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Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

"Learning a second language bridges the gap and links people to the

world by creating a relationship where information, ideas, and culture are shared

through communication," these words describe how language helps shape

individuals according to Palma and Madrigal (2021). This means that learning a

second language and knowing how to use it does not only help a student perform

better in school, but also opens the door to opportunities such as better jobs,

travel, better social skills, and even transacting businesses in their future careers.

For these reasons, English as a second language has caught the attention

of many scholars concerned with the low literacy attainment in the English

language among college learners over the years. Some English language

enthusiasts like Choi and Nunan (2018) found that various factors contribute to

this failure such as the learner’s challenging experience in mastering the four

basic skills in language learning which are listening, reading, speaking, and

writing. They further stated that learning English as a second language is never

easy especially if you are learning it outside an English-speaking country. For

instance, English language learners in African countries like Nigeria, Ghana,

Liberia, Zambia, and Malawi face difficulties in understanding and using English

as a medium of instruction (Ama, 2022).

Meanwhile, English has been taught as a second language in the

Philippines as a compulsory subject, both in primary and secondary schools.

Today, mastery of the English language is still highly encouraged at all levels of
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education including the tertiary level. Despite being said that English is the

language widely used in teaching instructions, it hardly remains to be in

relationship-building at home, and in socializing in school for using English often

stops in the four corners of the classroom (Sepera, Generales, & Medina 2020).

As students having English as a major course, grand expectations are laid

before us, and that we are accountable for our interest and motivation toward the

mastery of English language. This is confirmed by Mardjuki (2018) who pointed

out that the way students perceive language learning has been influenced by

related aspects of interest, expectancy of success or failure, perception of

rewards, decision to learn, and persistent behavior.

Following these related dilemmas, one of the teachers we had interviewed

inside the school revealed insights about the difficulties faced by the Bachelor of

Secondary Education major in English students of GGCAST. Accordingly, the

lack of self-confidence and hesitancy in speaking the language which is

accentuated by fear of getting judged by peers is a major problem. It was

inevitable because some got used to utilizing their mother tongue as means of

instruction and communication during their Early Education. The teacher further

explained that such happenings inside the classroom hinders the potentials of

each learner to relay or to share their kept ideas using English in the class.

Since we come from the Bachelor of Secondary Education major in

English program, we wanted to discover more and understand the challenges

experienced by our co-learners in this field. Thus, the study was conducted to

help facilitate a better approach towards teaching and learning English as a

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second language while considering the rich challenges experienced by students

in the English department.

Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of this qualitative study was to describe and understand

the challenges experienced by Bachelor of Secondary Education major in

English students in the light of learning English as a second language. This

phenomenological inquiry sought to explore the way BSED-English students

perceive English as a second language in relation to their chosen program. The

study also aimed to discover the coping strategies of BSED-English students

concerning the challenges they encounter in learning English as their second

language.

Thus, the researchers attempted to catch some glimpses of the aforesaid

challenges experienced by BSED-English students as they exist in the natural

setting to enable better understanding about the said phenomenon at Governor

Generoso College of Arts, Sciences, and Technology.

Research Question

The researchers sought answers to the following grand tour questions:

1. What are the challenges experienced by BSED-English students in

learning English as a Second Language?

2. How do BSED-English students perceive English as a Second Language?

3. What are the coping strategies of BSED-English students in the light of

learning English as a second language?

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Theoretical Lens

In 1970, Krashen, an American linguist, crafted the Theory of Language

Acquisition. According to this theory, learners use two channels in Second

Language Acquisition (SLA): one is acquisition and the other is learning. Here,

the former means that a learner takes in and then uses a language

unconsciously through language communication practice while the latter means a

conscious study and understanding of a language.

The above concept was adapted to understand the challenges of learning

English language through the perspectives of the English major students. As it

was said, effective language learning involves variety of skills, abilities, practices,

and resources however, meeting these were never easy in the field of teaching

and learning (Schwarz & Terrill, 2000). Thus, proving that even with the use of

their utmost conscious ability to study the language, there remained challenging

area in language learning unheard of by many, but are shared by and among

English major students.

In addition, this study also considered Krashen’s Affective Filter

Hypothesis (1982) which stresses the association between affective factors

associate and the second language acquisition process. Krashen (1982) stated

that the affective factors are emotions of the learners, their motivation, self-

confidence, and anxieties. These emotions can indirectly influence learning by

preventing input from reaching the language acquisition device in the brain. To

be more precise, this theory explains how emotions influence the success or

failure of mastering the use of English as a second language. For example, when
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the affective filter increases, learners may experience anxiety, tension, and lack

of self-confidence that prevent success. On the other hand, low filters do not lead

to anxiety, but is said to help language learners understand the input easily.

