Expansive Collaboration Towards the New and Enhanced Language Curriculum

The abrupt changes brought about by COVID-19 pandemic urged teachers across the country to make education possible and continuous. This study participated by 32, 699 English teachers from all over the Philippines employed a descriptive-survey research design to seek feedback from the teachers on the Most Essential Learning Competencies (MELCs) in the English Curriculum, its adoption and implementation in response to learning continuity amidst the health crisis. Results revealed that English teachers responded positively on the issuance and utilization of MELCS; statistics further reveal that respondents agree that the MELCs allow them to plan for and meet the individual learner’s needs and interest. However, delivery of the MELCs is seemingly challenging for English teachers. They also noted different issues and gaps in the implementation of MELCs and they acknowledge the importance of learning modality, parental support/adult supervision, preparedness of teachers, learning environment, availability of learning resources, internet connectivity, and local government support. These inputs are important in crafting the new curriculum and its support system: teacher training and materials development.

Learning Action Cells in Language Teaching

The Department of Education has taken initiative to mandate the establishment of Learning Action Cell (LAC), a form of Professional Learning Community (PLC) to aid teachers in developing their beliefs and practices through collaborative leaning sessions. This has been made official through the DepEd Order No. 25 s. 2016, which is primarily “directed towards improving teacher knowledge, skills, and attitudes based on established competencies linked to the K to 12 Curriculum”. In language teaching arena, there are few conducted studies on PLC. Aside from that, the experiences of ESL teachers are largely unexamined. Phenomenology, with its highlight to study of living experience led the researchers to discover the experiences of English language teachers in Senior High School. Thus, the study aimed to explore the practices of the in service senior high school language teachers, and how their experiences were useful in language teaching. A LAC session based on the conducted study was proposed. Results show that the practices of the language teachers involved top-down dissemination of information, bottom-up topics, and leaner-centered goals.