Learner-Centered Teaching: Five Key Changes to Practice

Learner-Centered Teaching: Five Key Changes to Practice

Taken from:https://www.edsurge.com/news/2016-11-09-will-edtech-bring-back-the-open-classroom

The main problem that teachers have in the classroom is that students do not feel motivate for learning process because they are accustomed to traditional class activities based on the book. Nowadays, most of students in the classroom play a passive role, to illustrate this idea, they do not like autonomous study. On the other hand, teachers want that students play an active role in the classroom because it permits that students develop their critical thinking and solve their problems in effective way. The article provides some ways that teachers use to help passive learners such as to use intrinsic motivation, to keep the control, use the extrinsic motivators (bonus points). Moreover, in the learning process is essential to create good environment between teaches to students in order to students feel motivate to study for acquiring the knowledge. Weimer (2002) highlights how importance is for educators that students takes an active role in the classroom. When students are motivated, they gain the knowledge independently.

In addition, teachers need to use some techniques to motivate students in their independent work like logical consequences, constancy, high standards, caring and obligations. Teachers use classroom management to keep students focused in learning and control the direction of their classroom.

When teaching is important to motivate students and to have good classroom management in order to have good atmosphere in the classroom. Also, the active role in students is fundamental because they have the opportunity to participate in class. As a result, students can develop their critical thinking about any topic or give important point of view about the class. Learner-Centered Teaching Methods is a useful video where you can learn more about active role of students and the importance of student’s motivation for leaning process.

References:

Weimer, M. (2002). Learner-centered teaching: Five key changes to practice. John Wiley & Sons.

Abbey, A. (2013). Learner-Centered Teaching Methods: An Overview [Video]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlcJqnwvKZo

Learner: Centered Approach.

Learner: Centered Approach.

Taken from: https://training.unh.edu/personalizingproficiency

An article that caught my attention is Learner-Centered Approach. The goal of this approach is focus on learning. Weimer (2013) stablish that in teaching process this approach permits to engage leaners in the hard work, to motivate and gives control over learning process, to encourage collaboration, to promotes student’s reflection, and to include explicit learning skills.

There are some theories that Learner-Centered Teaching approach follows:

Attribution Theory and Self-efficacy is the way how people attribute procedures of success or failure. This theory explains that learning is a process or set or steps to follow ideas, skill, values and ways of thinking are acquired.  On the other hand, self-efficacy focusses on the student’s beliefs in their capacities. In Learner-centered approach will encourage students to work on their beliefs and challenges.

Radical and Critical Pedagogy

Learner-centered approach emphasis on radical and pedagogy because education suffers social changes. This theory clarifies that Learning is directed to social change and to transformed the world, and learning is powerful tool where students to challenge domination in their lives.

Feminist Theory

This theory influences in the way of avoiding hierarchy in classroom, to illustrate this idea, students use their own experiences rather than experience from textbooks.

Constructivism

In this theory learning is an active process. The role of the learner is to build their own knowledge base on experiences, earlier ideas, concepts rather than copying information. On the other hand, the role of the teacher is to look opportunities which allow learners to get familiar with previous experience and knowledge that they use in the teaching process.

This Learner-centered approach will be useful in the learning process because we analyze our student’s development using different theories that propose this author. Furthermore, those theories help to involve leaners in the learning process to encourage collaboration and student’s reflection. In the links about you read more about this leaning approach. 

Reference:

Weimer, M. (2013). Learner-Centered Teaching Five Key Changes to Practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass A Wiley Imprint.

Philadelphia, U. o. (2014). Sciences University of Science. Retrieved April 28, 2015, from Sciences University of Science: http://www.usciences.edu/teaching/Learner-Centered/

Student-Centered Learning (21st Century Education). (2019). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2N1I6sOhDiw

Unit 8 "Speaking"

Speaking

Taken from:http://structure4success.com/speaking/

Speaking is an interactive procedure where people construct meaning, receive and process information, to illustrate the idea, speaking is a productive skill and it involves using speech to communicate meaning to other people. From Goh & Burn´s point of view (2012), the speaking skill is useful instrument we use to acquire the language and we use it for teaching different contents. The subskills making use of grammar, vocabulary, and functions, making use of register to speak appropriately, using features of connected speech, using body language, producing different text types, oral fluency, self-correction, and inside of these subskills we find the one which requires the use of interactive strategies which are body language, functions, turn-taking and turn taking. Speaking also implies concepts such as fluency, accuracy and appropriacy which are necessary in communication.  According to the TKT book there are also some steps for speaking: lead-in in which students focus on the new language, practice activity where they use the language in controlled to free activities depending on the context and post-task activity in which students do free speaking activities.

When teaching speaking skill is a good idea to use role plays to develop fluency and accuracy at the same time. This activity permit to students could not feel frustrated and get confused at the moment that they deliver their interaction. In addition, you can watch the where you learn some advices in order to help students to improve their speaking skills.

References:

Goh, C. & Burns, A. (2012). Teaching Speaking A Holistic Approach.

