In today’s world, knowing English increases one’s opportunity of getting a good job

in a multinational company within the home country or abroad. English is also the
language of international communication, the media and the internet, so learning English
is important for socializing and entertainment as well as work (The English Language
Center, 2013). Because of the importance of learning English, different courses and
programs are initiated all over the world to help learners in their goal of being able to
communicate in the language.
These English courses and subjects should be planned and designed carefully to
achieve their common goal of producing learners capable of using the English language
not only for survival but also for productivity and innovation. This process is called
curriculum development. However, a curriculum does not end in planning alone.
According to Stutt (2018), an institution should be able to implement what curriculum it
has planned to reach maximum effectiveness of the designed and organized learning
contents and experiences of the learners and the overall goal of the school.
In spite of the necessity, institutions encounter problems in the implementation.
Zumwalt as cited by Bediako (2019) asserted that curriculum implementation is the
practical application of theory into practice in a way that the eventual outcome is observed
through the learners’ performances. When teachers deliver both the curriculum contents
and instructional strategies the way they were designed, curriculum implementation is
said to have taken place. However, the ability and effectiveness of the teacher to carry
out curriculum implementation depends on many variables like knowledge, experience,
qualification, materials and other factors Bediako (2019). This may hinder the
achievement of the curriculum goals. Problems concerning language curricula around the
globe are better analyzed based on how they are implemented for there can be
discrepancies in the intended experiences and the actual experiences of learners in the
classroom (Dela Rosa and Lintao, 2018).
In Kenya, a study was conducted by Vicky (2016) to explore the factors that
influence teachers’ implementation of their Integrated English Curriculum since teachers
are the curriculum implementers. He found out that teachers may be aware of the learner-
centered strategies prescribed by their curriculum, but does not necessarily use them
because of obstacles like heavy workload, lack of adequate time to cover the English
syllabus and limited resources.
Another study in Turkey by Yeni-Palabiyik and Daloglu (2016) showed how
teachers frequently shift from constructivist, what their English curriculum prescribed, to
traditional approaches and strategies, what the teachers do when there is
misunderstanding of the curriculum’s specific intentions, lack of resources, or teacher’s
incompetence.
In the Philippines, the K to 12 English Curriculum (also known as the Language
Arts and Multiliteracies Curriculum or LAMC) was developed to solve the poor
performance of students in National Achievement Test (NAT) in different subjects (Barrot,
2018). More impostantly, it aims to join the international race for educational standards.
Its overarching goal is to develop communicatively competent and multiliterate learners
who are competitive in this global economy (Department of Education, 2016). Compared
to previous Philippine English curricula, the LAMC is decongested because students are
now given twelve years to acquire the desired learning outcomes instead of just ten years.
Despite the Philippine government’s initiative to improve the performance of
Filipino students in learning the English language, problems arise in the implementation
of the latest curriculum. In an interview, Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian stated that the
NAT scores, including the English test scores, of Grade 6 and Grade 10 students in 2016-
2017 are declining (40% and 44.1% respectively) after the K-12 Program implementation,
and this is seen as a result of the intended teaching under the latest curriculum not being
taught well (Terrazola, 2019). In other words, curriculum implementation gaps are
present. These gaps are observable in what to teach and how to teach (Tugas, 2018).
Moreover, a study by Combalicer (2016) found out that the leading problem in the
implementation of the K-12 Curriculum is the inadequate materials for learning. These
materials include modules, references, technology-assisted instructional materials, and
those needed for project or research works. The learning contents and experiences
designed by the curriculum would not be fully realized if the materials are lacking or
mismatched.
In the division of Tagum City, it is reported that the schools with the lowest
performance in National Achievement Test English Area are mostly the private schools.
One of the most prominent reasons is private’s schools’ choice of learning content,
experience, and approach that are different from what the K-12 English Curriculum
prescribed.