Republic of the Philippines

EASTERN VISAYAS STATE UNIVERSITY

GRADUATE SCHOOL
Tacloban City

Submitted by: JOHN PAUL B. JERUSALEM

Submitted to: DR. GLENDA B. TUPAZ
Subject: ADVANCE CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
Schedule: Every SATURDAY & SUNDAY, 1:00 -5:30 PM

MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT IN FLEXIBLE LEARNING AMID THE PANDEMIC:

PERSPECTIVES FROM ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS IN A PHILIPPINE
STATE UNIVERSITY

A Commentary Paper

The right teaching and learning resources are essential for successful language

learning. It acts as the foundation for both the language practice that takes place in the

classroom and the language input that students receive or acquire. When choosing,

adapting, supplementing, and creating materials for lessons in accordance with the

needs and interests of the students, English language teachers in this context take on

the role of materials developers. In fact, discussions on the interface between language

learning and the creation of (teacher) materials are abundant and substantial in the

literature on English language education.

The literature has focused heavily and extensively on textbooks as a component

of developing materials for English Language Teaching. However, it is still unclear how

the teachers develop their teaching/learning materials in these modes of learning, which

are very different from face-to-face classes, given the current setup of ELT within the

context of online, flexible, or distance learning, particularly brought about by the

unprecedented and massive shift in education delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Teachers have evolved into materials developers in online or flexible learning; they are

now responsible for creating their instructional materials, such as modules, toolkits,

course sites, recorded lectures, and similar materials.

To further prepare faculty members for teaching online, online trainings and

workshops were set up prior to the start of the academic year. Additionally, these

instructors had to create modules as the foundation for or an addition to the classes

they would teach, especially for category 1 students. The university encountered

difficulties in trying to meet the needs of the students. For the subjects they would

teach, faculty members had to create completely new course plans, aptly referred to as

migration templates. A faculty member would prepare more than one course plan and

the accompanying module(s) depending on their assigned subject due to the limited

teaching staff at the research site (s).

This study, which was framed in a qualitative approach, collected data using

online individual semi-structured interviews and follow-up email interviews. The purpose

of the interview was to learn more about the participants' opinions on English Language

Teaching material development in flexible learning.

Three distinct viewpoints about how to create materials for flexible learning

emerged from the analysis of interview responses: (1) adhering to university-set

guidelines, (2) using one's own creativity and resourcefulness, and (3) emphasizing

student collaboration. The participants acknowledged that they are given autonomy to

create their flexible learning materials, but they make sure that their choices and

creations adhere to the standards established by the university. It can be assumed that

suggested policies for the University's flexible learning environment take into account
the particular context and requirements of each academic program as well as those of

the instructors and students. As a result, educators are urged to contextualize and

improve these recommendations for guidelines when creating their own teaching

materials so that they can support their initiatives for organizing, carrying out, and

assessing the flexible teaching approach. The teacher participants develop their

Flexible Learning materials using their creativity and resourcefulness to ensure that

learners receive a rich and varied exposure to language in use. Most of them are

technology-driven materials and web applications, and they offer input that is in line with

learners' interests for potential processing and for encouraging positive affect. Based on

the aforementioned statement, it can be concluded that the teachers showed excellent

potential for designing and contextualizing their teaching materials in a more flexible

manner, despite the need to adhere to University policies in materials development and

to keep an eye on general requirements of the set curriculum. The pandemic situation

that precipitated the abrupt switch to online learning, or flexible learning, presents an

opportunity to observe innovation and creativity in every area of instruction, including

materials development, enhancing teachers' capacity to adjust, shift, and adapt to

circumstances. However, it should be noted that the context of online teaching, for

instance, necessitates that teachers should be aware of the proper timing for integrating

technology into the lesson. They also need to think about the activities and materials

that go well with it as well as the technology that works best for the lessons.

In terms of the challenges of materials development in flexible learning, the

teachers were also questioned about how they felt about the difficulties facing materials

development in flexible learning. The following interview findings include three key
themes: (1) the need for more time to prepare instructional (1) few resources, (2)

challenging to adapt materials for online instruction, and (3) limited resources. Materials

development in flexible learning should, in theory, strike a balance between outcomes,

learner needs, and context, but the teachers became aware of how significantly

instructional materials are impacted by learner concerns. Students' access to and

knowledge of technology was generally very diverse.

Specific conclusions and considerations for MD innovation in FL can be drawn

from the findings. First, with the implementation of various learning delivery modalities, it

can be difficult to deal with students in basic education, particularly in the Philippines

and other developing countries, who are unable to learn independently. Education

departments can work with media organizations like TV and radio stations to develop

multimedia learning materials for flexible learning that allow video or audio lessons to be

streamed online via YouTube or Podcast for a wider reach and engagement. While the

creation of learning modules that can facilitate autonomous learning may be helpful,

education departments can also partner with and seek support from media institutions

such as TV and radio stations. The challenge of providing engaging, enriching

language-learning activities for students may require teachers to adapt their

instructional materials with a keen sense of sensitivity, creativity, and resourcefulness.

Three crucial elements of MD in flexible learning should be taken into consideration in

this situation: (a) the content must first be meaningful so that students can maintain their

attention; (b) the learning activities must be memorable to the students; and (c) the

students must be motivated to learn. Third, since the pandemic completely changed

where and how learning occurs, placing digital technology at the center of both learning
and teaching, textbooks—which had previously served as the primary source for lesson

plans—might no longer be the main focus of materials development in the new normal.

After the pandemic, technology might play a larger role in education, both inside

and outside of the classroom. Before the pandemic, some academics and educators

had doubts about how well digital technology could support education. It is necessary to

reevaluate the potential impact and role of technology in learning and teaching because

the alleged blended or online learning setup of the future requires material development

innovations that go beyond textbooks.