Materials development in flexible learning amid the pandemic: perspectives from English language teachers in a Philippine state university

The literature’s focus on textbooks as an aspect of English language teaching (ELT) materials development (MD) has been significant and extensive. With the current setup of ELT within the context of online, distance, or flexible learning (FL) caused by the unprecedented and massive shift in education delivery during the pandemic, it remains unclear how ELT practitioners engage in MD in such modes of learning. Thus, studies on ELT MD in online or FL remain underexplored. Through both online semi-structured and follow-up email interviews among eight Filipino university teachers of English, this study explores English language teachers’ perceptions toward MD in FL. Findings indicated three salient ways of MD in FL: following guidelines set by the University, utilizing one’s creativity and resourcefulness, and focusing on collaboration among learners. The analysis also revealed the following perceived benefits of MD in FL: stimulating students’ learning process, fostering an inclusive classroom, improving one’s teaching insights and practices, and empowering one’s teaching motivation and autonomy. Further, the participants shared the following challenges in MD: time constraint in preparing instructional materials, limited resources, and difficulty in adjusting materials for online teaching.