Writing Strategy, Influence of Social Media, Motivation for Reading: A Structural Model in Interpersonal Communication Skills

Aim: To identify the Model appropriate for evaluating students' interpersonal communication abilities.

Study Design: Quantitative Causal Analysis.

Place and Duration of Study: Region XII - SOCCSKSARGEN, Philippines, during the second semester of 2022

Methodology: The data were collected using survey questionnaires to the 400 public senior high school students selected through stratified random sampling. Mean was used to evaluate the student's academic achievement, self-efficacy in language acquisition, test-taking techniques, and reading motivation. The association between reading motivation, self-efficacy in language learning, test-taking techniques, and students' academic performance was determined using Pearson's Product Moment association. Multiple regression was performed to identify the significant predictors of academic performance. The structural equation model was used to choose the best Model. Analysis of Moment Structure (AMOS) was used to conduct the Goodness of Fit Statistics for Alternative Models.

Results: The findings showed that students had a high level of writing strategy; a moderate level of social media influence; a high level of motivation to read; and an excellent level of interpersonal skills. Moreover, the writing approach, social media influence, and reading motivation were significantly correlated with students' interpersonal communication skills. The best fit for the data was Model 5, which had consistent indices across all five analyzed models.

Conclusion: The study's findings supported Vygotsky's Social Cultural Theory of Writing, emphasizing the role of motivation and social impact in students' communication skills development, and highlighted the importance of communication in fostering learning processes in the brain.