Concepts of Sociolinguistic Competence

Table 7 Socio-cultural Perspective of the Respondents

Profile Variables	Frequency 18		Percentage
Number of Years Studied the English Language 0 – 5 years			36.0
6 – 10 years	11		22.0
11 – 15 years	10		20.0
16 – 20 years	4		8.0
More than 20 years	7		14.0
Length of Stay in the Philippines 0 – 1 year	30		60.0
2 – 3 years	13		26.0
4 – 5 years	7		14.0

Number of Years Studied the English Language. Table 7 shows that 36.0 percent of the respondents underwent formal trainings in the English language from 0-5 years while 4.0 percent have studied the language from 16-20 years. Mizne (1997) also used the same profile-
variable in her study Teaching Sociolinguistic Competence in the ESL Classroom wherein she used it to elicit reports on her respondents’ language background.
A parallel profile-variable is used by Unciano (2006) in his study but with a broader category, i.e. “extent of exposure to linguistic inputs in the English language”. In like manner that Unciano justified the use of this variable is also informed by theory that length of exposure to linguistic inputs whether in a formal or an informal setting affects even the development of motivation to learn the target language. Unciano further characterizes in his study the degree of accuracy of such linguistics inputs to which students are exposed. In this study, considering that the pre-collegiate years of education of the respondents are presumably in their own countries of origin, then there is an opportunity in exploring at the extent and quality of linguistic inputs in the English language that the respondents have been subjected to across the years that they claimed to have been underwent education in that language.
Length of Stay in the Philippines. Majority of the respondents comprising 60.0 percent have stayed in the Philippines from 0-1 year while only 14.0 percent have already stayed 4-5 years. This is another profile variable used by Mizne (1997). In her study, the concern is the length of stay of the respondents in the US. Just like the profile variable that concerns the number of years studied the English language, it was also used as a language background. Considering the minimal number of years of the respondents’ stay in the Philippines, it allows the research to even more effectively observe their strategic grasp of sociolinguistic competence as they are still at the initial stages of acculturation in the social norms of the Philippines and so it was of great interest to note on their struggle in the use of English as they go about with their social negotiations and transactions.
Exposure to the English Language. Table 7.1 shows an overall weighted mean of 3.99 using a five-point Likert scale which indicates the general perception among the respondents that they are “often” exposed to the English language. Further analysis of the data also reveal that among the premises indicating such level of exposure, indicators 3 and 5 have the highest mean (4.44) out of the ten indicators. Thereby, it appears that such level of exposure is characterized by the notable frequency in their encounter with writing letters, sending text messages, sending emails, and chatting with friends, in which these engagements involved the use of the English language.
Ismail (2013) and Fox and Livingston (2007) mentioned that exposure to the English language does not always display high correlation with levels of proficiency, although Fox and Livingston (2007) affirmed that exposure to the English language specifically internet use can be correlated to sociolinguistic competence.
On Attitude. Table 8 indicates that an overall weighted mean of 4.06 using a five-point
Likert scale which indicates the respondents’ general perception of themselves as having a positive attitude towards the English language. Further analysis of data also reveals that attitudeindicator 10 is generally given the highest rating (mean: 4.54) among all indicators. Accordingly, the respondents generally find the English language interesting. Relative to this finding, attitude is viewed as one of the predictors of sociolinguistic competence by such scholars as Gumperz (2011), Gardner (2012), and Ismail (2013). Moreover, the finding provide a cue at the general optimism among the foreign students in their views of learning the English language but in which this would have also been anticipated from their personal decisions to enroll in Philippine Universities considering that they were also previously aware of the prevalent use of English in the Philippines, not just in the academic setting but in other social settings as well. It can also be noted that despite the significant gap in the rules of English and Arabic which is the first language of most of the respondents, this premise does not appear to be factor of obstruction for their appreciation of the English language. ⁸