BIBLIOGRAPHY JULIAN, JENNILYN A. ...
BIBLIOGRAPHY
JULIAN, JENNILYN A. APRIL 2011. Obstacle: The Challenge of Communication
among BSDC Sophomore Students in Benguet State University. Benguet State
University, La Trinidad Benguet.
Adviser: Filmore Y. Awas, MDevCom
ABSTRACT
The study was conducted to determine the communication problems among
BSDC sophomore students in Benguet State University.
Specifically, the study aimed to determine the communications activities
participated in by the respondents with their classmates, schoolmates and teachers if the
subject that they dwell on is concerning to course related and non-course related matters
It also aimed to determine the languages used by the respondents when they are
writing and speaking to their classmates, schoolmates and teachers, to determine how
ease or difficult did the students find the identified activities and the study aimed to
determine the common strategies applied by the respondents in order to cope up with the
recognized difficulties.
The findings of the study showed that the there were some activities done by the
respondents with their classmates and schoolmates which they did not do with their
teachers. The subject matter, whether course related or non-course related also
affectedthe activities done by the respondents. Under course related topics, all identified
activities were participated in by the respondents while under non-course related topics,
there were those that they did not participated in.
The study also found out that there was no difference on the language used by the
respondents when talking to their classmates, schoolmates and teachers whether their
subject is course related or non-course related. When it comes to writing, there was no
differenceon the language used by the respondents when writing to their classmates, and
schoolmates. Results also show that there was a difference on the language used by the
respondents when the subject is course related and non-course related.
As for how easy or difficult did the respondents rated the identified activities,
results present that the respondents did not find so much difficulty on the communication
activities which were identified. The respondents found most of the activities as
moderate. Findings show that there were only few among the activities that where rated
difficult.
Generally,there is no difference on the performance of the students coming from
urban or rural areas based on the degree of difficulty on most of the communication
activities that were identified. Difficulty was noted only in writing essays, class reporting,
speech class exercises, library research/internet research works.
Based on the findings, it is recommended that teachers should continue carrying
out communication-related activities in their class for the continuous development of the
students’ communication skills. Likewise, students should continue improving their
communication skills. Also, students facing similar difficulties may consider the coping
communication strategies done by the respondents as noted in the study.
1
INTRODUCTION
Rationale
We communicate with many people in a variety of situations daily. We listen to
professors, employers, co-workers, family members, friends, and many other each hour.
As Seiler and Beall (2007) noted, whatever your cultural background, learning style or
geographic location, you will find that your communication proficiency can mean greater
academic success, better relationship, a better job, and a better satisfaction in your life.
Communication is at the core of our humanness. How we communicate with each
other shapes our lives and our world. We all rely on our communicative skills as we
confront events that challenge our flexibility, integrity, expressiveness, and critical
thinking skills. Gamble and Gamble (2005) further noted that making effort to become
more effective in interacting with persons from diverse backgrounds and by working at
developing relationships based on mutual respect and a sense of ethical fairness will
increase our chances of leading more fulfilling personal and professional lives.
Our progress depends on our learning to understand ourselves and others. To this
end, we need to interact with each other to develop new ideas and some problems. We
need to participate in the exchange of information and ideas that we believe is important
to our well-being.
In this sense, communication is vital to the learning process. Establishing a strong
system of communication in the classroom means identifying types of communication
problems and working to minimize their effects on a student's education. Working to
integrate students with different communication problems into the general classroom will
benefit them in the long-term (Webb, 2011).
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Development Communication students, like other common students in
universities, encounter four major activities while in school. These are speaking,
listening, writing, and reading.
Now most of the students do better in reading and writing than in listening and
speaking. They can read and write, but they can hardly communicate. They can hardly
express themselves with their own words. On the other hand, there are also students who
do better in speaking and listening than in reading and writing.
Development Communication sophomore students in Benguet State University
will be future Development Communication practitioners. They will be facing a lot of
people and will be doing various tasks related to their profession. Their training in school
will serve as their strong foundation and will shape them on how they will be facing their
profession in the future.
Given this scenario, the need to determine the communication problems that these
students experience,as early as while they are at that stage of their education, is of
importance.
Much of the research on the communication problems in work settings has
focused on listening, speaking, writing and reading. In this study, it will only bring out
the common problems that these students encounter when listening, speaking, writing,
and reading and the communication strategies that these students did in order to cope up
with the communication difficulties that they experienced.
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Statement of the Problem
1. What is the socio-demographic profile of the respondents?
2. What are the communication activities encountered by Development
Communication sophomore students in Benguet State University?
3. What are the languages used in communicating with their classmates and
teachers?
4. How easy or difficult do the respondents find the activities under speaking,
listening, writing and reading.
5. What are the communication strategies that you do in order to cope up with the
communication difficulties that you experience?
Objectives of the Study
Generally, the study aimed to determine the communication difficulties among
sophomore students of BS Development Communication in Benguet State University.
Specifically, it aimed to:
1.Determine the socio-demographic profile of the respondents;
determinethe communication activities encountered by the respondents;
2. determinethe languages used by the respondents when writing and speaking to
their classmates, schoolmates and teachers;
3. determine the degree of ease or difficulty encountered by the respondents in
executing speaking, listening, writing and reading activities; and
4. determine the communication strategies that the respondents did in order to
cope up with the communication difficulties they encountered.
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Importance of the Study
This study will be helpful for the respondents in discovering some ways to do
better when it comes to speaking, listening, writing and reading.It will help them to
overcome those areas where they find difficulties in executingit.
If popularized, the study can serve as a basis for the Department of Development
Communication to implement programs or activities in assisting BS Development
Communication sophomore students improve their communication skills specifically in
executing speaking, listening, writing and reading activities.
Scope and Limitation of the Study
The study focused on identifying problems onthe communicationactivitiesdone by
the respondents whether with their teachers, classmates or schoolmatesspecifically on
speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Interpersonal Communication
Communication is the interdependent process of sending, receiving and
understanding messages. This definition implies that the components of the
communication process cannot be examined separately. Rather, with the relationship that
exists between the sender and the receiver as well as the environment of the
communication event must be viewed as a whole (Goodnight and Dunn 2003).
Interpersonal communication occurs when a limited number of people usually two
interact by using verbal and nonverbal messages to generate meaning for the purpose of
sharing information, achieving goal, or maintaining a relationship (Engelberg and Wynn
2008).
Our ability to communicate effectively in personal relationships influences our
psychological and physical health, our personal identity and happiness, our social and
moral development, our ability to cope up with stress and misfortune and the quality and
meaning of our life (Baxter and Montgomery, 1996)
The Communication Process
Generally speaking, the verbal communication process includes sending,
receiving and providing a feedback.
An online article in local1510.org titled Interpersonal Communication talks about
the three verbal communication processes. These are as follows.
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
The speaker says what they want to say to the receiver by selecting words that
will best convey their meaning and by using a variety of gestures, facial expressions, or
other personal mannerisms that will help transmit that message.
The listener "receives" the message through a series of "filters." These filters may
include their past experiences, their perception of the speaker, their emotional
involvement with the message, their understanding of the message's content, and their
level of attention. In a sense, as the speaker speaks the listener translates the message into
their own words, creating their own version of what they think the speaker has just said.
Unless both the sender and the receiver have identical past experiences, effective
communication may be difficult.
Without clear and concise communication skills misunderstandings can frequently
occur. Communication is influenced by the way people feel about a subject, a task or a
person. Each of us must realize that our feelings and emotions play a significant role in
effective communication. Truly, effective communication cannot be a one-sided
monologue. To persuade, inform, or change the listener, both the sender and the receiver
must be actively involved.
Communication is continuous and reciprocal. Both persons mutually and
continuously send and receive messages. When people communicate they must also offer
"feedback about the message. To give feedback is to respond to the message or the
speaker in such a way that the speaker knows that the message has been heard and
understood.
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Communication is not complete until the message has been understood. Feedback
can include asking questions, nodding the head in affirmation or in a negative manner, or
a verbal reply.
Factors that Hinder the Communication Process
A number of barriers interfere with effective communication. These factors do not
influence messages as much as they prevent communication from occurring.
According to the College of DuPage (1998), some factors that hinder the
communication process include prejudice, closed words, snap judgments, and ranking.
Prejudice, pre-judging, prevents communication from happening when a person
assumes something will be true before it actually happens. There are always exceptions.
Prejudice, then, is unfair. It is unfair to you in that it may keep you from communicating
with or from getting to know others. It is unfair to other people in that they may be
judged and treated wrongly. Another problem with it is that people guilty of it may make
it into a self-fulfilling prophecy. They may allow prejudice to taint the message to fulfill
their beliefs. They would have to repeat the same procedure with the same conditions and
time both performances to prove the point. Barrinng such proof, they assume their biased
opinions to be true.
Closed words are those like "all," "none," "everyone," and "never." They are
exclusionary. They eliminate other possibilities. They inhibit communication when used
as part of generalizations as in "They never get the patient here on time," or "All of the
people on that shift are lazy," or "They're always rough with the clients." Not only would
it be rare for statements like this to be true, but they prevent communication by evoking
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
defensive responses from the subjects of each of them. Few people would not be
defensive if told that they "always act unprofessional."
Snap judgments, or premature closings, result when people make decisions based
on first impressions or based on limited information (jumping to conclusions). Some
people make snap judgments based on appearance or based on their first experience
working with someone. They then extrapolate that behavior and judge the entire person
(College of DuPage, 1998).
Ranking refers to a person's position or status. It is a barrier to communication
when it prevents a person of one rank from talking openly to a person of another rank. It
is very common. One form that is frequently seen is when people of lower rank are
reluctant to report problems to people of higher rank. However, it is also seen in the
awkward conversations people at the top of an organization have with those at the
bottom of an organization. In this case the conversation may turn to the weather or other
harmless topics, with little or no real communication about the organization ever taking
place. Here the high ranking people are often just as uncomfortable as those of lower
ranks (College of DuPage, 1998).
According to the College of DuPage, there are also other communication barriers
which are generally found in the three areas of the communication process. These are as
follows:
Sending messages. As speakers, the messages we send, whether verbal or written,
seemperfectly understandable. From our own point of view, our messages arevery clear
and concise. To the listener, however, the words may be confusingor unclear, our tone of
voice may be misleading, or our body language maynot accurately convey the meaning or
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
the importance of the message.Messages should be formed based on the listener's level of
understanding.Think through the message and try to predict how it will be received.The
responsibility of determining whether effective communication hasoccurred lies with the
sender. To make certain that the message wasunderstood, the speaker should get some
type of feedback from the listener.As previously stated, this feedback could include a nod
of the head, arestating of the message by the listener or some other response.
Receiving a message. It is believed by many that the biggest single
communication problem isthe lack of ability to effectively listen. Most people seem to
assume thatwhat they understood to be the message is what the speaker
intended.Frequently the two are not the same. A word or a facial expression can change
the meaning of a message. Likewise, a previous experience by the listener can interpret a
conversationdifferently from what was intended. Another common problem arises
whenthe listener starts planning a response to what is being said instead ofactively
listening. As a result, the listener does not hear the entire message.As the sender, asking
for feedback from the listener is the best way to insure that the intended meaning of your
idea or message was clear.
An online article in local1510.org titled Communication Barriers says that other
communication barriers depend on ones personality. A person may be a mover, oppose,
follower or a bystander.
Mover. A mover is the one person in the work group who will usually initiate
whatever action is needed. The mover will also try to determine where you are heading
and will suggest and develop ideas for how to get there. Movers are usually called
“natural leaders." A mover's value on the job is obvious. Having good ideas and the
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
energy to back them up is a most useful and constructive trait. Movers, in general, enjoy
power and enjoy being in charge; however, they also have a strong need for approval and
for others to agree with them. They are also frequently un-accepting of other people's
ideas. Mover does generally see their own ideas as the only and best way of
accomplishing a task or settling an issue.
Opposers. The opposer generally pushes against whatever is being discussed or
considered. The opposer creates a challenge by blocking the direction or intended
destination of any idea. Opposers get their attention and sense of importance by taking a
contrary position. In a group, opposers can serve a useful purpose. Foremen and other
leaders can use an opposer to test ideas or scrutinize plans. By redirecting the opposer's
negative viewpoint, their ideas may be used to stimulate further thought or discussion
which could result in improving the original suggestion.
Follower. The follower is the person in the group who generally "goes
along."Followers will support someone or someone else's idea, however, they most likely
will not initiate ideas of their own. Followers are not uncreativebut may have a greater
need to play it safe, to keep a lower profile, or to wait until they see the general opinion
of the group as a whole before they take a stand. Followers are very good implementers
once they commit themselves to an idea. Followers have their own level of power in any
group. By being supportive, the follower empowers others to take whatever action is
necessary.
