Lived Experiences of Non-English Major Teachers Teaching English in Philippine Senior High Schools

The assignment of non-English major teachers to teach English subjects has become increasingly common in Philippine secondary schools due to teacher shortages and staffing demands. While these teachers strive to fulfill their instructional responsibilities, teaching outside their field of specialization presents pedagogical, linguistic, and professional challenges. This study explored the lived experiences of non-English major teachers teaching English in the Senior High School Department of Pangasinan Division II, Philippines. Guided by a descriptive phenomenological approach, the study sought to understand how participants experienced out-of-field teaching, the meanings they attributed to these experiences, the coping strategies they employed, and the support they perceived as necessary. Ten purposively selected non-English major teachers with at least one year of experience teaching English participated in semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke's (2006) thematic analysis, with rigorous procedures to ensure credibility, dependability, confirmability, and transferability. The findings revealed four major themes: pedagogical and linguistic challenges, instructional resource limitations, adaptive coping strategies, and institutional support needs. Participants described difficulties in lesson planning, instructional delivery, assessment practices, and classroom communication, primarily attributed to limited content mastery and insufficient formal preparation in English language teaching. Despite these challenges, they demonstrated resilience through self-directed learning, collaboration with colleagues, and the use of digital instructional resources. The findings highlight the importance of strengthening professional development, mentoring programs, and institutional support systems to enhance the competence and confidence of teachers assigned outside their specialization. This study contributes context-specific evidence to the growing body of literature on out-of-field teaching in Philippine senior high schools.