Teaching Methods in English Language Instruction: Case of Selected English Language Teachers in General Santos City, Philippines

Karen Joy B. Talidong ,Quanguo Liu

doi:10.7176/jlll/66-07

Abstract

The aim of the Philippine education is to highlight the learners' equal opportunity in learning and holistic development to the best level possible amid insufficient learning materials and facilities. Hence, the teachers’ pedagogies, their best practices and strategies applied in the classroom are the key which leads to the questions on what are the most common teaching methods used by the teachers and how are they using these methods? The underpinning concept in this study is guided by the theory of constructivism. As such, in view of the research questions; the mixed method concurrent design was used to explore the experiences of the selected English language teachers in rendering an effective teaching strategy. The teaching methods in English language instruction were determined through a survey questionnaire. This is further reinforced by the qualitative data obtained through the semi-structured interview and classroom observations. Results showed that the lecture method and brainstorming were most often used as a method of teaching. The profile of the subjects showed that teachers are well experienced and qualified English language teachers in view of their educational background and professional development. Implications for teachers considering the results emphasized more innovative and contextualized teaching strategies in English instruction. Keywords: Teaching methods, constructivism, English language instruction DOI: 10.7176/JLLL/66-07 Publication date: March 31 st 2020

Highlights

English is one of the compulsory subjects in the Philippines because aside from Filipino, it is considered the official language used in different transactions at schools and other institutions in the country (Porciuncula, 2011)
This study aims to determine the teaching methods used by the English language teachers in the English classroom instruction as well as understanding how these teaching methods were chosen
To answer the first problem regarding the profile of the English language teachers; Table 1 shows the profile of the English language teachers in terms of gender, age, educational attainment and length of years in service

Summary

Introduction

English is one of the compulsory subjects in the Philippines because aside from Filipino, it is considered the official language used in different transactions at schools and other institutions in the country (Porciuncula, 2011). Since according to Bernard (2011), there has been consistent and systematic documentation of students’ learning difficulties associated with using the English language as the medium of instruction knowing the fact that English is a foreign language. This is further reinforced by Namanya (2017) who remarked that Filipino students have difficulty in familiarizing the English language. Teachers should be exceptionally creative in finding ways to ensure that English is not a brain cracking subject, instead, it should be an enjoyable learning experience for students where they can engage in the stream of a new culture through language, stories, arts, plays, and history. The teacher must guide students as well as emphasizes how and what to learn

Objectives

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Results

Conclusion