Abstract
Effective communication is essential for academic success and lifelong learning, yet learners in alternative education settings often face persistent challenges in developing these skills. To address this gap, this paper examined the level of communication skills learning challenges among 141 Junior High School learners in the Alternative Learning System (ALS) to provide a basis for an intervention plan. Employing a descriptive research design, data were collected using a valid and reliable self-developed instrument and analyzed through descriptive and comparative statistical methods. Findings revealed that the majority of respondents were male, relatively young, and had parents with higher educational attainment. Overall, learners faced moderate challenges across reading, writing, speaking, and listening, with reading identified as a particularly difficult area, particularly for learners from families with lower educational backgrounds. A comparative analysis further showed no significant differences in communication skills learning challenges when grouped by age, sex, or parents’ highest educational attainment, suggesting that these difficulties are broadly experienced across the ALS learner population. These results emphasize that communication skills learning challenges, though of only moderate level, remain a critical concern for ALS learners and require focused strategies to improve proficiency across he all skill areas. Hence, this study offers guidance for developing interventions that target specific skill gaps to support ALS learners’ overall competence.
Keywords: Alternative learning system, communication skills, learning challenges