Chapter I. Learner-centered teaching and learning.

Introduction

The theme of course paper is “The Effectiveness of Learner-centered activities in teaching English”. There are many difficulties on the way of mastering English language. The main ones are: the lack of active speaking practice for each student in group, lack of individualization and differentiation of instruction. It should be developed the methodology of methods approaches and learning technologies. We are talking about the necessity of personality oriented approach in learning English. The basic principle of this direction: in the learning center should be a student, but not teacher, activity knowledge, and not teaching. Learner – centered approach affects all the components of the education system and the educational process in general, contributing to creating an environment conducive for student learning and nurturing environment. Learner – centered approach involves a special emphasis on socio – cultural component of foreign language communicative competence. It should provide a cultural orientation training, familiarizing students to the culture of the country of the target language, better awareness of the culture of his own country, the ability to imagine meanings of English language.All this increases the demands on the level of training of students on English learning.The problem of students and personal and professional development at education institutes is viewed from the standpoint of practice. The solution to the problem resides in the fact that the students, while studying, realize their own individual traits virtues, qualities as well as the ways of their actualization.

Learner – centered approach in teaching is one of the main problems in modern education. Its not a secret that authoritarian teaching prevailing in the school for many decades, dehumanizes the student, making him a dependent, spineless, spiritless, purge in the student those qualities, which should be in highly educated, well – mannered person. Today more attention is drawn to the establishment of such an educational environment in which originate the socialization and development of a child's personality and environment, creating conditions for creativity and self-actualization. Each student is perceived as a unique person, which should be developed accordance with natural abilities. And the 45 minutes of the lesson is not enough to fully implement the learner – centered approach.That's why, standing on such ground, we consider that this problem is actual enough to be investigated. That's why, standing on such ground, I consider that this problem is actual enough to be investigated. Selecting this problem, I set a goal: to find methods and means of learning and perception, which would enable to me, as to a teacher, to fully implement the learner- centered approach in teaching English in the classroom.

The objectives of the paper are

- to highlight the importance of learner-centered activities in teaching English;

- to describe its main peculiarities and types;

- to discover students educational process and if it helps to learn the language;

The aim of my work is to give definition to term “learner-centered”, to describe the main characteristics of a learner-centered class, to show why learner-centered activities are necessary in teaching.

Actuality of the theme is that in recent years language researchers and practitioners have shifted their focus from developing individual linguistic skills to the use of language to achieve the speaker’s objectives. This new area of focus, known as communicative competence, leads language teachers to seek task-oriented activities that engage their students in creative language use. Games, grammar activities which are task-based and have a purpose beyond the production of correct speech, serve as excellent communicative activities. On the surface, the aim of all language games is for students to " use the language"; however, during game play learners also use the target language to persuade and negotiate their way to desired results. This process involves the productive and receptive skills simultaneously. Standing on such ground, I considered the theme of the work actual enough to make investigation.

The main methods for compiling our work are the method of comparative analysis and the method of statistical research. Practical significance of the work is hard to be overvalued. This work reflects modern trends in linguistics and we hope it would serve as a good manual for those who want to master modern English language. Also the present work might find a good way of implying in the following spheres: 1. In High Schools and scientific circles of linguistic kind it can be successfully used by teachers and philologists as modern material for writing research works dealing with using of grammar activities; 2. It can be used by English teachers of schools, lyceums and colleges as a practical manual for teaching English grammar; 3. It can be useful for everyone who wants to enlarge his/her knowledge in English; We consider that the novelty of the work is concluded in new materials of the linguists, which were published and applied in the classrooms. The novelty of this work is concluded in the fact, that we had worked out some grammar activities, which were approbated on English language lessons during the pedagogical practice at school.