In the context of this study, Krashen’s Affective Filter Hypothesis was used

to describe how the personal perceptions of the English major students and their

coping strategies affect their progress and contribute to the challenges they have

experienced in learning to master English as their second language especially

with the added expectations laid before them.

Importance of the Study

The study relied on the information provided for by the participants. The

said information was deemed to serve as a guide in creating possible

intervention programs that would significantly benefit the study’s target

beneficiaries. This mean that the findings of this research could be used in

enriching the existing program for second language acquisition and learning to

further motivate students to better perform in class.

Findings from this study would also be of great help for teachers to

become more understanding on the situational needs of the students. This would

help them tailor instructions to meet the need of a diverse group of English major

students. Understanding how second language acquisition occurs and using

specific teaching strategies could assist educators in helping students achieve

success in second language acquisition (SLA), while all focusing on the content.

This study could also open the minds of administrators, especially in

supporting English teachers’ trainings to enhance their teaching strategies,

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thereby establishing better teaching-learning process offering. Moreover, the

Commission on Higher Education (CHED) could benefit from this pursuit as it

could bring about added awarness about the challenges experienced by BSED-

English students in learning English as a second language. Thus, causing them

to also provide trainings and workshops to teachers so that, in turn, teachers

might be able to cascade their learning to the students.

Finally, this research could provide guidance to the future researchers

such that the results could serve as a springboard for their study or other related

studies that were not explored or covered by our study. This study could also

impact the local setting resulting for further research to emerge.

Scope and Limitations of the Study

This study focused on the challenges experienced by BSED-English

students of Governor Generoso College of Arts, Sciences, and Technologies in

learning English as second language. Since a qualitative study only ranges from

a small number of participants, results and findings cannot be generalized and

would not go beyond the scope of current participants (Crossman, 2020),

implying that participants cannot be used to represent the whole BSED-English

populace. As such, selecting the participants are limited only to the said local

setting, particularly the students belonging to BSED-English program.

There are seven (7) participants involved in the focus group discussion

(FGD) and another three (3) involved for the in-depth interview (Cresswell, 2014).

The study is dependent upon the ability of the participants to answer the
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questions that is provided during the interview and their knowledge primarily

bases on their experiences as English major students.

As such, the study only involved a small number of participants and may

not represent the whole BSED-English populace. Also, findings from the study

cannot be generalizable to its larger context and to the context of participants.

Lastly, it is important to note that participants may not answer some questions

honestly.

Definition of Terms

To give a thorough understanding of the study, the following terms are first

theoretically defined based on legitimate sources and operationally defined upon

their usage in the context of this study:

Second Language Acquisition (SLA) is the process where learners

have a mastery of his mother tongue language and then try to learn another

language (Krashen, 1970). In this study, Second Language Acquisition was used

to describe how BSED- English students’ knowledge, skills and abilities allow

them to learn English as a language. It could also refer to the students’ mastery

of the English language.

Second Language (ESL) is the language being studied referred to as the

target language (Ellis, 1997). In the context of our study, Second Language

(ESL) directly refers to the English language.

Coping Strategies refer to the behaviors, thoughts, and emotions that are

used to adjust to an external or internal stressful experience or problematic

situation (Skinner & Zimmer-Gembeck, 2007). As used in this study, coping

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strategies refer to the ways in which participants tried to overcome the

challenges they have experienced while learning English as a second language.

Organization of the Study

This research study was divided into five (5) chapters that were organized

to foster better understanding of the existing and emerging concepts concerning

the phenomenon being studied. The following is the organization of the study:

Chapter 1 includes the rationale, purpose of the study, the research

questions, theoretical lens, the importance of the study, the delimitation of the

study, and the theoretical and operational definition of terms used in the study.

Chapter 2 deals with the review of literature related to or associated with

the current study, whereby related concepts are discussed and highlighted.

Also, chapter 3 includes a discussion of the methodology for data

gathering and analysis. This also contains the research design and ethical

considerations to ensure trustworthiness of the study.

Chapter 4 discusses the result of the interview, specifically the themes

and core ideas that emerged from the analyzed data which were the participants’

answers to the research questions conducted during the IDI and FGD.