How to Improve Your Speaking Skills. (2015). You Tube. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSddu6zPSRw&feature=youtu.be

Unit 7 "Listening"

                                                                          Listening

Taken from:http://violytaradinap.blogspot.com/2018/12/5-tips-for-help-you-to-be-ready-in.html

According to the TKT book listening is a receptive skill that involves making sense of the meaningful sounds of language, so that it requires the ability to understand spoken language through the use of context, language and our knowledge of the world. Listening has many different text types such as conversations, stories, announcements, songs, lectures and advertainments. Developing listening skill is essential to focus on the speeds of speech and the features of connected speech: contracted forms, linking, word stress and sentence stress. 
The listening skills depends on the purpose or reason we have, to explain this idea, we can listen for gist, global understanding, specific information, detail or infer attitude. Finally, the listening process contains introductory activity in which students focus on key vocabulary on the text, main activity where they develop listening subskills and post-task activity that is checking understanding. A1-Jawi (2010) highlight that listening skill is an important procedure in which listeners will be applied their knowledge on different text types, language strategies, subskills, accents and features of spoken language.

Developing listening skill in the classroom seems difficult before to star teaching thinks about these questions: what is the purpose of the task? what listening skill will be practice? And What language do students need in order to do the task? In the video you can have a clear explanation of how to improve your listening skill using the different stages.

References:

Al-Jawi, F. (2010). Teaching the receptive skills. Listening and Reading skills. Retrieved from http://teachertrainingcourse2014.weebly.com/uploads/4/0/8/7/40879903/receptive_skills.pdf.

Target English (2012). Improving Your English Listening Skills [Video]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW0ELPceczs

Unit 6 "Writing"

Taken from: http://clipartmag.com/student-writing-clipart

I will talk about writing skill which is a productive skill that means it involves producing language. The text types include different characteristics on single word only, short or longer sentences, use or non-use of note form, addresses or paragraphs, different degrees of formality, layouts, and ways of ordering information. Furthermore, the writing subskills are related to accuracy (spelling, correct vocabulary, punctuation, and using grammar correctly) and related to communicating (ideas, appropriate style and register, and appropriate functions). When we write a piece of writing is important to keep attention on cohesion (is how we link ideas grammatically) and coherence (is how we link the meaning of sentences in written and spoken lexis). Additionally, a writer goes through different stages in the writing process like planning in which students organize ideas, drafting where they write the first version, editing in which they correct and improve the content of the text, proofreading that is checking for mistakes and re-drafting or the final version of their writing.

For some students writing skill is difficult to develop, but teachers have the responsibility to guide them in order to improve it. As teachers we have many writing activities depending on our students’ age and needs. I will suggest some activities help leaners practice accuracy in writing. For instance: labelling, copying, sentences completion, gap-filling, sentences transformation exercises, correct errors in text, etc. if you need more activities to imrove your writing skill check the following source or watch the video that help you to develop your writing skill successfully.

References

Council, B. (2005). British Council Learn English Teens. Retrieved from: http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/writing-skills-practice

How to Improve Your English Writing Skills -English Lesson Tips. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0djjrCxuJk

Unit 5 "Reading"

Starting from this unit and in the following 3, we will talk about the different skills that English Language has. So let´s start with reading. This is one of the two receptive skills so it involves responding rather than producing and this involves the sense of written text. Into a text we will find series of sentences as in a letter that connected by grammar and vocabulary referring to as discourse.  

This important skill has subskills that help to develop a better understanding;

1.- skimming; 2.- scanning; 3.- reading for detail; 4.- deducing meaning from context;5.- understanding text structure; 6.- inferring; 7.- predicting

At the moment to read, we can find those subskills in some examples of written text types like articles, letters, stories, poems, postcards. So, we can say that skimming (read to look the general idea or well known as read for gist) , scanning (read to look specific information) for example read the newspaper article. Also, the ways of reading can start with read for pleasure that is called extensive reading, or make students focus on how language is used that is called intensive reading.

Into the class, this skill helps students to develop comprehension and encourage them to use subskills unconsciously. 

For us the best way will be teach them vocabulary related to the topic using realia. If the students have a story to work on, they will need to feel motivated at the moment to read, so we as teacher can implement lead-in activities. Finally, we invite you to watch the following video to get a better idea about reading.

References

• Ontesol (2013) Tesol Teaching Reasing Skills [Video] Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBslJMq4LAg
• Gower, R., Philips, D., & Walters, S. (2008). Teaching Practice: A handbook for teachers in training. Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
• Harmer, J. (2007). How To Teach English. Harlow: Pearson Education.

Unit 4 " Functions"

In this case, let´s check what function is. For us, this is the reason whereby people can communicate no matter if we are speaking or writing to express different situations. For example we use functions to apologizing ("I'm sorry to hear about your accident."), agreeing (You’re absolutely right.) or disagreeing (That’s not the way I see it), refusing (He was glad I was free to refuse him),  greeting clarifying ,and thanking. For that reason, we can say that the use of the language depends on the context and the language that we always use in order to express a function its well known as exponent. Into the language exponents express levels of formality because not always we use the same expressions.

For example we say “let´s go eat” in order to talk with friends, that is informal language  and this is colloquial too when exponents are casual and conversational; but if we talk with a higher person we can say “I would be very pleased if you could join  for lunch”, that is Formal language. But also, we will have situations in which we can mix both and it is called Neutral.

