ENGLISH AS A MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION: CHALLENGES AMONG NON-

ENGLISH PRE-SERVICE TEACHER

A Research Proposal

In Partial Fulfillment

Of the Requirements for the

Language Research 1

By

Castillo, Jean

Itin, Ashmina

January 2025
 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

This chapter of the paper presents the problem and its setting. It includes the

background of the study, the statement of the problem, significance of the study and scope

and delimitation of the study.

A. Background of the Study

English has become a global language and teaching English as a foreign

language (EFL)

has increasingly become a universal demand. As reported by Macaro, Curle, Pun, An,
and

Dearden (2018), English as a medium of instruction (EMI) has become a growing

global

phenomenon, particularly in higher education. More and more higher education

institutions

are now keen to offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs through the
medium of

English (Earls, 2016).

In recent years, English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) has gained

increasing

importance in educational institutions worldwide, especially in non-English-speaking

countries. This shift aims to improve students' global competitiveness by enhancing

their

proficiency in English, a critical language for academic and professional success in an

increasingly interconnected world. However, the use of EM presents significant

challenges,
 particularly among non-English pre-service teachers, who are expected to teach
content

In today's digital landscape, social media platforms have emerged as a dominant

source of information for many individuals, particularly senior high school students. These

platforms offer a constant stream of news articles that cover a wide array of topics, ranging

from global events to niche interests. This continuous exposure to diverse perspectives and

information presents a unique opportunity to assess and enhance students' critical thinking

skills. Critical thinking is a multifaceted skill that involves the ability to analyze, evaluate,

and synthesize information, allowing individuals to make informed decisions and develop a

nuanced understanding of complex issues. By examining how students interact with news

articles on social media, educators can gain valuable insights into their critical thinking

abilities, identify areas for improvement, and tailor educational strategies to better equip

students for the challenges of the modern world.

The proliferation of misinformation and "fake news" on social media platforms has

further underscored the necessity of robust critical thinking skills. In an era where

information is abundant yet not always reliable, students must learn to discern credible

sources from unreliable ones and develop the ability to critically evaluate the content they

encounter. This skill is not only crucial for academic success but also for fostering

responsible citizenship in a democratic society. The ability to question the validity of

information and recognize bias is essential for participating in informed discussions and

making sound judgments. By focusing on how students engage with news articles on social

media, this research aims to explore the effectiveness of current educational strategies in

fostering critical thinking and to identify potential gaps that need to be addressed.
Understanding these interactions can inform educators on how to better prepare students to

navigate the complexities of the modern media landscape.

The goal of this research proposal is to assess the critical thinking levels of senior

high school students by analyzing their interactions with news articles found on social media.

Through this study, we aim to provide valuable insights into the current state of students'

critical thinking skills and offer recommendations for educational interventions that can

enhance these skills. Ultimately, this research seeks to empower students to become more

discerning consumers of information and to equip them with the tools necessary for

navigating the complex media landscape of the 21st century. By fostering a generation of

critical thinkers, we hope to contribute to a more informed and engaged society, capable of

addressing the multifaceted challenges of our time.

B. Statement of the Problem

This study focused on assessing critical thinking level among senior high school
students in terms on digital media contents. Specifically, this research study seeks an answer
to the following Questions.
 1. What is the currently level of critical thinking among senior high school students
when engaging with news articles that found on Social Media?

2. Is there a significant difference in the critical thinking levels among senior high
school students across different strands/track?

3. What strategies can effectively enhance the critical thinking of senior high school
students through their evaluation of news articles on social medias?

C. Significance of the Study

This study aims to assess the critical thinking level of senior high school students in

relation to their engagement with digital media content. The findings of this research will

hold significance for various stakeholders:

School Head: This study will help the school head understand the impact of digital media on

students' critical thinking level. The findings can aid in making informed decisions about

school programs that strengthen critical thinking skills.

Teachers: This study will help teachers understand how well students think critically about

digital media. The findings can guide them in creating better lessons that encourage critical

thinking and improve digital skills.

Students: For students, this research will highlight the importance of thinking critically about

the digital content they consume. It will encourage them to be more thoughtful and careful

when evaluating information online.