Finally, chapter 5 contains the researchers’ discussion and conclusion

about the examined phenomenon. Specifically, it contains the implication for

practice and future researchers, as well as the concluding remarks of the study.
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Chapter 2

REVIEW RELATED LITERATURE

Literature and related studies were included in this chapter to promote

generalizable understanding and information about the challenges experienced

by BSED-English students. The sources of the information used were taken from

journals and electronic books deemed to be significantly connected to this

research study.

English as a Second Language in Education

English language is becoming more important as a universal means of

communication, particularly after the recent advances in technology that have

brought people of different cultures and countries closer to one another

(Alzeebaree & Yavuz, 2017; Laachir, 2019). Effective teaching and learning are

the subjects that concern almost everyone involved in educational process.

Effective learning depends on effective teaching which, in its turn, depends on

effective teachers and administrators (Alrefaee & Al-Ghamid, 2019).

In today’s world, proficiency in English has been held as the pinnacle of

academic and professional achievement which, for some, may also lead to

personal happiness. As the third most spoken language in the world

(Ethonologue, 2018) and as “the language of diplomacy, business and popular

culture”, it is undeniable that English is the “world’s language” (World Economic

Forum, 2017). Being the third largest nation of English speakers, the Philippines

have made polices of making English available─ a compulsory subject and

allocated significant portions of the education budget to English.

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When the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) was established,

they issued sets of policies and standards for the general education courses in

college. The mandate of CHED is to establish support, and development for

potential centers of excellence to achieve global competitiveness (Domingo,

2020). One of the 21st-century, is an effective oral and written communication.

Therefore, in the education sector, English is essential in the field of discipline in

the Philippines (Naved, 2019).

We could simply say that English is regarded as not a foreign language to

be learned, but a qualification an individual should possess (Wolff, 2003).

However, looking closely at the English language proficiency of the tertiary level

graduates, students fall below the expected level (Morallo, 2018). Philippines

advantage in English proficiency eroded by the declining mastery in English

language of the graduates.

In primary education, learners are expected to build a strong foundation in

the English language and further develop it at the secondary level so that when

learners reach the tertiary level, they are assumed to have a required level of

English proficiency (Songbatumis, 2017). Even so, more than ninety percent of

college graduates in the Philippines are not yet equipped for English-speaking

roles and with the recent test conducted by Hopkins (2018), the average score of

around 10,000 Filipino college students who took Test of English for International

Communication (TOEIC) is 631 out of 990, equivalent to B1 or intermediate level.

Teachers need to come up with effective teaching strategies and

implement solutions, in order to meet every student’s individual needs in the

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class (Mahanta, 2019). Knowing that English Language Learners is often a

challenge for many schools, and accurately identifying and supporting ELLs, can

be an even greater challenge (Muray & Christison, 2019). On the other side of

the coin, knowing the students’ challenges and experiences in the face of

learning English as a second language is also an important concern.

Challenges in Learning English as a Second Language

Learning English as a second language is never easy, particularly if you

are learning English outside of an English-speaking country (Ama, 2022). The

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, 2017) reported that 68% of the

students learning English as a second language fell below basic levels of

competency in reading. Students who are learning English as a second language

face multiple challenges that students who are native English learners do not

experience such as mastering the four macro skills of speaking, writing, reading

and listening in English language has its own challenging concerns.

By understanding the second language, the learners can communicate what

they meant in another language (Pulmo, 2020). Hashim and Yunus (2019) stated

that learning a second language is suitable for communication in English

language interaction with people from another country. Learning a second

language is helpful because learners can use the second language as a tool to

unify communication between a person or a group of people from another

country.

Moreover, a few students have difficulty speaking in English where some of

them understood but were reluctant to speak because they felt unable to do so. If
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we contemplate and look back at the method of learning English in schools, it is

only based on grammar learning. This means that it prioritizes language usage

more than language use. They understand and memorize various grammatical

formulas that have been taught by teachers at school (Rintaningrum & Azhari,

2021). Learning with this method is more inclined to be able to answer questions

and pass exams, not to develop practical abilities. That is why many students in

Indonesia can understand English but not many can speak the language.