Bystander. The bystander is quite different from the follower. While the follower
agrees with ideas and viewpoints that they personally relate to, the bystander stays out of
direct action altogether. The bystander makes no alliances with any of the other three
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
personality types. Bystanders observe and keep opinions to themselves. This may create a
level of uneasiness on the job because no one really knows what the bystander is thinking
How to Improve Communication Skills
According to an online article in www.ehow.com, there are some ways on how to
improve communication skills.
Good communication skills are a necessity in your personal and business life.
Some people are naturally good communicators. For everyone else, communication is a
skill that must be nurtured. With a little time and effort, no one will ever know you
weren't born with the gift of gab. Follow these steps to improve your communication
skills.
Think before you speak. Plan your presentations and other addresses to groups
whenever possible, especially in business. Even if you don't know everything you want to
say, you should have a general idea. In more private conversations, take the time to be
clear about the points you want to make before talking. Always be honest in your
communication.
Be an active listener. Listening is often more important than speaking. To
improve your communication skills, pay attention to what others are saying without
getting distracted.
Make good eye contact. Shifty eyes make you seem less than trustworthy in
business and personal life. If you are looking everywhere but in the eyes of your
audience, it will arouse suspicion. This doesn't mean you should initiate a staring contest.
Just make sure to put your audience at ease by holding the gaze at times.
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Take it slow. Don't slur your words together or mumble. Enunciate. If you speak
too fast, then you'll lose your audience. Use words only if you are sure of their meaning.
Make yourself easily understood.
Use appropriate volume and tone. Of course, you should speak louder when
addressing a group than you would in private conversations. Reflect emotion in your
voice. A monotone approach is never appropriate in any setting.
Practice. It’s the best way to improve your communication skills. The more you
do it, the easier it will get.
METHODOLOGY
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Locale and Time of Study
The study was conducted at Benguet State University, La Trinidad, Benguet, from
March 2011 (Figure 1).
BSU is located at Benguet Province in Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR),
specifically at La Trinidad valley, the strawberry capital of the country, about 1300
meters above sea level. La Trinidad is 256 kilometers north of Manila and three
kilometers north of Baguio City.
The university has eight colleges offering 16 degree programs of which BS
Development Communication is one among the degrees offered.
Benguet State University was the chosen locale of the study since it is the only
State University that is offering Development communication as a degree in Benguet.
Respondents of the Study
The respondents were chosen through total enumeration. During the
implementation some of the respondents were absent. Consequently there were 55
respondents in the study. They were enrolled second semester of the academic year 2010-
2011.
The respondents were chosen since they are at the stage of adjustment from high
school to college and they will be future development communicators and they have to be
helped in overcoming difficulties that they face in this stage of their academic life.
Figure 1 here
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Data Collection
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
A survey questionnaire was floated to gather the socio-demographic profile of the
respondents and the communication problems they encountered. The respondents were
guided by the researcher in answering the questionnaire.
Data Gathered
The study included gathering of the socio-demographic profile of the respondents.
It gathered the common problems encountered by the respondents when speaking,
listening, writing and reading.
It also gathered some strategies that the respondents did to cope up with such
situation.
Data Analysis
The data gathered were consolidated and were analyzed using frequency,
percentage and descriptive analysis.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Socio-demographic Profile
of the Respondents
Table 1 shows the socio-demographic profile of the respondents in terms of sex,
age and tribal affiliation.
Majority of the respondents were of the ages 17-18 (78.18%). Forty-six (83.63%)
of the respondents were female and nine (16.37%) were male. Most of the respondents
were Kankanaey (54.55%) and Ibaloi (23.64%).
Table 1. Socio-demographic profile of the respondents
SCHOOL LOCATION
TOTAL
CHARACTERISTICS
RURAL
URBAN
NUMBER
PERCENTAGE
N=36
N=19
(N=55) ( % )
Age
17-18
31
12
43 78.18%
19-20
5
6
11 20%
21-22
-
-
- -
23-24
-
1
1 1.82%
TOTAL
36
19
55 100
Sex
Male
5
4
9 16.37%
Female
31
15
46 83.63%
TOTAL
36
19
55 100
Tribal Affiliation
Kankanaey
24
6
30 54.55%
Ibaloi
9
4
13 23.64%
Ilocano
1
2
3 5.45%
Bisaya
-
1
1 1.82%
Kalanguya
-
1
1 1.82%
Pangasinense
-
2
2 3.63%
Maranao
-
1
1 1.82%
Tagalog
-
2
2 3.63%
Kalinga
1
-
1 1.82%
Kankaney-Ibaloi
1
-
1 1.82%
TOTAL
36
19
55 100%
Communication Activities Participated in
by the Respondents Regarding
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Course-Related Matters
Table 2 shows the communication activities participated in by the respondents
whether with their classmates, schoolmates and teachers when their subject matter is
course related.
Classmates. Results show that great majority of the respondents (92.72%)
involved themselves in group discussion and composing text messages with their
classmates. Conversation came next where 90.90% of the respondents involved
themselves in this activity. Meanwhile, the activity where there is least number of
respondents involved is blogging with 52.72%.
The result clearly indicates that group discussion and composing text messages
for their classmates is commonly practiced in terms of the communication activities done
by the respondents with their classmates when the subject matters is course-related.
Schoolmates. Results show that majority of the respondents (85.35%) participated
in having conversations with their schoolmates. Group discussion came next where
45.45% of the respondents were involved.
Teachers.Results show that majority of the respondents (80%) participated in
having conversation with their teachers. Also, 80% of the respondents involved
themselves in recitation and taking exams/ quizzes with their teachers. Lecture came next
where 78.18% of the respondents participated in this activity. Internet chatting is the
activity where there was least of the respondents (12.72%) involved.
Table 2. Communication activities participated in by the respondents with their
classmates, schoolmates and teachers regarding course-related matters
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
N=55
ACTIVITIES
CLASSMATES
SCHOOLMATES
TEACHERS
No.
%
No.
%
No.
%
Group Discussion
51
92.72
25
45.45
20
36.36
Lecture
44
80.00
8
14.44
43
78.18
Conversation
50
90.90
47
85.35
44
80.00
Class reporting
48
87.27
4
7.27
40
72.72
Meeting
46
83.63
22
40.00
23
41.81
Recitation
37
67.27
2
3.63
44
80.00
Speech class exercises
39
70.90
5
9.09
37
67.27
Library research work/ 47
85.35
15
27.27
15
27.27
internet research
Reading handouts or other 48
87.27
4
7.27
25
45.45
teacher prepared material
Essay writing/ writing 40
72.72
6
10.90
31
56.36
letter
Taking down notes during 41
74.55
1
1.81
30
54.54
discussion
Internet research
47
85.35
19
34.54
8
14.54
Internet chatting
46
83.63
27
49.09
7
12.72
Taking exams/quizzes
41
74.55
4
7.27
44
80.00
Composing text messages 51
92.72
33
60.00
12
21.81
Composing e-mails
43
78.18
24
43.63
25
45.45
Blogging
29
52.72
18
32.72
20
36.36
*Multiple responses
Communication Activities Participated in
by the Respondents when their Subject
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Matter isNon-course Related
Table 3 shows the communication activities participated in by the respondents
whether with their classmates, schoolmates and teachers where their subject matter is
non- course related.
Classmates.Results show that great majority of the respondents (92.72%)
participated in having conversation with their classmate. Composing text messages came
next where 90.90% of the respondents were involved. The activity where there was least
number of respondents involved was essay writing.
Schoolmates.Results show that most of the respondents (90.90%) participated in
having conversation with their schoolmates. Group discussion came next where 78.18%
of the respondents were involved. The activity where there was least number of
respondents involved was lecture.
Lecture refers to seminars or conferences which is non-course related and where
the respondent goes with a schoolmate.
Teachers. Results show that most of the respondents (50.90%) participated in
having conversation with their teachers. Lecture came next where there were seven of the
respondents who involved themselves in this activity. The activities where there was least
number of respondents involved were group discussion, internet chatting and composing
text messages.
Tables 2 and 3 prove that there were some activities done by the respondents with
their classmates and schoolmates which they did not do with their teachers. The subject
matter, whether course related or non-course related, also affected the activities done by
Table 3. Communication activities participated in by the respondents with their
classmates, schoolmates where their subject matter is non-course related
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
N=55
ACTIVITIES
CLASSMATES
SCHOOLMATES TEACHERS
No.
%
No.
%
No.
%
Group Discussion
49
89.09 43
78.18
2
3.63
Lecture
41
74.54 16
29.09
7
12.72
Conversation
51
92.72 50
90.90
28
50.90
Class reporting
39
70.90 -
-
Meeting
45
81.81 38
69.09
-
Recitation
35
63.63 -
-
Speech class exercises
32
58.18 -
-
Library research work/
46
83.63 24
43.63
-
internet research
Reading handouts or
42
76.36 24
43.63
6
10.90
other teacher prepared
material
Essay writing
28
50.90 -
-
Taking down notes
35
63.63 -
-
during discussion
Internet research
47
85.45 29
52.72
4
7.27
Internet chatting
42
76.36 35
63.63
2
3.63
Taking exams/quizzes
32
58.18 -
-
Composing text messages 50
90.90 38
69.09
2
3.63
Composing e-mails
38
69.09 30
54.54
4
7.27
Blogging
35
63.63 21
38.18
3
5.45
the respondents. Under course related topics, all identified activities were participated in
by the respondents while under non-course related topics; there were those that they did
not participated in.
Languages Used by the Respondents
in Communicatingwith Classmates,
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Schoolmatesand Teachers
Table 4 shows the languages spoken by the BSDC sophomore students in Benguet
State University.
Among the identified languages, all of the respondents speak in English and
Tagalog. Eighty two percent of the respondents also speak Ilocano while 67.27% of the
respondents speak in Kankanaey. Least of the respondents speak Ibaloi, Kalinga,
Kalanguya, Ibanag, and Itawas.
Table 4. Languages spoken by the BSDC sophomore students
TOTAL
LANGUAGES SPOKEN
NUMBER
PERCENTAGE
(N=55)
(%)
English
55
100
Filipino
55
100
Iloko
48
82.27
Kankanaey
37
67.27
Kalanguya
1
1.82
Ibaloi
7
12.72
Kalinga
1
1.82
Ibanag
1
1.82
Itiwas
1
1.82
*Multiple Responses
Languages Used by the Respondents in
Communicatingwith their Classmates,
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Schoolmates and Teacherswhen
Speakingabout Course
Related Topics
The respondents ranked each identified language through putting the appropriate
number in the box. They ranked the first three languages that they used when speaking
with their classmates schoolmates and teachers. One as the first language they used in
communicating, two as the second language they used in communication and three as
third language they used in communicating.
Table 5 shows the languages used by the respondents in communicating with their
classmates, schoolmates and teachers when they are talking about course related topics.
Classmates.Results show that when the respondents were communicating with
their classmates, the language they used most was Ilocano. Filipino came next and
English followed.
Table 5. Languages used by the respondents in communicating with their classmates,
schoolmates and teachers when they are writing and speaking about course
related topics
ACTIVITY
ENGLISH FILIPINO ILOCANO KANKANAEY IBALOI
SPEAKING
Teachers
2
1
3
-
-
Schoolmates
1.5
1.5
1
-
-
Classmates
1.5
1.5
1
-
-
WRITING
Teachers
1
2
3
-
-
Schoolmates
1.5
1
1.5
-
-
Classmates
1.5
1
1.5
-
-
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Schoolmates.Results show that when the respondents were communicating with
their classmates, they ranked Ilocano as the first language that they speak followed by
Filipino. English was ranked last.
Teachers.Results show that when the respondents were communicating with their
teachers, they used Filipino as their first language. English came next. Ilocano was
ranked last.
Languages Used by the Respondents in
Communicatingwith their Classmates,
Schoolmates and Teacherswhen
Writing about Course
Related Topics
Classmates.Results show that when the respondents were writing to their
classmates, they used Filipino as their first language. English came next and Ilocano was
ranked last.
Schoolmates.Results show that when the respondents were writing to their
schoolmates, they used Filipino first. Ilocano came next and Ilocano landed last.
Teachers.Results show that when they were writing to their teachers, they used
English first followed by Filipino then Ilocano.
Tables 5 and 6 prove that there was no difference on the language used by the
respondents when talking to their classmates, schoolmates and teachers whether their
subject is course related or non-course related. When it comes to writing, there was no
difference on the language used by the respondents when writing to their classmates, and
schoolmates. Results also show that there was a difference on the language used by the
respondents when the subject is course related and non-course related.