Parents: This study will help parents understand how digital media influences their children's

thinking level. The findings can encourage parents to guide their children in making informed

choices when engaging with online content.

Future Researchers: This study will provide a basis for future research on critical thinking

and digital media. It will offer insights that other researchers can build on to explore how

different types of digital content impact students’ thinking abilities.

D. Scope and Delimitation/ Limitation

This study focuses on assessing critical thinking level among senior high school

students in terms on digital media contents. The sample population will consist of STEM,

GAS and TVL (HE, ICT, IA) in Senior High School of Zamboanga Peninsula Polytechnic

State University.

D. Scope and Delimitation

This study explores the challenges that non-English pre-service teachers may face in
using English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) and their possible coping mechanisms. It
focuses on fourth year non-English pre-service teachers at State University in
Zamboanga during the 2024-2025 academic year, using purposive sampling for
participant selection. The study is limited to the challenges and coping strategies related
to linguistic, psychological, and pedagogical issues in EMI settings. It does not include in-
service teachers or evaluate institutional EMI policies. Data will be collected
through interviews to provide insights into their challenges and adaptation strategies.
 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURES AND STUDIES

This chapter presents the review of related literature and studies as well as the

conceptual framework.

Related Literatures

Nelson, R. (2017). Doubt in Digital Education: Critical Thinking in the Age of

Trump. Digital Culture & Education, 9. In this article, the author champions for the space of

doubt to be a critical teaching aspect when it comes to critical thinking especially now that

the lines between truth and untruth are drawn over and over so often. This enables one to

understand how students can be prepared towards digitally mediated content to operate

critically.

Gadot, R., & Tsybulsky, D. (2023). Digital curation as a pedagogical approach to

foster critical thinking. Journal of Science Education and Technology. The article reflects the

strategy of digital curation to facilitate critical thinking by infusing assignments in the

process of dealing with information regarding analysis, assessment, and drawing conclusions.
This can be considered pertinent to scrutinizing critical thinking in the context of digital

media.

Fischer et al., (2021) Critical thinking (CT) is especially important in higher education

within this digital era full of misinformation. This helps students identify actual information

from manipulation. Where digital technologies seem to constrain critical thinking, they can

also serve as enriching adjuncts when wisely used in educational activities. Therefore, for the

educator to succeed in his/her discipline area, Fischer et al. emphasize understanding and

modeling critical thinking. Thus, they support the use of digital media for support of varieties

of critical thinking activity instructional design. Integration will help the students develop

their critical thinking skills while anticipating and fully equipping them with the complexity

of the information landscape.

According to Jahn and Kenner (2018), critical thinking remains relevant in higher

education in the midst of misinformation and other forms of digital manipulations during the

current times. They argue that, while digital media may be used to, for instance, spread

dangerous aspects such as misinformation and other forms of digital manipulations during the

current times. They argue that, while digital media may be used to, for instance, spread

dangerous aspects such as misinformation, it can also become an improvement tool on critical

thinking, depending on appropriate usage in teaching and learning environments. That is,

students need to learn alternative ways of thinking, but instructors need to demonstrate,

apply, and interact with their subjects using critical thinking.

Menichelli and Braccini, (2020) Critical thinking is as a systematic habit of being able

to question information, confront different information sources seeking diversity of points of

view, understanding statements, and being able to make inferences out of information.

Critical thinking is an active behavior against information processing which influences in a

positive way individual and organizational decision making. While we can observe different

levels of critical thinking in different individuals, millennials are reputed to possess low

critical thinking skills given their habit of passively receiving information through social

media.

Koltay (2011) emphasized that with the advent of digital technologies, awareness of

media is of great importance. Media literacy, information literacy and digital literacy are the

three most prevailing concepts that focus on key issues towards media messages.

