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Reading Motivation Vs Reading Comprehension of Filipino ESL
Learners in the Public Schools: Its Correlation to Phi-IRI Reading
Results
Marieta Acibar Dar
Curriculum Implementation Division, Department of Education-Schools Division of Manila, Philippines
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2025.910000102
Received: 20 October 2025; Accepted: 27 October 2025; Published: 05 November 2025
ABSTRACT
A considerable number of studies concerning topics on reading comprehension were conducted significantly;
however, less attention was focused on metacognitive motivation of students, particularly among the public
secondary schools in the Philippines, whose primary language for communication is Filipino or Tagalog, but are
being taught in English as the medium of instruction in most of their basic core subjects. These students are in a
crucial transition period from junior high school to senior high school. The present study aims to investigate the
current reading level of Filipino ESL learners in the Junior High School who took the Grade 7 Phil-IRI test and
how it relates to their metacognitive reading motivation. A total of 229 participants were randomly selected from
junior high schools in the Schools Division of Manila. Results reveal that the majority of high school students
belong to the instructional level. This explains that, with follow-up on high-quality instructions, students can
achieve optimal performance in their studies. Interestingly, data yielded a very significant relationship between
the results of the Phil-IRI reading test and the Metacognitive Awareness Reading Strategies Inventory (MARSI).
This means that students who perform well in the Phil-IRI are likely to be highly motivated in their metacognitive
strategies when reading academic materials. The pedagogical implications of the study suggest that language
teachers should offer more than just reading instruction; learners must be strongly motivated to read, and the
teachers should ensure this motivation.
Keywords: Phil-IRI, Reading, Metacognition, Motivation, Reading Literacy
INTRODUCTION
Teaching reading is indeed a significant factor in language teaching. Olusola (2016) strongly emphasized,
“reading is the third of the four basic language skills in order of acquisition and it forms part of a complex
information processing system through which most formal learning takes place” (p. 83). It is an agreed fact that
the learners who made reading their habit gained a wide range of vocabulary that they use in other macro skills.
Mart (2012) underscored that reading outside the classroom is the most significant influence on oral
communication ability. Davies and Pearse (2000) supported the importance of reading, saying, “real success in
English teaching and learning is when the learners can actually communicate in English outside the classroom”
(p.56).
Reading proficiency, according to Pretorius (2001), correlated so highly with academic success that every effort
should be made by teachers to inculcate a reading culture in their students. A bulk of studies highlighted reasons
about the importance of reading that would surely benefit learners not only at present but more so during the
practice of their profession and careers. Mori (2002) foregrounded that both researchers and educators recognize
that motivation can be one of the key predictors of success in second or foreign language learning. Thus, a large
quantity of research has been carried out in order to investigate what constitutes motivation and how it works,
especially in reading. Researchers like Krashen (1982) and Eskey & Grabe (1988), as cited in Mori,
foregrounded that students need to read in substantial quantity not only in order to increase the amount of input
but also to develop reading skills and knowledge.
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Nonetheless, educators nowadays are confronted with challenges on how to motivate learners to read extensively
and make this become part of their habit despite the presence of media of entertainment readily available at the
click of one’s finger. The impetus of the study is how Filipino in-service teachers, especially in the public
schools, confront the issue of making their learners upgrade at least their level of comprehension so as to establish
the habit of reading. This paper attempts to investigate the reading motivations of Filipino ESL learners and how
these motivations relate to the actual results of their Phil-IRI reading test.
Background and Literature Review
The Reading Situation in the Philippine Education
In the Philippines, one of the ten-point agenda which the Aquino’s administration launched when K to 12
Program was initiated is to “make each child able readers by the time they complete Grade 1” (Philippine
Education for All Review Report [PEARR], 2015). This is anchored under the program “Every Child A Reader
Program,” (ECARP).
