Abstract
This study investigated the difficulties encountered in learning quarter 1 Grade 9 English Most Essential Learning Competencies (MELCs) by the grade 9 students in Sibulan National High School with an end view of developing an intervention plan. The data collected through the survey questionnaires underwent frequency counting to determine their percentage, weighted mean, standard deviation, and rank. In contrast, the data obtained from the group discussions went through content analyses to determine the competencies students find challenging to learn. The results revealed that among the nine competencies in English 9 quarter 1, most students have responded that expressing obligations using modals, expressing prohibition using modals, using conditionals in expressing arguments, employing appropriate communicative styles in intimate situations, employing appropriate communication styles in casual situations, and employing appropriate communicate styles in conversational situations are slightly difficult to learn. Some of the reasons for students' difficulties in English quarter 1 competencies include confusion in using modals, difficulty in comprehension, difficulty in constructing sentences using modals, fear of parents' response, trust issues, absence of physical presence, no immediate perceivable reaction, strict impression, and fear of committing grammatical mistakes or mispronouncing words.
Additionally, to overcome this difficulty, the students changed their mindset, became more focused on learning, researched the internet, watched tutorial videos, and communicated with the teacher. These findings served as the foundation for the development of an intervention plan. It is recommended that the intervention plan be implemented for students and that English teachers receive more pedagogical training to improve their instruction.
