Republic of the Philippines

UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN PHILIPPINES

University Town, Northern Samar

GRADUATE STUDIES

Name: Mananguete, Rey J. Student Number: 200195

Professor: Jay Neil G. Verano, MALL Date of Submission: May 06, 2021

Think Paper 1: New Normal: A Paradigm Shift in Language Teaching

With the recent challenges and changes to our educational system brought by the COVID19
pandemic, countries like the Philippines were forced to closed doors to its learners and re-opening
face to face classes was consequential. Since experts have suggested that a one year of no learning
could greatly affect learner’s ability to learn. Thus, the Department of Education has adapted various
learning delivery modalities in the so-called “new normal” education e.g. online and printed
modular, TV and radio-based instruction, blended learning modality and online learning to suit the
needs of the teachers and the learners.

Major cities in the Philippines adapted the blended and online learning modality, however,
the applicability of these learning delivery modalities has only been favorable to cities wherein
students and teachers have better access to internet connectivity and gadgets. Other city provinces
and provinces have adapted to modular distance learning modality.

With the transition to the new normal, major adjustments have been undertaken. Students
and parents were stuck at home to independently practice the teaching-learning process, likewise,
teachers have shared the same dilemma. Teachers have to shift to different teaching preparations,
evaluating student’s performances and managing virtual classroom. With this, the Department of
Education (DepEd) authorities have re-aligned learning competencies into the Most Essential
Learning Competency. Competencies herein are packed into a single essential competency with
lifelong implications and real world application that a child has to learn.

One of major areas of learning that has been greatly affected with the new paradigm is the
English language teaching. As teachers struggle to meet the prescribed learning competencies and
learning interventions are short-timed, most macro skills are compromised. The reading abilities of
the students are ill-practiced and are not reinforced properly, which could lead to frustrated to non-
readers. Without the teacher as facilitator of learning, some students are unable to practice their
reading ability and reading comprehension. Moreover, reading has been a major dilemma in the
Philippine educational system ever since the pandemic has begun.
 Thus, teaching interventions and remediation exercises are used to help struggling students.
Phil-IRI, an oral reading test, is one of the strategies used to record the student’s performance in oral
reading and/or silent reading and reading comprehension. This has become a tool to determine
whether the student could actually read or not and the teacher will provide necessary interventions
to help the student be able to read.

Reading comprehension has also become a prevalent problem in language teaching. And
with the current situation, teachers are unable to provide necessary technical assistance to
struggling students. As teachers try to cope up with the challenges of the new normal education,
various interventions such as conducting home visitation, providing remediation activities such as
giving out reading materials and timely feedback to parents to the performance of their students.

As the world welcomes global innovations, various online platforms in teaching English
language have been introduced to deliver appropriate learning materials without compromising the
learning objectives. These online platforms awaken the interest of the students to learn English. The
drawback, however, is that this has only become applicable in countries were most students are
privileged to use computers and have access to internet connectivity.

The Department of Education, with its computerization program, has opened opportunities
to public school students to have computer access. This has also become an avenue for other
learning areas to explore possible way as an aid to teaching. However, English teachers have not
enough training and information to accessing online platforms, thus, resorting to the traditional way
of teaching, such as giving drills and exercises though these provide little understanding to the
language and unable to provide meaningful and real world application.
 I am Rey Jazmin Mananguete, 21 years of age, single and a resident of Barangay Cababto-an,
Pambujan, N. Samar. I graduated with a degree of Bachelor of Arts in Literature and Language
Teaching at University of Eastern Philippines, Catarman, Northern Samar on April 07, 2018. I took
and passed the Board Examination for Teachers last September 2018.

I have conducted demo teaching as part of our courses offered during my schooling and
have been in the supervision of various instructors and professors all of which are best of their
chosen field. Moreover, I was also a journalist as I was a staffer of the Spectrum, the official student
publication of the College of Arts and Communication. Currently, I am a public school teacher at San
Roque-Pambujan Vocational High School. Indeed ꓹ teaching is really my passion, with this I am able
to inspire and create positive changes. Likewise, I am also a photography enthusiast, through this I
am able to traverse the peculiarity of the world and create an art.