It was the poor results in reading of Filipino elementary and high school students that prompted the educators to
intensity the reading program ECARP. It aims to start from the root which is to inculcate among learners the
desire to love reading. Basically, ECARP aims for all children to be able to read in mother tongue by the end of
Grade 1, in Filipino by the end of Grade 2 and in English by the end of Grade 3. One of its components is
Reading Recovery, an intervention program for children who lag behind their peers in terms of reading and
writing (PEARR, 2015).
Part of learners’ development assessment is the National Achievement Test (NAT) which is a national
standardized test, designed to determine the academic levels, strengths and weaknesses (De Dios, 2013). It is a
set of examinations which students who are candidates for completion of Grade level take before their exit in
the certain grade level. These are Grades 6, 10, and 12 students in all public and private schools in the Philippines.
The 2006 results of the (NAT) given to Grade 6 and 4
th
-year high school students reported that their reading
mastery levels were only 14.4% and 1.1%, respectively (Philstar Global, 2006). This means that Grade 6 students
are below mastery at 85.6, while 4
th
-year high school students are below mastery at 98.1, which is indeed a very
alarming report. When asked what could be the reason for this “below mastery levels”? The Director of DepEd’s
Bureau of Elementary Education, Dr. Yolanda Quijano, explained, “Reading problems are the main culprit for
the poor performance of some students in the NAT”. (Philstar Global, 2006)
After the launch of ECARP, a more recent government report on the development of NAT results showed an
increase in the mean percentage score (DepEd, 2016). It reported thus, “To ensure preparedness of every graduate
for further education and the world of work, a percentage increase of 12 % in Grade 10 Achievement rate in
NAT, which is 50%-62% in the mean percentage score” (DepEd, 2016).
Meanwhile, to measure the reading comprehension of Grade 7 learners in public high schools who have just
completed the elementary level, another reading tool is the Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil-IRI).
This reading test aims to measure and establish the reading level profile of children in the public elementary
school system (Bureau of Elementary Education, 2009). It must be noted that the test is intended for elementary
pupils; however, teachers were directed to administer it to Grade 7 students in junior high school, as per a
memorandum from the Regional Director of the Department of Education.
Reading Motivation of ESL Learners
Guthrie, Bennett, and McGough (1994) explicated motivations for reading as “internalized reasons for reading
without activating cognitive operations that enable the individual to perform such acts as acquiring knowledge,
enjoying aesthetic experiences, performing tasks, and participating in social contexts.”
Understanding motivation for reading provides Filipino learners with a clear idea of the demand for English,
which can be acquired and honed through reading. The demand for quality skills in global competition, especially
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in the field of communication, requires a Filipino learner not only to become literate but to achieve accuracy in
understanding and comprehending written and spoken texts. Reading as one of the macro skills in language
communication demands a significant amount of attention for learners to excel in school and eventually in the
professional field they will embark on someday.
Thus, a learner needs to fully understand that reading skills should always be enhanced or practiced, just as a
pencil is sharpened from time to time to improve writing precision. Supported by parents/caregivers and guided
by their teacher, the purpose of achieving a higher level of mastery can only be attained if learners have the
utmost desire to read. This motivational attitude is primarily expected to have been imbibed by parents and
passed on to learners at home, then practiced and developed by teachers with their learners in school.
In reading, motivation plays a crucial role in every learner's learning process. One may not be fully aware of it,
but it slowly forms as a child learns sounds, words, phrases, and later, more complex sentences. Krashen (1982)
pointed out, “language acquisition is a subconscious process; language acquirers are not usually aware of the
fact that they are acquiring language, but are only aware of the fact that they are using the language for
communication” (p.10). Similarly, reading is like acquiring a language that may go through different phases.
Alderson et al. (as cited in Magogwe, 2013) support the idea that research shows a positive relationship between
students’ metacognitive awareness of the reading process and their ability to read and excel academically. Carell
et al. (as cited in Magogwe, 2013) underscored the importance of reading skills in academic contexts, making it
imperative to support students in their academic reading and writing tasks.
