SUMMARY
The Philippines has adopted the new K-12 program known as the "Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013" through Republic Act No. 10533. To this day, senior high school students use the new English curriculum. This study aims to understand and explore the experiences of the first batch of senior high school students when the Department of Education (DepEd) implemented the English language curriculum. The Researchers employed a case study design to acquire an in-depth analysis of the case of one or more students. Thirteen male and female students from a private non-sectarian school in the National Capital Region, Philippines, were selected using purposive sampling. Subsequently, the participants underwent face-to-face interviews with semi-structured and open-ended questions. The data collected from the interviews were analysed through thematic analysis using the six-phase framework by Braun & Clarke et al. (2006). The study findings revealed that most participants experienced challenges and considered the subject difficult because of its complexity. The challenges unveiled by the participants are insufficient knowledge and skills, low self-confidence, peer attitudes, and teaching instruction. They also mentioned that they overcome these by staying positive, enjoying their learning experience, and helping themselves through self-instructions. Moreover, the study also revealed that most of the challenges experienced by the participants come from their learning environments, such as peers and teachers. Therefore, understanding the challenges of students may help improve teachers' methodologies and approaches; likewise, the school administrators may develop and enhance their programs and policies for better implementation of the English curriculum.https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.21.11.18