There are many emerging studies have been conducted to identify the

factors that contribute to second language acquisition. Nor et al (2019)

conducted a study regarding students' problems in learning English, and they

concluded that students' anxiety to speak, understand some unfamiliar English

words in the context being read, and lack of engagement in participating in the

classroom activity are the factors that affect the second language acquisition. In

addition, psychological factors such as nervousness and shyness also give some

impact to their performance in study. When they become impaired with

nervousness and shyness, they could not express their ideas properly and at the

same time they are not confident on their own capabilities (Rusreena et al.,

2018).

Moreover, one of the top challenges of learning English is to be able to

communicate successfully using the said language (Ahmed, 2018). Many

learners have good English language skills, yet they struggle to express

themselves while communicating in English. According to Nor et al. (2019), more

often than not, ESL learners do not struggle in writing tasks as much as they do
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with speaking proficiency. Speaking in front of a group of people needs courage,

internal motivation, and external stimulants such as a pleasant conversational

environment and an interesting topic. They struggled to communicate fluently

because of their lack of English vocabulary. Respondents were urged to combine

various local languages and dialects with English in order to ensure that their

meanings, intentions, or views were understood.

Besides the previously mentioned challenges, issues in terms of

pronunciation, speaking, and other cases in context and cultural norm we could

also say that languages have their idiosyncrasies and learning English may be

daunting to many learners for many reasons (Krishnan, 2021). Reasons such as

low self-efficacy is typically associated with the emotions of frustration and

discouragement, while high self-efficacy is associated with the emotion of

confidence. Yet, most English language learners belongs to what is considered

to be frustrated learners who are not ready to express words through it (Miele &

Scholer, 2018).

Another concern lurks through academic writing, which pose a specific

challenge for students whose first language was not English. The study of

Ravichandran, Kirby, and Ghosh (2017), found out that students in tertiary level

feels that writing expectations were very high, leading to feelings of uncertainty in

improving their academic performance. Key challenges faced by these students

with respect to writing in English involve grammar and vocabulary, style guide

use, organization and flow of information, critical thinking, understanding of

plagiarism, and assignment completion time; some of these challenges surfaced

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due to the differences in these areas compared to the expectations in their home

countries.

Finally, cluttering, a common problem for non-native English language

speakers is a disfluency in speaking however is distinct from stuttering because a

stutterer has a coherent pattern of thoughts, but may have a difficulty in vocally

expressing those thoughts; in contrast, a clutterer has no problem putting

thoughts into words, but those thoughts become disorganized during speaking.

Cluttering affects not only speech, but thoughts pattern, writing, typing, and

conversations (Bona, 2019).

Perceptions towards Second Language Learning

Learning another language is a challenging agenda which a student has to

deal with in order to communicate with other people. That is why enjoying the

learning process would make language acquisition easier and fun. According to

Schwarz and Terrill (2000), a positive view into the importance of the second

language being learned helps one to attain mastery of English language.

However, anxiety, role of teachers, personality, attitudes, and motivation affects

their perceptions on English language declining student’s interest to use it

effectively.

The student’s attitudes, views and insights toward the studied language

affect the mastery of English language (Yusob, 2018). When students learn a

language, they should not only apply the understanding of the concept of the

language, but also use it in their daily life (Hashim & Yunus, 2018). This only

means that teaching and learning English is a success when students are able to
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use language skills inside and outside the classroom (González-Becerra, 2019).

Many researchers believe that outside the classroom is the place where students

use the language to communicate and to participate in activities to improve and

master acquisition of language (Leong & Ahmadi, 2017). But according to the

study of Sepera, Generales, and Medina (2020), students have negative views

about the English language because in the Philippines it is associated to people

belonging to the upper class. English is considered as ‘special’, rather than a

‘second language, as those who know the rules of grammar are perceived to be

more intelligent or belong to a higher economic status than those who cannot

speak well.

Also, teachers’ role in language acquisition affects the views of the

students. As said, more can be done to improve the quality of education by

improving the effectiveness of teachers in a language classroom (Moskovsky &

Picard, 2018). At the same time, more and more research about the role of

student’s perception in language acquisition found out that anxiety in the

language classroom contributes to the declination of learner’s interest (Sundari,

2017). Teachers scaffold instruction to aid student understanding of content

topics and objectives by adjusting their speech and instructional tasks; if the

teacher provides “hands-on” activities and has students interact in small groups,

English Language Learners (ELLs) will be able to participate in the life of the

classroom a lot sooner. They will feel more confident in risking oral language. It

should not be assumed that learners of English do not feel embarrassment or

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shyness when attempting to speak in a second language (Yunsurova &

Shirinova, 2018).

