This study aimed to identify the oral communication proficiency in English of the Grade 5 pupils in Bontoc Central School. Specifically, it highlighted fluency, accuracy, and nonverbal cues as they are the most commonly observed features in the oral language. Two speaking tasks were administered to the Grade 5 pupils, and two raters evaluated their performances. The result showed that the pupils' overall level of the oral communication proficiency in English is early intermediate or Grade 2 level according to the K12 Curriculum Standard. This means that they were only able to demonstrate understanding of grade level appropriate words used to communicate inter-and intrapersonal experiences, ideas, thoughts, actions and feelings. Furthermore, at this level, they only demonstrated understanding of common expressions for effective oral interpretation and communication. The findings only show that the oral proficiency in English of the Grade 5 pupils needs improvement on their fluency in speech, accuracy in the form and production of grammatically correct linguistic structures, and demonstration of appropriate nonverbal cues as these features in oral communication are interrelated. Findings and interpretation also show that pupils who have strong command of grammatical structure and understanding of various verbal and nonverbal elements in oral communication display a speech that is effortless, smooth with adequate speed.

This study explored the problems faced by the schools in Mountain Province, Philippines with the implementation of distance education during the pandemic and looked into the schools' good practices to mitigate the problems. 26 schools participated in this study. Analysis of the data gathered highlighted the serious problems in Philippine education. The problems faced by the schools during the pandemic are similar to those faced by developing countries, however, the problems and responses faced by the schools in Mountain Province are specific to their context. The common problems identified during this pandemic are: difficulty in distributing and retrieving modules, unavailability of equipment and gadgets, poor internet access, poor quality of learning materials, the unpreparedness of parents taking on the role of teachers, teachers' lack of training on the modality of learning, lack of technological knowledge, a one-size-fits-all approach to instruction, an inadequate learning management plan for blended learning and the decreased income of private schools. The good practices implemented by the schools to address some of their problems are: home visits, tutorials, Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) involvement, remediation classes, a seminar on stress management and mechanisms for blended learning. There is a need for the school administration to provide learning management plans which should include short and long-term goals and professional learning initiatives like training to improve teachers' technological pedagogical knowledge.

The demands of research in graduate school make it imperative to assess the readiness of graduate students to conduct research, whether as a requirement for their subjects, or the type of thesis or dissertation. In this study quantitative and qualitative methods were employed, namely a survey questionnaire, interviews, and document analysis, to examine graduate students' readiness in thesis writing and the difficulties they face. The findings reveal that students often struggle with research and statistical tools in the comprehensive exam. Additionally, the students' ability to articulate their knowledge and ideas significantly affects their exam results. Study findings also indicate that students are only moderately prepared regarding research readiness, scoring lowest in identifying research problems and writing literature reviews. As a result, some students abandon their research projects or cannot complete them on time. The data from the interviews further support the quantitative results, indicating that the students lack research skills and face multiple workloads, which impact their ability to complete their research. To address these challenges, the Graduate School in their research programme should offer seminars on developing research skills for students every semester.

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