Motivation plays a crucial role in a child's learning process. One may not be fully aware of it, but it is already
embedded in one’s system the moment a child desires to read and learn. Cambria and Guthrie (2009) asserted
that one may certainly disregard motivation if a person prefers it, but if one does, the most important part of
reading, which is the “will,” may be neglected. Cambria and Guthrie (2009) further stressed that reading skills
have two sides. One side includes phonemic awareness, phonics, word recognition, vocabulary, and simple
comprehension, while the other side includes the “will” to read. A good reader has both the skill and the “will”.
Lau (as cited in Chan, 2003) emphasized that, as in other English reading studies on motivation, the strategies
used and the metacognitive skills also play significant roles in Chinese students’ reading comprehension.
However, it must also be considered why a learner may have been experiencing lags in their comprehension and
retention, as this does not mean a child is a poor reader. Cicerchia (2016) identified three common reading
problems that may be similar to those encountered by Filipino learners in public schools. These are the issues
regarding decoding, poor comprehension, and speed. Decoding occurs when a child matches sounds to letters to
sound out written language, which is common among beginning readers who struggle with new or unfamiliar
words. Secondly, poor comprehension is when a beginner reader encounters unfamiliar words they do not know
or recognize. Further, Cicerchia (2016) mentioned that when students decode inaccurately, the usual tendency
is to skip the word or words. Hence, the more words they skip, the harder it is for them to understand the complete
thought or idea of the text. Speed is when their vocabulary expands, they recognize more words by sight, and
their reading speeds up.
The Importance of Reading English among Filipino ESL Learners
For most Filipino learners, reading in English as an L2 can be difficult. This may be because they do not yet
have a clear picture of what awaits them, which is attributed to the habit of reading. The importance of learning
English language acquisition through reading is foregrounded by Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech, and Svartvik
(2007), who state, “English is generally acknowledged to be the world’s most important language” (p. 3). This
was supported using the four criteria of the universality of the English language. The first criterion is the number
of speakers of the language. A second is the language's geographical dispersal. Third is the functional load, and
fourth is the economic and political influence of the native speakers of the language. Quirk et al. (2007)
accentuated, “The choice of an international language, or lingua franca, is never based on linguistic or aesthetic
criteria, but always on political, economic and demographic ones” (p.3)
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Understanding the importance of English as an international lingua franca offers a strong motivation for why
students need to read extensively. Kirkpatrick (2007) underpinned, “the adoption of the lingua franca approach
also advantages teachers and learners because the focus and aim of English language teaching shifts” (p.194).
Kirkpatrick (2007) further emphasized that learning English enables effective communication across linguistic
and cultural boundaries.
Gomez Laich and Tuero (2009) discussed that empirical studies of L2 learners’ vocabulary learning from reading
began to appear in the late 1980s. Krashen (1989) emphasized that L2 learners with advanced reading proficiency
will acquire most of their vocabulary through extensive reading rather than through formal vocabulary
instruction. Mori (2002) found in one of his studies that students with greater grade-oriented motivation to read
(extrinsic motivation) also read more. It was further revealed in Mori's (2002) study that when students see
reading as difficult, the less they think it is useful to study English to understand novels/movies.
An interesting study on a metacognitive reading strategy among Filipino bilingual readers was conducted by
Estacio (2013), who used two types of reading comprehension tests (multiple-choice and unaided written recall)
based on the reading materials. Although there may be no conclusive results regarding the strategy that affects
reading comprehension, Estacio (2013) established that “the results of the study validated the relationship
between bilinguals’ use of metacognitive reading strategies and their reading comprehension” (p. 179).
A large number of studies have explored reading and its relationship to learners’ academic performance and
other related macro skills and disciplines. However, there are critical issues in reading skills that ELT in
developing countries like the Philippines still does not fully understand. The present study aims to provide
evidence for the assurance asserted by Quirk et al. (1985): “It is possible that as developing countries become
richer they will be able to increase their expenditure on the teaching of English and raise the levels of teacher
and student proficiency” (p. 9).