Structure of the work: an introduction, three chapters, a conclusion, an appendix and a list of literature. In the introduction the aims, objectives, actuality, novelty, theoretical and practical value of the qualification paper are formulated. The main part of this qualification work includes three chapters. In the first chapter we gave a clear rationale for Learner - Centered Teaching and described the role of Instructor in Learning - Centered Teaching. The second chapter provides with general information about Learner-Centered Activities and the types of Learner-Centered Activities. The third chapter discusses the role of games in Learner-centered teaching. In bibliography more than 30 sources of which were used while compiling the present work. It includes linguistic books and articles dealing with the theme, a number of used dictionaries and encyclopedias.

Conclusion

The question for teachers is how to create classrooms where students will be motivated and engaged, where they can communicate using English with others, and where they become more independent and interdependent in their learning. Creating student-centered classrooms can significantly increase the probability of accomplishing this task. Students are provided with an opportunity to expand their knowledge beyond the original context and beyond the classroom. These classrooms focus on more than what Hall (1989) refers to as simple classroom situational language and allow for more cultural and contextual knowledge which makes for more accurate use of the language in context. It is important for teachers to keep in mind the following. First, not all speaking or writing is truly communicative. Students reading a dialogue in front of a class or performing a role-play or describing a picture in a textbook is not necessarily a communicative production. Effective communicative tasks need to have a problem that needs to be resolved or a task that needs to be complete students’ critical thinking skills. The task should have some consequence or relevance to the students working on it and preferably this relevance should be beyond the “grade” for completing the exercise. These are the types of tasks that produce the most learning (cf. Pica and Doughty, 1985). Further, students should be engaged in the tasks through the use of higher-order thinking skills. Going beyond the “read, recognize, and remember” aspects of language suggests that students will be able to retain language and structures longer and will be able to generate useful language in unfamiliar situations. This happens because a need is created when students move into the stages of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Such tasks cannot normally be done with “canned” speech. These provide the opportunity and necessity for all students to participate and learn. Remember to choose an objective that can actually be accomplished in a day. Present small chunks of material each session making sure that students have enough time to practice and reflect on that material. Give students a variety of tasks to perform and make sure that the tasks are specifically related to the objective, contain little if any new material beyond that presented in the lesson, employ a variety of activity types, and include at least one production activity. You may not be able to have true production activities every day but there should be at least one for every unit.

On the basis of the literary sources studied we can come to the following conclusions that learner-centered teaching engages students in the hard, messy work of learning. We believe teachers are doing too many learning tasks for students. They ask the questions, they call on students, they add detail to students answers. They offer the examples and organize the content. They do the preview and the review. On any given day, in most classes teachers are working much harder than students. We are not suggesting teachers never do these tasks, but we don't think students develop their learning skills without the chance to practice and in most classrooms the teacher gets far more practice than the students. That's why, we think that we should use learner-centered methods of teaching.

An important goal in language teaching is to create opportunities for students to participate in authentic uses of language in order to facilitate

their language learning. Learner-centeredness is an approach which emphasizes on creating opportunities and giving optimum time and space to the students to participate in authentic classroom activities. Similarly,

learner-centered teaching refers to teaching that reflects learners individual differences in cognitive styles, motivation needs and interests

Teachers have sole authority in teacher-centered teaching however such authority is deliberatively handed over to the students in learner-centered

teaching. Developing a learner-centered focus to our teaching involves

drawing on students life experiences, creating opportunities for students

to interact and co-operate, and to develop a sense of shared interests

and concerns. If we can engage out students in our classroom

activities in real sense, we can ensure effective teaching and learning.

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Appendix

Types of Games

Elementary GRAMMAR GAMES

Introducing yourself

Give each student a role card and a table to complete. Look at the categories on the table: name, where from, age and job and practise the questions students need: (What’s your name? Where are you from? How old are you? What do you do? ) Ask the class to stand up and walk around talking to other students to complete their table.