Teaching English especially to non-native speakers is not an easy task to

do. It is a long process which may be influenced by different issues. However,

the effective teacher is the one who knows what to teach, how to teach and how

to react to any educational situation. To teach English as a foreign language, one

needs first to consider his/her learners as social beings because each learner is

an individual, who is characterized by a personality and by social traits which

may influence the process of learning (Adisu, 2020).

The role of negative or positive perceptions of students affects the

motivation and attitudes towards the English language (Dewaele, Jean-Marc,

Chen & Padilla, 2019). Adult English Secondary Language (ESL) learners have

their unique perceptions that are different from that of children. According to

Riadil (2020), some of the adult learners worries more about committing a

mistake and being criticized declining their interest on the language. Since it is

known that adult learners bring a reservoir of life and educational experience to

the classroom (Addisu, 2020), even though this may be an assumption, it follows

that these learners might also bring complex psychology and multi-layered

personalities to the learning of the new language, both in the classroom and in

the natural environment.

Consequently, the amount of exposure and positive attitudes towards

English language is an important factor to consider for effective use in the

classroom (Hashim & Yunus, 2018). The difficulties students encounter in

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learning have often been found to be influenced by cognition and personalities,

views and insights (Abdullaev, 2021). It is important to understand that in

learning English, the four skills should be mastered by students and the way they

valued learning the language helps them gain positive outputs. Without the

mastery of these, it results to problem such as speaking problems resulting to

poor academic performance (Riadil, 2019).

In addition to what precedes, Getie (2020) believes the main sources that

lead to experiencing foreign language anxiety are the classroom atmosphere,

attributes of learners, the target language, and the process of foreign language

learning itself. A study conducted by Sundari (2018), argued that being proficient

at speaking and reading is considered as the most important significant but what

lies on the learner’s perception to the L2 is a major concern that needs to be

address. At least some of this language anxiety may be generated by instructors

and teaching methods (Mu-Hsuan, 2018), which suggests that the teaching-

style/learning-expectation mismatch can create more than just a contradiction of

preferences in classroom methods and on learning the L2.

As highlighted by Purnama, Rahayu, and Yugafiati (2019), students’

commitment plays a fundamental role in the transformation of education.

Jiménez states that didactic materials and classroom activities are very important

when learning a foreign language; however, learners’ attitude is the most crucial.

Language Learning Coping Strategies

Enjoyment is a positive affective state that combines challenge,

happiness, interest, fun, sense of pride, and sense of meaning. It occurs

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especially in activities where learners have a degree of autonomy and when

something novel is encountered or something challenging is achieved.

Motivation, according to Harmer (2007), is essential to success and

without motivation learners will almost certainly fail to make the necessary effort.

Harmer held that motivation is a type of internal drive that pushes someone to do

things in order to achieve something. In language learning, Richards and Schmidt

(2002) asserted that motivation is “the combination of learners’ attitudes, desires,

and willingness to expend effort in order to learn a second language . . .

motivation is generally considered to be one of the primary causes of success

and failure in language learning” (p. 344).

Some studies have said that an enthusiastic teaching not only motivates,

inspires, and excites learners but also improves learning and learners’

achievement (Keller et al., 2016). Enjoyment in L2 context could be regarded as

a positive learning facilitative achievement emotion. It has been linked to

heightened motivation and engagement, as well as better actual and self-

perceived L2 performance and also a higher Willingness to Communicate (Botes

et al., 2021; Li, 2018).

This is supported by Collins (1978) saying that during the 1970s, teacher

enthusiasm was firmly equated with displayed enthusiasm and regarded as

instructional behaviors including “vocal delivery, eyes, gesture, movements,

facial expression, word selection, acceptance of ideas and feelings and overall

energy level”. Germane to the current study, many of the studies showed that

teachers play a crucial role in enjoyment. For example, using focused essay
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technique, Jiang (2020) focused on teacher-related sources for the enjoyment

experienced by 646 Chinese EFL students. Five sources emerged, among which

teacher characteristics, which included teacher happiness and humor,

friendliness, kindness, and patience.

In addition, the issue of teacher-learner relationship is clearly a multifaceted

phenomenon whose quality is shaped and influenced by a numerous factor

inside and outside of the language classroom. Drakulić (2019) emphasize that

effective learning is strongly related to the effective teaching and indicate that an

effective language teacher should possess common attributes to achieve

successful language learning.