Critical thinking skills and motivation to learn are known to be improved with the

help of a digital role-playing game developed with RPG Maker. The game includes storylines

that focus on critical thinking issues (Chen & Wu, 2021)

The development of information and communication technology has led to truly

revolutionary changes, new realities of the global digital world, and new education

technologies based on innovative ideas, critical thinking, effective communication, and

productive collaboration (Feng & Wang, 2021)

Cheung and Jhaveri (2016), argue that the integration of visual literacy in the New

Secondary School Curriculum of Hong Kong will be very instrumental in developing critical

and creative thinking among the students. They are aware that there is a sharp contrast

between the established text-based pedagogies and the dominance of students' everyday lives

with visual communication. Visual literacy is unfortunately still underdeveloped within the

school system in Hong Kong due to such wide internet penetration and media exposure.

Other writers advocate for the inclusion of visual literacy into the curriculum to equip

students for a future society that is increasingly immersed in visual communication strategies.
Related Studies

Indah, Toyyibah, Budhiningrum, and Afifi (2023) conducted a study entitled

“Investigating the Relationship Between EFL Students’ Research Skills, Critical Thinking

Skills, and Digital Literacy.” This study focuses on investigating the relationship between

research skills, critical thinking skills, and the use of technology by the students of EFL. It

elaborates on how conducting research ability affects their performance as well as skill

development in academic writing-related aspects and critical thinking. This is a study among

the EFL students of two institutions, namely UIN Malang and IAIN Kediri from Indonesia.

Questionnaires and quizzes were used as data collection instruments. Results indicated a

strong positive relationship between research literacy and digital competence. However, the

study found the link between digital literacy and critical thinking was not statistically

significant and could not communicate that digital literacy has to be followed by upgrading of

critical thinking. Noting these relationships informs and enhances how syllabuses for

teaching EFL can be created in order to arrange learning materials with academic success in

higher education contexts.

Wahyuni et al. (2020) conducted a study entitled “Edmodo-Based Interactive

Teaching Materials as an Alternative Media for Science Learning to Improve Critical

Thinking Skills of Junior High School Students. This type of research is an R&D study with

ADDIE models. The population involved in the study consisted of 28 students of grade VII in

Jember district, Indonesia, who were obtained by cluster random sampling technique. The

data were collected using validation sheets, observation sheets, critical thinking skills tests,

and students’ responses questionnaires. Data were analyzed using descriptive analysis,

normalized gain (n-gain), and paired sample t-test. Results showed that the Edmodo-based

interactive teaching materials can be used as an alternative media for learning science in

junior high schools due to their validity, which was measured through some validity

assessments: score of 3.60 (from the range of scores from 0 to 4) in the criteria are very

valid ,(2) practicality, in terms of the score of learning feasibility of 3.20 in good criteria, (3)

effectiveness, in terms of an increase students critical thinking skills were statistically

significant at α = 5% with an average n-gain of .71 in high criteria, and student responses of

83% in very good criteria.

Siu Cheung Kong (2014) conducted a study entitled “Creating Digital Classrooms to

Support Information Literacy Competency and Critical Thinking Skills.” This paper develops

digital classrooms to foster information literacy and critical thinking skills in students via

domain knowledge learning. There were 107 students from four classes of Secondary 1 in a

Hong Kong secondary school that participated in the 13-week trial, where three students

shared one Tablet PC to learn about two topics in the Integrated Humanities subject. The

research used a pre – and post-test tool to measure growth in domain knowledge and also to

administer three identical tests on information literacy and critical thinking skills during the

trial. Findings show significant growth in both information literacy competency and critical

thinking skills. Semi-structured interviews showed positive perceptions from students and

teachers about the effectiveness of digital classroom designs. This study concluded with three

implications for enhancing pedagogical designs that stress the development of information
literacy and critical thinking skills through everyday domain knowledge learning in the

classroom.

Chen, Hsiu-Ling; Wu, Cheng-Ting (2023) The study explores the impact of a digital

role-playing game on high school students' critical thinking abilities. Participants played a

game with RPG Maker, practicing critical thinking questions. After a four-day workshop

camp, they showed significant progress in both critical thinking performance and motivation.

The study found that the game had distinctive pedagogical qualities among different critical

thinking skills. Practical suggestions were provided for future studies and instructional

designs to enhance learning motivation.

