Informal Linguistic Environments: Implications to Oral English Skills

Abstract

Informal linguistic environments have a pivotal role in second language learners’ oral English skills. This descriptive-correlational study determined the association of informal linguistic environments and oral English skills of seventy-five (75) speech class students of a College in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines. Data were gathered using pilot-tested questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results revealed that informal linguistic environments such as interacting in English language through technology-mediated communication, reading of fictional and non-fictional materials in English, watching of television programs and movies in English, and listening to the radio programs/songs in English were significantly contributed to students’ oral English skills in terms of pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, fluency, and comprehension. This study, therefore, recommended the need for student-participants to be exposed extensively to the informal contexts of learning the English language, specifically, on the macro skill of speaking.