Bridge to Understanding: Exploring the Senior High School Language Teachers’ Experiences on Developing Reading Skills

Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities

Teaching and developing reading skills in Senior High School (SHS) remain essential yet challenging tasks for language teachers due to the diverse literacy needs and difficulties experienced by learners. This phenomenological study explored and understood the lived experiences of SHS language teachers in developing students’ reading skills, particularly the challenges they encounter, the coping mechanisms they employ, and their insights and suggested interventions to improve learners’ reading proficiency. The study was conducted in selected public secondary schools in Monkayo, Davao de Oro, namely Monkayo National High School, Babag National High School, Olaycon Integrated School, Tubo-tubo National High School, and Ulip National High School, involving ten SHS language teachers handling students under the Academic and Technical-Vocational-Livelihood (TVL) tracks. Employing a qualitative phenomenological research design, data were gathered through in-depth interviews using a researcher-made interview guide and were analyzed systematically to capture the essence of the participants’ lived experiences. Findings revealed that teachers commonly experienced challenges related to students’ weak foundational reading skills, limited vocabulary, low motivation, and difficulties in comprehension, fluency, and communication. To address these concerns, teachers emphasized differentiated instruction, remediation, guided reading, peer-assisted learning, interactive activities, technology integration, and the use of relatable and contextualized learning materials. The study also highlighted the importance of motivation, patience, flexibility, and continuous adjustment of teaching approaches in meeting diverse learner needs. However, insufficient instructional resources, limited training opportunities, and the lack of structured reading programs were identified as major constraints in effectively addressing students’ literacy difficulties. Overall, the study underscored that improving students’ reading skills requires collaborative and sustained efforts supported by responsive teaching practices, adequate resources, and strong institutional support systems. It further recommended future studies involving larger and more diverse participants, comparative investigations between public and private schools, exploration of students’ perspectives, evaluation of reading intervention strategies, examination of parental and community involvement, and longitudinal research on literacy development to contribute to the improvement of evidence-based reading programs in secondary education.

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