Working Local, Going Global: Challenges and Opportunities of Working Students Teaching English as a Second Language

Abstract

The world has become globally focused, making English as the primary medium of
communication. This study delves into the lived experiences of college students working as
part-time online ESL teachers using the Phenomenological research design through
interviews and focused group discussions involving ten (10) third year English major
students. After extensive analysis, the following themes emerged: a) Exciting Part of the Job;
b) Challenges Encountered in the Workplace c) Coping Mechanism for the Problem; d) Fruit
of the Participants’ Hard Work; and e) Meaning of the Experience to the Participants. The
study shows that learners had challenges on cultural differences, schedule struggles, financial
insufficiency, and language barrier. However, they also coped with the dilemma through
managing time effectively, being open-minded to other cultures, speaking in an accent and
level understandable to the learners, and being flexible to the learners’ learning styles. The
participants also met new people, learned new things, earned from their hard work and
realized that their job prepared them for their future teaching career. The researcher
recommends that the university may design class schedules that separate the day the day and
night shifts, so students can meet both their studies and work.