Boredom can be defined as an unpleasant affective or psychological state

that is associated with low physical and cognitive arousal, specific time

perceptions (e.g., dragging or standing still) and action tendencies to disengage

from what is going on around (Li, 2021). This entails that boredom is “a

combination of dissatisfaction, disappointment, annoyance, inattention, lack of

motivation to pursue previously set goals and impaired vitality” (Kruk &

Zawodniak, 2018). It permeates academic settings, and has consistent

repercussions in various aspects in learning, including individual engagement,

cognition, motivation, self-regulation, learning strategies, and learning

achievement (Daniels et al., 2015; Macklem, 2015). The intensity of boredom

was linked to the teacher, topics, repetitive activities, task implementation, and a

mismatch between challenge and proficiency level (Pawlak et al., 2020).

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Furthermore, Oga-Baldwin (2019) pointed out that affective factors (e.g.,

motivation, emotion, interest) and learning environment (e.g., teacher and peer

relationships) could affect student engagement and that the effect was reciprocal.

In other words, student engagement is not only shaping but also being shaped by

both individual affective experiences and environmental characteristics. Mercer

(2019) similarly addressed the effects of both individual and environmental

(teacher) factors on student engagement. More specifically, she claimed that

learners who felt competent, autonomous, in a growth mindset, in positive

relationships with peers and teachers, and enjoyed learning more, became more

motivated and involved in the process of language learning (Henry & Thorsen,

2020; Hiver, Al-Hoorie, & Mercer, 2021).

According to Jamshidnejad (2020), cognitive strategies, which include

positive thinking and peer- seeking, are tactics used to change problematic

thought processes related to language learning. Kondo and Ying-Ling (2004)

have also opined that relaxation strategies, which are characterized by their

affective quality, are employed to reduce bodily tension associated with

emotional arousal, while preparation strategies are behavioral in nature because

they focus on behavioral components of language learning that are related to

effective performance in class.

Finally, student’s coping strategies relies on three main categories of

metacognitive strategies such as consciously directing of one’s own efforts into

the learning task. Second, cognitive strategies where the learning steps that

learners take to transform new material, and socio-affective strategies which is

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done through interaction with another person or taking control of one’s own

feelings on language learning. The above classification albeit presented around

three decades ago remains very much in place to this date (Yasuda & Nabei

2018).
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Chapter 3

METHODOLOGY

This chapter comprises and discusses the research design, the research

participants, instruments to be used, data collection procedure, data analysis,

consideration for trustworthiness and credibility, and ethical consideration. It also

includes justification for the use of the methods.

Research Design

This study made use of phenomenological qualitative research method

that was anchored on the study of Creswell and Creswell (2018), which suggest

that the best criteria to determine the use of phenomenology is when the

research problem requires a profound understanding of human experiences

common to a group of people. To obtain the authentic experiences of the

students, phenomenological research methodology is selected as the framework

of qualitative study (Cypress, 2018). Henceforth, the researchers deemed it

appropriate to use the qualitative research approach in this study because the

focus was on the challenges faced by students including their perception and

coping strategies in learning English as a second language.

Research Participants

To meet what Creswell (2018) recommended of having long interviews

with up to 10 people in a phenomenological inquiry, the study utilized 10

participants. Hence, the identified sample size of 10 participants. Where three (3)

participants underwent in-depth interviews, and seven (7) participants were

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subjected to focus group discussion (FGD). They were the key subjects of this

study.

The participants of the study were the BSED-English students of Governor

Generoso, College of Arts, Sciences, and Technology, from the Municipality of

Governor Generoso, Davao Oriental. Using aliases, the identity of the

participants were kept confidential to avoid facing possible issues and/or risks

should data leakage happen. The participants were selected based on pre-

selected criteria which certainly mean that they must be: (1) English major

students, (2) at the said school regardless of whether they are regular or irregular

students, and (3) they are at least 18 years old and above.

According to Braun and Clarke (2021), for homogenous studies that use

purposeful sampling, a low number of participants should be sufficient to achieve

data saturation. The participants were selected using a purposive sampling.

Wherein, Farragia (2019) said that purposive sampling is a conceptually driven

approach that has the researcher deliberately select sample participants whom

they believe can give fruitful responses to the questions. This is affected by

variables such as the age of the participant, gender, and major course which are

kept confidential (Nikolopoulou, 2022).

Role of the Researcher

‘’Human instrument,’’ as what Denzin and Lincoln (2003) have described,

is one of the roles of the researchers in a qualitative study. Rather than relying on

inventories, questionnaires, or machines, the researchers in this study used their

utmost ability to conduct the study.

