GRADE SEVEN STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE AND STATEGIES IN MAKING

SENSE OF ARITHMETIC WORD PROBLEMS IN ENGLISH

An Undergraduate Thesis
Presented to the Faculty of the
Secondary Teaching Department
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
Mindanao State University
Marawi City

In Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements for the Degree
Bachelor of Secondary Education
Major in English

ASNIA P. ALIBASHER
NORHANNAH A. ALIOLA

November 2016

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 Republic of the Philippines
Mindanao State University
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
Marawi City

APPROVAL SHEET

This undergraduate thesis entitled: ‘’Grade Seven Students’ Performance and

Strategies in Making Sense of Arithmetic Word Problems in English” prepared by
Asnia P. Alibasher and Norhannah A. Aliola has been examined and recommended for
acceptance and approval.

THESIS COMMITTEE

Accepted and approved by the Committee on Oral Examination with the grade of
__________.

PROF. ROSENIYA G. TAMANO

Thesis Adviser

DR. WARDAH D. GUIMBA

Research Coordinator/ Panel Member

DR. ROHANIFA T. MAMA-MAROHOMBSAR

Panel Member

Date of Final Defense: November 21, 2016

Accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree
Bachelor of Secondary Education major in ENGLISH.

PROF. NORHAYNA ERYLL M. UNTE DR. MONTIA JAMILAH D. SARIP

Chairperson, Secondary Teaching Dept. Dean, College of Education
Date: __________________ Date: __________________

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
After an intense period of years, this is it! Writing this acknowledgement is one of the
exciting parts of this thesis. Indeed, triumph is for those who keep on moving despite the
sharpness and bitterness of life. It has been a period of intense learning for us. This thesis
represents not only our hard work at the keyboard, it is a milestone. We would like to
reflect on the people who have supported and helped us so much throughout this period.
First and foremost, we thank the one who makes us strong and firm, the one who always
puts a smile on our faces and gives us hope, the creator, ALLAH Subhaanahu Wata
‘Aalaa.
Our family deserve our deepest gratitude for their unconditional love, undying support,
wise counsel and sympathetic ear. To our parents, Mr. Alibasher I. Pala, Mrs. Sanirah
M. Pala, Mr. Zacariya M. Aliola and Mrs. Camalia O. Ambor, who guided us and
helped us achieve good things in life. To our siblings, for their never-ending support, love
and care.
We wish to thank our thesis adviser, Prof. Roseniya G. Tamano. She has been
supportive since the day we began working on this thesis. She has supported us not only
by providing a research assistantship for a long time, but also supported emotionally
through the rough road to finish this thesis. She helped us come up with this thesis and
guided us over many years of development.
We would also like to express our deepest appreciation to our panel members, Dr.
Wardah D. Guimba and Dr. Rohanifa T. Mama-Marohombsar, for their comments
and suggestions in making our paper informative. Their thoroughness and detailed
comments helped us tremendously in making our writing flow better and easier for
readers to understand.
Moreover, we also wish to express our gratitude to Prof. Wenieva D. Padrones who
helped us in analyzing the data that we have gathered and to Ms. Jahara A. Solaiman
who provided her constructive comments that have truly helped this paper.
We have a deep gratitude and a feeling of honor to collaborate with the Ib’n Siena
Integrated School Foundation. This thesis would not be possible without their support.
We would also like to thank everybody who supported us in the making of this paper. As
the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) said: “You have not thanked ALLAH if you did not
thank the people (who have caused the blessings from ALLAH).” We would also like to
apologize that we could not mention their names one by one. We genuinely thank them
for their genuine support.
Alhamdulillah! This is for you!
ASNIA and NORHANNAH

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 DEDICATION

This simple work is heartedly and warmly dedicated to the following:

To my dear parents
Mr. Alibasher I. Pala
Mrs. Sanirah M. Pala

To my beloved Grandmothers
Hadja Sittie Hidjara Sarip
Camaria Hadji Socor

To my supportive Siblings
Asnaima, Asmina, Asnaifah, Asnora, Azreen, Asima, and Aziza

To my friend A.A.

