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CHAPTER 1
THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTINGS


Introduction

Have you ever heard of left-brain and right-brain thinkers? Left-brain thinkers are
usually good at Mathematics because they are logical, rational, analytic, objective etc.,
which are aspects of math. While the right-brain thinkers are in English because they are
the people who are more social, linguistic, intuitive, subjective which are aspects of
English. Left-brain is to math, like Right-brain is to English.
People say that they tend to be more of a left-brain or right-brain thinker. Either
we read it from a book or heard it from television programs or people we knew.
According to the theory, each side of the brain controls different types of thinking. In
psychology, the theory is based on what is known as the lateralization of brain function.
No matter how lateralized the brain can get, though, the two sides still work together,
science writer Carl Zimmer explained in article for Discover magazine. Its absolutely
true that some brain functions occur in one or the other side of the brain. Language tends
to be on the left, attention more on the right. But people dont tend to have a stronger left-
or right-sided brain network. It seems to be determined more connection by connection,"

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which explained on the study lead by the author Dr. Jeff Anderson. Researchers have
demonstrated that right-brain/left-brain theory is a myth, yet its popularity persists. While
often over-generalized and overstated by popular psychology and self-help texts,
understanding your strengths and weaknesses in certain areas can help you develop better
ways to learn and study. For example, students who have a difficult time following verbal
instructions (often cited as a right-brain characteristic) might benefit from writing down
directions and developing better organizational skills. The study adopted the descriptive-
correlation research in determining the relationship between academic performances in
English and Mathematics. Careful examination and interpretation of the given
questionnaires results can help reveal areas of relative strength and weakness in student
achievement. Results are reported in such a way as to encourage improved learning and
to minimize possible harmful effects of testing for individual students. The percentage of
students who achieve the acceptable standard and the standard of excellence are reported
to enable comparisons of English test results and Mathematics tests results.


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Statement of the Problem

1. What are the profile of the respondents in terms of the following:
a) Gender
b) Age
c) Year level
2. What are the performance of the respondents in Math and English?
3. Is there significant relationship of the performance of the respondents in terms of
their profile?

Significance of the Study

Through this research, with the gathered data and information and with the help of
the statistical tool that will be used, we will be able to determine or prove if there is any
correlation between the achievements of Math and English of BS Mathematics students
of all year level of Unibersidad De Manila . When the results are made clear, we can
determine their strength and weaknesses to help students develop better ways to learn and
study.


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Theoretical Framework

If you're "right-brained": creative, artistic, an open-minded thinker who perceives
things in subjective terms. Or perhaps you're a "left-brained" person, where you're
analytical, good at tasks that require attention to detail, and more logically minded.
It turns out, though, that this idea of "brained-ness" might be more of a figure of speech
than anything, as researchers have found that these personality traits may not have
anything to do with which side of the brain you use more.

Researchers from the University of Utah found with brain imaging that people don't use
the right sides of their brains any more than the left sides of their brains, or vice versa.
"It's absolutely true that some brain functions occur in one or the other side of the brain.
Language tends to be on the left, attention more on the right. But people dont tend to
have a stronger left- or right-sided brain network. It seems to be determined more
connection by connection," study researcher Jeff Anderson, M.D., Ph.D., said in a
statement.
Anderson and his colleagues, who published their new study in the journal PLOS ONE,
looked at brain scans from 1,011 people between ages 7 and 29. All the study participants
were part of the International Neuroimaging Data-Sharing Initiative, and they had their
brain scans taken with a functional connectivity MRI while their brains were in a resting
state for five to 10 minutes.
Researchers looked for something called "lateralization," which is the idea that certain
mental processes occur mainly in either the right or left hemisphere of the brain. They

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divvied up the brain into 7,000 regions, to see if any brain connections between regions
were left-lateralized or right-lateralized.
"Everyone should understand the personality types associated with the terminology 'left-
brained' and 'right-brained' and how they relate to him or her personally; however, we
just don't see patterns where the whole left-brain network is more connected or the whole
right-brain network is more connected in some people," study researcher Jared Nielsen, a
graduate student in neuroscience at the university, said in the statement. "It may be that
personality types have nothing to do with one hemisphere being more active, stronger, or
more connected."
According to the theory of left-brain or right-brain dominance, each side of the brain
controls different types of thinking. Additionally, people are said to prefer one type of
thinking over the other. For example, a person who is "left-brained" is often said to be
more logical, analytical, and objective, while a person who is "right-brained" is said to be
more intuitive, thoughtful, and subjective.
In psychology, the theory is based on what is known as the lateralization of brain
function. So does one side of the brain really control specific functions? Are people either
left-brained or right-brained? Like many popular psychology myths, this one grew out of
observations about the human brain that were then dramatically distorted and
exaggerated.
Later research has shown that the brain is not nearly as dichotomous as once thought. For
example, recent research has shown that abilities in subjects such as math are actually

