Education in the New Normal: The Plight of Junior High School English Language Trainers

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to document the problems, coping strategies, and key learnings of the junior high school language instructors. To analyze the lived experiences of junior high school language teachers during the “new normal,” this study used a phenomenology analysis, making it qualitative research. Ten junior high school English teachers from Panabo City Division who are either teaching or have experience with language education were the participants. These renowned teachers have first-hand experience training children for various competitions in the contemporary period. The tool utilized after a verified Interview Guide Questions (IGQ) was an in-depth interview. It was decided to use reflexive thematic analysis to produce the study’s findings. Furthermore, the findings revealed the various themes about the lived experiences of the study participants: difficulty in conducting online coaching, issues navigating online platforms, inadequate monetary support, intermittent internet connectivity, constrained training period, and multitasking with overlapping tasks. Secondly, their coping mechanisms are patience toward students’ capacity, effective time management, preparing resources beforehand, soliciting peer support, and participating in skills enhancement webinars. Lastly, the meaningful insights generated from the study infuse students with inspiration, maintain open communication, engage experts collaboratively, and decrease the excessive paperwork load of the teachers who are language trainers at the same time.