Richard Lewis United States 22 Police officer	Chiara Marinetti Italy 28 Artist	Xiao Ming Chen Taiwan 35 Teacher
Amelie Leblanc Switzerland 27 Banker	Pierre Duchamps France 32 Pilot	Katrin Jonsson Iceland 22 Librarian
Pablo Perez Mexico 41 Managing Director	Antonia Gomez Spain 24 Doctor	Mehmet Uslu Turkey 25 Pilot
Suzy Grant Australia 19 Student	Andrew Wright Britain 41 Writer	Saleh Al-Fulani Saudi Arabia 32 Computer engineer
Takanori Sato Japan 35 Chef	Kaeun Park Korea 23 Athlete	Helga Klein Germany 31 Politician

NAME?	WHERE FROM?	AGE?	JOB?
Richard Lewis
Chiara Marinetti
Pierre Duchamps
Amelie Leblanc
Antonia Gomez
Pablo Perez
Suzy Grant
Andrew Wright
Takanori Sato
Kaeun Park
Saleh Al Fulani
Mehmet Uslu
Katrin Jonsson
Xiao Ming Chen

2)Question words (Who…? What? etc.)

Cut up enough cards for one per student. It doesn’t matter how many students there are in the class. They complete the questions in writing in any way they like. Quickly check their questions are OK. Then the students stand up and circulate, asking each other their questions..

Who __________________________________?

Where do you __________________________________?

When __________________________________?

How do __________________________________?

What time __________________________________?

How much __________________________________?

How many __________________________________?

Which __________________________________?

Why __________________________________?

2) Simple past with was/were

Divide the class into teams of 2 to 5 students. Each team receives a handout, and completes the questions with their own ideas. Briefly check the questions are OK. Then have a class quiz – Team A ask team B as question, then Team B ask team C a question, and so on. Keep the score on the board.

Was/were Quiz Complete the questions, then ask other teams. 1. Who was the first _______________________? 2. What was the real name of _______________________? 3. Where was _______________________ born? 4. What nationality was _______________________? 5. Who president of the USA in _______________________? 6. Where were the _______________________ Olympic Games?

First conditional

Cut up one broken sentence for each pair of students. Hand out the pieces at random. Students then stand up and try to find the other half of their sentence by reading their half aloud. Redistribute the pieces and repeat, this time with students memorizing the words.

I won’t eat it…	…if there’s chilli pepper in it.
If I need any help…	…I’ll ask for it.
If you like…	…I’ll help you with your bags.
You’ll be late…	…if you don’t hurry up.
You’ll get hungry…	…if you don’t eat something.
If you don’t take an umbrella…	…you’ll get wet.
If you see her…	…can you give her this letter?
If you take a map with you…	…you won’t get lost.
She’ll be annoyed…	…if she sees you doing that.
If you’re not careful…	…you’ll knock that glass off the table!
Will you go out…	…if it’s raining?

3)Modal verbs of obligation / permission (must / have to / can)

Put the class into pairs. Students follow the instructions on their pair work cards. Encourage students to use the modal verbs as directed.

STUDENT A. 1 Imagine your partner is a teacher and you are a student. Ask your partner about the school rules. Use Can I...? / Do I have to...? 2 Now imagine you are a teacher in a very relaxed school with not many school rules. Your partner is a student in your school. Answer his / her questions and tell your partner about the school rules. Think about these things: uniform, exams, homework, food and drink, running, talking… Use have to / don't have to, must / mustn't.

STUDENT B. 1 Imagine you are a teacher in a very strict school. Your partner is a student in your school. Answer his / her questions and tell your partner about the school rules. Think about these things: uniform, exams, homework, food and drink, running, talking... Use have to / don't have to, must / mustn't. 2 Now imagine your partner is the teacher and you are the student. Ask your partner about the school rules. Use Can I...? / Do I have to?

Second Conditional.

Copy and cut up one enough cards for one per student. Each student completes the card with his/her own ideas. Briefly check the sentences. (ie, What would you do if you won a million dollars? ). Then the students stand and circulate, asking/answering their questions to each other.

What would you do if _______________ ___________________________________________________________?	What would you do if _______________ ______________________________ _______________________________?
What would you do if _______________ ____________________________ _________________________________?	What would you do if _______________ ______________________________ _________________________________?
What would you do if _______________ ____________________________ ___________________________?	What would you do if _______________ ______________________________ ?
What would you do if _______________ _____________________________ ____________________________?	What would you do if _______________ _____________________________ _____________________________?

