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The need for proficiency in academic writing has never been more important due to its significance for academic success and professional growth. The skills required in academic writing range from research to critical thinking and communication skills. It develops holistic intellectual development and will help one run a successful professional life, more so in highly researchoriented areas where publications become highly valued. This paper has attempted to fill up the research gaps created by the lack of research into corpus linguistic and corpus-based studies in general within the parameters of Philippine academic writing, with its insufficiency of known studies on metadiscourse markers in particular. This paper examined the use of metadiscourse markers in a researcher-constructed 120,000-word corpus of academic papers written by Grade 11 Senior High School students, namely, concept papers, position papers, reaction papers, and scientific reports. Specifically, the research determined the metadiscourse markers used by students and their frequency across text types, as well as qualitative analysis of their contextual usage. In the current study, it is revealed that students utilize a wide array of interactive and interactional markers, drawing on Hyland's taxonomy of metadiscourse markers (2005) and AntConc V. 3.5.8, a corpus analysis software. The study revealed a predominant use of interactive over interactional metadiscourse markers, with a notable emphasis on transitions within the interactive category. Qualitative analysis also showed that transitions and engagement markers serve various functions, such as clarifying relationships within the text, structuring arguments, and providing additional information for better understanding. Interactional resources were also employed to convey the writer's stance, engage the reader, and present a balanced view by acknowledging different perspectives. Hence, the findings highlighted that text type, rhetorical purpose, and the use of metadiscourse markers interact closely in shaping how the writer communicates and accomplishes their purpose effectively. Future research should address writing ability and experience as factors influencing the choice of metadiscourse markers and examine their variation of use across academic and nonacademic settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public speaking anxiety is a typical problem for language learners, particularly those pursuing academic careers in their second language. This study generally aimed to determine the public speaking classroom anxiety and oral language performance of language learners. The descriptive-correlational method was used in the study. The study was comprised of 58 students who were selected through purposive sampling. Based on the results gathered by the researcher, it was found that the students generally experienced a moderate level of public speaking classroom anxiety. Physiological factors such as pounding hearts and trembling during speaking tasks were prevalent, which is attributed to a lack of preparation. Furthermore, low levels of selfconfidence and the pressure of being on the spot were some of the indicators of public speaking classroom anxiety. Meanwhile, in the speaking activity done by the respondents, they achieved a "satisfactory" rating in their oral language performance, indicating that the respondents were able to deliver an excellent attention-grabber and provide a solid introduction to the topic. However, there was a lack of clarity in the main points due to the minimal evidence that backs up the assertions made by the respondents. Furthermore, it was revealed that public classroom speaking anxiety and oral language performance had a significant relationship. It indicated that as public speaking anxiety increases, the oral language decreases. The indicators of this assumption can be drawn from factors such as panic when speaking without preparation, nervousness, fear of being laughed at, anxiety when asked to speak, discomfort in using expressive body language, and anxiety despite preparation. It is recommended that diverse speaking activities such as would you rather, think pa think-pair-share, and roleplays, which can be considered low-pressure activities, be integrated into class to develop confidence and gradually increase the difficulty through the incorporation of activities such as impromptu speaking, talk shows, and conversational dialogues to help students hone their communication skills by speaking spontaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Communicative competence is one of the primary aims of English language education, and it highlights the proper use of language functions in specific situations. This study aimed to determine the language functions used in ESL classrooms by Junior High School students. The identified underrepresented language functions became the point of departure in designing an enhancement program to improve the conversational English skills of the students. This study used qualitative research design as it employed audio recordings, classroom observations, and field notes as instruments to gather data from the six (6) ESL classrooms. This study used the model of Michael Halliday's Language Functions as a framework for the conversation analysis of verbatim transcriptions. The study found that the participants mostly used representational, heuristic, personal, and instrumental language functions during their conversational English sessions. However, imaginative, regulatory, and interactional language functions were recognized as underrepresented. A Conversational English Enhancement Program (CEEP) Framework and Modules focused on the identified underrepresented language functions were designed for the language learners. The study's concerns, such as the sparse use of imaginative language function in discussion, ineffective ways of employing regulatory function in communication, and maintaining dialogues, were specifically and contextually targeted by the modules. Thus, students in ESL classrooms should be given avenues to exercise their conversational English skills by giving them exposure to authentic situations where they can maximize language functions appropriately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