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First, researchers assured the participants that throughout the study their

identity would remain anonymous and confidential in observance of the ethical

conduct of the research process.

Second, researchers as interviewers. The researchers interviewed the

participants following a face-to-face set-up in the collection of their data via in-

depth interviews and focus group discussions. This was done with the use of an

interview guide validated by experts.

Third, researchers had made use of audio recordings with the consent of

the participants to ensure that no data have been missed which was considered

crucial to the analysis of the study.

Moreover, the researchers transcribed and translated the data gathered

using the recorded audio during the interview. To establish the credibility of the

information provided, the researchers gave a copy of the analyzed and

interpreted data to the participants for member checking.

Lastly, as researchers we set aside prejudices by guarding our own

experiences so as not to affect the views and the interpretation of the data or

participants. We also highly valued ethics and confidentiality when conducting

the study.

Data Sources

The sources of data for this qualitative research came from the

participants who gave their consent for an interview that was audio recorded

(Kamal, 2019) by the researchers. The primary source of data came from the

selected participants for both the in-depth interviews and focus group discussion.
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In-depth interviews and focus group discussions have been deemed

useful when researchers want to have detailed information about a person’s

thoughts and behaviors or wish to explore new issues that offer a more complete

picture of what happened and why (Boyce & Neale, 2006). All data taken from

the direct participants of the study came from BSED-English students of

GGCAST.

Data Collection Procedure

The researcher followed a step-by-step process in the gathering of data.

Asking permission to conduct the study. The researcher wrote a letter

addressed to the president of the institution, Governor Generoso College of Arts,

Sciences, and Technology, for approval to conduct the study. After obtaining the

approval, the reading and signing of the informed consent from was sought from

the participants prior the collection of data. The researchers gave the participants

adequate time to make up their minds as to whether or not they wanted to

participate in the study.

Conducting the interview. The time and place of when and where the

interview would take place were decided primarily at the convenience and safety

of the participants and safety. The researchers utilized two data collection

methods: an in-depth interview and a focus group discussion. Before the

interview, an orientation of the participants was done to inform them about their

roles and rights in the study.

The aforementioned method of interviews helped the researchers gather

sufficient data to understand the participants’ feelings and perceptions, and to

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extract new knowledge about the challenges experienced by BSED-English

students in the process of learning English as a second language. After the

interviews, data gathered were subjected to data analysis.

Data Analysis

Data analysis involved the synthesizing of information that were obtained

from the interviews, observations, and documentations during the process of

gathering vital information into a description of what the researchers observed

during the conduct of the study (Bloomberg & Volpe, 2019).

After the data were collected, we, the researchers applied concepts of

transcribing data in verbatim and then translating the answers and all the minutes

during the in-depth interview (IDI) and focus group discussion (FGD) in English

language. This process was followed by displaying data through codes and

themes and arranging them into a table to let the researcher draw conclusions.

This step was necessary because it helped them organize the data that has been

collected. With this, the researchers were able to deduce data allowing them to

differentiate systematic patterns and interrelationships among categories.

The researchers carefully evaluated and analyzed the data while utilizing

the descriptive and thematic approach and demystifying emerging patterns of

themes. In the process of analyzing the data, the researchers made a written

copy of the minutes of the focus group discussion and in-depth interviews to

generalize the meaning of the data. This aided the researchers in searching for

segments and in assigning particular codes. Thus, the researchers also made

codes of the text to generate descriptions and themes. The repetition of the
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process helped the researchers in answering the research questions in Chapter

1.

In this regard, the researchers followed the qualitative data analysis model

of Abulela and Harwell (2020). First, data extraction was done which data

accessible and understandable (Berg, 2004). Then there was data reduction

which helped in making the data simple and more efficient. The paring and

filtering of data, also known as thematic analysis, was also observed which

another way of analyzing data and codifying qualitative information. This was

much more than simply summarizing the data as a good thematic analysis

interprets and makes sense of it. A common pitfall though is to use the main

interview questions as the themes (Clarke & Braun, 2013).

Finally, the researchers made an accurate generalization and verification

of data during the process. This involved having the researchers look back and

consider what the analyzed data employed and assess their implications for the

questions at hand. After which, the researchers evaluated the integrating links to

drawing conclusions. This involved revising that data several times to cross-

check the emergent conclusions.