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Table 6. Languages used by the respondents in communicating with their classmates,
schoolmates and teachers when they are speaking and talking about non-course
related topics
ACTIVITY
ENGLISH FILIPINO ILOCANO KANKANAEY
IBALOI
SPEAKING
Teachers
1.5
1
1.5
-
-
Schoolmates
1.5
1.5
5
-
-
Classmates
1.5
1.5
1
-
-
WRITING
2
1
3
-
-
Teachers
Schoolmates
1.5
1
1.5
-
-
Classmates
1.5
1
1.5
-
-
Languages Used by the Respondents in
Communicating with their Classmates,
Schoolmates and Teachers when
Speaking about Non-Course
Related Topics
Classmates.Table 6 shows that when the respondents were speaking with their
classmates, the first language they used was Ilocano followed by Filipino then English
came last.
Schoolmates.Results show that when the respondents were speaking with their
schoolmates, the first language that they used was Ilocano. Filipino came next. Ilocano
was the least used.
Teachers.Results show that when the respondents were speaking with their
teachers, the first language they used was Filipino. English came next and then Ilocano.
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Languages Used by the Respondents in
Communicating with their
Classmates, Schoolmates
and Teachers when
Writing about
Non-Course
Related
Topics
Classmates. Results show that when the respondents were writing their
classmates, the first language they used was Filipino. English came next and Ilocano
ranked last.
Schoolmates. Results show that when the respondents were writing their
schoolmates, the first language they used was Filipino. English and Ilocano were second
and last, respectively.
Teachers.Results show that when the respondents were writing their teachers, the
first language they used was Filipino followed by English and Ilocano was last. \\
Degree of Ease/Difficulty in the
Communication Activities
Encountered by the
Respondents
Table 7 presents the degree of ease/difficulty in the communication activities
done by BSDC sophomore students. The communication activities were group
discussion, lecture, conversation, class reporting, recitation, speech class
exercises,Library research work/ internet research, reading hand-outs, essay writing,
taking exams/quizzes, composing text messages, internet chatting, composing e-mails
and blogging. In the end, students from rural and urban areas were compared with regards
on how they found they identified activities. The respondents rated each activity through
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
putting on a check mark on the boxes provided. Each box was labeled one until five. One
as very easy, two as easy, three as moderate, four as difficult and five as very difficult.
Table 7. Degree of ease/difficulty in communication activities among urban and rural
BSDC sophomore students
RATING RATING
ACTIVITIES
RURAL
DESCRIPTION
URBAN
DESCRIPTION
N=21
N=34
Group discussion
2.01
easy
3.23
moderate
Lecture
2.76
moderate
2.84
moderate
Conversation
1.97
easy
2.05
easy
Class reporting
3.25
moderate
3.21
moderate
Recitation
2.90
moderate
2.70
moderate
Speech class exercises
3.05
moderate
3.23
moderate
Library research
3.03
moderate
3.03
moderate
work/Internet research
work
Reading handouts
2.61
moderate
2.76
moderate
Essay writing
3.03
moderate
3.00
moderate
Taking exams/quizzes
2.44
easy
2.62
moderate
Composing text
2.35
easy
2.38
easy
messages
Internet chatting
2.04
easy
2.01
easy
Composing e-mails
2.04
easy
2.20
easy
Blogging
2.31
easy
2.27
easy
Legend:
1.00-1.99- very easy
2.00-2.99- easy
3.00-3.99- moderate
4.00-4.99- difficult
5.00-5.99- very difficult
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Group discussion.There were four skills under group discussion. These were
expressing their ideas, understanding the ideas of others, paying attention to others, and
volunteering their ideas. Twenty-four of the respondents rated understanding the ideas of
others easy as well as paying attention to others (20 of the respondents) On the other
hand, there were twenty-three of the respondents who rated expressing their ideas as
moderate as well as volunteering their ideas (26 of the respondents).
In general, the respondents rated group discussion as moderate.
Lecture. There were four skills under lecture. These were understanding the
lecturer, listening attentively, and ignoring speech mannerisms of the lecturer. Thirty of
the respondents rated understanding the lecturer very easy while there were 27
respondents who rated listening to the lecturer attentively as moderate. On the other hand
there were 21 of the respondents who rated ignoring speech mannerisms of the lecturer as
difficult.
In general, there was similar number of respondents who rated this activity as
easy and moderate.Conversation. There were two skills under conversation. These were
expressing their ideas and understanding the ideas of others. Twenty-five of the
respondents rated expressing their ideas very easy. On the other hand, 34 of the
respondents rated understanding the ideas of others easy.
In general, the respondents rated conversation easy.
Class reporting.There were four skills under this activity. These were preparing
the report, answering queries, preparing visual aids or handouts, presenting the report and
answering queries. Twenty-four of the respondents rated preparing the report moderate
while there were 21 of the respondents who rated preparing visual aids or handouts as
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
moderate. Twenty-nine of the respondents also rated presenting the report as moderate
and 27 of the respondents rated answering queries as moderate.
In general, the respondents rated class reporting as moderate.
Recitation.There two skills under recitation. These were understanding the
questions and expressing their ideas. Twenty-seven of the respondents rated
understanding the questions moderate while 26 of the respondents rated expressing their
ideas moderate.
In general, the respondents rated recitation as moderate.
Speech class exercises. There were five skills under Speech class exercises.
These were preparing/practicing for non-verbal cues (gestures, facial expressions),
practicing for voice modulation, memorizing their piece and delivering their message.
Twenty-seven of the respondents rated preparing/practicing for non-verbal cues (gestures,
facial expressions) moderate. Twenty of the respondents rated practicing for voice
modulation moderate as well as memorizing their piece (24 of the respondents). There
were 23 of the respondents who rated delivering their message moderate.
In general, the respondents rated speech class exercises moderate.
Library research work/ internet research.There were five skills under this
activity. These were choosing appropriate information, understanding the material,
finding for the right material and digesting information from the different materials.
Thirty of the respondents rated choosing appropriate information moderate while 31 of
the respondents rated understanding the material moderate. Twenty-nine of the
respondents also rated finding for the right material moderate and 25 of the respondents
rated digesting the information from the different materials moderate.
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
In general, the respondents rated library research work/internet research moderate.
Reading handouts.There were two skills under this activity. These were
understanding the material and relating the handout or other material to the lesson.
Twenty-eight of the respondents rated understanding the material moderate as well as
relating the handout or the material to the lesson where there were 30 of the respondents
who rated it moderate.
In general, the respondents rated reading handouts moderate.
Essay writing.There were three skills under this activity. These were determining
what to write, organizing their ideas, and expressing their ideas. Twenty-one of the
respondents rated determining what to write moderate while 30 of the respondents rated
organizing their ideas moderate and 22 of the respondents also rated expressing their
ideas moderate.
In general, the respondents rated essay writing moderate.
Taking exams/quizzes.There were three skills under this activity. These were
following the instructions given, understanding the question, and writing down all
important information. Twenty-seven of the respondents rated following the instructions
given easy while 25 of the respondents rated understanding the question moderate and 27
of the respondents also rated writing down all important and needed information
moderate.
In general, the respondents rated this activity moderate.
Composing text messages.There were two skills under composing text messages.
These were understanding the shortcuts of others and expressing their ideas. Eighteen of
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
the respondents rated understanding the shortcuts of others easy while 22 of the
respondents rated expressing their ideas easy.
In general, the respondents rated composing text messages easy.
Internet chatting. There were two skills under internet chatting. These were
expressing their ideas and understanding the ideas of others. Twenty-two of the
respondents rated expressing their ideas very easy while 22 of the respondents rated
understanding the ideas of others easy.
In general, the respondents rate internet chatting easy.
Composing e-mails.There were two skills under this activity. These were
understanding the messages sent to them and expressing their ideas. Nineteen of the
respondents rated expressing their ideas very easy while 27 of the respondents rated
understanding the messages sent to them easy.
In general, the respondents rated composing e-mail easy.
Blogging. There were three skills under blogging. These were expressing their
ideas, understanding the other blogs, and packaging and lay outing their blog site. The
same number of respondents which is 15 rated expressing their ideas very easy and
moderate. Twenty of the respondents rated understanding the other blogs moderate and
23 of the respondents also rated packaging and lay outing their blog moderate.
In general, the respondents rated blogging moderate. However, there were eight
respondents who did not respond in this part of the survey questionnaires.
Based on the findings, the respondents did not find so much difficulty on the
communication activities which were identified. The respondents find most of the
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
activities as moderate. Findings show that there were only few among the activities that
where rated difficult.
Results also show that there were two activities where students from rural areas
and students from urban areas have different result on how easy or how difficult did they
find the identified activities.
In group discussion, findings present those respondents who came from rural
areas rated this activity as easy while students from urban areas rated this activity as
moderate. Aside from these activities, the rest of the activities were rated similar.
Same results show that in taking exams/quizzes, respondents from rural areas
rated this activity as easy while respondents who came from urban areas rated this
activity as moderate.
The findings contradict the study of Barcinasand Mccracken(1989) that there is a
difference on the performance of students coming from the rural and urban areas.
Students from the rural areas tend to be more homogenous. They came to the urban to
accomplish their educational aspirations. Their performances are minor compared to the
performance of students coming from the urban since they are adjusting while learning.
Common Communication Strategies
Done by Respondents in Order to Cope
up with the Identified Difficulties
Tables 8 to 20 present the common communication strategies done by the
respondents in order to cope up with the identified communication difficulties they
experienced.
Expressing their ideas.There were four strategies identified under this skill. These
were speaking clearly to express ideas, looking at the listener directly, having the right
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
pace when talking, having the attention of the listeners, and going directly to the point
when expressing an idea.
Results show that there were 30.90% of the respondents who did the strategy of
speaking clearly to express their ideas. 14.54% of the respondents applied the strategy of
looking at their listeners directly while there were 25.45% of the respondents who applied
the strategy of making sure that they have the right pace when talking.
Moreover, 13 of the respondents made use of the strategy of applying gestures
when emphasizing their point while 1.81% of the respondents applied the strategy of
making sure that he/she have his/her listener’s attention and 3.63% of the respondents
who applied the strategy of directly to the point.
Table 8 supports that most of the respondents used speaking clearly to express
their ideas as their strategy under this skill.
Understanding the ideas of others.There were five identified strategies under this
skill. These were listening attentively, refraining from side conversation, putting aside
distracting thoughts while listening, showing that he/she is listening by nodding or giving
out verbal comments and asking questions about the subject matter.
Twenty-four of the respondents show that they are listening by nodding or giving
out verbal comments as their strategy in this skill while 38.18%of the respondents applied
listening attentively as their strategy in this skill.
Five (9.09%) applied the strategy of refraining from side conversation while
7.27% of the respondents made use of the strategy of putting aside distracting thoughts
while listening. There was one (1.81%) of the respondents who applied the strategy of
asking about the subject matter.
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Table 8. Common communication strategies done by the respondents in order to cope up
with their difficulties in expressing their ideas
TOTAL
COMMON STRATEGIES DONE
N
U MBER
PERCENTAGE
(%)
(N=55)
I speak clearly to express my ideas
17
30.90
I make sure that I have the right pace when talking
14
25.45
I use gestures when emphasizing my point
13
23.63
I look at my listener directly
8
14.54
I go directly to the point when expressing an idea
2
3.63
I make sure that they have my attention
1
1.81
Table 9. Common communication strategies done by the respondents in order to cope up
with their difficulties in understanding the ideas of others
TOTAL
COMMON STRATEGIES DONE
NUMB
ER
PERCENTAGE
(%)
(N=55)
I show that I am listening by nodding or giving out
24
43.63%
verbal comments
I listen attentively
21
38.18%
I refrain from side conversation
5
9.09%
I put aside distracting thoughts while listening
4
7.27
I ask questions about the subject matter
1
1.81%
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Conversation.Table 10 shows that there were five communication strategies that
were identified under this skill. These were looking at the listener directly, using gestures
to emphasize a point, having the right pace when speaking and speaking clearly when
expressing ideas and listening more and talking less.Twelve (21.81%) of the respondent
applied the strategy of looking at their listener directly while there were 30 (54.54%) of
the respondents applied using gestures to emphasize a point and 12.72% of the
respondents applied the strategy of having the right pace when speaking and 9.09% of
the respondents made use of the strategy of speaking clearly when expressing ideas.
There was one (1.81 %) among the respondents who applied the strategy of listening
more and talking less.
Table 10 supports that most of the respondents used the strategy of looking at the
speaker directly during conversation
Listening attentively.Table 11 shows that there were three strategies identified
under this skill. These were looking at the speaker directly, putting aside distracting
thoughts while listening, and refraining from side conversations.