Ninghardjanti and Dirgatama (2021) attempted to describe how perception on mobile

media, self-directed learning, and digital literacy among students determines the development

of critical thinking skills. The study was also taken with the quantitative approach since

students who had followed the record management course and used interactive mobile media

were given a questionnaire. Their findings suggested that while perceptions about mobile

media did not directly affect a critical thinking skill, those major and positive effects

happened through self-directed learning and digital literacy as mediators. The study

emphasizes mobile-based learning media towards enhancing a critical thinking skill, which is

on the digital perspective, and this paper's interest in testing the critical thinking abilities of

senior high school students towards the content coming from digital media.

Pérez-Escoda et al. (2017) explore the potential role of media literacy and digital

skills in helping a citizenry to become critically thinking individuals within the context of a

networked society. Their results indicate that the acquisition of these skills is essential for

citizenship purposes, and it is necessary for their inclusion in curricula as confirmed by the

2020 Strategy of the European Union. The intended contribution of the study is an evidence-
based input to guide educators and families in effectively applying digital media tools to

encourage critical thinking. Through the evidence underpinning this paper, various national

and international studies and programs are reviewed to outline key dimensions of media

literacy and digital skills that will inform the design of an assessment instrument for

evaluating the impact of digital media on young people's consumption habits. This largely

pertains to the thrust of the present research, which seeks to evaluate the critical thinking

ability of senior high school students in considering digital media content.

Al-Zou'bi analyzed, in 2021, the effect of MIL on the critical thinking skills of

Educational faculty students. The study, which was implemented by using a questionnaire in

which students were asked to evaluate the media content from Facebook, Instagram, and

Twitter, showed that an acceptable level of critical thinking was at the level of 81% among

the students. This study has encountered some problems in the interpretation of contents due

to errors or ambiguity and recommended further studies regarding the function of MIL

education. This research collaboration with previous studies in examining the relationship

between media literacy and critical thinking in the digital context.

Te-Lien Chou, Jia-Jia Wu, Chin-Chung Tsai (2019) This study investigates critical

thinking (CT) studies in e-learning settings to provide a comprehensive analysis of CT

studies. Research indexed in the Web of Science database which includes major peer-

reviewed social sciences citation index journals in the e-learning field from January 2006 to

November 2017 was searched for a systematic review and analysis. A total of 42 studies were

selected and synthesized. The distribution of publishing years, geographical areas, education

sectors, publications, disciplines, research methods, activities, CT measurement instruments,

teaching instruction, the CT roles applied in the studies, and the experiment durations were

reviewed. The results showed that most CT studies were conducted in nontraditional teaching

environments using strategies such as online discussion or concept mapping; the most used
quantitative method was the California critical thinking skills test (CCTST), whereas the

most frequently adopted qualitative method was the practical inquiry model of cognitive

presence (PIMCP). The common method to enhance students’ CT was online synchronous or

asynchronous discussion, and the role that CT played in these studies was as a dependent

variable for evaluating whether the designed e-learning instruction(s) can cultivate CT. This

study concludes that with active learning instruction and experienced tutor facilitation,

students’ CT could be enhanced in a variety of e-learning environments.

Farbod Aprin; Pascal Peters; H. Ulrich Hoppe (2024) The use of social media has

become a daily habit among the younger generation, but it also raises concerns about harmful

content like fake news and hate speech. To address these concerns, a web-based learning

environment with a virtual learning companion (VLC) was developed. The VLC is

incorporated into a controlled learning environment resembling Instagram, containing real

and manipulated content. The "Courage" companion communicates with students through

chat dialogue and knowledge-activating questions, linking additional images from web

sources discovered through reverse image search. Learners are provided with textual

descriptions and keywords and prompted to reflect on this information. An empirical

classroom study in August 2022 with 22 high school students in Germany showed that

guidance through the VLC, along with additional content sources, improves learners'

judgment, enhancing their critical thinking, resilience, and sensitivity to social media issues.

Meirbekov et al. (2023) conducted a study that concentrated on the influence of

digital tools on critical thinking among students by using a population of education and law

students. The populations for this study were undergraduates studying pedagogy and

graduates of the school of law. A variety of digital tools were used to carry out tasks such as

solving logical problems, graphical display of information, and real-time cooperative learning

practices. The method of Mishina, based on the works of Diane Halpern, Igor Zageshev, and
Sergei Zair-Beck, had already been implemented to test the level of critical thinking in

dynamic development.