The birth of K to 12 Enhanced Basic Education (EBEC) emphasized a 12-year program that “gives every student
an opportunity to receive quality education that is globally competitive based on a pedagogically sound
curriculum that is at par with international standards,” (Enhanced Basic Education Act, 2013). This study is
deemed important to evaluate the significant relationship of reading motivations of Filipino ESL learners, as
revealed in the findings of the Metacognitive Awareness Reading Strategies Inventory (MARSI), with the results
of oral and silent reading comprehension of the Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (PHIL-IRI) prescribed
by the government in the public schools. In particular, the study explored the following research questions:
1. How do Filipino ESL high school learners perform in the Phil-IRI reading test?
2. How does the Phil-IRI reading test relate to the results of the Metacognitive Awareness Reading Strategies
Inventory (MARSI)?
3. Is there a significant relationship between the results of the Phil-IRI reading test and MARSI?
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Theoretical Framework
The present study is anchored on the self-efficacy theory of Bandura (1997), who defined self-efficacy as “beliefs
in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to produce given attainments” (p.3).
No one else but “us” is the most significant prime mover of success. In the self-efficacy theory, learners
themselves are encouraged and expected to be the prime movers of change towards success. The drive and
willingness are expected to come from themselves being learners of English as their L2. Through constant
practice of reading and input through mental and physical rehearsals, Filipino ESL learners may soon become
advanced and proficient readers.
Another theory on which the study is grounded is the effective goal-setting theory by Locke & Latham (2002),
who stated, “Goal setting involves establishing quantitative and qualitative standards of objectives to serve as
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the aim of one’s actions” (p. 15). According to Schunk (1990), this theory is further divided into three aspects
that teachers should be aware of while helping their students set academic goals. First, this is a proximal, or
short-term, goal rather than a distal, or long-term, goal. Young as they are, high school learners are less likely
to become discouraged or unmotivated during long–term tasks. The second aspect points to specific goals that
raise performance, specify the effort required for success, and boost self-efficacy. The third goal should be
moderately difficult or challenging. Schunk (1990) further explained, “Teachers should teach students how to
set personal long-term, medium-term, and short-term goals that relate explicitly to the purpose for them doing
the activity or course” (p.16).
Research Design
To analyze the relationship between the Phil-IRI results of Filipino ESL students in public schools in Manila
and their reading motivation, the study employed a quantitative descriptive method. According to Zulueta and
Costales Jr. (2003), this method is a procedure that involves assigning numerical values to variables. The
researcher followed strictly the research ethics. First, the customary procedure of writing a letter to the office of
the Superintendent of the Division of Manila was conducted. It must be noted that the letter seeking permission
to conduct a study in the public schools was duly signed by the researcher herself and noted by her research
mentor. After the Superintendent approved, the researcher met with the School Principals of the concerned
schools, and the Principals endorsed the letter to the Head of the English Department. The Department Head
for English endorsed it to the teacher or Master Teacher concerned. Finally, the MARSI instrument was given
to students.
Since all respondents are in Grade 8 and considered minors, a letter of consent to their parents and/or guardians
was provided to each student to allow them to participate in the study.
The Participants
The total number of participants in this study is 229, all of whom are currently enrolled in Grade 8. They are
from different schools in the Division of Manila, randomly chosen by their English teacher. As students from
public schools and residents of Manila, these students belong to families whose parents are employed and receive
the minimum wage (Tubadeza & Rosero, 2015).
It must be noted that all participants are in Grade 8 because the results are readily available. Students are now in
Grade 8, and in practice, they finished the test when they were still in Grade 7. The results of Phil-IRI were
retrieved from the school file with proper permission.
The Instruments
The Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (PHIL-IRI). This informal reading inventory is a program that
was initially implemented during the school year 2011-2012 by the Bureau of Elementary Education (now
Bureau of Learning Delivery) of the Department of Education. The Informal Reading Inventory (IRI) is one of
the most useful classroom tools in assessing pupils’ reading ability. It can provide an indication of pupils’ reading
performance through direct observation. It is typically administered individually and consists of grade-level
stories followed by comprehension questions of varying difficulty.
