Oral Communicative Competence of Filipino College Students: Levels, Correlates, and Characteristics

• In Event: Roundtable Session 39
  In Roundtable Session: Second Language Teaching and Learning

Abstract

The primary purpose of the current study was to determine the dimensions of oral communicative competence of first semester freshman students at one college in the Philippines. Three objectives emanated from this purpose: (a) What is the level of the students’ oral communicative competence, both linguistically and sociolinguistically? (b) What are the correlates of their competence? and (c) What are the characteristics of their competence? These objectives were achieved through individual assessments of 100 students who each read two passages to measure linguistic competence (one focusing on intonation, the other on pronunciation) and responded to eight hypothetical situations designed to measure sociolinguistic competence. Results indicated that, despite years of English instruction, students still struggled linguistically and sociolinguistically.

Author

• Allan Paul Delaman Sandigan, Bohol Island State University