English language proficiency is a necessary part of the educational process. The Philippines is a culturally and linguistically diverse nation, making second language (L2) acquisition difficult. Essentially, the practice of teaching and studying in two or more languages alternately to facilitate learners' simple absorption of knowledge is known as code-switching. The research employed a descriptive-correlational survey to gather the code-switching practices of the 33 Junior High School teachers and 356 students in English as Second Language (ESL) classes. Additionally, the mean was used in determining the perception of the respondents. Moreover, Pearson's r was employed to test the relationship between the perception of the respondents on the ESL classes' application of code-switching exercises and their particular code-switching exercises in various areas of language instruction (understanding lesson content, managing discipline, and classroom behavior, and building relationships and engaging learners). The data were collected during the school year 2023-2024. Slovin's formula was applied in determining the sample size, and subsequently stratified random sampling was used since there were different schools as samples of this study. The instrument used to gather data was a questionnaire on the perceptions towards code-switching practice in English as a Second Language (ESL) classes and the classroom code-switching practices in key areas of language instruction. Frequency, percentage, mean, and Pearson's r were used to arrive at the correct analysis and interpretation of data. Findings disclosed that teachers and learners with an overall agreement with the statements about code-switching practices in ESL classrooms perceive code-switching as beneficial and necessary in English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction. In terms of code-switching practices in different key areas of language instruction, most frequently, teachers employ language alternation in order to comprehend the lesson material, while students use it always for the same purpose; teachers use code-switching most of the time, and students use it always in managing discipline and classroom behavior; most often teachers and learners use language alternation to cultivate connections and interest students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many Filipinos have found employment in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) online tutoring industry. The EFL online tutoring extends beyond the traditional academic mainstream, becoming a dynamic and personalized avenue for language learning. This paper aimed to fill the research gaps surfaced by the dearth of research in online learning, where there are limited known teaching and assessment strategies used to deliver EFL tutoring classes. It specifically sought to identify the effectiveness and adaptability of communicative language teaching strategies to cater to the language needs of EFL learners. The participants were tutors of Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese learners. Through a phenomenological qualitative inquiry, this study subsequently gathered data through a semi-structured interview with eight priori codes as a research instrument. On the other hand, tutoring class observations also corroborated the parallel validation of interview data. The data further analyzed using cool, warm, and thematic analyses. The directives of themes explicated in this study were delineated by the emerging Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach by Richards and Schmidt as conceptual framework, other prevalent strategies were also reiterated. In a nutshell, the participants' perspectives highlighted the effective utilization of language activities in all instructional and evaluative aspects. These are the use of authentic materials as a push for authenticity, opinion sharing, role-playing, information gap activities, information transfer activities, mechanical practice in language familiarization, meaningful practice by giving prompt feedback, language task, and project work. Consequently, the constraints revolved around language barrier, technological barrier, short attention span, and validity of assessments involved. Also, essential suggestions for future researchers are accentuated in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluency is one of the most essential micro skills in reading. Reading combines comprehension, accuracy, and speed. This offers a chance to broaden one's skill set and gain competence in the demanding world, especially considering the range of employment accessible in the country that mostly requires reading comprehension. The purpose of this study was to assess the learners' reading fluency in terms of comprehension and speed as well as any differences in reading fluency between the preand post-implementation periods of reading remediation and intervention. All junior high school students enrolled for the 2023-2024 academic year make up the target group for this study. The Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil-IRI), an evaluation tool with features like comprehension score, speed reading rate, and leveled passages, was used by the researcher. The study's findings showed that students' reading comprehension was rated as frustrating, and their reading speed level fell into this category. As a result, learners' reading fluency was primarily evaluated in terms of irritation. Pre-test results showed a mean rating of 2.86, while post-test results showed a mean of 2.98 with a p-value of 0.00, indicating a higher level of reading fluency than before the reading project was implemented. Since reading programs were implemented in schools, students have made some progress and shown promising results. However, it is advised that educational institutions think about reexamining the implemented programs to improve the alarming status of the learners in terms of their reading skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stakeholders' forum aimed to enhance the capacities of policymakers, managers, and practitioners of river basin organizations on flood management through knowledge sharing of new approaches, techniques, methodologies, and good practices from partners here and abroad to help achieve effective implementation of integrated flood risk management as a component of integrated water resources management. The study followed a qualitative research methodology; thus, observation and documentation of each series of planned activities, semi-structured and unstructured interviews with the executive leaders of national agencies and international partners, and discourse analysis of the shared presentations and knowledge exchange between or among the stakeholders were conducted to surface specific themes that described how this stakeholders' forum enhanced the implementation of integrated water resources management in the country through a multipartite communication platform. The research findings revealed that international and national partnership is fortified and R&D efforts will be rapidly realized through a multipartite information exchange, collaborative workshop, technology transfer, and other knowledge-sharing activities. Moreover, legal agreements entered by all stakeholders to scale up global and community linkages are a salient measure to encourage and motivate stakeholders to take part in the implementation of STI-based efforts stipulated in such legal documents. Joint field visits, series of fellowships, and use of websites for information dissemination also have pivotal roles in acquiring a profound understanding of dam situations in the Philippines and Japan, and how integrated water resources management will be communicated to various community partners. Thus, the forum served as a channel that bridged what the government agencies and organizations know about flood and sedimentation management and what the community partners need to understand to revitalize science-community-government-academe collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]