TEACHING ENGLISH ONLINE: THE ENGLISH PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS PERSPECTIVES

Teaching practicum equip pre-service teachers in the teaching learning process. Through engaging themselves in teaching in the classroom and receiving of feedback from their mentors, they are able to improve and master their teaching skills necessary in their profession. However, due to the sudden shift of education caused by COVID-19 pandemic, the English pre-service teachers of Agusan del Sur State College of Agriculture and Technology, Trento External Studies Center (ASSCAT, TSC) conducted their teaching practicum online. Hence, this qualitative phenomenological research study explored the experiences, challenges, coping mechanisms and insights gained of the English pre-service teachers in teaching English online. The findings of this study was also utilized in order to design a suitable intervention program for the existing phenomenon. Phenomenological method of research was utilized with in-depth-interview guide questions which were validated by a panel of validators. The ten English pre-service teachers were purposely selected through a fishbowl method in the conduct of the study. Findings revealed that the English pre-service teachers perceived their experiences as difficult yet fulfilling. The study also revealed that  the participants  were challenged in their lesson delivery and lesson preparations due to the poor internet connection and unavailability of devices to be used in online teaching. Moreover, their experiences in teaching English online had given them the ideas on the real life of a teacher. Through this insights and experiences gained in teaching online, the English pre-service teachers believed that they were made prepared for their profession. The study ends with recommendations for preparatory programs or trainings for online teaching, provision on the use of technology and internet signal, and a face-to-face interactions with the cooperating teachers for feedback.