Also, in the Phil-IRI, the adjectival rate of pupils/students is categorized by reading level, comprehension, and
speed. These levels are frustration, instructional, or independent. The non-reader level is not considered a
variable in the Junior High School because it is for those who cannot recognize and sound out letter-sound for
single consonants. They are those who are unable to blend consonants and vowel in simple word (cvc, ccvc,cvcc)
patterns. For a complete description of reading levels, please see Appendix A.
The test materials package consists of the Manual of Administration, Teacher’s/Pupil’s copy of the Graded
passages, Phil-IRI forms and the Key to Corrections (Phil-IRI DepEd Manual)
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Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory (MARSI). Developed and validated by Mokhtari
and Reichard (2002), it is an instrument specifically designed to assess adolescent and adult readers’
metacognitive awareness and perceived use of reading strategies while reading academic or school-related
materials. It is further divided into 3 strategy subscales or factors, namely: Global reading strategies, Problem-
solving strategies, and Support reading strategies.
It is practically applied in this study to determine whether the results of the Phil-IRI reading tests have a
significant effect on students' reading motivation.
Data Gathering Procedure
Data collection lasted a month due to various activities coinciding with the school year's closure. The researcher
visited different schools, following the usual protocol and research ethics as mentioned earlier, and then
proceeded with the study. The Phil-IRI results were obtained from the Curriculum Implementation Department
(CID) of the Division Office of Manila, while MARSI was conducted in the classroom under proper guidance
from the students’ respective English teachers.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In the presentation, analysis and interpretation of the results of the data, the focal aim of the study as mentioned
earlier is to evaluate the significant relationship of reading motivations of Filipino ESL learners as revealed in
the findings of Metacognitive Awareness Reading Strategies Inventory (MARSI) with the results of oral and
silent reading; speed and comprehension of the Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (PHIL-IRI) prescribed
by the government in the public schools.
The research questions presented earlier are given the utmost analysis and interpretation:
How do Filipino ESL high school learners perform in the Phil-IRI reading test
Table 1 Level of Students in the Phil-IRI for Oral and Silent Reading Tests
Secondary
Schools
Oral Reading
Silent Reading
Frustration
Instructional
Independent
Frustration
Instructional
Independent
Paez
22%
59%
18%
27%
47%
25%
Laurel
15%
52%
33%
36%
30%
11%
Osmeña
12%
58%
30%
0%
66%
34%
Magsaysay
0%
74%
26%
0%
86%
14%
Araullo
14%
67%
19%
27%
66%
7%
Mapa
50%
37%
13%
42%
47%
11%
Mean
Percentage
19%
58%
23%
22%
57%
17%
Table 1 presents the reading levels of participants in the oral and silent tests of the Phil-IRI. The data indicate
that the majority of participants belong to the Instructional level, both in oral (58%) and silent reading tests
(57%). While the Independent level scored 23% in oral reading and only 17% in silent reading. For the
Frustration level, 19% for oral reading and 22% for silent reading.
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The results of both oral and silent reading tests yielded consistent mean percentage scores of 58% and 57%,
respectively. A very thin line of difference leads to the conclusion that the majority of high school students
belong to the Instructional Level. This explains that they are the students who can benefit from and learn from
instruction. Their oral reading is rhythmic, conversational, and correct in interpretation. Burkins and Croft
(2010) provided a clear interpretation of the “instructional” level of students’ reading: “It is the level at which a
student has a strong enough reading process to learn from the work” (p.30). Burkins and Croft (2010) further
noted that students at this point already have a “repertoire of strategies strong enough to support them to attend
dimensions of the text that may be new to them” (p. 36).
Having noted that these students are just in their early years of Junior High School, gives us a clear view that
room for improvement in reading that must be addressed properly for these L2 learners. With proper guidance
and consistent reading practice, there is no doubt they can improve their reading skills.
