Exploring Maritime Waray Students' Experiences with Bisaya Language Understanding: A Phenomenological Inquiry

Language of instruction plays a pivotal role in students’ understanding and attainment of quality education. One of the factors that affects students’ understanding and quality of education is language. Thus, language barriers significantly impact the comprehension of information among students. Philippines, being one of the leading producers of seafarers in the world, constitutes a significant portion of the global merchant fleets. The enchantment of a promising career and financial stability paved the way for many Filipino students to take up maritime education, specifically at institutions like Palompon Institute of Technology (PIT). However, students who are non-native speakers of the in the locale are perplexed with understanding both the instruction and communication with locals due to language barrier. This qualitative phenomenological study sought to explore the lived experiences of the purposively selected Waray students at PIT, focusing on their understanding of the Bisaya language and its implications for language education and cultural integration. Data collection was done through semi-structured interviews, which were then analyzed thematically. After the analysis of the qualitative data, six themes emerged, which served as the basis for the discussion. This study concludes that language, culture, and social integration challenges appear to be prevalent among Maritime Waray students, which causes ineffective communication. Moreover, discrimination against women is still rampant. Thus, shedding light on this issue and promoting inclusive education and workspace must be nurtured. Recommendations such as cultivating a more inclusive curriculum, providing learning resources- online and printed, and the protecting women are proposed.