The success of any educational system greatly relies on the competence of its teachers. That is why the Department of Education (DepEd) had set criteria in hiring competent and skillful teachers. The study aimed to identify the deficiencies of the JRMSU-TC applicants based on the DepEd criteria for hiring teachers. This further determined the percentage of disparity which item in the DepEd criteria the applicants deficit most and described whether they are above or below the minimum passing rate set by the DepEd. The researchers retrieved the Registry of Qualified Applicants (RQA) from the DepEd Office- Zamboanga Del Norte as instruments of the study and utilized descriptive evaluative design to measure the inadequacies of the applicants based on the DepEd criteria. Results revealed that the JRMSU-TC applicants highly deficit in teaching experience and English proficiency. Furthermore, the applicants are slightly below the DepEd minimum passing points. The results suggest that graduates should venture for the improvement of teaching competence and professional preparations. Also, the school needs to improve its instruction and assessment on the fundamental and major English subjects.

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The short story as a literary genre mirrors life, which touches the emotions of the readers. This study employs qualitative analysis using the inspirational stories of Francis J. Kong, namely Scarred Hands, Sweet Success, and The Most Important Ingredient in Service, False Conclusions, and Sweet Revenge. The characters’ responses to various incidents were analyzed and compiled from consolidated opinions and feelings to assure that contextual presentation is considerable. Internal conflicts of Francis J. Kong’s stories are choices between optimism and pessimism, determination and resignation, egoism and altruism, being impulsive and restrained, as well as tranquility and turmoil. Meanwhile, external conflicts are options between trust and wealth, positivity and negativity, declination and approval, indifference and concern, ill-mannered and gracious. These conflicts, resolutions, and morale are believed to boost readers’ strength, confidence, and collaboration with others. The main characters’ choices demonstrate the values of creative thinking, acting, sharing constructive outlook, and rekindling the hearts that relates to the readers’ experiences and perspectives. Resolutions narrated are directed towards acceptance of failure and defeat conceptualized through self-realization from a conventional perspective. The moral lessons commonly constitute the virtue of acclimatizing the essence of goodness and reverence of life, as the outgrowth of building one’s strength, values, and faith in God that would translate an epitome of humanity

Language learning requires strategies that increase our competence in communication. This study identified the language learning strategies and the grammatical competency level of the Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSED) English major students at Jose Rizal Memorial State University (JRMSU), School Year 2017-2018. This research is mixed methods since it determined the language learning strategies mostly used by the students and identified the grammatical competency level of the respondents. The researcher triangulated the data from the survey using the focus group discussion through semi-structured interviews. It further examined whether there is a significant relationship between language learning strategies and the grammatical competence level of the BSED-English. The respondents of this study were the 138-3rd year BSED-English major students of JRMSU chosen through simple random sampling by the lottery technique. The students took the Strategy Inventory of Language Learning (SILL) survey questionnaire, developed by Oxford (1990), and the grammatical competence test. Twelve students from the group participated in the focus group discussion. The data were checked, tallied, and analyzed utilizing the weighted mean, ranking, and percentage. The researcher employed Spearman's Rho test to find the relationship between language learning strategies and grammatical competency levels. She then transcribed and coded the data from the focus group discussion. The results of this study showed that language learning strategies usually used by the BSED-English major students were metacognitive, social, cognitive, affective, and compensation strategies. In addition, it showed that the overall grammatical competence level of the students is competent, which revealed their higher competence level in word formation and syntax but less competence in spelling, pronunciation, and vocabulary. The results showed a significant relationship between language learning strategy use and grammatical competence level, indicating that the more language learning strategies are mostly used by the students, the higher their grammatical competence level.