Conquering Language Barrier: A Teachers’ Journey to Professional Adjustments in the Teaching and Learning Process

This phenomenological study aimed to explore the journey of non-IP teachers teaching IP students in selected IP schools of La Paz District II, La Paz, Agusan del Sur. The study investigated the experiences of non-IP teachers, their challenges, their coping mechanisms, and insights gained into the language barrier in the teaching and learning process. Utilizing the purposive sampling technique, the research informants were five non-IP teachers who were subjected to in-depth interviews. The findings revealed that the experiences encountered were the way they talk, their dialect, and the gap in communication. The challenges met were learning their language, dispensing knowledge, students’ reading comprehension, and misunderstanding and misinterpretation. The difficulties encountered in handling IP students were the medium of communication, classroom management, school attendance, and understanding of the lesson. On the other hand, the study showed that the challenges and difficulties the informants encountered made them become passionate about teaching, motivated to teach students well, considerate in many things, and have a creative mind. The coping mechanisms included learning the IP native language, having students translate the language to their native language, and being flexible and adaptive. Further, their learning and realization included employing various strategies and approaches, a teacher must be approachable, utilize technology, be passionate about teaching, and there must be constant communication and interaction.