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strongest when both halves of the brain work together. Today, neuroscientists know that
the two sides of the brain work together to perform a wide variety of tasks and that the
two hemispheres communicate through the corpus collosum.
"No matter how lateralized the brain can get, though, the two sides still work together,"
science writer Carl Zimmer explained in an article for Discover magazine. "The pop
psychology notion of a left brain and a right brain doesnt capture their intimate working
relationship. The left hemisphere specializes in picking out the sounds that form words
and working out the syntax of the words, for example, but it does not have a monopoly
on language processing. The right hemisphere is actually more sensitive to the emotional
features of language, tuning in to the slow rhythms of speech that carry intonation and
stress."
In one study by researchers at the University of Utah, more 1,000 participants had their
brains analyzed in order to determine if they preferred using one side over the other. The
study revealed that while activity was sometimes higher in certain important regions,
both sides of the brain were essentially equal in their activity on average.
Its absolutely true that some brain functions occur in one or the other side of the brain.
Language tends to be on the left, attention more on the right. But people dont tend to
have a stronger left- or right-sided brain network. It seems to be determined more
connection by connection," explained the study's lead author Dr. Jeff Anderson.



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Scope and Delimitations

This research focuses on the correlation of Mathematics and English
achievements of the students in BS Mathematics minor in Computer Science., in
determining the relationship between academic performances in English and
Mathematics to their academic performance in the said course in the college level. These
studies are only for the BS Mathematics minor in Computer Science students of
Universidad de Manila.

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Definition of Terms

1. Achievement - a thing done successfully, typically by effort, courage, or skill.
2. Correlation - a mutual relationship or connection between two or more things.
3. Lateralization - localization of function on either the right or left sides of the
brain
4. Myth - a traditional story, esp. one concerning the early history of a people or
explaining some natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving
supernatural beings or events.


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CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE


Related Literature
Foreign
Language and communication are essential elements of teaching and learning
mathematics, and this is evident from research carried out in bi/multilingual settings.
Mathematics itself is a type of formal language. The mathematics register is more than
just vocabulary and technical terms. It also contains words, phrases and methods of
arguing within a given situation. This register is conveyed through the use of natural
language and each language has its own mathematics register. Mathematics is not
language free and due to its particular vocabulary, syntax and discourse it can cause
problems for students learning it in a second language. There are conflicting views about
the learning of mathematics in a second language at all levels of education. Some studies
have found positive correlations with learning mathematics in a second language and
academic achievement. On the other hand, submersion programmers have demonstrated
that bilingual students underachieve in mathematics when the school language is different
from their home language (Planas, 2009).

