Bridging Languages and Cultures: Teachers' Experiences in Integrating Filipino Literature into English 7 Instruction in Public Secondary Schools in San Mateo, Isabela

Strengthening English Teaching Competence in Rural Elementary Education: Lived Experiences and Adaptive Instructional Practices of Teachers in Ifugao, Philippines

English instruction in rural elementary school requires teachers to negotiate linguistic diversity, foundation literacy needs, curriculum expectations, resource availability, and culturally situated learner experiences. These demands become particularly significant in Indigenous communities, where English may coexist with Filipino and local languages used in learners' homes and communities. This qualitative phenomenological study explores the lived experiences and adaptive instructional practices of elementary teachers teaching English in Ifugao, Philippines. Specifically,  it examines teachers' experiences in developing learners' English proficiency, the instructional challenges they encounter, the strategies they employ to address linguistic and learning diversity, the ways they contextualize English instruction, and the professional meanings they construct from these experiences. Participants will be purposively selected elementary teachers with direct experience teaching English in rural and Indigenous school contexts. Data will be generated through in-depth semi-structured interviews and analyzed through phenomenologically informed thematic analysis. Four provisional analytical themes frame the discussion: Bridging Languages, Building Understanding; Teaching Beyond the Textbook; Meeting Learners Where They Are; and Growing Through Practice and Reflection. The study positions English teaching competence as a dynamic combination of language knowledge, pedagogical skill, cultural responsiveness, adaptive decision-making, and continuing professional learning. Findings may inform teacher professional development, culturally responsive English instruction, literacy initiatives, and institutional support for rural elementary teachers.

Inserting Local Wisdom in English Language Teaching-Learning: A Lens of Developing EFL Learners’ Communicative Competences

Integrating local wisdom into English language teaching offers a culturally relevant way to connect language learning with learners’ lived experiences. However, limited attention has been given to how locally grounded instruction supports multiple dimensions of communicative competence in Indonesian EFL speaking classrooms. This study aimed to examine how local wisdom was integrated into English learning activities to facilitate meaningful communication and how local-wisdom-based instruction contributed to learners’ communicative competence. The study employed a qualitative classroom-based design involving 35 Indonesian EFL learners enrolled in Fundamental Speaking classes at a higher education institution in West Nusa Tenggara. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and classroom observations and were analyzed thematically through familiarization, coding, categorization, theme development, and interpretation. The findings revealed that local wisdom was incorporated through storytelling, cultural presentations, interviews, role-plays, group discussions, and community-oriented projects. These activities enabled learners to describe traditions, explain cultural practices, compare customs, respond to questions, and negotiate culturally specific meanings in English. Local-wisdom-based instruction contributed to grammatical and lexical development, discourse organization, sociolinguistic awareness, strategic competence, speaking confidence, and intercultural communicative competence. Familiar cultural content also supported idea generation and reduced learners’ difficulty in initiating communication. Nevertheless, linguistic errors, pronunciation anxiety, and limited vocabulary remained evident, indicating that cultural familiarity must be accompanied by explicit language support, scaffolding, feedback, and repeated practice. The study concludes that local wisdom can serve as an effective communicative resource when transformed into interaction-rich tasks rather than used as decorative cultural content. These findings imply that Indonesian EFL teachers should design culturally grounded speaking activities with clear communicative purposes and appropriate linguistic support.

Incorporating a Global Englishes Language Teaching ( GELT ) Perspective in Taiwanese Elementary Classrooms: Teachers' Perceptions under the Bilingual 2030 Policy

This study examines the feasibility and pedagogical value of incorporating Global Englishes Language Teaching (GELT) into Taiwanese bilingual elementary English education, an area that remains critically underexplored despite the rapid global expansion of bilingual schooling. Focusing on a Taiwanese elementary school operating under the Bilingual 2030 policy, the study draws on semi‐structured interviews and focus group discussions to examine teachers' perceptions of bilingual teaching experiences and possibilities for integrating GELT principles into curricula. Findings reveal that bilingual education aligns well with GELT principles and serves as a catalyst for re‐shaping teachers' language ideologies. Despite institutional constraints, attachments to “native” English norms and societal expectations, participants expressed a strong willingness to adopt GELT. The study advances understanding of how GELT can be meaningfully implemented at the foundational stages of education and how bilingual education acts as a setting where language ideologies begin to take shape. The findings underscore the pivotal role of teacher professional development, successful classroom implementation of curricular innovation, teacher collaboration, and teacher agency in driving GELT‐informed curricula change. Although centered on a single school, the study contributes original evidence from an underrepresented educational context and provides timely, practice‐grounded perspectives on how bilingual education systems can support more equitable, globally oriented ELT.

Omani English Teachers’ Perspectives on Implementing Communicative Language Teaching in Post-Basic Schools: A Case Study

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) has been widely promoted as an approach emphasizing communicative competence and purposeful language use. Despite its prominence in English language education, a persistent gap exists between teachers' awareness and classroom implementation of CLT principles, particularly in non-native contexts such as Oman. While previous studies have quantified teacher awareness, limited qualitative research has explored how teachers interpret and adapt CLT within their specific classroom contexts. This qualitative case study investigated how six Omani English teachers in government post-basic schools (Grades 11–12) conceptualised and interpreted CLT within their classroom contexts. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed using the Codes–Categories–Themes (CO–CAT) framework to identify patterns in teachers' perspectives. Teachers associated effective implementation of CLT with supportive classroom environments that foster confidence and communication. Teachers also viewed CLT as context-dependent, influenced by learner proficiency, lesson focus, instructional time, and classroom conditions, resulting in selective and adaptive implementation practices. Teachers conceptualised CLT not simply as a collection of communicative techniques, but as a set of interconnected conditions that support classroom communication, including learner participation, authentic language use, emotional support, and contextual adaptation. The study contributes to understanding the theory–practice gap as a process of professional judgement rather than a failure of implementation. The findings may inform teacher professional development, curriculum implementation, and communicative language teaching practices in Oman and similar EFL contexts.

Repositioning English through Vietnamese culture: Teachers’ practices, tensions, and intercultural possibilities in EFL classrooms

This study investigates how Vietnamese culture is integrated into English Language Teaching (ELT) by examining teachers' perceptions, classroom practices, and the challenges they encounter in Vietnamese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms. Drawing on individual interviews and classroom observations with 10 Vietnamese EFL teachers, the study found that teachers viewed local culture as a valuable pedagogical resource for connecting English learning with students' identities, experiences, and everyday lives. Integrating Vietnamese culture encouraged learner engagement, enabled students to express their own cultural knowledge through English, and supported teachers' understanding of learners' sociocultural backgrounds. Classroom practices included using local festivals, authentic cultural materials, stories, and role-playing activities to make English learning more meaningful and contextually relevant. However, teachers also faced challenges related to cultural sensitivity, limited access to locally grounded English-language resources, and difficulties in translating culturally embedded meanings across languages. The findings further indicate that although Vietnamese culture was regularly incorporated into lessons, classroom discussions often emphasized cultural description rather than interpretation and critical reflection. The study argues that the value of local culture integration lies not simply in including local content but in promoting intercultural learning through dialogue, interpretation, and engagement with multiple cultural perspectives.

“Teach in English or retire”: linguistic, pedagogical and career consequences of English medium instruction