Abstract
Communicative competence is the learner’s ability to use language to communicate successfully. This descriptive-comparative study assessed the communicative competence of 248 senior high school students in a private academic institution in Bacolod City, Philippines. Data were gathered using the researcher-made essay test and extemporaneous speaking questions. Significant findings revealed that the respondents were competent in written and oral communication, with mean scores of 44.07 and 47.03, respectively. However, when grouped according to sex, female students performed better than their male counterparts based on the levels of linguistic and discourse competence. When grouped according to strand, the mean scores of the respondents vary from ‘moderate’ to ‘good’ in both areas. Using Independent T-test, the data further indicated significant differences when the respondents are grouped according to sex in terms of linguistic and discourse competence. On the contrary, One-Way Analysis of Variance revealed no significant differences for both areas when the respondents are grouped according to strand. Overall, the communicative competence of senior high school students could still be improved. For this reason, a remedial program was proposed to provide additional instruction to aid students’ difficulties concerning communication skills and to ensure that they meet their grade level expectations in English language learning.
