English Teachers’ Experiences of Implementing Communicative Language Teaching in Pioneering Senior High School Alternative Learning System Contexts: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) has long been promoted as a learner-centered approach that prioritizes meaningful interaction and real-life communication. However, its implementation in non-traditional educational settings, such as the Senior High School Alternative Learning System (ALS), remains underexplored. This study explores the lived experiences of English teachers implementing CLT within a pioneering ALS context, with the aim of understanding how they interpret and construct meaning from their pedagogical practices in a flexible and diverse learning environment. Guided by Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), this qualitative study involved seven DepEd English teachers teaching in the first-year implementation of the SHS-ALS program. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews and analyzed following the IPA framework of Smith, Flowers, and Larkin (2009), allowing for both idiographic and cross-case thematic interpretation.
Findings reveal that CLT implementation in ALS is a dynamic, context-sensitive, and transformative process shaped by pedagogical demands and structural constraints. Six superordinate themes emerged: (1) negotiating linguistic limitations through multilingual, scaffolded, and confidence-building communication; (2) contextualizing CLT into functional, real-life, and localized learning; (3) implementing CLT within structural constraints and disrupted learning conditions; (4) reframing pedagogy from grammar-centered instruction to meaningful, learner-centered communication; (5) reconstructing the teacher’s role as facilitator, mentor, guide, and affective support; and (6) undergoing personal-professional transformation through reflective, adaptive, and empathetic practice. These themes highlight teachers’ continuous adaptation to learners’ diverse backgrounds, limited proficiency, and irregular participation, while prioritizing communication over accuracy.
The study concludes that CLT in the ALS context is not merely a methodological approach but a flexible, relational, and human-centered practice. It necessitates contextualization, empathy, and instructional innovation, while simultaneously reshaping teacher identity. These findings contribute to the growing discourse on language teaching in alternative education and underscore the importance of context-responsive pedagogies and supportive policy frameworks

Communicative Language Teaching, Alternative Learning System, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

1. Banagbanag, R. C. (2020). ESL teachers’ attitudes and competence on communicative language teaching (CLT) methodology. International Journal of English Language Teaching, 8(3), 15–27. https://www.eajournals.org/journals/international-journal-of-english-language-teaching-ijelt/ [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Barcelona, M. L., & Protacio, M. S. (2025). English language teaching in the contexts of Alternative Learning System (ALS) in South Cotabato: A phenomenological inquiry. Journal of Alternative Education Studies, 4(1), 22–38. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Bartlett, R. (2020). Teachers’ and students’ experiences within the communicative language course of study in Japanese high schools: An instrumental case study. Asian EFL Journal, 24(2), 45–63. https://asian-efl-journal.com/ [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Canale, M., & Swain, M. (1980). Theoretical bases of communicative approaches to second language teaching and testing. Applied Linguistics, 1(1), 1–47. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/1.1.1 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Cebu Community Academy Research Group. (2024). Attitudes of Alternative Learning System learners toward learning the English language. Philippine Journal of Educational Research, 9(1), 60–74. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Chang, M. Y., & Suparmi, S. (2020). The implementation of communicative language teaching and factors hindering teachers from implementing it in high school. Al-Ta’dib: Journal of English Education, 13(2), 110–123. https://doi.org/10.31332/atdb.v13i2.1784 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). Sage Publications. https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/qualitative-inquiry-and-research-design/book246896 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Department of Education. (2019). Alternative Learning System (ALS) K to 12 basic education curriculum. Department of Education. https://www.deped.gov.ph/k-to-12/about/k-to-12-basic-education-curriculum/ [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Francisco, J. P., & Buri, A. R. (2024). The lived experiences of Alternative Learning System teachers in English literacy instruction. Philippine Social Science Journal, 7(2), 89–104. https://doi.org/10.52006/main.v7i2.750 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Gloriez, L. P. (2022). Communicative language teaching and its implementation in online learning: The teachers’ voice. Journal of English Language Teaching and Linguistics, 7(1), 33–48. https://doi.org/10.21462/jeltl.v7i1.834 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Hymes, D. (1972). On communicative competence. In J. B. Pride & J. Holmes (Eds.), Sociolinguistics (pp. 269–293). Penguin. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. IAFOR ACLL Research Team. (2016). Teachers’ beliefs, practices, and challenges in using communicative language teaching in an ESL context in the Philippines. In Asian Conference on Language Learning proceedings (pp. 215–228). https://papers.iafor.org/ [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Kvale, S., & Brinkmann, S. (2015). InterViews: Learning the craft of qualitative research interviewing (3rd ed.). Sage Publications. https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/interviews/book239402 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Nguyen, T. M. H., & Ngo, T. H. (2021). Teachers’ beliefs and practices in communicative language teaching: A contextual analysis. TESOL Quarterly, 55(3), 906–930. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.3032 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Republic Act No. 9155. (2001). Governance of Basic Education Act of 2001. Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2001/08/11/republic-act-no-9155/ [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Republic Act No. 10173. (2012). Data Privacy Act of 2012. Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2012/08/15/republic-act-no-10173/ [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Sato, M., & Loewen, S. (2020). Do teachers practice what they preach? A study on communicative language teaching. Modern Language Journal, 104(1), 168–187. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12618 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Sitoy, J. S., & Sonsona, P. M. (2023). Investigating the use of communicative language teaching (CLT) strategies to promote innovative teaching and learning approach. Journal of Pedagogical Innovations, 5(2), 77–92. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Smith, J. A. (1996). Beyond the divide between cognition and discourse: Using interpretative phenomenological analysis in health psychology. Psychology and Health, 11(2), 261–271. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870449608400256 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Smith, J. A., & Fieldsend, M. (2021). Interpretative phenomenological analysis. In P. M. Camic (Ed.), Qualitative research in psychology: Expanding perspectives in methodology and design (2nd ed., pp. 147–166). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000252-008 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Smith, J. A., Flowers, P., & Larkin, M. (2009). Interpretative phenomenological analysis: Theory, method and research. Sage Publications. https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/interpretative-phenomenological-analysis/book232496 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Smith, J. A., & Nizza, I. E. (2022). Interpretative phenomenological analysis (2nd ed.). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781529798055 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Reading Engagement, Reading Anxiety, and Self-Perceived Reading Success among Malaysian ESL Foundation Students: A Descriptive Study
• Teachers’ Perceptions of AI-Assisted Digital Storytelling in Malaysian Lower Secondary ESL Classrooms
• A Speech Act Analysis of Governor Nyesom Wike’s 2015 Inaugural Address
• English Teaching Methods and Pupils’ Performance in Nangako Town Council, Uganda
• Using Gamified Activity-Based Learning to Transform Classroom Dynamics from Pedagogy to Heutagogy