To all the people who are close to my heart

To the College of Education

To the Mindanao State University

And above all, to the Almighty ALLAH

ALHAMDULILLAH!
-ANICA 

I humbly dedicate this work to the One, who gave me strength, knowledge and Hidayah
(guidance) in working this paper. Alhamdulillah (endless Alhamdulillah) for His infinite
blessings He has bestowed upon me. This paper would not be possible without His
Tawfiq and Will. Indeed, He is The Controller and The best Planner.
Moreover, it will not sound good if I will not mention those who inspired and motivated
me to reach the goal; to have my thesis hardbound.
This paper is also dedicated to the following:
To my Omi and Abi,
To my siblings and family as a whole,
To the College of Education-Faculty and Staffs,
To the Mindanao State University-Main Campus,
And to the future researchers and readers,
I am praying to ALLAH to provide us understanding and good knowledge. May this
paper help us to appreciate the goodness of making a research study.
This is all for you!
-NORHANNAH

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 ABSTRACT

Alibasher, Asnia P. and Aliola, Norhannah A. “Grade Seven Students’ Performance

and Strategies in Making Sense of Arithmetic Word Problems in English”, an
Undergraduate Thesis, Secondary Teaching Department, College of Education,
Mindanao State University, Marawi City, November 2016.

Thesis Adviser: Prof. Roseniya G. Tamano

This study sought to identify students’ performance and strategies in making sense of
arithmetic word problems given in English in one of the private schools in Marawi City ,
Lanao del Sur, Philippines. The study examined the level of performance of students and
their strategies in attacking word problem solving. A 10-item word problem solving test
which included the four fundamental operations was given during the 2 nd quarter of the
School Year 2016-2017 to 35 grade 7 students. Scores in this test measured their
performance level, while the follow-up interview was executed in order to determine the
respondents’ strategies in arriving to the correct answer. Results indicated that there was
no significant relationship of the respondents’ Previous English Grades (PEG) to their
performance in the test and their Previous Math Grades (PMG) on their performance in
the test. The results described that there was a positive correlation, however it was weak.
Therefore, the general idea fell into having no significant relationships of their PEG and
PMG to their test performance. However, existing factors of difficulty have also
complained about by the respondents. Majority of the respondents have difficulty in
comprehending the test when it is in English format, and different approaches and
strategies in solving word problems are not known to them. Only few are interpreted by
the researchers as the strategies of the respondents, when they had an interview with
them.

Keywords: Arithmetic Word Problems, Math Performance, Strategies, Comprehension,

English Language

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page i
Approval Sheet ii
Acknowledgement iii
Dedication iv
Abstract v
Table of Contents vi
List of Tables viii
List of Figures ix

Chapter

1 THE PROBLEM AND ITS SCOPE

Introduction 1
Theoretical Framework 3
Conceptual Framework 5
Statement of the Problem 6
Scope and Limitations 6
Null Hypotheses 6
Significance of the Study 7
Definition of Terms 8
2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES 9
Related Literature 9
Related Studies 10
3 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY 15
Research Design 15
Locale of the Study 15
Respondents of the Study 16
Instrumentation 17
Data Gathering Procedure 17
Data Analysis Procedure 17
Statistical Tools Used 18
4 PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA 19
5 SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 28
Summary of Findings 28
Conclusion 29
Recommendations 29

Bibliography 32

Appendices 33
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Appendix A Letter to the Principal 34

Appendix B Test Questionnaire 35

Appendix C Interview Guide Questions 36

Appendix D Transcript of Interview 37

Appendix E Final Oral Examination Report 38

Appendix F Certification from the Statistician 39

Appendix G Consultation Log 40

Appendix H Proof of Editing 41

Appendix I Curriculum Vitae 42

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 LIST OF TABLES

Table Title Page

4.1 Respondents’ Previous English Grade (PEG)

19

4.2 Respondents’ Previous Mathematics Grade (PMG) 20

4.3 Frequency and Percentage Distribution of the Respondents’ 22

Performance in Arithmetic Word Problems in English

4.4 Relationship between the Previous English Grade (PEG) and 24

the Arithmetic Performance of the Respondents

4.5 Relationship between the Previous Math Grade (PMG) and the 24
Arithmetic Performance of the Respondents

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 LIST OF FIGURE

Figure Title Page

Figure 1 Schematic Diagram for the Conceptual Framework of this study 6

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