For that reason, into the classroom students need to know the correct use of exponents, teacher will give some examples to talk depending on the register and the lexis that they will introduce in their daily classes. So, in this way students will develop opportunities to practice vocabulary or grammar into a spoken or written way. In the following link you will find a web page with more explanation  about this interesting topic.

https://sites.educ.ualberta.ca/staff/olenka.bilash/Best%20of%20Bilash/functionsof%20lang.html

References

• Harmer, J. (2007). How To Teach English. Harlow: Pearson Education.
• Mary Spratt, A. P. (2011). The TKT Teaching Knowledge Test Course. Cambridge University Press.

Unit 3 “Phonology”

This chapter is funny because in here we are going to learn sounds at the moment to pronounce words. So,we can say that phonology is the study of sound system or features in any language around the world. Those features are phonemes, words stress, sentences stress and intonation.  In which the phoneme is the smallest unit of sound, and we can find them into the phonemic chart that contains vowels, diphthongs and consonants (sounds with voiced and voiceless).  In addition, we will find phonemic symbols that help us to know exactly the correct pronunciation.  Moreover the phonemic script and the transcription will help us to identify phonemic symbols.

Also, the word stress gives a strong stress in one syllable, into a dictionary the entries can show you the use of it; sentence stress influence how sentences are pronounced; and finally intonation that is the way of how the speaker changes the level of the voice to show emotions, attitudes, emphasize or make questions, make statements in order to show a meaning.

This complete information will be a little difficult to apply into the classroom, but as teacher we need to play with sounds at the moment to pronounce or the intonation. Students can sing songs something according to their ages.  Also, they can look for minimal pairs (cat, bat) into the songs that they will enjoy and learn at the same time. In addition, students can develop role plays with real topics and they can apply the phoneme features into the classroom.

As in the video above you will find an example about how phonology is teaching into school on North East Florida, and teachers make a funny process for children in order to develop the language.

References

• Mary Spratt, A. P. (2011). The TKT Teaching Knowledge Test Course. Cambridge University Press.
• Kateri, B. (2013). Early Childhood Teacher. Retrieved from http://www.earlychildhoodteacher.org/blog/5-quick-easy-and-fun-phonemic-awareness-activities/

Unit 2 “Lexis”

In this unit, we could learn that individual words or sets of words refer to Lexis, those are unit of vocabulary that has specific meaning. And of course vocabulary should be taught in context, because the meaning of words can have denotation. That describes the idea’s meaning behind the vocabulary item. Also, the imaginative meaning that comes from the denotation but with different meaning (the tree of life or family tree). On the other hand, the meaning of some vocabulary depends to the form, for example prefixes and suffixes adding to the base words;in which the meaning varies according to the individual words they are made up of (happy, unhappy, happiness). Other important aspect is the words that usually occur together like collocations (pay attention) or fixed expressions like idioms (pull my leg). All of those examples are types of chunks, what it means useful language.

Into the teaching process, it is very important the use of lexis in class because vocabulary is the base of language. Students in the learning process need practice the vocabulary many times seeing the word or repeating to get knowledge as well as they can do it. Also, the teacher can create a story in which students can use fixed expressions or use affixation to end the story together.

In the following video, you can watch how teach vocabulary can be varied on the group of students, techniques or strategies applied in the class.

References:

• Stranks, J. (2010) Developing Lexis [Video]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoSzByQPsuU
• Mary Spratt, A. P. (2011). The TKT Teaching Knowledge Test Course. Cambridge University Press.
• Singleton, D. (2000). Language and the Lexicon. London: Arnold, and New York: OUP

Unit 1 “Grammar”

In this first unit, we focus on what is Grammar? So, inside of this chapter we could learn new terms that help us to defined a concept of Grammar correctly. And it is the way of how we combine, organize and change parts of words, words and group of words to transmit a meaning. In grammar we have two important aspects to consider, those are forms and uses. How words are made up and presented is called grammatical form and we can identify them into parts of speech, grammatical structures and words that contain affixation (prefixes and suffixes). In English we find nine parts of speech but the form varies depending of the function that each of them has into a sentence. As well as that, the grammar use mention the way of how grammatical structures are used to convey the meaning depending of the use or meaning comes from the context.

In the classroom, appear a big deal about teach grammar or not. For that reason, many students find problems in the grammar structure; they do not know how words behave grammatically into the sentence. In many cases students need to be confronted to the examples in order to understand the grammar use. Otherwise, some others discover it easily and it is called inductively way; that it is a perfect way to develop their comprehension. However, the fact of teach English in the spoken way would be a challenge because grammar rules are not fixed and people are taught in an isolated way, they require development of accuracy in activities or exercises focus on form and uses to practice both.

In the video above, we will find a good explanation of how this teacher teaches grammar into an innovative way using the PPP model to develop students’ comprehension.

References:

• Harmer, J. (2007). How To Teach English. Harlow: Pearson Education.
• Mary Spratt, A. P. (2011). The TKT Teaching Knowledge Test Course. Cambridge University Press.