Thoughts and Recommendations on Learner—Centered Methods

许诺

【Abstract】The author provides her thoughts and reasons on suggesting changing existing Teacher-centered learning method to the more adaptive Learner-centered learning method.

【Key words】Teacher-centered learning； Learner-centered learning

【中圖分类号】H319.3 【文献标识码】B 【文章编号】2095-3089（2017）08-0064-02

After knowing about the learner-centered teaching method， I got a strong agreement with it. Because of the current situation， there are so many teachers still focusing on their own expression of knowledge and skills rather than the delivery to students or learner needs. Teachers keep talking through the whole class， meanwhile the leaners gain nothing for social interaction or real-life language use. Therefore， Id like to share my thoughts on how to shift from a teacher-centered to a learner-centered English classroom.

In the traditional language classrooms the teachers speech occupies most of the class time. What learners have to do is listening to the teacher and taking notes. They are in a rather passive position. The traditional English language teaching method， or， the grammar- translation method， refers to the translation and explanation of foreign material in ones own mother tone. Comparison of the major distinctive features between the traditional method and the communicative approach will show the advantages of the latter over the former.

Traditional language teaching attends of structure and form more than meaning； language learning is learning structures， sounds and words； teachers are the center of teaching activities and the source of knowledge. While in communicative approach meaning is primary； language learning is learning how to communicate； students are the center of the teaching process. Teachers help them in any way that motivates them to work with the language.

Id like to bring forward four suggestions. The first is using the communicative approach. The communicative approach in second language teaching emphasizes proving more opportunities for the students to learn or acquire the target language by using the language in a linguistic environment， which resembles authentic communicative settings. It is easy for a teacher simply to reduce her own talk to provide more opportunities for practice for the students. Moreover， the teacher should try to provide relevant and appealing opportunities， to create authentic environment， overall control by the teacher who must perceive classroom events， diagnose their meaning accurately and react appropriately. Then， we have to build a comfortable classroom atmosphere. One of the most frustrating experiences for ESL teachers is dealing with a passive class in which students do not voluntarily respond to the teachers instruction and avoid interacting with the teacher and with their classmates. So teacher should aim at creating a comfortable atmosphere where students are not afraid to speak and enjoy communicating with others. If the atmosphere in the group is hostile and the students concerned is afraid of being ridiculed or mocked， inhibition will occur. A relaxed and friendly atmosphere in the group is the first essential requirement. Whats more， using group work is also a great way to lessen students anxiousness. During group work， learners have more connections with one another. Everyone feels that he is not an isolated individual anymore. Instead he belongs to a small group in which he cooperates with other partners to carry out tasks. Finally， there are still some requirements for teachers. The responsibilities of a teacher include imparting knowledge and teaching them how to obtain knowledge. All teachers should be trained to familiarize themselves with the communicative teaching method so as to motivate students with effective teaching.

To rebuild new education system is not just depending on a simple variable， say， technology variable， but also depending on many variables in a dynamic social system. We have seen that learner-centered approach has a lot of advantages compared with traditional English teaching approach and it has been proved an effective method. I believe it will be more popular in latest future.

Reference

[1]Episodes in ESP：A Source and Reference Book on the Development of English for Science and Technology.1988.

[2]English for Academic Purposes：A Guide and Resource Book for Teachers. R.R.Jordan. . 2003 .

[3]Developments in English for Specific Purposes： A Multi-Disciplinary Approach. Dudley-Evans T，St John MJ.1998.

[4]Georgia C. Brooke. Heidi L. Andrade. Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning. Springer US（Publisher）， 2012.

[5]McCombs， B. L. The Assessment of Learner-Centered Practices （ALCP）： Tools for teacher reflection， learning and change. （University of Denver Research Institute， 1999）.