Teacher-centered vs. Learner-centered

Compared Alice's teaching with mine in Langauge Drills last semester, I realized what real learner-centered paradigm is. Instead of delivering knowledge to the students, Alice paid attention to the learning part, encouraging students to acquire knowledge by themselves through numerous activities. However, the application of learner-centered paradigm is not as easy as just saying it. Many teachers have difficulties to change from the focus of themselves to that of students. In other words, they have too much to consider if they want to carry out a typical learner-centered method. First, teachers must give up their authority in the classroom. It's the students, not the teacher(who becomes the facilitator), that play the most important role in the classroom. Second, teachers have to spend a lot of time preparing for the design of teaching activities. The more preparation the teacher does before the lesson, the less trouble students will make during the lesson. I believe there's no teachers who want their class to be out of control. Finally, students may not be ready for the role of "active learners" if they have got used to the traditional way of teaching.

In order to solve the problem which teachers may encounter as they change their way of teaching into learner-centered approch, some suggestions are provided in the following statement. Teachers can gradually release their power to students such as giving them limited choices in an activity first and then more responsibility are given when they are ready. Moreover, team work can save a lot of time for teachers on the preparation of teaching activities. By sharing ideas or materials with others, teachers will be more willing to undertake learner-centered paradigm. Another useful resource is from the Internet, on which teachers can find tons of free activities or materials to use.

For me, students' becoming active learners requires the help from both the teacher and the material. The teacher has to guide students to play their role, encouraging them to be responsible for their learning. Also, students get bored with the textbooks or the test-oriented materials, thus decreasing their motivation of learning. What teacher can do is to add variety to the lesson, making students feel interested in the exploration of new things.