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A comparative analysis was used to study the results from a descriptive survey of
selected middle school students in Grades 6, 7, and 8. Student responses to the survey
tool was used to compare multiple variables of music participation and duration of
various musical activities, such as singing and performing on instruments, to the
mathematics results from Georgia Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (Georgia
Department of Education, 2011). The results were analyzed with the use of the Pearson r
correlation coefficient. The intensity of relationships was assessed with analysis of
variance (ANOVA). A final t-test of means was conducted to compare the mathematics
achievement of students, who reported that they participated in musical activities vs.
students, who reported no participation in musical activities. It was found that there was a
positive correlation between students participation in music and their achievement in
mathematics. In addition, there was a positive correlation between the variables of
participation in vocal music and brass music, respectively, and mathematics achievement.
The greatest correlation was between years of vocal music participation and mathematics
achievement. The results from the ANOVA indicated that, when students participated in
music for 3 years or more, there was a significant increase in mathematics scores. A final
t-test of means indicated that there was no significant difference in the means of
mathematics scores between students who had participated in musical activities in
comparison to students who did not participate in musical activities. (Joshua Boyd,
2013).
Looking particularly into the NAT results, DepEd singled out low reading
competence as a primary factor for the failure of public school students in mathematics.
Along this line, appropriate measures were undertaken to improve students performance
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in English and mathematics. Some of these measures included implementing various
reading programs of the DepEd, training of mathematics teachers, and strengthening the
use of English language as a primary medium of instruction in all public institutions of
learning at the secondary level. Despite all these government efforts to improve the
quality of mathematics performance as well as reading skills, the problem on these two
areas still persist. With this problematic condition, reading cannot be taken for granted if
mathematics performance needs to be enhanced. Snow, Burns, and Griffin point out that
reading particularly in the early years of schooling paves way to achievement in other
content areas like mathematics. Reading is regarded as an indispensable part of
mathematics and mathematical knowledge. Learning to love and value mathematics
language requires a good foundation in reading. Fuentes maintains that mathematics and
reading go together, i.e. improving mathematics achievement necessitates enhancing
students reading. For him, it is also vital to recognize that young learners develop
reading and mathematics skills at different rates (Ijere , 2013).
Proficiency in languages, science, and mathematics is seen as an essential
precursor to success in modern society. In Portugal, recent guidelines, set by the Ministry
of Education regarding Mathematics and Portuguese Language curricula, tasks,
evaluation, and workload, reflect this concern as these subjects are cross-curricular and
are used in daily life. Comparative international evaluations revealed that Portuguese
students did not perform as well as expected, and that they underachieved in mathematics
and languages when compared to students from other countries in the OECD. In
mathematics, results showed that whilst there was an improvement in mathematics
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performance by Portuguese students from 2003 to 2009, in 2009, on a scale of six levels,
Portugal still has in the region of 25% of their students at level 2 or below.
These results give impetus to the development of further research that seeks to
characterize and understand different variables which may influence student
performance. This will help to make possible strategies for future action in schools,
families, and communities, in order to bring about an improvement in the failure rate in
math (Maria de Lourdes Mata et al., 2012).
Research published in Child Development found that hard work and good study
habits were the most important factor in improving math ability over time. But bad
attitudes about math are holding us back.
Most of us would never think that "I'm bad at reading," is a good excuse to stop taking
English classes, so why is it ok, even normal, to say "I'm bad at math"?
A survey in 2010 conducted by Change the Equation found that three out of 10
Americans said they consider themselves bad at math. Over half of the 18 to 34-year-old
bracket find themselves regularly saying they can't do math. Almost one-third of
Americans reported they would rather clean a bathroom than solve a math problem.
And this math anxiety is a real problem: A study published in PLoS One in 2012 found
that anticipation of doing math can actually affect the same regions of the brain that pain
does. Essentially, math is painful. (Kelly Dickerson, 2013).
The study reported that although reading skills were correlated to mathematics,
these correlations were not strong as one may assume. It was also found that results from
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the student problem-solving sessions revealed that students may read and understand
word problems with a high reading score but they may have difficulties on decoding and
setting them up. This further indicates that there may be another set of skills for student
success in mathematics problem solving other than the reading skills. This implies that
since DepEd has already included private schools in NAT for the last two years, other
factors or reading skills, not included in the study, have to be examined to address the
declining performance of students in Mathematics. (IJERE, 2013)
Research denoting the relationships between numeracy and literacy test scores in
Australian schools is very limited. In fact, only two studies have reported on the
relationships. Marks and Ainleys (1997) work investigated data across a 20-year period
and the only correlation coefficient noted in their work was that numeracy and reading
comprehension had a correlation of .60 for a sample of 13- to 15-year-olds. More recent
research by Hemmings and Kay (2009) examined the relationships between and among
the four Literacy and Numeracy National Assessment (LANNA)1 tests taken by non-
government students. They showed that the correlations between the numeracy and
reading tests, for a number of relatively small student cohorts, were of a similar
magnitude to the Marks and Ainley (1997) result. (Hemmings, B., & Kay, R., 2009)
The focus of the present report is on the achievements of pupils in English reading
and mathematics in schools in rural areas serving pupils from poor backgrounds. Pupils
in a sample of schools selected for inclusion in the rural dimension of the SSP performed
significantly better than pupils in the urban SSP sample. The scores of the rural sample
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were significantly below the national norm for reading but not for mathematics. (Susan
Weir, Peter Archer, and David Millar, 2009).
In a large nationally representative sample (N = 14,825 students, 1,015 high
schools) math and English self-concepts were: (a) uncorrelated despite a substantial
correlation between math and English test scores; (b) influenced by internal and external
frames of reference; and (c) negatively affected by school-average achievement. As
posited by the internal/external frame-of-reference model, better math skills led to much
higher math self-concepts but slightly lower English self-concepts, whereas better
English skills led to much higher English self-concepts but slightly lower math self-
concepts. School-average achievement negatively affected academic self-concept;
equally able students had higher academic self-concepts in schools with lower school-
average achievements. This school context effect was also content specific; school-
average math achievement negatively affected only math self-concept, and school-
average English achievement negatively affected only English self-concept. (PsycINFO
Database Record (c) 2012 APA)

Local Literature
(Bernardo, 2000) investigate the effect of using the Filipino students first or
second language on their mathematical problem solving ability. He concludes that there
is no single effect of language on mathematical ability. Instead, the language effects are
multifarious and specific on the different components of mathematic problem solving.
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The level of academic performance of AB Mathematics and English major
students has significant differences when treated according to their year level and gender.
This indicates that the ability of the respondents in this study are not closely similar
because varied results showed that the different year levels and gender produced different
data result as to the three categories assigned by the researcher which are a) the
performing, b) instructional, and c) non performing.
Majority of the respondents fall under instructional level taking into
consideration their year levels in their particular course and their academic performance
differ significantly as the statistical computation showed 2.765 with the value of t at 1.31
with the standard error of difference of 4 at .05 level of significance. This simply
indicates that the hypothesis applied in this study is not rejected.
The level of performance of AB students at CSSAC - Calabanga campus had
shown significant difference between the AB Math major and those taking up English
major (Josefina M. Seleriana and MariaD. Sadia, 2003).