Twenty-five (45.45%) of the respondents applied the strategy of looking at the
speaker directly while 38.18% of the respondents made use of the strategy of putting
aside distracting thoughts and 16.36% of the respondents did refraining from side
conversations as their strategy in this activity.
Table 11 proves that most of the respondents applied putting aside distracting
thoughts as their strategy under this skill.
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Table 10. Common communication strategies done by the respondents in order to cope up
with their difficulties in having conversation with others
TOTAL
COMMON STRATEGIES DONE
NUMBE R
PERCENTAGE
(%)
(N=55)
I use gestures when speaking to emphasize a point
30
54.54%
I look at my listener directly
12
21.81%
I make sure that I have the right pace when talking
7
12.72%
I speak clearly to express my point
5
9.09%
I listen more and talk less
1
1.81%
Table 11. Common communication strategies done by the respondents in order to cope up
with their difficulties in listening attentively
COMMON STRATEGIES DONE TOTAL
NUMBER
PERCENTAGE
(N=55)
(%)
I look at the speaker directly
25
45.45%
I put aside distracting thoughts while listening
21
38.18%
I refrain from side conversations
9
16.36%
Ignoring speech mannerisms of the lecturer.Table 12 shows that there were two
strategies identified under this skill. These were listening attentively and looking at the
speaker directly. Twenty-nine (52.72%) of the respondents applied listening attentively
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
as their strategy while there were 47.27% of the respondents who made use of looking at
the speaker directly as their strategy under this skill.
Table 12 proves that most of the respondents made use of looking at the speaker
directly as their strategy in coping up the difficulties they encounter under this skill.
Answering queries. Table 13 shows that there were four strategies identified under
this skill. These were using gestures when speaking to emphasize a point, understanding
the question well, speaking clearly to emphasize a point and looking at the listener
directly.
Nineteen (34.54 %) of the respondents applied the strategy of using gestures when
speaking to emphasize a point while seven 12.72 % of the respondents made use of the
strategy of understanding the question well and 18.18 % of the respondents made use of
the strategy of speaking clearly to emphasize a point. There were34.54 % of the
respondents applied looking at speaker directly as their strategy under this skill.
Table 13 supports that most of the respondents applied the use of gestures when
speaking to emphasize a point and looking at speaker directly as their strategy under this
skill since there were the same number of respondents who did this strategy.
Table12. Common communication strategies done by the respondents in order to cope up
with their difficulties in ignoring speech mannerisms of the lecturer
TOTAL
COMMON STRATEGIES DONE
NUM BER
PERCENTAGE
(N=55)
(%)
I listen attentively
29
52.72%
I look at the speaker directly
26
47.27%
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Raising questions.Table 14 shows that there were two strategies identified under
this skill. These were speaking clearly to emphasize a point and looking at the listener
directly. Fourty-one (74.54 %) of the respondents applied the strategy of speaking clearly
to emphasize a point while 25.45 % of the respondents applied looking at their listener
directly as their strategy.
The result shows that most of the respondents applied speaking clearly to
emphasize a point as their strategy under this skill.
Table13. Common communication strategies done by the respondents in order to cope up
with their difficulties in answering queries during class reporting
TOTAL
COMMON STRATEGIES DONE NUMBER
PERCENTAGE
(N=55)
(%)
I use gestures when
19
34.54 %
speaking to emphasize a point
I understand the question well
19
34.54 %
I speak clearly to emphasize a point
10
18.18 %
I look at my listener directly
7
12.72 %
Table14. Common communication strategies done by the respondents in order to cope up
with their difficulties in raising questions
TOTAL
COMMON STRATEGIES DONE
N U
MBER
PERCENTAGE
(%)
(N=55)
I speak clearly to emphasize a point
41
74.54 %
I look at my listener directly
14
25.45 %
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Delivering your speech.Table 15 shows that there were two strategies identified
under this skill. These were mastering the piece well and using gesture when emphasizing
a point. There were 31 (56.36%) who did mastering their piece well while 23 (23.63%) of
the respondents applied the use of gesture to emphasize a point.
Table 15 supports that most of the respondents did mastering their piece well as
their strategy under this skill.
Relating handouts or other materials to the lesson.Table 16 shows that there were
two strategies under this skill. These were highlighting the important information in the
material and listening to the lecturer attentively. There were 44 (80.00%) of the
respondents who did highlighting the important information in the material On the other
hand, there were 11 (20.00%) of the respondents who applied listening to the lecturer.
Table 16 supports that most of the students applied highlighting or underlining the
important information in the material.
Table 15. Common communication strategies done by the respondents in order to cope up
with their difficulties in delivering their speech
TOTAL
COMMON STRATEGIES DONE
NUMBER
PERCENTAGE
(N=55)
(%)
I master my piece well
31
56.36 %
I use gestures when emphasizing a point
13
23.63 %
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Table 16. Common communication strategies done by the respondents in order to cope up
with their difficulties in relating handouts or other materials to the lesson
TOTAL
COMMON STRATEGIES DONE
NUMBER
PERCENTAGE
(N=55)
(%)
I highlight or underline the important
44
80.00 %
information in the material
I listen to the lecturer attentively
11
20.00 %
Explaining the subject matter during classroom reporting. There were four
strategies under this skill. These were understanding the subject well, speaking clearly to
express their point, looking at their listener directly and using gestures in emphasizing a
point.
Forty-four (80.00 %) of the respondents do understanding the subject well as their
strategy while there were five (9.09 %) of the respondents spoke clearly to express their
point as their strategy. There were two (3.63 %) of the respondents who do looked at their
listener directly and there were four (7.27 %) of the respondent who do used gesture to
emphasize their point.
Table 17 proves that most of the respondents applied making sure that they
understand the subject matter that they are reporting as their strategy under this skill.
Following instructions during exams/quizzes. There were three strategies
identified under this skill. These were asking the teacher for clarification, asking their
classmates for clarification and reading the instructions again and again.
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Twenty-six (47.27 %) of the respondents do asking the teacher for clarification as
their strategy while there were 12 (21.81 %) of the respondents who asik their classmates
for clarification and there were 17 (30.90 %) of the respondents who applied reading the
instructions again and again.
Table 18 proves that most of the respondents applied asking their teacher for
clarification as their strategy.
Table 17. Common communication strategies done by the respondents in order to cope up
with their difficulties in explaining subject matter during classroom reporting
TOTAL
COMMON STRATEGIES DONE
NUMB
ER
PERCENTAGE
(N=55)
(%)
I make sure that I understand the subject matter
44
80.00 %
that I am reporting
I speak clearly to express my point
5
9.09 %
I use gestures to emphasize a point
4
7.27 %
I look at my listeners directly
2
3.63 %
Table18. Common communication strategies done by the respondents in order to cope up
with their difficulties in following instructions during exams/quizzes
TOTAL
COMMON STRATEGIES DONE
NUMBER
PERCENTAGE
(N=55)
(%)
I ask the teacher for
26
47.27 %
clarification
I read the instructions again and again
17
30.90 %
I ask my classmates for clarification
12
21.81 %
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Organizing ideas/expressing your ideas during essay writing. There were five
strategies identified under this skill. These were practicing through contributing articles
to publications, doing free writing activities on free time, having their work edited by
other people, asking for suggestions from other people and editing their own work.
There were 10 (18.18 %) of the respondents who do practicing through
contributing articles to publications while there were 26 (47.27 %) of the respondent who
do free writing activities as their strategy. There were 16 (29.09 %) of the respondents
who have their work edited by other people while there was one (1.81%) among the
respondents who do asking for suggestions from other people and there were two (3.63
%) of the respondents who do editing their own work.
Table 19 proves that most of the respondents do free writing as their strategy
under this skill.
Table 19. Common strategies done by the respondents in order to cope up with their
difficulties in organizing ideas/expressing their ideas during essay writing
TOTAL
COMMON STRATEGIES DONE
NUMBE R
PERCENTAGE
(%)
(N=55)
I do free writing activities on my free time
26
47.27
I let my work edited by other people
16
29.09
I practice through contributing articles to
10
18.18
publications
I ask for suggestions from other people
1
1.81
I edit my own work
2
3.63
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
The study was conducted to determine the communication activities participated
in by BSDC sophomore students in BSU, the language they speak, the degree of
difficulty of the activities they did and the strategies they did to cope up with the
communication difficulties they encountered.
The study was conducted on March 2011. There were a total of 55 respondents in
the study.
The data were gathered through survey questionnaire.
It was found out that that there were some activities done by the respondents with
their classmates and schoolmates that they did not do with their teachers. The subject
matter, whether course related or non-course related also affected the activities done by
the respondents. Under course related topics, all identified activities were participated in
by the respondents while under non-course related topics, there were those they did not
participated in.
Data also revealed that there was no difference on the language used by the
respondents when talking to their classmates, schoolmates and teachers whether their
subject is course related or non-course related. When it comes to writing, there was no
difference on the language used by the respondents when writing to their classmates, and
schoolmates. Results present that there was a difference on the language used by the
respondents when the subject is course related and non-course related.
Furthermore, the respondents did not find so much difficulty on most of the
communication activities that were identified. The respondents found most of the
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
activities as moderate. Findings show that there were only few among the activities that
where rated difficult.
Conclusions
Based on the results of the study, the following conclusions were derived:
1. Communication activities of the students vary depending on the type of person
and/ or group they interact with and the subject matter that they are dealing into.
2. There was no difference on the language used by the respondents when talking
and writing to their classmates, schoolmates and teachers whether their subject was
course-related or non-course related.
3. There was no difference on the performance of the students coming from urban or
rural areas based on the degree of difficulty on most of the communication activities that
were identified. Difficulty was noted only in writing essays, class reporting, speech class
exercises, library research/internet research works.
Recommendations
1. Teachers should continue carrying out communication-related activities in their
class for the continuous development of the students’ communication skills.
2. Incorporation of more communication-related activities in the course syllabus of
teachers such as writing essays, class reporting, speech class exercises, library
research/internet research and the like is highly recommendedfor the improvement of the
student’s communication performance.
3. Development communication students must improve reading skills through
reading more books and other literature more often and use dictionaries which does not
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
give only the synonyms of the words they do not understand but to dictionaries that will
give the complete meaning of the word and how is it used.
4. Students facing similar difficulties may consider the coping communication
strategies done by the respondents as noted in the study.
5. Similar study may be conducted to other groups of respondents, preferably non-
communication students, to see the difference in terms of the difficulties they face and
the strategies they do to cope with those difficulties.
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
LITERATURE CITED
ANONYMOUS.n.d. Communication Barriers. Retrieved January 12, 2011 from
http://www.local510.org/communication_skills.html
BAXTER, L. and B. MONTGOMERY. 1996. Relating: Dialogues and Dialects. New
York: The Guild Press. P.170
COLLEGE OF DUPAGE. 1998. Factors That Hinder The Communication Process.
Retrieved
January
12,
2011,
from
http://www/.cod.edu/Course/MGT100/Mgtcomm.htm
GOODNIGHT and DUNN, D, L . 2003. Communication: Embracing Differences.
Boston Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon, Permissions Department. P.75
ENGELBERG, I. and D. WYNN. 2008. The Challenge of Communicating: Guiding
Principles and Practices. Boston, Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon, Permissions
Department. P.p.173, 201, 203, 271
EHOW. 2011. How To Improve Communication Skills. Retrieved January 12, 2011,
from http://www.ehow.com/how_2080970_improve-communication-skills.html
GAMBLE, T. and M. GAMBLE. 2005. Communication Works (Seventh Edition).
United States of America: McGraw-hill Companies, Inc. P.189-190
HOUSE, H. and W. LANE.n.d. Interpersonal Communication Skills That Enhance
Organizational Commitment. Retrieved October 14, 2010 from
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articled=1669278&shoe=html
MCCRACKEN, J.D. and J.D. BARCINAS. 1991. Rural and Urban, Student
Characteristics, and Student Aspirations in Ohio. Retrieved February 16,
2011.http://74.6.117.48/search/srpcache?ei=UTF\\8&p=rural+vs+urban+students
&rd
=r1&meta=vc%3Dph&fr=yfp-t-701-s&fp_ip=ph&u=http://cc.bingj.com/
cache.aspx?q=rural+vs+ urban+students=html.
SEILER, W. and S. BEALL. 2002. Communicate. Belmont, California, U.S.A.:
Wadsworth/Thomson Learning. P.56
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
JULIAN, JENNILYN A. APRIL 2011. Obstacle: The Challenge of Communication
among BSDC Sophomore Students in Benguet State University. Benguet State
University, La Trinidad Benguet.