Trustworthiness of the Study

Trustworthiness or rigor of a study refers to the degree of confidence in

data, interpretation, and methods used to ensure the quality of a study (Pilot &

Beck, 2014). In each study, researchers should establish the protocols and

procedures necessary for a study to be considered worthy of consideration by

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readers (Amankwaa, 2016). This means that this study must and will show

credibility, dependability, transferability, and confirmability.

Credibility

Credibility, according to Stahl and King (2020), is the most important part

to observe in conducting qualitative study. It is the evidence and reputation of the

study where results mirror the views of the participants. This was done and

observed through the process of triangulation and member checking for the

congruency of the findings with reality. This allowed the researchers to

adequately present multiple realities of data.

Prior to what was said earlier, the researchers ensured credibility of the

study by prolonged engagement with the participants, ‘’for the researcher’s

involvement with the informants deepens trust and understanding of their culture

and the context as well’’ (Lincoln & Guba, 2011). Member checking was done

face-to-face with the participants where they were provided a copy of research

write-ups to solicit their feedback regarding the accuracy of data.

Dependability

The researchers conveyed dependability, the trust of trustworthy, through

audit trails and triangulations. According to Lincoln and Guba (2011),

dependability can be achieved via peer debriefing that creates trust and audit

trails and triangulations.

In this study, dependability was observed by using the overlapping

methods of triangulations (i.e., interview by in-depth, observations, and focus

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group discussions with the semi-structured questionnaires) to have cross-

validation of data (Given & Saumure, 2008), which helped establish the research

study’s findings as consistent and repeatable.

Transferability

To establish transferability, the researchers marked and kept the data for

future references. The external validity and generalizability of this study for the

readers and future researchers might be limited but qualitative study seeks to

expand findings by transferring it from one context to another (Stahl & King,

2020).

Our study had established transferability by documentation, methods and

time frame for collection of data to describe the duration the study for these

factors influence the degree of completed researches to be applied on other sites

and context.

Confirmability

Finally, the confirmability of the study verifies the trustworthiness with

regards to the events that happened on the phenomenon as signified by the

results of the study (Golafshani, 2003). The confirmability of the study increases

the transparency and decreases the opportunities for a subjective view of the

researcher (Singh, 2014).

In this study, credibility was observed through audit trails to allow readers

of this research to confirm the results and interpretations reflected on the study.

This assured the quality in qualitative studies. The researchers also verified the
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data by giving the participants a copy of the transcribed notes from the audio

recording to let the participants review their answers during the interview.

Ethical Consideration

To ensure the ethical standards in conducting research, the researchers

followed the Belmont Report (1979) guidelines as expanded by Denzin and

Lincoln (2011) and Berg and Lune (2017) that in ethical research, respect for

persons, beneficence, justice and respect of community should be adhered to.

For the practice of respect for person, the researchers made sure to ask

permission and consent before the conduct of an audio-recorded in-depth

interview and the focus group discussion audio recorded. When the participants

have understood the purpose of the research and their rights, the researchers

asked them to sign the written consent form which the researchers have

provided. The form consisted of the contact information of the researcher from

whom they can ask question regarding the research.

Also, the researchers guaranteed the privacy of the participants by

promising them right from the start that the information about their experiences

were for research purposes only. Furthermore, the researchers avoided the use

of the real name of the participants. Thus, name coding was used.

To establish beneficence, Berg and Lune (2017) noted that the

researchers have to lessen the risks to the participants. The researchers

achieved this by putting an emphasis on the confidentiality and letting them know

that they have the right to discontinue their participation whenever they felt

insecure and uncertain about the purpose of the study.

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To guarantee respect for communities (Denzin and Lincoln (2011), the

researchers considered the fact that the participants were studying at the school

setting. The researchers also knew that there were different views among each

participant with regards to their experiences as BSED-English major student that

could hinder or help them open.

The researchers also ensured that everything they do had help the

participants realize that their intensions were good, and they did not judge their

answers since the researchers were expected to use the information for the

purpose of understanding the context of the research questions. Moreover, the

researchers were required to respect the values of the community, especially the

institution and to protect it from any unlikely issues.

To ensure justice Berg and Lune (2017), the researchers guaranteed that

everything is sufficiently accurate and assure it through the information

redundancy where the data can no longer give an additional information to the

research question. Doing this would require adherence adhere to the Data

Privacy Act of 2012 that ensures the privacy of the identities of the study’s

participants.