The grade VI pupils of Manguiring Elementary School, school year 2005-2006
had difficult in using the correct punctuation marks, had poor average level of proficiency
in English Writing Skills due to lack of mastery of writing skills and lack of English
vocabulary. The academic performance of the pupil-respondent showed poor
performance as reflected in this study. This indicates that the majority stability among the
pupil class performance is English proficiency. Poor performance by the pupils should be
enhanced by developing self importance and teachers intervention (Solano, 2009).
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Bautista et al (2009) stated that students difficulties in comprehending word
problems are due to a lack of understanding the language of the problem. Students tend to
solve problems easily if presented with a numerical version rather than as words;
however, they may fail to solve word problems even though they can solve corresponding
problems given in purely numerical format. This phenomenon has also been confirmed
by studies on Filipino students.

Espiritu (2003) confirmed that the correlation of performance between
Mathematics and English subjects to all levels showed high relationship, which means
that if a student is good in Mathematic he is also good in English subject and vice-versa.

Martin (2009), stated in his study entitled English as a Medium of Instruction in
the Philippines that teachers and parents toward understanding and using mathematical
vocabulary correctly all of these skills require a language proficiency that sometimes
exceeds our expectations. We tend to think of mathematics as a subject that does not
require strong command of language. In reality, however, mathematical reasoning and
problem solving are closely linked to language and rely upon a firm understanding of
basic math vocabulary. For many educators, the challenge of bringing language and math
instruction is a relatively new one.

Yee (2009), elaborated that there are plenty of arguments in favor of using
English or Bahasa Malaysia or both as a medium of instruction for Mathematics and
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Science. Instead of just English and Bahasa Malaysia, there should be a wider choice for
students. Let Chinese students study Science and Mathematics in Mandarin, let Indian
students study Science and Mathematics in Tamil, and so on. If students are forced to
study in a language they do not fare well in, they would feel frustrated and eventually
hate both the language and the subject and just give up. This does not only apply to
Science and Math. He believes that there has to be the freedom of choice for students. It
is unfair to just criticize the current implementation of language used to partially explain
the problems of language and quality in Philippine education today.

On Imam, Abas-Mastura and Amils journal entitled Correlation between
reading comprehension skills and students performance in mathematics, they utilized
the six elements of reading comprehension skills to determine their relationship to
students performance in mathematics. A total of 666 students belonging to the randomly
selected first year classes from 18 public and private high schools were taken as sample.
A correlation research design was used and a competency-based achievement tests in
reading comprehension and mathematics were the research instruments. Students in
private schools performed better in reading comprehension skills and mathematics than
their counterparts. While reading comprehension skills were insignificantly correlated to
private school students mathematics performance, the case is different in public schools
wherein three skills namely understanding vocabulary in context, getting main idea, and
making inference surfaced to have connection with mathematics. The overall students
reading comprehension skills were not significantly correlated to mathematics
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performance. Hence, the poor mathematics performance could be explained by other
factors not related to reading comprehension skills. (Imam, Abas Mastura, Amil, 2013)

