Teaching English: Lived experiences of elementary teachers under the new normal

Abstract

The study was conducted to uncover the lived experiences of teachers teaching English in this new normal. The insights, challenges, adjustments both on the personal and professional lives of participants upon the implementation of Modular Distance Learning in selected Elementary schools in the district of Tubungan were investigated. The researcher employed phenomenology approach to collect and analyze qualitative data. One-on-one interview, observation and documentation techniques to gather adequate qualitative data were utilized to scientifically explain the phenomenon. The findings revealed that teaching English in the new normal is challenging for teachers having no enough experiences with the current mode of teaching and learning modality. However, Modular Distance Learning has brought both advantages and disadvantages on their personal and professional lives. The result indicated that teachers teaching English found it challenging to do their roles effectively due to the lack of prior experiences and sufficient trainings which could help them function well as educators, tasked with teaching English in this new set up. Printing learner’s materials, delivering modules, checking outputs, giving assessments and providing interventions were among the common challenges faced by the participants. Despite these challenges, participants viewed teaching English through modular distance learning as an entirely new experience on their teaching profession.