The outcome, therefore, resulted in the form that digital equipment brings a positive impact

on the students' critical thinking. The results of the research are rather inclined to accept the

thesis that the inclusion of digital technologies in education provokes the tendencies of

rational thinking and the skills of collaboration in the process of solving problems.

Concluding the results, the researchers refer that digital learning instruments have an

important value for developing critical thinking, and therefore they are relevant in the

systems of contemporary education.

Operational Definition of Terms

Assessing- Refers to the evaluation of students’ critical thinking level based on their

engagement with digital media content.

Critical Thinking level- Refers to the skill of senior high school students to analyze digital

media content.

Digital Media Contents- Articles found on social media platforms, such as news stories and

informational posts, are used to assess students’ critical thinking.

Senior High School Students- Refers to students enrolled in grades 11 and 12 across all

strands participating in the research.

Strand- STEM (Students in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), GAS

(Students in the General Academic), TVL (Students in the Technical-Vocational-Livelihood

track), including, HE (Home Economics), ICT (Information and Communications

Technology), IA (Industrial Arts).

Conceptual framework

Theoretical framework

The theoretical framework integrated in this study comprises Digital Media Literacy

Theory, the Critical Thinking Skills Framework, Constructivist Learning Theory, TPACK,

and Socio-Cultural Theory for a multidimensional analysis of how senior high school

students develop and apply their critical thinking skills pertaining to the content of digital

media. In the theories introduced, which are being used within this research, the actuality is

that the purpose is to indicate effective educational practice and insight that might help and

enhance a student's ability to critically appraise and interact with digital information against

the backdrop of the modern information landscape.

 CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter includes the research design, research Locale, research population and

sampling technique, research respondents/ participants, validity and reliability, data gathering

procedure and statistic treatment of data.

Research Design

This is a quantitative study that used a descriptive-correlation research design in

assessing the level of critical thinking of the senior high school students, this instrument

included a set of Likert scale questions. This was achieved by questions about whether the

students are confident in ignoring misleading information, if they often doubt or question the

credibility of digital content, and if they can identify logical fallacies and biases in online

articles. This research aimed to measure quantitatively the situation about students in terms of

their critical thinking level related to digital media content.

Research Instrument
 The main tool use in this study is Likert-scale and a researcher made questionnaire

Interviews. The Likert-scale to rate the ability of the students to identify bias in digital media

content on a scale. The mean will be computed and interpreted as follows:

Range of Values Description Interpretation

1.00-1.74 Strongly Disagree Very Low

1.74-2.49 Disagree High

2.50-3.24 Agree Moderate High

3.25-4.00 Strongly Agree Very High

Likert-Scale

Please indicate your level of agreement with each statement by selecting one the

following options: Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Disagree (D), Strongly Disagree (SD).

RESEARCH QUESTION 1 SA A D SD

1. I feel confident in my ability to identify

misleading information found on Social
Media.

2. I often verify the credibility of articles

found on social media before accepting it
as true.

3. I can easily recognize bias in the social

media articles I consume.

4. I am skilled at distinguishing between

fact and opinion in online articles.

5. I frequently engage in discussions with

others to evaluate different perspectives on
social media articles.
6. I feel equipped to critically analyze the
information of articles I encounter on
social media.

7. I am able to identify logical fallacies in

online arguments in social media.

8. I reflect on my own biases when

interpreting social media articles.

9. I often question the credibility of news

articles shared on social media.

10. I am confident in my ability to evaluate

the reliability of the information of articles
found on social media.

11. I actively seek out multiple sources to

compare information before forming an
opinion on social media content.

12. I am aware of the impact that digital

media algorithms have on the information I
see.

13. I can identify when emotional language

is used to manipulate opinions in social
media articles.

14. I regularly reflect on how my social

media consumption habits influence my
understanding of current events.

15. I am proficient in using digital tools to

fact-check information presented in social
media articles.

