Abstract
This descriptive phenomenological qualitative study aimed to explore the learners’ lived experiences towards learning the English language to further generate a theory for second language learning among students. Twenty first year college enrollees who belong to the top 25 in the college entrance examination were purposively selected as the research participants of the study. They were asked to answer the semi-structured interview questions. Following the steps in data analysis of Braun and Clarke (2006), their responses were analyzed. Based on the responses of the research participants, there were 3 themes that emerged – The Push, The Roller-Coaster Ride, and The Dream. It was revealed that their English language learning experiences vary depending on the kind of motivation they have to either be interested or disinterested to learn the second language. Furthermore, their actual performance in their English classes differ basically because they were still influenced by their personal attitude towards the language being learned. In the end, the research participants still expressed their aspirations on the ideal language class they hope to have.
