Bok kem udél: a wordbook on Tboli students' vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension in English

English serves as a universal medium for communication and learning, yet many students struggle with vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension. Hence this study employing true experimental research design, examined the impact of Bok Kem Udèl, a contextualized Tboli-English mini dictionary, on the vocabulary and reading comprehension of Grade 7 learners at Tboli National High School. A purposive sampling technique was employed in selecting and dividing the 60 respondents for the control and experimental group. The evaluation of Bok Kem Udèl yielded a very high rating, confirming its strong quality in terms of content, organization, mechanics, and packaging. Findings on resource availability revealed that encyclopedias were the most accessible references, while dictionaries and almanacs/atlases were insufficient. Additionally, learning materials were unevenly distributed across grade levels, with Grade 9 having sufficient resources while Grades 7 and 10 faced shortages. Pre-test results showed that both groups had similar baseline proficiency levels, with no significant difference in vocabulary and reading comprehension. However, post-test findings revealed a significant improvement in the experimental group, demonstrating the effectiveness of the intervention. The experimental group outperformed the control group in both vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension, with statistically significant mean gains. These results suggest that Bok Kem Udèl is a valuable instructional tool for enhancing students’ literacy.