Related Studies
Foreign
The initial investigation of the English language basis of mathematical
understanding of undergraduate mathematics students used a test that presents
mathematical questions using five different modes: general English text; mathematical
technical text; symbols; diagrams; and graphs. Four mathematical concepts were chose,
each of which should be understandable by first year undergraduate mathematics
students. A short question testing understanding of this concept was written in each of the
five modes. The general English text mode uses words predominantly from the 2000
most frequently occurring words, while the technical text mode uses specialized language
that students at this level should understand. Both these modes use a minimum of
numbers or symbols. No text at all is used for the symbolic, diagrammatic and graphical
modes (Bill Barton, 2003).
All studies reported that students in general performed worse than the
teachers/lecturers anticipated. There was evidence from interviews that, contrary to
assumptions, some students did not have the background required for senior levels of
mathematics. The language features causing difficulties varied across the studies, and
appear to depend on the mathematical level as well as the home language and English
language proficiency levels. Vocabulary on its own is not the big issue that was
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anticipated. However, it was a component of the difficulty experienced with
understanding mathematical discourse as a whole. Prepositions and word order were key
features causing problems at all levels. So also were logical structures such as
implication, conditionals, and negation, both at senior secondary and third-year university
levels. Mathematics couched in everyday contexts caused the expected problems (Pip
Neville-Barton, 2005).
Longitudinal causal models of growth in Math and English constructs (school
grades, standardized tests, academic self-concept, affect and coursework selection) were
based on three waves of data from the large (N = 24,599). Math and English self-
concepts had significant path coefficients leading to subsequent school grades,
coursework selection, and standardized test scores. Unlike previous studies that did not
consider Math and English constructs in the same model, we found these relations to be
very domain specific. Girls had higher scores for all English constructs and Math school
grades, but they had lower Math self-concepts. Whereas similar studies conducted over
the past 20 years found diminishing gender differences, these data show relative gains for
girls in achievement and coursework selection for both Mathematics and English. Path
coefficients relating prior Math and English constructs to subsequent outcomes, however,
were similar for boys and girls. Hence, the extreme domain specificity of relations
between prior self-concept and subsequent outcomes was similar for boys and girls
(Herbert W. Marsh, 2012).
In view of the findings of this study it is enough to conclude that proficiency in
English language is strongly related to students academic performance in science and
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technical education. It is therefore very important to always ensure that students who are
admitted into these courses have good English language proficiency. It was also observed
that students in technical education performed better than students in science education;
however, it might be difficult to generalize this finding unless further study is carried out
on it. Students in technical education are better than those in science education because
their mean scores are higher than those of science education in the same English language
examinations (Jacob Kola Aina, 2012).
The study found that preschoolers (who because of their young age have not yet
learned basic math) who have a good inherent number sense also do better on tests that
predict mathematical ability. Number sense is a primitive and inborn sense that, for
example, helps you determine at a glance how many people are in movie theatre. The
relationship between number sense and math ability is important intriguing because we
believe that number sense is universal, whereas math ability has been thought to be
highly dependent on culture and language and takes many years to teach (Melissa
Libertus, 2011).
(Chamundeswari et al., 2006) studied general mental alertness and intelligence in
relation to academic achievement of students at the secondary level with the objective to
investigate the possible differences between academic achievement in Mathematics of
students at secondary level in different types of school by taking a sample of 291 students
and found that there was a significant difference between achievement in Mathematics of
students at secondary level in government, aided and matriculation, government and
government aided, matriculation and corporation schools; there was no significant
difference between achievement in Mathematics of students at the secondary level in
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corporation and government, corporation and government aided, government and
matriculation schools; there was significant correlation between mental alertness,
intelligence, achievement in Mathematics and English of students at the secondary level
in different types of school.
(Noorjehan et al., 2009) studied factors affecting academic achievement of IX
standard students in mathematics and found that factors like mathematical creativity,
attitude towards mathematics, achievement motivation and a low level of anxiety
influenced the academic achievement in mathematics at secondary stage and recommend
the inclusion of curricular and co-curricular programmes to improve performance in
mathematics. This research concerned on the correlation between English achievement
and Mathematics achievement of the first year students at internationally standardized
class at RSBI SMPN 1 Kraksaan. This study was conducted in a correlation design. In
this study, there are two variables investigated, namely: independent variable (students
English achievement) and dependent variable (students mathematics achievement). The
sample in this study was 52 students who were selected randomly from 130 student of the
first year at RSBI SMPN 1 kraksaan. Meanwhile the data is a document of LHBS
(laporanhasilbelajarsiswa) to know the English and mathematics achievement. The
collected data were analyzed by using Pearson product moment correlation formula.
After conducting a process of computation on the English achievement (X) and
mathematics achievement (Y) on the first year students at internationally standardized
class at SMPN 1 Kraksaan, the researcher found that the level of correlation coefficient
(r-observed) was 0,273. It is, then, compared with the critical value (r-critical) at the table
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with N=52 at 0,05 level of significant it is found that the value of r-observed was higher
than r-critical.
(Mistar, 2007) said that the correlation is significant if the correlation coefficient
(r-observed) is the same or higher than critical value (r-critical). Therefore, the hypothesis
stated that there is a positive and significant correlation between English achievement and
mathematics achievement at internationally standardized class is accepted. It means that
the students who have high score in English tend to hive high score in mathematics.
This study examined the achievement and its relationship with achievement
motivation and self concept. The subjects consisted of 336 students (146 males and 172
females) from four public and four private schools of the Sargodha district at the
secondary level. Intact groups of all eight schools enrolled in 9th grade were involved in
the study. An Urdu translated version of Academic Self-Description Questionnaire II
(Marsh, 1990) and General Achievement Goal Orientation Scale (McInerney, 1997)
was used. The results revealed that achievement motivation and self concept are
significantly related to academic achievement. Significant gender differences were
discovered which were in favor of girls. It was suggested that teachers must use
motivational strategies to involve students in academic activities for improving their
grades. (Dr. Riffat-Un-Nisa Awan et. al, 2011)
In Matawals study entitled Analysis of the relationship between students'
achievements in mathematics in senior school certificate examinations and remedial
sciences programme, University of Jos-Nigeria showed that it did not leave any one in
doubt as to the significant relationship that exists between students achievement in
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mathematics at both SSCE and Remedial Science Programme. The results also showed a
positive, though average and low correlations in the achievement of male and female
students in mathematics at both SSCE and Remedial Sciences Programme, even though
the female students correlation was not significant. (Matawal, 2013)
The change in the language of instruction for Mathematics under PPSMI had been
opined to prejudice learners achievements due to their weakness in the subject matter as
well as in English. This study sought to analyse 186 urban and rural Primary 4 pupils
Mathematics achievements in tests using English and English/Bahasa Malaysia
presentations. This quantitative study employed two instruments, in English and English/
Bahasa Malaysia respectively, to measure the pupils achievements in Mathematics. The
results from this study indicated that both urban and rural pupils performed weakly in
both the English and English/Bahasa Malaysia test. The rural pupils were weaker in
mathematics compared to the urban pupils. It was found that rural pupils Mathematics
achievements were not influenced by the language used during the tests, while urban
pupils Mathematics achievements were influenced by the language the tests were
presented in. Urban pupils Mathematics achievements in both tests surpassed those of
their rural counterparts. Although both groups mean scores for the English Test were
slightly lower than those of the English/Bahasa Malaysia Mathematics Test, the
difference was only significant for urban pupils. In conclusion, while it was shown that
both rural and urban pupils were slightly advantaged by the use of Bahasa Malaysias
accommodation with the English test, the bulk of their inaccurate answers seem to
originate from errors in content-knowledge. (Parmjit Singh et.al, 2010)
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Sarsani et al. (2010) studied achievement in Mathematics of secondary school
students with the objective to find out the differences in Mathematics scholastic
achievement test in relation to gender, caste, type of school, nativity and medium of
instruction at secondary school level by taking a sample of 480 students and found that
girls performed better than boys in Mathematics scholastic achievement test; caste did not
influenced the performance in Mathematics scholastic achievement test; type of school,
medium of school and locality influenced the performance in Mathematics scholastic
achievement test.
This article describes the developmental patterns of Hispanic-White math and
reading achievement gaps in elementary school, paying attention to variation in these
patterns among Hispanic subgroups. Compared to non-Hispanic White students, Hispanic
students enter kindergarten with much lower average math and reading skills. The gaps
narrow by roughly a third in the first 2 years of schooling but remain relatively stable for
the next 4 years. The development of achievement gaps varies considerably among
Hispanic subgroups. Students with Mexican and Central American originsparticularly
first- and second-generation immigrantsand those from homes where English is not
spoken have the lowest math and reading skill levels at kindergarten entry but show the
greatest achievement gains in the early years of schooling. (American Educational
Research Journal, 2009).
Ary, et-al (1979:129) defines that the value of coefficient of the relationship can
be inferred from numerical value of the correlation coefficient. Value near zero implies a
weak relationship, whereas value closer to either + 1 or 1 indicates a stronger
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relationship. In this research, the correlation coefficient is 0,327, it means that the
relationship between these two variables is weak.
In conclusion, it s very important to master English at internationally standardized in
order to make easy in understanding the lesson that deliver in English. English
achievement takes very important role in influencing the score of another lesson, because
the correlation is positive, means that the higher score of English, the higher score of
Mathematics.
The result in this study indicates that that there is a positive correlation between English
achievement and Mathematics achievement of the first year students at internationally
standardized class at SMPN 1 Kraksaan. Significant means the correlation coefficient
0,327 is higher than critical value where (df = n-2) at 0,05 level of significant 0,2732.
However, the correlation between English achievement and Mathematics achievement is
low (weak) since the result is only 0,327. It means that the higher students achievement
in English, the higher students achievement in Mathematics. (Ibnu Rajab Akbar, Firman
Parlindungan, 2012)