Table 2 Level of Students in the Phil-IRI for Speed and Comprehension Reading Tests
Secondary Schools
Speed
Comprehension
Slow
Average
Fast
Frustration
Instructional
Independent
Paez
26%
53%
21%
27%
48%
25%
Laurel
1%
46%
53%
1%
60%
39%
Osmeña
42%
38%
30%
0%
66%
34%
Magsaysay
0%
56%
44%
0%
87%
13%
Araullo
48%
21%
31%
32%
58%
11%
Mapa
24%
68%
8%
42%
47%
11%
Mean Percentage
24%
47%
31%
26%
61%
22%
Data in Table 2 shows the speed and comprehension level of students. Table 2 shows that students' average
reading level is less than half that of the majority. While a minimal difference is observed for the fast readers
(31%) and slow readers (24%).
Speed reading sometimes becomes an issue when comprehension is at stake. Wallot et al. (2014) draw a
distinction between reading speed and comprehension. They accentuated, “Reading speed is not a consistent
predictor of text comprehension, when speed and comprehension are measured at the same time within the same
reader” (p.1745).
The article above supports the idea that speed is not the sole measure of reading skill, especially when there are
different purposes for reading. Nonetheless, it must also be considered that slow reading among students is
primarily due to difficulty with word recognition, which sometimes leads to poor comprehension.
Regarding comprehension, 61% of participants are at the instructional level. The significant results in
comprehension indicate that Filipino high school students are not far behind in comprehension. Burkins and
Croft (2010) supported the results, highlighting that both “reading speed and comprehension should be seen as
the result of the reading process and that the process of fluent text can instead be described by complexity metrics
that quantify aspects of the stability of the reading process” (p. 36).
Speed reading sometimes becomes an issue when comprehension is at stake. Wallot et al. (2014) draw a
distinction between reading speed and comprehension. They accentuated, “Reading speed is not a consistent
predictor of text comprehension, when speed and comprehension are measured at the same time within the same
reader” (p.1745).
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The article above supports the idea that speed is not the measuring stick for the skill of reading as a whole,
especially when different purposes for reading are the issue. Nonetheless, it must also be noted that slow reading
among students is primarily due to difficulty with word recognition, which can lead to poor comprehension.
How does the Phil-IRI reading test relate to the results of the Metacognitive Awareness Reading Strategies
Inventory (MARSI)?
Table 3 Means and Standard Deviation of the Metacognitive Reading Strategies
Schools
Paez
Osmena
Laurel
Mapa
Magsaysay
Araullo
Mean
SD
Global reading Strategies
3.65
3.53
3.76
3.46
3.63
3.01
3.51
0.26
Problem- solving Strategies
4.01
3.81
3.89
3.87
3.59
3.51
3.78
0.19
Support Reading Strategy
3.68
3.36
3.75
3.65
3.21
3.17
3.47
0.25
Table 3 presents the means and standard deviation of Grade 8 level students who took the Phil-IRI test and who
also answered the Metacognitive Awareness Reading Strategies Inventory (MARSI). It is very evident that in
terms of problem-solving strategy the students got a 3.78 mean while in global reading strategies they got 3.51
mean and 3.47 when it comes to support reading strategy.
The result of the means gives a positive impression that students’ often use the reading strategies stated in
MARSI. MARSI, gives a key average of 3.5 or higher equates positive results. Mokhtari and Reichard (2002)
foregrounded that the interpretation of information schemes ranges from 1 to 5 while only three level of usage
were identified: high (mean of 3.5 or higher), medium (mean of 2.5 to 3.4), and low (2.4 or lower). The overall
score averages indicate how often students use all the strategies in the inventory when reading academic
materials.
The results of the data are not conclusive and do not give a general view that the majority of the students in the
public school, or even in Manila, apply and use the metacognitive reading strategies as Mokhtari and Reichard
(2002) explain it: “The MARSI is not intended to be used as a comprehensive measure of students’
comprehension monitoring capabilities. Rather, it is designed as a tool for helping students increase
metacognitive awareness and strategy use while reading” (p.255).
Further, from Table 3, it can be seen that the standard deviations for global reading strategies (.26), problem-
solving strategies (.19), and support reading strategy (.25) are very low and far from the means. It therefore
appears that the spread of data is small.
