Lived Experiences of the Filipino English Teachers Abroad: The Drawbacks in Focus

This paper explored the drawbacks that Filipino English teachers experienced in the different parts of the world, to provide insights to those teachers who are intending to go abroad. A qualitative research design using the Interpretative Phenological Approach (IPA), with its five data analysis steps, was used in this paper. It involved ten Filipino English teachers who are currently employed in private and international schools worldwide. This study used a semi-structured interview which was checked and validated by three research experts. The one-on-one interview and focus group discussion were conducted online due to the social distancing restrictions caused by the present pandemic. Based on the findings, it came out that the Filipino English teachers experienced emotional drawbacks that referred to extreme homesickness towards their immediate family members in the Philippines. They also encountered some cultural drawbacks such as the language barriers brought about by their students? differences in accent and English-speaking proficiency level. In addition, teachers also fell into the trap of psychological drawbacks characterized by burnout and depression. Consequently, foreign teachers like the Filipinos do not always get a seamless teaching experience while employed outside their country.