Local Studies
Pineda (2009), study on factors affecting problem solving ability in Mathematics
IV of senior high school students found that reading comprehension and attitude towards
Mathematics are significantly related to problem solving ability. She conducted that
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reading comprehension is an important element to consider in order to improve problem
solving ability of the students.
Erlano (2007), further studied the strategies used be the teachers and determined
the performance of students based on strategy used. His findings revealed that the most
used strategies include dynamic, practical work approach discovery, drill method, and
problem solving approach. Based on the findings, students performance was compared
in items of gender; it further revealed there is no difference at all. He suggested that
remedial and enrichment classes in Mathematics IV should be conducted to remedy the
situation.
Irwin (2007), stated that prior knowledge about the text help students develop
comprehension. This also influences their interpretation of the text. It is true that the
authors and readers interpretation are different because they have different background,
experiences and skills. He also added that The goal of reading is nor inferring the
intended message of the author but rather creating a message that is useful to the reading
in the social-cultural context.
(Castillo, 2006), defended in her study entitled mother tongue instruction in
Philippine schools that pupils subjected to mother tongue instruction (tagalog) did not
learn significantly better than those taught entirely in English. The advantage of
instruction I the indigenous language was shown, but also the disadvantage of sustaining
it. Filipino was the more effective medium of instruction and encouraged a higher level
of teacher-pupil interaction. The Filipino-instructed group, like their English-instructed
Page
27


counterpart, demonstrated high levels of thinking, rate, fluency and clarity of classroom
interaction.
(Vizconde, 2006) elaborated in her study entitled attitudes of student teachers
towards the use of English as language of instruction for science and mathematics in the
Philippines that English has proven to be the language which most Filipinos have
favored. the fact that it has remained steadfastly as the official language in spite of the
fact that the Philippines is no longer under American rule, has supported this finding. The
uses of English in the Philippines are the following:
1. English as a social stratified.
2. Despite the bilingual education in Filipino and English, all rewards are accrued
due to English.
3. The Filipino elite continue to hold on to their power partly through English
4. It is from the English- competent economic and political elite that the leaders of
the country are most likely to emerge.
English language users are perceived to belong to the middle and upper bracket level of
society. Similar to some Asian countries, the Philippines seems to have accrued to the
idea of private schools affording to provide better training in English than public or
government school. English seems to be a social stratified in the Philippines. Most
Filipinos may have high regard for English and they believe that Filipinos who speak this
language very well belong to the upper crust of the society where the language is the
medium even at home.
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28


