Home⇛Journal of Interdisciplinary Perspectives⇛vol. 4 no. 7 (2026)

The Trilingual Challenge: Effects of Cognitive Load and Attitudes on Third Language Writing Proficiency Among Filipino Learners

Aniceto Garcia | Gerry Torillo | Paul James Luzon

Discipline: English studies (non-specific)

 

Abstract:

The "Trilingual Challenge" study examines how Bisaya-speaking learners acquire English through Tagalog. It examined students’ writing proficiency and attitudes towards learning English, with a focus on the cognitive demands of managing multiple languages. Guided by Cognitive Load Theory, the study involved 600 Grade 10 students. Data were analyzed using weighted means and Spearman's rank-order correlation. The results showed "Poor" overall proficiency (M=10.03), while Language Use scores (M=9.32) remained below Content scores (M=10.39), indicating "mental fatigue" because students chose which concepts to retrieve rather than maintaining technical accuracy. Bivariate analysis showed no significant relationship between attitude and proficiency (rs=0.046,p>0.05), with a coefficient of determination (r2=0.002). L3 writing failure results from structural cognitive problems, which students demonstrate through their writing errors, according to these findings. The study concludes that "Neutral" attitudes act as a psychological defense against great essential difficulty, and recommends pedagogical shifts toward Translanguaging to reduce the cognitive burden of the L1-L2-L3 transition.



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