Adviser: Filmore Y. Awas, MDevCom
ABSTRACT
The study was conducted to determine the communication problems among
BSDC sophomore students in Benguet State University.
Specifically, the study aimed to determine the communications activities
participated in by the respondents with their classmates, schoolmates and teachers if the
subject that they dwell on is concerning to course related and non-course related matters
It also aimed to determine the languages used by the respondents when they are
writing and speaking to their classmates, schoolmates and teachers, to determine how
ease or difficult did the students find the identified activities and the study aimed to
determine the common strategies applied by the respondents in order to cope up with the
recognized difficulties.
The findings of the study showed that the there were some activities done by the
respondents with their classmates and schoolmates which they did not do with their
teachers. The subject matter, whether course related or non-course related also
affectedthe activities done by the respondents. Under course related topics, all identified
activities were participated in by the respondents while under non-course related topics,
there were those that they did not participated in.
The study also found out that there was no difference on the language used by the
respondents when talking to their classmates, schoolmates and teachers whether their
subject is course related or non-course related. When it comes to writing, there was no
differenceon the language used by the respondents when writing to their classmates, and
schoolmates. Results also show that there was a difference on the language used by the
respondents when the subject is course related and non-course related.
As for how easy or difficult did the respondents rated the identified activities,
results present that the respondents did not find so much difficulty on the communication
activities which were identified. The respondents found most of the activities as
moderate. Findings show that there were only few among the activities that where rated
difficult.
Generally,there is no difference on the performance of the students coming from
urban or rural areas based on the degree of difficulty on most of the communication
activities that were identified. Difficulty was noted only in writing essays, class reporting,
speech class exercises, library research/internet research works.
Based on the findings, it is recommended that teachers should continue carrying
out communication-related activities in their class for the continuous development of the
students’ communication skills. Likewise, students should continue improving their
communication skills. Also, students facing similar difficulties may consider the coping
communication strategies done by the respondents as noted in the study.
1
INTRODUCTION
Rationale
We communicate with many people in a variety of situations daily. We listen to
professors, employers, co-workers, family members, friends, and many other each hour.
As Seiler and Beall (2007) noted, whatever your cultural background, learning style or
geographic location, you will find that your communication proficiency can mean greater
academic success, better relationship, a better job, and a better satisfaction in your life.
Communication is at the core of our humanness. How we communicate with each
other shapes our lives and our world. We all rely on our communicative skills as we
confront events that challenge our flexibility, integrity, expressiveness, and critical
thinking skills. Gamble and Gamble (2005) further noted that making effort to become
more effective in interacting with persons from diverse backgrounds and by working at
developing relationships based on mutual respect and a sense of ethical fairness will
increase our chances of leading more fulfilling personal and professional lives.
Our progress depends on our learning to understand ourselves and others. To this
end, we need to interact with each other to develop new ideas and some problems. We
need to participate in the exchange of information and ideas that we believe is important
to our well-being.
In this sense, communication is vital to the learning process. Establishing a strong
system of communication in the classroom means identifying types of communication
problems and working to minimize their effects on a student's education. Working to
integrate students with different communication problems into the general classroom will
benefit them in the long-term (Webb, 2011).
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Development Communication students, like other common students in
universities, encounter four major activities while in school. These are speaking,
listening, writing, and reading.
Now most of the students do better in reading and writing than in listening and
speaking. They can read and write, but they can hardly communicate. They can hardly
express themselves with their own words. On the other hand, there are also students who
do better in speaking and listening than in reading and writing.
Development Communication sophomore students in Benguet State University
will be future Development Communication practitioners. They will be facing a lot of
people and will be doing various tasks related to their profession. Their training in school
will serve as their strong foundation and will shape them on how they will be facing their
profession in the future.
Given this scenario, the need to determine the communication problems that these
students experience,as early as while they are at that stage of their education, is of
importance.
Much of the research on the communication problems in work settings has
focused on listening, speaking, writing and reading. In this study, it will only bring out
the common problems that these students encounter when listening, speaking, writing,
and reading and the communication strategies that these students did in order to cope up
with the communication difficulties that they experienced.
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Statement of the Problem
1. What is the socio-demographic profile of the respondents?
2. What are the communication activities encountered by Development
Communication sophomore students in Benguet State University?
3. What are the languages used in communicating with their classmates and
teachers?
4. How easy or difficult do the respondents find the activities under speaking,
listening, writing and reading.
5. What are the communication strategies that you do in order to cope up with the
communication difficulties that you experience?
Objectives of the Study
Generally, the study aimed to determine the communication difficulties among
sophomore students of BS Development Communication in Benguet State University.
Specifically, it aimed to:
1.Determine the socio-demographic profile of the respondents;
determinethe communication activities encountered by the respondents;
2. determinethe languages used by the respondents when writing and speaking to
their classmates, schoolmates and teachers;
3. determine the degree of ease or difficulty encountered by the respondents in
executing speaking, listening, writing and reading activities; and
4. determine the communication strategies that the respondents did in order to
cope up with the communication difficulties they encountered.
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Importance of the Study
This study will be helpful for the respondents in discovering some ways to do
better when it comes to speaking, listening, writing and reading.It will help them to
overcome those areas where they find difficulties in executingit.
If popularized, the study can serve as a basis for the Department of Development
Communication to implement programs or activities in assisting BS Development
Communication sophomore students improve their communication skills specifically in
executing speaking, listening, writing and reading activities.
Scope and Limitation of the Study
The study focused on identifying problems onthe communicationactivitiesdone by
the respondents whether with their teachers, classmates or schoolmatesspecifically on
speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Interpersonal Communication
Communication is the interdependent process of sending, receiving and
understanding messages. This definition implies that the components of the
communication process cannot be examined separately. Rather, with the relationship that
exists between the sender and the receiver as well as the environment of the
communication event must be viewed as a whole (Goodnight and Dunn 2003).
Interpersonal communication occurs when a limited number of people usually two
interact by using verbal and nonverbal messages to generate meaning for the purpose of
sharing information, achieving goal, or maintaining a relationship (Engelberg and Wynn
2008).
Our ability to communicate effectively in personal relationships influences our
psychological and physical health, our personal identity and happiness, our social and
moral development, our ability to cope up with stress and misfortune and the quality and
meaning of our life (Baxter and Montgomery, 1996)
The Communication Process
Generally speaking, the verbal communication process includes sending,
receiving and providing a feedback.
An online article in local1510.org titled Interpersonal Communication talks about
the three verbal communication processes. These are as follows.
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
The speaker says what they want to say to the receiver by selecting words that
will best convey their meaning and by using a variety of gestures, facial expressions, or
other personal mannerisms that will help transmit that message.
The listener "receives" the message through a series of "filters." These filters may
include their past experiences, their perception of the speaker, their emotional
involvement with the message, their understanding of the message's content, and their
level of attention. In a sense, as the speaker speaks the listener translates the message into
their own words, creating their own version of what they think the speaker has just said.
Unless both the sender and the receiver have identical past experiences, effective
communication may be difficult.
Without clear and concise communication skills misunderstandings can frequently
occur. Communication is influenced by the way people feel about a subject, a task or a
person. Each of us must realize that our feelings and emotions play a significant role in
effective communication. Truly, effective communication cannot be a one-sided
monologue. To persuade, inform, or change the listener, both the sender and the receiver
must be actively involved.
Communication is continuous and reciprocal. Both persons mutually and
continuously send and receive messages. When people communicate they must also offer
"feedback about the message. To give feedback is to respond to the message or the
speaker in such a way that the speaker knows that the message has been heard and
understood.
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Communication is not complete until the message has been understood. Feedback
can include asking questions, nodding the head in affirmation or in a negative manner, or
a verbal reply.
Factors that Hinder the Communication Process
A number of barriers interfere with effective communication. These factors do not
influence messages as much as they prevent communication from occurring.
According to the College of DuPage (1998), some factors that hinder the
communication process include prejudice, closed words, snap judgments, and ranking.
Prejudice, pre-judging, prevents communication from happening when a person
assumes something will be true before it actually happens. There are always exceptions.
Prejudice, then, is unfair. It is unfair to you in that it may keep you from communicating
with or from getting to know others. It is unfair to other people in that they may be
judged and treated wrongly. Another problem with it is that people guilty of it may make
it into a self-fulfilling prophecy. They may allow prejudice to taint the message to fulfill
their beliefs. They would have to repeat the same procedure with the same conditions and
time both performances to prove the point. Barrinng such proof, they assume their biased
opinions to be true.
Closed words are those like "all," "none," "everyone," and "never." They are
exclusionary. They eliminate other possibilities. They inhibit communication when used
as part of generalizations as in "They never get the patient here on time," or "All of the
people on that shift are lazy," or "They're always rough with the clients." Not only would
it be rare for statements like this to be true, but they prevent communication by evoking
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
defensive responses from the subjects of each of them. Few people would not be
defensive if told that they "always act unprofessional."
Snap judgments, or premature closings, result when people make decisions based
on first impressions or based on limited information (jumping to conclusions). Some
people make snap judgments based on appearance or based on their first experience
working with someone. They then extrapolate that behavior and judge the entire person
(College of DuPage, 1998).
Ranking refers to a person's position or status. It is a barrier to communication
when it prevents a person of one rank from talking openly to a person of another rank. It
is very common. One form that is frequently seen is when people of lower rank are
reluctant to report problems to people of higher rank. However, it is also seen in the
awkward conversations people at the top of an organization have with those at the
bottom of an organization. In this case the conversation may turn to the weather or other
harmless topics, with little or no real communication about the organization ever taking
place. Here the high ranking people are often just as uncomfortable as those of lower
ranks (College of DuPage, 1998).
According to the College of DuPage, there are also other communication barriers
which are generally found in the three areas of the communication process. These are as
follows:
Sending messages. As speakers, the messages we send, whether verbal or written,
seemperfectly understandable. From our own point of view, our messages arevery clear
and concise. To the listener, however, the words may be confusingor unclear, our tone of
voice may be misleading, or our body language maynot accurately convey the meaning or
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
the importance of the message.Messages should be formed based on the listener's level of
understanding.Think through the message and try to predict how it will be received.The
responsibility of determining whether effective communication hasoccurred lies with the
sender. To make certain that the message wasunderstood, the speaker should get some
type of feedback from the listener.As previously stated, this feedback could include a nod
of the head, arestating of the message by the listener or some other response.
Receiving a message. It is believed by many that the biggest single
communication problem isthe lack of ability to effectively listen. Most people seem to
assume thatwhat they understood to be the message is what the speaker
intended.Frequently the two are not the same. A word or a facial expression can change
the meaning of a message. Likewise, a previous experience by the listener can interpret a
conversationdifferently from what was intended. Another common problem arises
whenthe listener starts planning a response to what is being said instead ofactively
listening. As a result, the listener does not hear the entire message.As the sender, asking
for feedback from the listener is the best way to insure that the intended meaning of your
idea or message was clear.
An online article in local1510.org titled Communication Barriers says that other
communication barriers depend on ones personality. A person may be a mover, oppose,
follower or a bystander.
Mover. A mover is the one person in the work group who will usually initiate
whatever action is needed. The mover will also try to determine where you are heading
and will suggest and develop ideas for how to get there. Movers are usually called
“natural leaders." A mover's value on the job is obvious. Having good ideas and the
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
energy to back them up is a most useful and constructive trait. Movers, in general, enjoy
power and enjoy being in charge; however, they also have a strong need for approval and
for others to agree with them. They are also frequently un-accepting of other people's
ideas. Mover does generally see their own ideas as the only and best way of
accomplishing a task or settling an issue.
Opposers. The opposer generally pushes against whatever is being discussed or
considered. The opposer creates a challenge by blocking the direction or intended
destination of any idea. Opposers get their attention and sense of importance by taking a
contrary position. In a group, opposers can serve a useful purpose. Foremen and other
leaders can use an opposer to test ideas or scrutinize plans. By redirecting the opposer's
negative viewpoint, their ideas may be used to stimulate further thought or discussion
which could result in improving the original suggestion.
Follower. The follower is the person in the group who generally "goes
along."Followers will support someone or someone else's idea, however, they most likely
will not initiate ideas of their own. Followers are not uncreativebut may have a greater
need to play it safe, to keep a lower profile, or to wait until they see the general opinion
of the group as a whole before they take a stand. Followers are very good implementers
once they commit themselves to an idea. Followers have their own level of power in any
group. By being supportive, the follower empowers others to take whatever action is
necessary.