Is there a significant relationship between the results of the Phil-IRI reading test and MARSI?
Table 4 Relationship between Phil-IRI Reading Results and MARSI
Variables
N
Mean
SD
Pearson
Significance
Phil-IRI
5551
33.91
10.01
.853
P=0.000<0.01
Very significant
MARSI
229
3.59
4.92
.120
P=0.000<0.01
Very significant
Table 4 presents the results of the Phil-IRI reading test and MARSI. Interestingly, the data reveal a highly
significant relationship between the Phil-IRI reading test results and the MARSI, as indicated by the p-value.
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Further, the obtained Pearson r values of .853 for the Phil-IRI and .120 for the MARSI manifest a very significant
relationship. Simply put, students who perform well on the Phil-IRI are likely to be highly motivated to use
metacognitive strategies when reading academic materials.
The results shown in Table 4 are consistent with the study by Awe (2014), conducted in Nigeria, which focused
mainly on the relationship between reading attitudes and the reading comprehension performance of secondary
school students. His findings revealed “there is a very high, significantly positive relationship between reading
attitudes and reading comprehension performance” (p.203). He concluded this after calculating the r-value of
his study (.836), which is greater than the critical value of .062 at the .05 level. Awe (2014) posited that students
need to be equipped with a rich vocabulary “which engenders good performance in reading comprehension
tasks” (p. 204). According to Awe (2014), reading scholars have established that learners who struggle with
comprehension are likely to develop a dislike for books, which could prevent them from practicing reading
adequately.
Limitations of the Study
Since the study is actually based on empirical investigation, the researcher hopes to make this research project
an action research of the Schools Division Office of Manila under the Bureau of Education Research Fund
(BERF). Hence, any suggestions for improving this endeavor will be humbly accepted and appreciated.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The present study investigated the reading motivation of Filipino ESL high school students in the Division of
Manila and how this motivation relates to their reading performance results. Using the two research instruments,
the Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil-IRI) and the Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies
Inventory (MARSI), the study attempts to show the real scenario of what is actually the reading level of our
Filipino ESL learners in the Junior High School level, particularly in Grade 8 who took the Phil-IRI test when
they were in Grade 7.
As motivation plays a crucial role in language acquisition and development, the present study aims to equip
Filipino ESL learners with the knowledge and skills to meet the growing demands of English as the lingua franca
of the world and the most salient tool for language communication in the country and the international
community. This could be properly addressed if the reading needs of Filipino learners are given utmost attention
and intervention.
There are three significant points that the present study establishes. First, Filipino ESL learners in public high
schools are at the instructional reading level and are potential catalysts for the country’s development if given
proper attention and more opportunities to develop themselves. They are those who are eager to profit and
enthusiastic to learn from instructions. Second point to consider is that, as language is dynamic, the level of
reading skills of Filipino ESL learners is changing. One must not forget that as a language teacher, the
specifications given to students are merely numbers and labels of semantics, which are not stationary. Beyond
numbers and labels, what is most important are the learners themselves. The reason there are teachers is simply
because there are learners who will always be endlessly in line. Simply put, teachers should be the primary
means of motivation. A teacher creates a ripple effect of motivation and enthusiasm for her learners. If there are
instruments to gauge students' learning and, in fact, they are significant, one must remember that the centrality
of learning should still be with the learners.
The most significant concern of this study is that the task of helping our learners form the habit should come
foremost from family and community, as partners in learning and for learning. Since the results have shown that
a very significant relationship exists between the reading test and students’ motivation, it is clear that the true
cause of students' poor performance in achievement exams is a lack of motivation from the family and the
community.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN SOCIAL SCIENCE (IJRISS)
ISSN No. 2454-6186 | DOI: 10.47772/IJRISS | Volume IX Issue IX September 2025
Page 1204
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The findings presented in this paper open the door to further research. Action research for new programs
anchored on the “Every Child a Reader” program of the Department of Education could be the second research
point. Another interesting point of study is the replication of the study involving teachers and parents.
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