In nursery and kindergarten, Science is taught for equal amounts of time in
English and Filipino. Though most science concepts and mathematical concepts are
inEnglish, the teachers explain these in Filipino. But once the students reach prep,
Science and Math are taught in English, to conform to the language standards set for
these subjects, nationwide. Yet, the school makes sure that discussions about the
applications of these scientific and mathematical concepts are done in the other subjects
which are taught in Filipino. It is imperative for the teachers to develop the students
understanding of scientific and mathematical concepts, and to allow them to talk about
the said concepts in both languages. (J. Aleta R. Villanueva and Ani Rosa S. Almario,
2005)
There are some studies like Lubina (2004), Del Castillo (2010), Balbalosa (2010)
and Yara (2011) claiming that Mathematics performance is determined by several factors,
such as student-related factors, teacher-related factors and school-related factors. But to
determine whether these factors affect the performance of the students in Mathermatics
has not yetbeen totally proven. It is read and heard that the students in Mathematics and
Science are receiving medals in the International Competitions as mentioned by Brawner.
She said that:
In our 23 years of participation in the International Mathematics Olympiad
(IMO), we have gathered two silvers, 11 bronze medals, and 13 honorable mentions. Our
performance is improving as well and we are optimistic that we can get even better in the
coming years,
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29


http://www.gmanews.tv/story/227196/pinoy-abroad/phl-reaps-3-bronze-medals-in-intl-
math-olympiad/September 15,2011

Fabros-Tyler concluded in her study entitled English, Mathematics, and
Programming grades in the secondart level as predictors of academic performance in the
college level the there is a strong positive correlation between the grades of the students
in English in secondary and college levels in Mabalacat College and also moderate
positive correlation between the grades of students in Mathematics in secondary and
college levels. This supports our study for having a correlation between the grades in
mathematics and English. (Fabros-Tyler,2009)

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30





CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY



Research Design

This study will use a descriptive survey design. A survey is used to collect
original data for describing a population too large to observe directly. A survey obtains
information from a sample of people by means of self-report, that is, the people respond
to a series of questions posed by the investigator.

A descriptive survey was selected because it provides an accurate portrayal or
account of the characteristics, for example behavior, opinions, abilities, beliefs, and
knowledge of a particular individual, situation or group. This design was chosen to meet
the objectives of the study.


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The Subject
The populations of the study are the BS Math students of Unibersidad De Manila
(UDM). The participants are the students from all year level of BS Math S.Y. 2014-2015
first semester. All of them were considered in the study.
Sampling Design
Random students will be selected from the students of BS Mathematics minor in
Computer Science of Unibersidad de Manila. Respondents will only be the students who
will fill a questionnaire. The data that will be collected will be access to the statistical
software and the results will be taken as they are required for the analysis of this research
study.

Data Gathering Procedures
The researcher will personally distribute the questionnaires to students of BS
Mathematics minor in Computer Science course. Careful examination and interpretation
of the given questionnaires results can help reveal areas of relative strength and weakness
in student achievement. The data that will be gathered will then be analyzed. The
percentages of students who achieve the acceptable standard and the standard of
excellence are reported to enable comparisons of English test results and Mathematics
tests results. These results will determine if there is a correlation between Mathematics


Page 32


and English achievements. Results are reported in such a way as to encourage improved
learning. The sample questionnaire is provided at the last page of this chapter.

Statistical Treatment

To achieve the main objective of the study, statistics will be use. The data gathered
will be analyze and interpreted using the following statistical tools.

1. Percentage Formula
% =

Where:
% = percentage
f = frequency
n = sample size

2. Weighted Mean

The researcher will use arithmetic mean to know the mean score of the
respondents which will help the researcher to determine the Mathematics and English
achievements.



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=

Where:
= mean
x = midpoint
n = sample size


3. Correlation Coefficient

Correlation will always between -1.0 and +1.0. If the correlation is positive, we
have a positive relationship. If it is negative, the relationship is negative.



Where:
r = correlation coefficient
= sum
Z
x =
Z score for variable x
Z
y
= Z score for variable y
Z
x
Z
y
= cross product of Z scores
N = number of scores



Page 34


Name: ______________________ (Optional) Date: _____________
Course & Section: _______________
Age: ____ Gender: _________

I. Answer the following questions. Write your answers on the space provided at each
number. Choose your answer on the given choices.

5 Always
4 Often
3 Sometimes
2 Seldom
1 Never

___1) Do you get high grades in your English exams?
___2) Are you allotting enough time for studying both subjects?
___3) Do you get high grades in your Math examinations?
___4) Do you also get failing grades?
___5) How about in English?





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Name: ______________________ (Optional) Date: _____________
Course & Section: _______________
Age: ____
Gender: _________

Directions: The following passage is a rough draft of a students essay. It contains
mistakes. Read the essay and answer Numbers 1 through 5.

