Syntactic and Morphological Errors of Senior High School Students Towards Grammar Intervention Strategies
Abstract
This mixed-methods study investigated the syntactic and morphological errors committed by Senior High School students in the Schools Division Office of Pasay City and developed a Grammar Intervention Framework (GIF) responsive to identified learner needs. Guided by Interlanguage Theory and Long’s Focus on Form(s), the study examined the frequency of grammatical errors, differences across academic strand, grade level, English grade, and socioeconomic status, underlying causes, and teaching approaches perceived as effective. A convergent parallel mixedmethods design involved 289 Senior High School students selected through stratified random sampling for the quantitative phase and 10 participants purposively selected for the qualitative phase. Data were gathered through a validated grammar assessment, survey questionnaire, and interview guide. Frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and the Chi-square Test of Independence were used for quantitative analysis, while narrative thematic analysis was used for qualitative data. Verb choice (M = 3.29), subject-verb agreement (M = 2.98), and pronoun usage (M = 2.80) were the most prominent difficulties, whereas word order (M = 2.08) and articles/determiners (M = 2.20) showed lower error levels. Significant differences were reported by grade level and English grade; academic strand did not produce significant differences, while socioeconomic status yielded a significant difference for morphological errors but not for syntactic errors. Four qualitative factors emerged: Filipino language interference; incomplete grammar internalization and limited linguistic resources; cognitive overload during writing; and limited exposure, practice, and confidence in English use. The study produced the five-component GIF: Diagnostic-Analytic Grammar Profiling, Explicit-Contrastive Grammar Instruction, Scaffolded Accuracy Practice Sequence, Real-Time Feedback and Revision Loop, and Multimodal Grammar Reinforcement.