Bystander. The bystander is quite different from the follower. While the follower
agrees with ideas and viewpoints that they personally relate to, the bystander stays out of
direct action altogether. The bystander makes no alliances with any of the other three
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
personality types. Bystanders observe and keep opinions to themselves. This may create a
level of uneasiness on the job because no one really knows what the bystander is thinking
How to Improve Communication Skills
According to an online article in www.ehow.com, there are some ways on how to
improve communication skills.
Good communication skills are a necessity in your personal and business life.
Some people are naturally good communicators. For everyone else, communication is a
skill that must be nurtured. With a little time and effort, no one will ever know you
weren't born with the gift of gab. Follow these steps to improve your communication
skills.
Think before you speak. Plan your presentations and other addresses to groups
whenever possible, especially in business. Even if you don't know everything you want to
say, you should have a general idea. In more private conversations, take the time to be
clear about the points you want to make before talking. Always be honest in your
communication.
Be an active listener. Listening is often more important than speaking. To
improve your communication skills, pay attention to what others are saying without
getting distracted.
Make good eye contact. Shifty eyes make you seem less than trustworthy in
business and personal life. If you are looking everywhere but in the eyes of your
audience, it will arouse suspicion. This doesn't mean you should initiate a staring contest.
Just make sure to put your audience at ease by holding the gaze at times.
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Take it slow. Don't slur your words together or mumble. Enunciate. If you speak
too fast, then you'll lose your audience. Use words only if you are sure of their meaning.
Make yourself easily understood.
Use appropriate volume and tone. Of course, you should speak louder when
addressing a group than you would in private conversations. Reflect emotion in your
voice. A monotone approach is never appropriate in any setting.
Practice. It’s the best way to improve your communication skills. The more you
do it, the easier it will get.
METHODOLOGY
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Locale and Time of Study
The study was conducted at Benguet State University, La Trinidad, Benguet, from
March 2011 (Figure 1).
BSU is located at Benguet Province in Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR),
specifically at La Trinidad valley, the strawberry capital of the country, about 1300
meters above sea level. La Trinidad is 256 kilometers north of Manila and three
kilometers north of Baguio City.
The university has eight colleges offering 16 degree programs of which BS
Development Communication is one among the degrees offered.
Benguet State University was the chosen locale of the study since it is the only
State University that is offering Development communication as a degree in Benguet.
Respondents of the Study
The respondents were chosen through total enumeration. During the
implementation some of the respondents were absent. Consequently there were 55
respondents in the study. They were enrolled second semester of the academic year 2010-
2011.
The respondents were chosen since they are at the stage of adjustment from high
school to college and they will be future development communicators and they have to be
helped in overcoming difficulties that they face in this stage of their academic life.
Figure 1 here
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Data Collection
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
A survey questionnaire was floated to gather the socio-demographic profile of the
respondents and the communication problems they encountered. The respondents were
guided by the researcher in answering the questionnaire.
Data Gathered
The study included gathering of the socio-demographic profile of the respondents.
It gathered the common problems encountered by the respondents when speaking,
listening, writing and reading.
It also gathered some strategies that the respondents did to cope up with such
situation.
Data Analysis
The data gathered were consolidated and were analyzed using frequency,
percentage and descriptive analysis.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Socio-demographic Profile
of the Respondents
Table 1 shows the socio-demographic profile of the respondents in terms of sex,
age and tribal affiliation.
Majority of the respondents were of the ages 17-18 (78.18%). Forty-six (83.63%)
of the respondents were female and nine (16.37%) were male. Most of the respondents
were Kankanaey (54.55%) and Ibaloi (23.64%).
Table 1. Socio-demographic profile of the respondents
SCHOOL LOCATION
TOTAL
CHARACTERISTICS
RURAL
URBAN
NUMBER
PERCENTAGE
N=36
N=19
(N=55) ( % )
Age
17-18
31
12
43 78.18%
19-20
5
6
11 20%
21-22
-
-
- -
23-24
-
1
1 1.82%
TOTAL
36
19
55 100
Sex
Male
5
4
9 16.37%
Female
31
15
46 83.63%
TOTAL
36
19
55 100
Tribal Affiliation
Kankanaey
24
6
30 54.55%
Ibaloi
9
4
13 23.64%
Ilocano
1
2
3 5.45%
Bisaya
-
1
1 1.82%
Kalanguya
-
1
1 1.82%
Pangasinense
-
2
2 3.63%
Maranao
-
1
1 1.82%
Tagalog
-
2
2 3.63%
Kalinga
1
-
1 1.82%
Kankaney-Ibaloi
1
-
1 1.82%
TOTAL
36
19
55 100%
Communication Activities Participated in
by the Respondents Regarding
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Course-Related Matters
Table 2 shows the communication activities participated in by the respondents
whether with their classmates, schoolmates and teachers when their subject matter is
course related.
Classmates. Results show that great majority of the respondents (92.72%)
involved themselves in group discussion and composing text messages with their
classmates. Conversation came next where 90.90% of the respondents involved
themselves in this activity. Meanwhile, the activity where there is least number of
respondents involved is blogging with 52.72%.
The result clearly indicates that group discussion and composing text messages
for their classmates is commonly practiced in terms of the communication activities done
by the respondents with their classmates when the subject matters is course-related.
Schoolmates. Results show that majority of the respondents (85.35%) participated
in having conversations with their schoolmates. Group discussion came next where
45.45% of the respondents were involved.
Teachers.Results show that majority of the respondents (80%) participated in
having conversation with their teachers. Also, 80% of the respondents involved
themselves in recitation and taking exams/ quizzes with their teachers. Lecture came next
where 78.18% of the respondents participated in this activity. Internet chatting is the
activity where there was least of the respondents (12.72%) involved.
Table 2. Communication activities participated in by the respondents with their
classmates, schoolmates and teachers regarding course-related matters
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
N=55
ACTIVITIES
CLASSMATES
SCHOOLMATES
TEACHERS
No.
%
No.
%
No.
%
Group Discussion
51
92.72
25
45.45
20
36.36
Lecture
44
80.00
8
14.44
43
78.18
Conversation
50
90.90
47
85.35
44
80.00
Class reporting
48
87.27
4
7.27
40
72.72
Meeting
46
83.63
22
40.00
23
41.81
Recitation
37
67.27
2
3.63
44
80.00
Speech class exercises
39
70.90
5
9.09
37
67.27
Library research work/ 47
85.35
15
27.27
15
27.27
internet research
Reading handouts or other 48
87.27
4
7.27
25
45.45
teacher prepared material
Essay writing/ writing 40
72.72
6
10.90
31
56.36
letter
Taking down notes during 41
74.55
1
1.81
30
54.54
discussion
Internet research
47
85.35
19
34.54
8
14.54
Internet chatting
46
83.63
27
49.09
7
12.72
Taking exams/quizzes
41
74.55
4
7.27
44
80.00
Composing text messages 51
92.72
33
60.00
12
21.81
Composing e-mails
43
78.18
24
43.63
25
45.45
Blogging
29
52.72
18
32.72
20
36.36
*Multiple responses
Communication Activities Participated in
by the Respondents when their Subject
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Matter isNon-course Related
Table 3 shows the communication activities participated in by the respondents
whether with their classmates, schoolmates and teachers where their subject matter is
non- course related.
Classmates.Results show that great majority of the respondents (92.72%)
participated in having conversation with their classmate. Composing text messages came
next where 90.90% of the respondents were involved. The activity where there was least
number of respondents involved was essay writing.
Schoolmates.Results show that most of the respondents (90.90%) participated in
having conversation with their schoolmates. Group discussion came next where 78.18%
of the respondents were involved. The activity where there was least number of
respondents involved was lecture.
Lecture refers to seminars or conferences which is non-course related and where
the respondent goes with a schoolmate.
Teachers. Results show that most of the respondents (50.90%) participated in
having conversation with their teachers. Lecture came next where there were seven of the
respondents who involved themselves in this activity. The activities where there was least
number of respondents involved were group discussion, internet chatting and composing
text messages.
Tables 2 and 3 prove that there were some activities done by the respondents with
their classmates and schoolmates which they did not do with their teachers. The subject
matter, whether course related or non-course related, also affected the activities done by
Table 3. Communication activities participated in by the respondents with their
classmates, schoolmates where their subject matter is non-course related
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
N=55
ACTIVITIES
CLASSMATES
SCHOOLMATES TEACHERS
No.
%
No.
%
No.
%
Group Discussion
49
89.09 43
78.18
2
3.63
Lecture
41
74.54 16
29.09
7
12.72
Conversation
51
92.72 50
90.90
28
50.90
Class reporting
39
70.90 -
-
Meeting
45
81.81 38
69.09
-
Recitation
35
63.63 -
-
Speech class exercises
32
58.18 -
-
Library research work/
46
83.63 24
43.63
-
internet research
Reading handouts or
42
76.36 24
43.63
6
10.90
other teacher prepared
material
Essay writing
28
50.90 -
-
Taking down notes
35
63.63 -
-
during discussion
Internet research
47
85.45 29
52.72
4
7.27
Internet chatting
42
76.36 35
63.63
2
3.63
Taking exams/quizzes
32
58.18 -
-
Composing text messages 50
90.90 38
69.09
2
3.63
Composing e-mails
38
69.09 30
54.54
4
7.27
Blogging
35
63.63 21
38.18
3
5.45
the respondents. Under course related topics, all identified activities were participated in
by the respondents while under non-course related topics; there were those that they did
not participated in.
Languages Used by the Respondents
in Communicatingwith Classmates,
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Schoolmatesand Teachers
Table 4 shows the languages spoken by the BSDC sophomore students in Benguet
State University.
Among the identified languages, all of the respondents speak in English and
Tagalog. Eighty two percent of the respondents also speak Ilocano while 67.27% of the
respondents speak in Kankanaey. Least of the respondents speak Ibaloi, Kalinga,
Kalanguya, Ibanag, and Itawas.
Table 4. Languages spoken by the BSDC sophomore students
TOTAL
LANGUAGES SPOKEN
NUMBER
PERCENTAGE
(N=55)
(%)
English
55
100
Filipino
55
100
Iloko
48
82.27
Kankanaey
37
67.27
Kalanguya
1
1.82
Ibaloi
7
12.72
Kalinga
1
1.82
Ibanag
1
1.82
Itiwas
1
1.82
*Multiple Responses
Languages Used by the Respondents in
Communicatingwith their Classmates,
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Schoolmates and Teacherswhen
Speakingabout Course
Related Topics
The respondents ranked each identified language through putting the appropriate
number in the box. They ranked the first three languages that they used when speaking
with their classmates schoolmates and teachers. One as the first language they used in
communicating, two as the second language they used in communication and three as
third language they used in communicating.
Table 5 shows the languages used by the respondents in communicating with their
classmates, schoolmates and teachers when they are talking about course related topics.
Classmates.Results show that when the respondents were communicating with
their classmates, the language they used most was Ilocano. Filipino came next and
English followed.
Table 5. Languages used by the respondents in communicating with their classmates,
schoolmates and teachers when they are writing and speaking about course
related topics
ACTIVITY
ENGLISH FILIPINO ILOCANO KANKANAEY IBALOI
SPEAKING
Teachers
2
1
3
-
-
Schoolmates
1.5
1.5
1
-
-
Classmates
1.5
1.5
1
-
-
WRITING
Teachers
1
2
3
-
-
Schoolmates
1.5
1
1.5
-
-
Classmates
1.5
1
1.5
-
-
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Schoolmates.Results show that when the respondents were communicating with
their classmates, they ranked Ilocano as the first language that they speak followed by
Filipino. English was ranked last.
Teachers.Results show that when the respondents were communicating with their
teachers, they used Filipino as their first language. English came next. Ilocano was
ranked last.
Languages Used by the Respondents in
Communicatingwith their Classmates,
Schoolmates and Teacherswhen
Writing about Course
Related Topics
Classmates.Results show that when the respondents were writing to their
classmates, they used Filipino as their first language. English came next and Ilocano was
ranked last.
Schoolmates.Results show that when the respondents were writing to their
schoolmates, they used Filipino first. Ilocano came next and Ilocano landed last.
Teachers.Results show that when they were writing to their teachers, they used
English first followed by Filipino then Ilocano.
Tables 5 and 6 prove that there was no difference on the language used by the
respondents when talking to their classmates, schoolmates and teachers whether their
subject is course related or non-course related. When it comes to writing, there was no
difference on the language used by the respondents when writing to their classmates, and
schoolmates. Results also show that there was a difference on the language used by the
respondents when the subject is course related and non-course related.