The Tool Belt
(1) My aunt handed me my great-grandmothers tool belt. (2) Five faded ribbons
dangled from it and each ribbon had a small clip at the end that held a tool: a pair of
dainty scissors, a narrow brass cylinder, a small square box, a tiny tape measure, and
several threads of all colors looped around the last clip. (3) I compared it to mine, which
held my hammer, screwdrivers, and tape measure.
(4) This is a tool belt? I asked.
(5) It is called a chatelaine, my aunt replied, and yes, it is a ladys tool belt. (6)
Chatelaine is the French word that means lady of the castle. (7) For all of her sewing
projects, these are the tools your great-grandmother used.
(8) Chatelaines were first used in ancient Rome and were called equipage. (9) Women
wore keys at the end of a decorative pin that was attached to a belt worn around their


Page 36


waists. (10) These keys unlocked small storage cabinets that contained important
documents, money, spices, and other special items that the family owned.
(11) People began living in castles during medieval times. (12) During that time tradition
held that a husband give his new bride equipage to show that he trusted her to take
good care of the castle.
(13) The wife not only wore keys but also added scissors, a small coin purse, a tape
measure, and other items that were useful for work in a castle.
(14) In the early 1800s, the word chatelaine came into use women replaced keys with
personal items. (15) One interesting example is a vinaigrette, a small container with
holes drilled in it for holding sponges soaked with sweet-smelling oils. (16) Where some
chatelaines also had miniature pens, notepads, and magnifying glasses, one chatelaine
from this period had a miniature music box attached to it, and another had a compass.
(17) Some chatelaines consisted of metal rings with ribbons hanging from them like my
great-grandmothers, while others had been made from a variety of materials, including
gold, silver, brass, wood, and leather.
(18) I smiled when I examined my great-grandmothers chatelaine. (19) In its cylinder
were two sewing needles and a rolled up piece of paper with these words written on it:
Be ever helpful.




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Direction: Identify the correct use of verbs (i.e., action/linking, regular/irregular,
agreement, perfect tenses, verb phrases) within context.
1. Read Sentence 17.
Some chatelaines consisted of metal rings with ribbons hanging from them like my
great-grandmothers, while others had been made from a variety of materials, including
gold, silver, brass, wood, and leather.
Choose the correct revision for the underlined words in the sentence.
A. were made B. have been made
C. were being made D. made
Direction: Identify the correct use of conjunctions (i.e., coordinating, correlative,
subordinating) and interjections within context.
2. Read Sentence 16.
Where some chatelaines also had miniature pens, notepads, and magnifying glasses,
one chatelaine from this period had a miniature music box attached to it, and another
had a compass.
Which word is the best replacement for the underlined word in the sentence?
A. Whenever B. Because
C. Since D. Although


Page 38


Direction: Identify the correct use of prepositional phrases (place correctly according
to the words they modify within the sentence) within context.
3. Read Sentence 7.
For all of her sewing projects, these are the tools your great-grandmother used.
What is the best way to revise this sentence?
A. These are the tools for all of her sewing projects your great-grandmother used.
B. These are the tools your great-grandmother for all of her used sewing projects.
C. These are the tools your great-grandmother used for all of her sewing projects.
D. These are for all of her sewing projects the tools your great-grandmother used.
4. Read Sentence 2.
Five faded ribbons dangled from it and each ribbon had a small clip at the end
that held a tool: a pair of dainty scissors, a narrow brass cylinder, a small square box, a
tiny tape measure, and several threads of all colors looped around the last clip.
What is the best way to revise the underlined words in the sentence?
A. from it, and each ribbon had a small
B. from it and each ribbon had a, small
C. from it, and, each ribbon had a, small
D. from it and each ribbon, had a small


Page 39


5. Read Sentence 14.
In the early 1800s, the word chatelaine came into use women replaced keys with
personal items.
What is the best way to write this sentence?
A. In the early 1800s, the word chatelaine came into use, women replaced keys with
personal items.
B. In the early 1800s, the word chatelaine came into use. Women replaced keys with
personal items.
C. In the early 1800s, the word chatelaine came into use; however, women replaced
keys with personal items.
D. correct as is.
MATHEMATICS
Direction: Solve problems involving rate/time/distance (i.e., d = rt).
1. A train traveled for hour at a speed of 80 miles per hour. It then immediately
slowed to 60 miles per hour and traveled at that speed for the next 14 hour. What is the
total distance the train traveled during this hour?
A. 65 miles B. 70 miles
C. 75 miles D. 90 miles


Page 40


Direction: Identify numbers and square roots as rational or irrational.
2. Which number is irrational?
A. 2.001678 B. 1.02002000200002 . . .
C. 0.245245245 . . . D. 0.2
Direction: Use scientific notation to compute products and quotients.
3. Simplify: (3106 )(2.5107)
A. 5 510
13
B. 7 510
13
C. 5 510
42
D. 7 510
42


4. What is the solution to this system of linear equations?
3x + y = 2
x 2y = 10
A. (2, -4) B. (4, 2)
C. (3, 7) D. (7, 3)
5. What is the slope of the line represented by the equation y = 5x + 2?
A. 1/5 B. 2/5
C. 2 D. 5



Page 41


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