ABSTRACT
This qualitative-phenomenological study was conducted to find out the experiences of eight (8) English teachers in island schools in using figurative language to teach creative writing as bases for training workshop. The instrument used to gather data was a researcher-made interview guide which was validated by experts in the fields of English and research. To analyze the data gathered from the participants, the researcher used thematic analyses. The results revealed that the teachers’ experiences were: peer collaboration among teachers and learners; increased vocabulary; and developed comprehension skills. The challenges encountered were: limited vocabulary among learners; lack of instructional resources; and limited technological access. The coping strategies employed were: use of contextualization; collaboration among learners and teachers; and using varied strategies. A training workshop was proposed as a result of the study.
Keywords: Experiences, Figurative Language, Creative Writing, Island School Teachers, Training Workshop
INTRODUCTION
Creative writing is an essential domain of English language instruction as it enables learners to articulate ideas, emotions, and experiences through imaginative and meaningful language use. Integral to effective creative writing is the mastery of figurative language, which enriches students’ texts by adding depth, imagery, nuance, and emotional resonance. Through the use of figures of speech such as simile, metaphor, personification and imagery, learners develop linguistic sophistication beyond literal meanings and significantly to learner’s communicative competence. Hence, teaching figurative language is vital in enhancing learners’ creativity, language proficiency, and overall writing competence.
In the Philippine basic education context, data from the Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (PHIL-IRI) reveal that a considerable proportion of learners remain at the instructional and frustration reading levels, thus indicating persistent challenges in comprehension, vocabulary development, and interpretation of meanings that transcend the literal text. These difficulties are particularly pronounced in texts that requires inferential, figurative understanding and contextual processing skills. Research conducted at Samar State University found that learners employ varied cognitive strategies to interpret figurative expressions, thus underscoring that comprehension of figurative language is a distinct and complex aspect of language learning (Montallana & Palencia, 2022). Furthermore, studies on figurative language competence have shown that students’ ability to understand and use figurative expression is closely associated with the quality of their written outputs; learners with limited figurative language proficiency tend to produce texts that are more literal, less expressive, and lower in creative content (Tamesis et al., 2022). These findings affirm the strong interrelationship between reading comprehension and writing performance which emphasize the need for systematic explicit instruction in figurative language to address comprehension deficiencies.
English teachers play a pivotal role in mediating learners’ understanding and application of figurative language in creative writing. Their instructional practices (choice of teaching strategies, learning tasks, instructional materials, and assessment methods) determine the actual engagement and mastery of the figures of speech by the learners. Some teachers use recent and potentially more contextually and learner-centered oriented approaches to modeling, guided writing, and creative exercises, whereas others opt for traditional instructional approaches. These are influenced by teachers’ professional experiences, access to resources, classroom contexts, and opportunities for professional development. In addition, limits in instructional time, differences in learner ability, and lack of training specifically for figurative language instruction in creative writing contexts further constrain teachers. This insight can be a good basis for developing a training workshop aimed specifically at enhancing teachers’ pedagogical competence and instructional effectiveness.
Furthermore, strengthening teacher’s capacity to teach figurative language may contribute to improved reading comprehension, enriched creative writing performance, and overall language proficiency among learners.
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