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Table 6. Languages used by the respondents in communicating with their classmates,
schoolmates and teachers when they are speaking and talking about non-course
related topics
ACTIVITY
ENGLISH FILIPINO ILOCANO KANKANAEY
IBALOI
SPEAKING
Teachers
1.5
1
1.5
-
-
Schoolmates
1.5
1.5
5
-
-
Classmates
1.5
1.5
1
-
-
WRITING
2
1
3
-
-
Teachers
Schoolmates
1.5
1
1.5
-
-
Classmates
1.5
1
1.5
-
-
Languages Used by the Respondents in
Communicating with their Classmates,
Schoolmates and Teachers when
Speaking about Non-Course
Related Topics
Classmates.Table 6 shows that when the respondents were speaking with their
classmates, the first language they used was Ilocano followed by Filipino then English
came last.
Schoolmates.Results show that when the respondents were speaking with their
schoolmates, the first language that they used was Ilocano. Filipino came next. Ilocano
was the least used.
Teachers.Results show that when the respondents were speaking with their
teachers, the first language they used was Filipino. English came next and then Ilocano.
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Languages Used by the Respondents in
Communicating with their
Classmates, Schoolmates
and Teachers when
Writing about
Non-Course
Related
Topics
Classmates. Results show that when the respondents were writing their
classmates, the first language they used was Filipino. English came next and Ilocano
ranked last.
Schoolmates. Results show that when the respondents were writing their
schoolmates, the first language they used was Filipino. English and Ilocano were second
and last, respectively.
Teachers.Results show that when the respondents were writing their teachers, the
first language they used was Filipino followed by English and Ilocano was last. \\
Degree of Ease/Difficulty in the
Communication Activities
Encountered by the
Respondents
Table 7 presents the degree of ease/difficulty in the communication activities
done by BSDC sophomore students. The communication activities were group
discussion, lecture, conversation, class reporting, recitation, speech class
exercises,Library research work/ internet research, reading hand-outs, essay writing,
taking exams/quizzes, composing text messages, internet chatting, composing e-mails
and blogging. In the end, students from rural and urban areas were compared with regards
on how they found they identified activities. The respondents rated each activity through
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
putting on a check mark on the boxes provided. Each box was labeled one until five. One
as very easy, two as easy, three as moderate, four as difficult and five as very difficult.
Table 7. Degree of ease/difficulty in communication activities among urban and rural
BSDC sophomore students
RATING RATING
ACTIVITIES
RURAL
DESCRIPTION
URBAN
DESCRIPTION
N=21
N=34
Group discussion
2.01
easy
3.23
moderate
Lecture
2.76
moderate
2.84
moderate
Conversation
1.97
easy
2.05
easy
Class reporting
3.25
moderate
3.21
moderate
Recitation
2.90
moderate
2.70
moderate
Speech class exercises
3.05
moderate
3.23
moderate
Library research
3.03
moderate
3.03
moderate
work/Internet research
work
Reading handouts
2.61
moderate
2.76
moderate
Essay writing
3.03
moderate
3.00
moderate
Taking exams/quizzes
2.44
easy
2.62
moderate
Composing text
2.35
easy
2.38
easy
messages
Internet chatting
2.04
easy
2.01
easy
Composing e-mails
2.04
easy
2.20
easy
Blogging
2.31
easy
2.27
easy
Legend:
1.00-1.99- very easy
2.00-2.99- easy
3.00-3.99- moderate
4.00-4.99- difficult
5.00-5.99- very difficult
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Group discussion.There were four skills under group discussion. These were
expressing their ideas, understanding the ideas of others, paying attention to others, and
volunteering their ideas. Twenty-four of the respondents rated understanding the ideas of
others easy as well as paying attention to others (20 of the respondents) On the other
hand, there were twenty-three of the respondents who rated expressing their ideas as
moderate as well as volunteering their ideas (26 of the respondents).
In general, the respondents rated group discussion as moderate.
Lecture. There were four skills under lecture. These were understanding the
lecturer, listening attentively, and ignoring speech mannerisms of the lecturer. Thirty of
the respondents rated understanding the lecturer very easy while there were 27
respondents who rated listening to the lecturer attentively as moderate. On the other hand
there were 21 of the respondents who rated ignoring speech mannerisms of the lecturer as
difficult.
In general, there was similar number of respondents who rated this activity as
easy and moderate.Conversation. There were two skills under conversation. These were
expressing their ideas and understanding the ideas of others. Twenty-five of the
respondents rated expressing their ideas very easy. On the other hand, 34 of the
respondents rated understanding the ideas of others easy.
In general, the respondents rated conversation easy.
Class reporting.There were four skills under this activity. These were preparing
the report, answering queries, preparing visual aids or handouts, presenting the report and
answering queries. Twenty-four of the respondents rated preparing the report moderate
while there were 21 of the respondents who rated preparing visual aids or handouts as
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
moderate. Twenty-nine of the respondents also rated presenting the report as moderate
and 27 of the respondents rated answering queries as moderate.
In general, the respondents rated class reporting as moderate.
Recitation.There two skills under recitation. These were understanding the
questions and expressing their ideas. Twenty-seven of the respondents rated
understanding the questions moderate while 26 of the respondents rated expressing their
ideas moderate.
In general, the respondents rated recitation as moderate.
Speech class exercises. There were five skills under Speech class exercises.
These were preparing/practicing for non-verbal cues (gestures, facial expressions),
practicing for voice modulation, memorizing their piece and delivering their message.
Twenty-seven of the respondents rated preparing/practicing for non-verbal cues (gestures,
facial expressions) moderate. Twenty of the respondents rated practicing for voice
modulation moderate as well as memorizing their piece (24 of the respondents). There
were 23 of the respondents who rated delivering their message moderate.
In general, the respondents rated speech class exercises moderate.
Library research work/ internet research.There were five skills under this
activity. These were choosing appropriate information, understanding the material,
finding for the right material and digesting information from the different materials.
Thirty of the respondents rated choosing appropriate information moderate while 31 of
the respondents rated understanding the material moderate. Twenty-nine of the
respondents also rated finding for the right material moderate and 25 of the respondents
rated digesting the information from the different materials moderate.
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
In general, the respondents rated library research work/internet research moderate.
Reading handouts.There were two skills under this activity. These were
understanding the material and relating the handout or other material to the lesson.
Twenty-eight of the respondents rated understanding the material moderate as well as
relating the handout or the material to the lesson where there were 30 of the respondents
who rated it moderate.
In general, the respondents rated reading handouts moderate.
Essay writing.There were three skills under this activity. These were determining
what to write, organizing their ideas, and expressing their ideas. Twenty-one of the
respondents rated determining what to write moderate while 30 of the respondents rated
organizing their ideas moderate and 22 of the respondents also rated expressing their
ideas moderate.
In general, the respondents rated essay writing moderate.
Taking exams/quizzes.There were three skills under this activity. These were
following the instructions given, understanding the question, and writing down all
important information. Twenty-seven of the respondents rated following the instructions
given easy while 25 of the respondents rated understanding the question moderate and 27
of the respondents also rated writing down all important and needed information
moderate.
In general, the respondents rated this activity moderate.
Composing text messages.There were two skills under composing text messages.
These were understanding the shortcuts of others and expressing their ideas. Eighteen of
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
the respondents rated understanding the shortcuts of others easy while 22 of the
respondents rated expressing their ideas easy.
In general, the respondents rated composing text messages easy.
Internet chatting. There were two skills under internet chatting. These were
expressing their ideas and understanding the ideas of others. Twenty-two of the
respondents rated expressing their ideas very easy while 22 of the respondents rated
understanding the ideas of others easy.
In general, the respondents rate internet chatting easy.
Composing e-mails.There were two skills under this activity. These were
understanding the messages sent to them and expressing their ideas. Nineteen of the
respondents rated expressing their ideas very easy while 27 of the respondents rated
understanding the messages sent to them easy.
In general, the respondents rated composing e-mail easy.
Blogging. There were three skills under blogging. These were expressing their
ideas, understanding the other blogs, and packaging and lay outing their blog site. The
same number of respondents which is 15 rated expressing their ideas very easy and
moderate. Twenty of the respondents rated understanding the other blogs moderate and
23 of the respondents also rated packaging and lay outing their blog moderate.
In general, the respondents rated blogging moderate. However, there were eight
respondents who did not respond in this part of the survey questionnaires.
Based on the findings, the respondents did not find so much difficulty on the
communication activities which were identified. The respondents find most of the
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
activities as moderate. Findings show that there were only few among the activities that
where rated difficult.
Results also show that there were two activities where students from rural areas
and students from urban areas have different result on how easy or how difficult did they
find the identified activities.
In group discussion, findings present those respondents who came from rural
areas rated this activity as easy while students from urban areas rated this activity as
moderate. Aside from these activities, the rest of the activities were rated similar.
Same results show that in taking exams/quizzes, respondents from rural areas
rated this activity as easy while respondents who came from urban areas rated this
activity as moderate.
The findings contradict the study of Barcinasand Mccracken(1989) that there is a
difference on the performance of students coming from the rural and urban areas.
Students from the rural areas tend to be more homogenous. They came to the urban to
accomplish their educational aspirations. Their performances are minor compared to the
performance of students coming from the urban since they are adjusting while learning.
Common Communication Strategies
Done by Respondents in Order to Cope
up with the Identified Difficulties
Tables 8 to 20 present the common communication strategies done by the
respondents in order to cope up with the identified communication difficulties they
experienced.
Expressing their ideas.There were four strategies identified under this skill. These
were speaking clearly to express ideas, looking at the listener directly, having the right
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
pace when talking, having the attention of the listeners, and going directly to the point
when expressing an idea.
Results show that there were 30.90% of the respondents who did the strategy of
speaking clearly to express their ideas. 14.54% of the respondents applied the strategy of
looking at their listeners directly while there were 25.45% of the respondents who applied
the strategy of making sure that they have the right pace when talking.
Moreover, 13 of the respondents made use of the strategy of applying gestures
when emphasizing their point while 1.81% of the respondents applied the strategy of
making sure that he/she have his/her listener’s attention and 3.63% of the respondents
who applied the strategy of directly to the point.
Table 8 supports that most of the respondents used speaking clearly to express
their ideas as their strategy under this skill.
Understanding the ideas of others.There were five identified strategies under this
skill. These were listening attentively, refraining from side conversation, putting aside
distracting thoughts while listening, showing that he/she is listening by nodding or giving
out verbal comments and asking questions about the subject matter.
Twenty-four of the respondents show that they are listening by nodding or giving
out verbal comments as their strategy in this skill while 38.18%of the respondents applied
listening attentively as their strategy in this skill.
Five (9.09%) applied the strategy of refraining from side conversation while
7.27% of the respondents made use of the strategy of putting aside distracting thoughts
while listening. There was one (1.81%) of the respondents who applied the strategy of
asking about the subject matter.
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Table 8. Common communication strategies done by the respondents in order to cope up
with their difficulties in expressing their ideas
TOTAL
COMMON STRATEGIES DONE
N
U MBER
PERCENTAGE
(%)
(N=55)
I speak clearly to express my ideas
17
30.90
I make sure that I have the right pace when talking
14
25.45
I use gestures when emphasizing my point
13
23.63
I look at my listener directly
8
14.54
I go directly to the point when expressing an idea
2
3.63
I make sure that they have my attention
1
1.81
Table 9. Common communication strategies done by the respondents in order to cope up
with their difficulties in understanding the ideas of others
TOTAL
COMMON STRATEGIES DONE
NUMB
ER
PERCENTAGE
(%)
(N=55)
I show that I am listening by nodding or giving out
24
43.63%
verbal comments
I listen attentively
21
38.18%
I refrain from side conversation
5
9.09%
I put aside distracting thoughts while listening
4
7.27
I ask questions about the subject matter
1
1.81%
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Conversation.Table 10 shows that there were five communication strategies that
were identified under this skill. These were looking at the listener directly, using gestures
to emphasize a point, having the right pace when speaking and speaking clearly when
expressing ideas and listening more and talking less.Twelve (21.81%) of the respondent
applied the strategy of looking at their listener directly while there were 30 (54.54%) of
the respondents applied using gestures to emphasize a point and 12.72% of the
respondents applied the strategy of having the right pace when speaking and 9.09% of
the respondents made use of the strategy of speaking clearly when expressing ideas.
There was one (1.81 %) among the respondents who applied the strategy of listening
more and talking less.
Table 10 supports that most of the respondents used the strategy of looking at the
speaker directly during conversation
Listening attentively.Table 11 shows that there were three strategies identified
under this skill. These were looking at the speaker directly, putting aside distracting
thoughts while listening, and refraining from side conversations.
