2026 IJRSE – Volume 15 Issue 9
Available Online: 5 May 2026
Author/s:
Chapichap, Jemary
Benguet State University-La Trinidad Campus, Philippines (iamjemajoyambiguez248@gmail.com)
Abstract:
In the Philippines, the Department of Education stipulated that Araling Panlipunan subjects be taught with Filipino as the medium of instruction. In certain schools where most of its learners are more proficient in English than Filipino, this policy leads to a learning gap due to the language barrier. Focusing on a school in La Trinidad, Benguet, this qualitative study explored the challenges and strategies used by elementary teachers to teach their English-dominant pupils. Results revealed that the challenges include insufficient for the making of instructional materials, burden of translating the Filipino concepts to its English equivalents accurately, difficulty in grading activities, lack of interest during Araling Panlipunan classes, and lack of collaboration with parents. Meanwhile, the teaching strategies include code-switching, utilizing audio – visual materials, and speaking slowly. Based on the findings, it is recommended that school administrators should reduce teachers’ workloads to give them sufficient time to prepare their lessons and their teaching materials. They should also provide trainings to teachers on how to make fair assessment tools to avoid educational inequity. Moreover, they should also prioritize stable and fast internet connectivity within the school to support the teachers in the making of their teaching materials. On the other hand, book companies could incorporate bilingual glossaries in their Araling Panlipunan textbooks to support English-dominant learners. Lastly, this study lays the groundwork for further research on the experiences of teachers with language mismatch.
Keywords: Filipino as medium of instruction, experiences of elementary teachers, Araling Panlipunan textbooks
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5861/ijrse.2026.26132
Cite this article:
Chapichap, J. (2026). The language divide: Challenges and pedagogical strategies of elementary teachers in teaching Araling Panlipunan to english-dominant pupils. International Journal of Research Studies in Education, 15(9), 151-163. https://doi.org/10.5861/ijrse.2026.26132