This study determines the relationship between the use of dialects and the English speaking proficiency among the students of the University of the Immaculate Conception. Employing descriptive-correlation method and involving 72 Freshmen Bachelor of Science in Information Technology students in English 1 of the First Semester, School Year 2010-2011, the author made use of validated questionnaire with Cronbach Alpha = 0.83 to ascertain the level of dialect use and also considered Thomas E. Miller s standard scoring rubric for integrated speaking to evaluate the speaking proficiency of the respondents, in addressing the main issues of the investigation. Based on the collected data and their statistical analyses set at = 0.05, it was found that respondents have moderately used dialects in their communication and that they do not solely engage the dialects in their day to day communication. The study establishes also that English speaking proficiency of the respondents is generally poor and that each of the tested variables namely, sex, status of the high school, community profile, as well as the economic status of respondents, has failed to establish itself as a discriminating factor with respect to English speaking proficiency. Likewise, the study also points out the non-significance of the relationship between the dialect use among the respondents and their English speaking proficiency. Flowever, it is important to note that among the indicators of the speaking proficiency, delivery has established a significant relationship with dialect use.
ISSN 1656-0604 (Print)
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