integrate, or to apply information;


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Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

working with other students to accomplish tasks; demonstrating proficiency in using a
piece of equipment or a technique of building models; developing, interpreting, and using
maps; making collections; writing papers, critiques, poems, or short stories; giving
speeches; playing musical instruments; participating in oral examinations, developing

portfolios; developing athletic skill or routine.
According to Ark (2013) performance assessment refers to the list in which the
test taker actually demonstrates the skills the test is intended to measure by doing realworld tasks that require those skills, rather than by answering questions asking how to do
them. Meyer (1992) on the other hand pointed out that performance is authentic when it is
based on challenging and engaging tasks which resemble the context in which adults do
their work and further stated that an authentic task or assessment is one which students
are allowed adequate time to plan, to complete the work to self- assess, to revise, and to
consult with others. Same criteria must be used in judging authentic assessments.
One which requires the student to use knowledge or skills to produce a product or
complete a performance is known as authentic tasks. Wiggins (1990) suggested that task,
context, and evaluation criteria are the three factors to determine authenticity of
assessment. In performance assessment, it is maintained that there should be performance
criteria for every task. This is because criteria defines the type of behavior or attributes of
a product which are expected for students and others as well as a well- defined scoring
system which allows the teacher, the students and others to evaluate a performance or
product as objectively as possible. It is always a relative concept and that it is unrealistic
to expect that an assessment will be authentic. Fortier (1993) noted that authenticity is


24

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

always a relative concept and that it is unrealistic to expect that an assessment will be
completely authentic.
In the evaluation of reading performance, students must meet standards or criteria.

The following are the features of students who exceed standards: a strong comprehension
of texts beyond their grade level is demonstrated; word meanings and shades of meaning
using contextual support are identified by students; knowledge of synonyms and
antonyms to make meanings are applied consistently by students; explicit and implicit
main ideas and key details and consistently are identified by students; and connections
between information found in several points in a passage ca be made.
Further, predictions about outcomes based on information in a passage and
understanding when an opinion is used by an author can be made by students;
conclusions about characters’ motivations and intended purpose of author’s can be drawn
also by students. Literary genres including story, poem fairy tale, tell tale and literary
elements including plot, character, setting can be distinguished by students. Information
in illustrations, charts and graphs are applied by students to determine meaning and list of
instructions can be followed by them.
According to Garcia et al (1994) successful and appropriate use of performance
assessment requires considerable teacher knowledge and expertise much more than that
which is required with standardize test or commercially developed assessment system.
Teachers used to plan instruction for individual students even though the description of
performance from a rubric may be richer than that provided by a standard score or
percentile rank.