Interview Questions:

1. How long have you been in the service and how was it?

“I am now 5 years in the service. It was a rollercoaster learning experience, there

2. What grade levels and subjects do you teach and how do you incorporate
English literature like short stories and poems in your lesson?

“I teach Grade 3. What we do in the first period is read short stories right away
everyday, so that before the class we have a story, and then read. That is our everyday
routine from Monday to Friday. Story telling everyday, every first subject.”

3.How do you find teaching English literature to children? Is it hard or easy?

“Nowadays, it is kinda hard for those children which we called pandemic babies, it is
quite challenging.”

4. Based on your experience in teaching the said topic to children, what do you
think are the best characteristics that an effective teacher must have in teaching
literature?

“First of all, we have to instill the Genuine love for Reading to children. We can do
that if everyday we let them read stories, for example, what we do, this monday we will
read English stories, then the next day it's all MTB, mother tongue bicol, then next
Tagalog, different stories, or sometimes I am the one reading. Just everyday there is a
story.”

5. What are the challenges that you experience when teaching English Literature
to elementary pupils?

“Just like what I said, they are pandemic babies, they are in a 3-year intervention
program, so that children, some can’t really read. Not all are good at reading, not all
have understanding, not all have genuine love for reading, so of course those are the
challenges because not all can read.”

6.Have you overcome those challenges? What did you do to cope up with the
struggles and problems that you faced?

“We now have an intervention, we have an 8-week intervention program, we will do

7. What strategies and techniques do you apply in maintaining your pupils'

“Yes, we use TV, we use ppt, and now that it is november, reading month, we have a
program wherein the children in every grade, they have a task that will act on stage,
some children will read, some will have spoken poetry, sing, some will do like a theater
art, that's it.”

8. What method of teaching can you best recommend in teaching English

“Based on my experience, there is no perfect method, for example, I will use the
Fuller Approach. It can be applicable to some children but it cannot be applicable to
other children. Or I will use the Marungko Approach. It can be suitable for others but it
can’t be for some pupils, it's really different. It's what you called personalized. But in my
experience , you cannot teach children the ABCD to read (just the ABDC), they use
sounds now. It is more effective to children if they have the phonemic awareness which
means they can identify letter names and they know its letter sounds. You teach them to
decode, not to memorize. They use decoding so that they can read, they don’t just
based on the list of words that you give for example Dolch words, for example you will
let them read of course those children who can memorize can read the words, he can
only read until those words because he memorized it, but if he knows how to decode
(phonemic awareness, phonemes), he can decode that.”
9. What are the benefits of teaching English literature to children? Do you see
improvement in your students?

“Yes, you can easily teach, or children can easily learn if you let them read
repeatedly. For example you have a book, you let him read short sentences, then you
repeat the cycle, then you’ll realize that he can already read. Then have other words
beforehand and you’ll let him read the book and repeat it until he recognizes the words,
till he can read more words.”

10.What advice can you give to motivate future elementary teachers who want to
teach the topic as well?

“Maybe, because the children now are not like before when you say to sit, just sit,
they will sit, when you say quiet, they will stay quiet, but children now are different, it's
the opposite now. You should have, if you really want to teach, especially in public, you
must have a very long patience. And then of course you really want what you are doing,
if you want and love what you are doing you will not think of it as a work. It's like you are
doing it because you love what you are doing, of course you will feel tired but you will
not be burned out on your work. It is tiring to teach but if you love your work you will not
think that it’s tiring, you will think of the things that you can give to children, the love that
you teach, the learnings, the lessons that you can teach to them. Because the children,
if you teach them today they will forget it, but what you make them feel when they were
with you, when you were their adviser, they will never forget it until they turn Grade 5
and Grade 6. You will notice that because when you see the children they will greet you,
but for example when you were their teacher and what they learned is pure trauma, it's
not good. If you are a teacher, there should always be love and understanding, there’s
always long patience, especially if elementary and primary, it’s severe, they are so
naughty but they are sweet. That’s it, patience, love, and understanding to children, that
is what I can advise to those who want to become a teacher and then passion and
commitment because it’s really hard to become a teacher. It is jack of all trades, all the
government agencies are with you. There’s a lot of side views. Unlike if you are an
engineer, you're only an engineer, but if you’re a teacher, there’s a lot of side hustle on
work, there is paper work, reading assessment, everyday, if you’re already a teacher
you will know that.”