Twenty-five (45.45%) of the respondents applied the strategy of looking at the
speaker directly while 38.18% of the respondents made use of the strategy of putting
aside distracting thoughts and 16.36% of the respondents did refraining from side
conversations as their strategy in this activity.
Table 11 proves that most of the respondents applied putting aside distracting
thoughts as their strategy under this skill.
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Table 10. Common communication strategies done by the respondents in order to cope up
with their difficulties in having conversation with others
TOTAL
COMMON STRATEGIES DONE
NUMBE R
PERCENTAGE
(%)
(N=55)
I use gestures when speaking to emphasize a point
30
54.54%
I look at my listener directly
12
21.81%
I make sure that I have the right pace when talking
7
12.72%
I speak clearly to express my point
5
9.09%
I listen more and talk less
1
1.81%
Table 11. Common communication strategies done by the respondents in order to cope up
with their difficulties in listening attentively
COMMON STRATEGIES DONE TOTAL
NUMBER
PERCENTAGE
(N=55)
(%)
I look at the speaker directly
25
45.45%
I put aside distracting thoughts while listening
21
38.18%
I refrain from side conversations
9
16.36%
Ignoring speech mannerisms of the lecturer.Table 12 shows that there were two
strategies identified under this skill. These were listening attentively and looking at the
speaker directly. Twenty-nine (52.72%) of the respondents applied listening attentively
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
as their strategy while there were 47.27% of the respondents who made use of looking at
the speaker directly as their strategy under this skill.
Table 12 proves that most of the respondents made use of looking at the speaker
directly as their strategy in coping up the difficulties they encounter under this skill.
Answering queries. Table 13 shows that there were four strategies identified under
this skill. These were using gestures when speaking to emphasize a point, understanding
the question well, speaking clearly to emphasize a point and looking at the listener
directly.
Nineteen (34.54 %) of the respondents applied the strategy of using gestures when
speaking to emphasize a point while seven 12.72 % of the respondents made use of the
strategy of understanding the question well and 18.18 % of the respondents made use of
the strategy of speaking clearly to emphasize a point. There were34.54 % of the
respondents applied looking at speaker directly as their strategy under this skill.
Table 13 supports that most of the respondents applied the use of gestures when
speaking to emphasize a point and looking at speaker directly as their strategy under this
skill since there were the same number of respondents who did this strategy.
Table12. Common communication strategies done by the respondents in order to cope up
with their difficulties in ignoring speech mannerisms of the lecturer
TOTAL
COMMON STRATEGIES DONE
NUM BER
PERCENTAGE
(N=55)
(%)
I listen attentively
29
52.72%
I look at the speaker directly
26
47.27%
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Raising questions.Table 14 shows that there were two strategies identified under
this skill. These were speaking clearly to emphasize a point and looking at the listener
directly. Fourty-one (74.54 %) of the respondents applied the strategy of speaking clearly
to emphasize a point while 25.45 % of the respondents applied looking at their listener
directly as their strategy.
The result shows that most of the respondents applied speaking clearly to
emphasize a point as their strategy under this skill.
Table13. Common communication strategies done by the respondents in order to cope up
with their difficulties in answering queries during class reporting
TOTAL
COMMON STRATEGIES DONE NUMBER
PERCENTAGE
(N=55)
(%)
I use gestures when
19
34.54 %
speaking to emphasize a point
I understand the question well
19
34.54 %
I speak clearly to emphasize a point
10
18.18 %
I look at my listener directly
7
12.72 %
Table14. Common communication strategies done by the respondents in order to cope up
with their difficulties in raising questions
TOTAL
COMMON STRATEGIES DONE
N U
MBER
PERCENTAGE
(%)
(N=55)
I speak clearly to emphasize a point
41
74.54 %
I look at my listener directly
14
25.45 %
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Delivering your speech.Table 15 shows that there were two strategies identified
under this skill. These were mastering the piece well and using gesture when emphasizing
a point. There were 31 (56.36%) who did mastering their piece well while 23 (23.63%) of
the respondents applied the use of gesture to emphasize a point.
Table 15 supports that most of the respondents did mastering their piece well as
their strategy under this skill.
Relating handouts or other materials to the lesson.Table 16 shows that there were
two strategies under this skill. These were highlighting the important information in the
material and listening to the lecturer attentively. There were 44 (80.00%) of the
respondents who did highlighting the important information in the material On the other
hand, there were 11 (20.00%) of the respondents who applied listening to the lecturer.
Table 16 supports that most of the students applied highlighting or underlining the
important information in the material.
Table 15. Common communication strategies done by the respondents in order to cope up
with their difficulties in delivering their speech
TOTAL
COMMON STRATEGIES DONE
NUMBER
PERCENTAGE
(N=55)
(%)
I master my piece well
31
56.36 %
I use gestures when emphasizing a point
13
23.63 %
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Table 16. Common communication strategies done by the respondents in order to cope up
with their difficulties in relating handouts or other materials to the lesson
TOTAL
COMMON STRATEGIES DONE
NUMBER
PERCENTAGE
(N=55)
(%)
I highlight or underline the important
44
80.00 %
information in the material
I listen to the lecturer attentively
11
20.00 %
Explaining the subject matter during classroom reporting. There were four
strategies under this skill. These were understanding the subject well, speaking clearly to
express their point, looking at their listener directly and using gestures in emphasizing a
point.
Forty-four (80.00 %) of the respondents do understanding the subject well as their
strategy while there were five (9.09 %) of the respondents spoke clearly to express their
point as their strategy. There were two (3.63 %) of the respondents who do looked at their
listener directly and there were four (7.27 %) of the respondent who do used gesture to
emphasize their point.
Table 17 proves that most of the respondents applied making sure that they
understand the subject matter that they are reporting as their strategy under this skill.
Following instructions during exams/quizzes. There were three strategies
identified under this skill. These were asking the teacher for clarification, asking their
classmates for clarification and reading the instructions again and again.
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Twenty-six (47.27 %) of the respondents do asking the teacher for clarification as
their strategy while there were 12 (21.81 %) of the respondents who asik their classmates
for clarification and there were 17 (30.90 %) of the respondents who applied reading the
instructions again and again.
Table 18 proves that most of the respondents applied asking their teacher for
clarification as their strategy.
Table 17. Common communication strategies done by the respondents in order to cope up
with their difficulties in explaining subject matter during classroom reporting
TOTAL
COMMON STRATEGIES DONE
NUMB
ER
PERCENTAGE
(N=55)
(%)
I make sure that I understand the subject matter
44
80.00 %
that I am reporting
I speak clearly to express my point
5
9.09 %
I use gestures to emphasize a point
4
7.27 %
I look at my listeners directly
2
3.63 %
Table18. Common communication strategies done by the respondents in order to cope up
with their difficulties in following instructions during exams/quizzes
TOTAL
COMMON STRATEGIES DONE
NUMBER
PERCENTAGE
(N=55)
(%)
I ask the teacher for
26
47.27 %
clarification
I read the instructions again and again
17
30.90 %
I ask my classmates for clarification
12
21.81 %
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Organizing ideas/expressing your ideas during essay writing. There were five
strategies identified under this skill. These were practicing through contributing articles
to publications, doing free writing activities on free time, having their work edited by
other people, asking for suggestions from other people and editing their own work.
There were 10 (18.18 %) of the respondents who do practicing through
contributing articles to publications while there were 26 (47.27 %) of the respondent who
do free writing activities as their strategy. There were 16 (29.09 %) of the respondents
who have their work edited by other people while there was one (1.81%) among the
respondents who do asking for suggestions from other people and there were two (3.63
%) of the respondents who do editing their own work.
Table 19 proves that most of the respondents do free writing as their strategy
under this skill.
Table 19. Common strategies done by the respondents in order to cope up with their
difficulties in organizing ideas/expressing their ideas during essay writing
TOTAL
COMMON STRATEGIES DONE
NUMBE R
PERCENTAGE
(%)
(N=55)
I do free writing activities on my free time
26
47.27
I let my work edited by other people
16
29.09
I practice through contributing articles to
10
18.18
publications
I ask for suggestions from other people
1
1.81
I edit my own work
2
3.63
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
The study was conducted to determine the communication activities participated
in by BSDC sophomore students in BSU, the language they speak, the degree of
difficulty of the activities they did and the strategies they did to cope up with the
communication difficulties they encountered.
The study was conducted on March 2011. There were a total of 55 respondents in
the study.
The data were gathered through survey questionnaire.
It was found out that that there were some activities done by the respondents with
their classmates and schoolmates that they did not do with their teachers. The subject
matter, whether course related or non-course related also affected the activities done by
the respondents. Under course related topics, all identified activities were participated in
by the respondents while under non-course related topics, there were those they did not
participated in.
Data also revealed that there was no difference on the language used by the
respondents when talking to their classmates, schoolmates and teachers whether their
subject is course related or non-course related. When it comes to writing, there was no
difference on the language used by the respondents when writing to their classmates, and
schoolmates. Results present that there was a difference on the language used by the
respondents when the subject is course related and non-course related.
Furthermore, the respondents did not find so much difficulty on most of the
communication activities that were identified. The respondents found most of the
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
activities as moderate. Findings show that there were only few among the activities that
where rated difficult.
Conclusions
Based on the results of the study, the following conclusions were derived:
1. Communication activities of the students vary depending on the type of person
and/ or group they interact with and the subject matter that they are dealing into.
2. There was no difference on the language used by the respondents when talking
and writing to their classmates, schoolmates and teachers whether their subject was
course-related or non-course related.
3. There was no difference on the performance of the students coming from urban or
rural areas based on the degree of difficulty on most of the communication activities that
were identified. Difficulty was noted only in writing essays, class reporting, speech class
exercises, library research/internet research works.
Recommendations
1. Teachers should continue carrying out communication-related activities in their
class for the continuous development of the students’ communication skills.
2. Incorporation of more communication-related activities in the course syllabus of
teachers such as writing essays, class reporting, speech class exercises, library
research/internet research and the like is highly recommendedfor the improvement of the
student’s communication performance.
3. Development communication students must improve reading skills through
reading more books and other literature more often and use dictionaries which does not
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
give only the synonyms of the words they do not understand but to dictionaries that will
give the complete meaning of the word and how is it used.
4. Students facing similar difficulties may consider the coping communication
strategies done by the respondents as noted in the study.
5. Similar study may be conducted to other groups of respondents, preferably non-
communication students, to see the difference in terms of the difficulties they face and
the strategies they do to cope with those difficulties.
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
LITERATURE CITED
ANONYMOUS.n.d. Communication Barriers. Retrieved January 12, 2011 from
http://www.local510.org/communication_skills.html
BAXTER, L. and B. MONTGOMERY. 1996. Relating: Dialogues and Dialects. New
York: The Guild Press. P.170
COLLEGE OF DUPAGE. 1998. Factors That Hinder The Communication Process.
Retrieved
January
12,
2011,
from
http://www/.cod.edu/Course/MGT100/Mgtcomm.htm
GOODNIGHT and DUNN, D, L . 2003. Communication: Embracing Differences.
Boston Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon, Permissions Department. P.75
ENGELBERG, I. and D. WYNN. 2008. The Challenge of Communicating: Guiding
Principles and Practices. Boston, Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon, Permissions
Department. P.p.173, 201, 203, 271
EHOW. 2011. How To Improve Communication Skills. Retrieved January 12, 2011,
from http://www.ehow.com/how_2080970_improve-communication-skills.html
GAMBLE, T. and M. GAMBLE. 2005. Communication Works (Seventh Edition).
United States of America: McGraw-hill Companies, Inc. P.189-190
HOUSE, H. and W. LANE.n.d. Interpersonal Communication Skills That Enhance
Organizational Commitment. Retrieved October 14, 2010 from
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articled=1669278&shoe=html
MCCRACKEN, J.D. and J.D. BARCINAS. 1991. Rural and Urban, Student
Characteristics, and Student Aspirations in Ohio. Retrieved February 16,
2011.http://74.6.117.48/search/srpcache?ei=UTF\\8&p=rural+vs+urban+students
&rd
=r1&meta=vc%3Dph&fr=yfp-t-701-s&fp_ip=ph&u=http://cc.bingj.com/
cache.aspx?q=rural+vs+ urban+students=html.
SEILER, W. and S. BEALL. 2002. Communicate. Belmont, California, U.S.A.:
Wadsworth/Thomson Learning. P.56
Obstacle: The Challenge Of Communication Among Bsdc Sophomore Students Of Benguet State
University/Jenniilyn A. Julian
Document Outline
- Obstacle: The Challenge of Communicationamong BSDC Sophomore Students in Benguet State University
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
- ABSTRACT
- INTRODUCTION
- REVIEW OF LITERATURE
- SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
- LITERATURE CITED