Learner Centered Teaching

Prepared by:
Benhaddouche Mohamed
Kairit Khadija

A learner-centered classroom emphasizes the role of individual learners with regards to their learning. It involves designing different syllabi, teaching courses, and evaluating learners. It alters the kind of relationship prevailing over the classroom setting that comprises both the teacher and the student.

The perception of the role of the teacher in the learning process has radically changed. He is no longer expected to tightly orchestrate and dominate all work in the classroom. Traditionally, the teacher used to provide input in the form of lengthy explanations and suggested models. Recently, his role is considered as a facilitator and assistant rather than controller of practice. His work consists of setting up conditions and activities that will enable students to experiment and operate with the language because they have a real purpose and interest in the tasks they are performing. It comes then as no surprise that a teacher’’s success largely depends on his ability to stimulate that interest and keep students constantly and actively involved in all activities as well as tasks.

Formerly, most teaching courses stresses input in the form lectures or models. However, the need to a more communicative teaching led to the emergence of new ways and techniques in which the learner has become the centre of the educational process rather than being part of it.

In a learner centered approach the student is expected to:

• Actively take part in the activities and tasks assigned by the teacher.
• Operate and experiment with the language.
• Analyze new information and compare it to previous knowledge.
• Keep questioning what he is doing.
• Be creative
• Care about the material.
• Think critically.
• To have another purpose for studying rather than worrying about the marks or exams.
• Enjoy learning.
• Show he is highly motivated for learning.
• Integrate new knowledge into everyday life.
• Interact with other people.
• Be able to access resources -- in and out of the classroom. . .
• Be able to challenge learned material. . .
• Be interested in the material and motivated to learn as much as he can about it.
• Be motivated and willing.
• Be open to new and different ideas.
• Be ready to take risks and explore.
• Be open-minded. Be responsible for his own learning.
• Be respectful and tolerant of new ideas and information.
• Listen to information and finds out what it means in his life and respects what it means to others.
• Listen, even if there is a difference in opinion. . .
• Review his lessons.
• Try to put into practice what he is learning.