16. I am able to discern when statistics are

used misleadingly in social media content.
 17. I consciously avoid echo chambers by
exposing myself to diverse viewpoints on
social media.

18. I can recognize when social media

content is intended to provoke an
emotional reaction rather than inform.

19. I am skilled at identifying the

underlying motives behind the creation of
certain social media articles.

20. I frequently analyze the potential

consequences of sharing certain
information on social media.

Research Locale

In this propose study conduct at Zamboanga Peninsula Polytechnic State University,

the researchers will gather a respondent coming from the senior high school department, and

these are Grade 11 and 12 students that are currently enrolled in STEM, GAS and TVL (HE,

ICT, IA) strand/tracks.

Population and Sampling Technique

This study has about 574 senior high students as respondents. Out of 236 total sample

size. The respondents were in Grades 11 and 12 under STEM, GAS and TVL (HE, ICT, IA)

strand/tracks. The sampling technique employ in this research is Stratified random sampling

to ensures that there will be selections of respondents from each strand/track.

Research Respondents/ Participants

Students enrolled in academic S.Y. 2024-2025 in senior high school are composed of

574, that have been observed on assessing critical thinking level in terms on digital media

content, In using Slovin’s Formula to get the sample size the researcher come up 236 totals of

respondents in students of STEM, GAS and TVL (HE, ICT , IA) strand/tracks to answer the

survey questionnaire.

n = N / (1 + N e2)

n = Number of samples,

N = Total population and

e = Error tolerance (level).

Respondents Population Size Sample Size

HE 74 30

IA 95 39

ICT 67 28

STEM 269 111

 GAS 69 28

Total N= 574 n= 236

Validity and Reliability

Ethical Considerations

This study adhered to key ethical principles to ensure the integrity and welfare of

participants involved in the research.

1. Informed consent: The study will require all participants to sign an informed

consent form before engaging in the study. They should be made aware of the study in

question and its implications and should understand that they may withdraw

themselves from the study when they wish without having to give any reasons. In the

case of student participants that are minors aged below 18 years, parents or guardians

will have to approve their participation.

2. Voluntary participation: Emphasize that no one should be put under any

obligation to be a part of the study. Hence students must not feel guilty of any kind or

any compulsion to join the study and must be allowed to turn down or leave the study

regardless of the time.

 3. Confidentiality and anonymity: Keep the information of the participants as

private as possible and not disclosing their names to any of the utterances or written

works of such participants. Instead of names, code numbers or other pseudonyms will

be used in data files and reports.

4. Data Protection: Secure collection, storage and access to records containing

subject identification shall be maintained so as to prevent loss of confidentiality.

Safeguard all electronic data by employing encryption and lock up physical data in a

safe place.

5. Minimize Harm: There should be no causes of actual physical, psychological as

well as emotional pain to research participants. In the course of conducting the

research, do not ignore any uneasiness or boredom that might occur, and give or

schedule help if necessary.

Data Gathering Procedure

Before the survey is distributed, the researcher will consult the appropriate authorities

in schools in order to identify the most favorable time for the students to take part in the

study. Approval will be sought from the subject’s teachers and class mentors to guarantee

that academic disruption is kept to a minimum. Consent forms for the study will be handed

out and filled in by all study participants before the study, stating their understanding of the

study objective, and their roles and rights in the study. The students will also be provided

with the instructions in order to reduce errors and enhance the chances of avoiding giving the

questionnaire again.

After the researcher has gathered the filled in questionnaires, the researcher will look through

the respondents’ answers to assess if they are complete and correct. Also, to the survey’s

results, some additional performance indicators of the students like their first, second and
third quarter grades will be provided by their class advisers to gain more insight into the

analysis. This information will be coded and entered into tables so that the data will be ready

for further statistical processing of the assessed students’ critical thinking skills in terms of

evaluation of digital media content.

Statistical Treatment of Data

The response will be analyzed using One-Way ANOVA statistical tool to compare if

there are significant difference of level of critical thinking of every strand/track through

digital media content. The gather information will be tabulated and processed manually and

with a computer to determine the precise interpretation of the results. Data were collated,

computed, and analyzed.