Second Conditional

Copy and cut up one sheet between two students. Students place the cards face down and take turns to pick up a card and make a conditional question using the verb in brackets (ie, What would you do if…? )

What would you do? (find) a dead spider in your soup	What would you do? (meet) your teacher at a party
What would you do? (find) a mobile phone in the street	What would you do? (hear) a scream in the street outside at night
What would you do? (see) a scorpion in your bathroom	What would you do? (have to) dance on stage
What would you do? (get) a letter saying I love you from a stranger	What would you do? (lose) all your money and documents in a foreign country
What would you do? (see) an alien spaceship landing	What would you do? really (need) to get some money in a hurry

I wish

Give each student a copy of the worksheet. Ask the students to write something in as many of the boxes as they can. Put students into groups of three or four to discuss their answers and to try to find any answers in common. Finish the sentences so that they are true for you. Then talk about your answer with your group to find out if you have any of the same wishes.

I really wish I could... (Write about a talent you haven’t got.)	I really wish I could... (Write about a place you’d like to visit but can’t afford.)
I really wish I could... (Write about something you’d like to buy that costs too much)	Right now I wish... (Write about a place you would like to be in at the moment)
At this precise moment I wish... (Write about what you would like to be doing at the moment)	I wish people would... (Write about a change in people you would like to see)
I wish my partner/neighbour would... (Write about an annoying habit you’d like to change)	I wish my teacher wouldn’t... (Write about something you’d like your teacher to stop doing)
When I was a teenager I wish... (Write about something you regret having done)	When I was at school I wish... (Write about something you regret not having done.)

Picture Dictations 1

Organise the class into pairs. Student As receive pictures (keeping them secret) and describe the scene for Student B’s to draw. Then give the Student Bs pictures, and reverse the roles.

STUDENT A

STUDENT B

True or false?

Organise the class into two teams. A member of Team A takes a card, and secretly writes T or F on that card. If T, then the student gives a true account; if F, a made up one. Team B guess if the story is true or false. If they are wrong, Team A get a point. Then a member of Team B takes a card, and so on. If the class is too big for everybody to have a turn at speaking, perhaps divide it up into two or more sub-groups.

Tell the class what you did yesterday evening.	Tell the class how you spent your last summer holiday.
Tell the class about an accident you had.	Tell the class about your great-grandfather.
Tell the class about a memorable journey you made.	Tell the class about something strange that happened to you.
Tell the class about a famous person you met.	Tell the class about your first school.
Tell the class about your apartment.	Tell the class about a public performance you did.
Tell the class about a time when you spoke English on the phone.	Tell the class about your ambitions for the future.

Making comparisons

Put students into pairs or small groups. Give each pair a set of cards face down. Students take it in turns to make comparative statements about the items on their cards. Encourage groups to discuss the topics together, agreeing and disagreeing, rather than just making short statements.

emails letters	cats dogs	jazz pop music
cars bikes	spring autumn	holidays by the sea holidays in the city
being a student working	football basketball	living in the city living in the country
watching TV reading a book	your language English	taking a plane taking a train
fast food eating in restaurants	baths showers	tea coffee
New York London	large supermarkets small shops	bread rice
cinema theatre	public transport your own car	writing text messages making phone calls

Agree or Disagree?

Give each group of 4 –6 a set of cards. The cards are dealt out, the first student selects one of his/her cards, reads it out, and the group discuss it. Then the next student selects a card, and so on.

Agree or disagree? Schools should teach a wider variety of subjects.	Agree or disagree? It is very important to save declining languages from extinction.
Agree or disagree? Small shops are better than supermarkets.	Agree or disagree? Blood sports such as bullfighting and hunting are cruel, and should be banned.
Agree or disagree? Smoking should be banned in all public places.	Agree or disagree? “Money is the root of all evil.”
Agree or disagree? It is essential to have a guidebook when travelling.	Agree or disagree? Tourism is making everywhere seem the same.
Agree or disagree? Fashion only exists to make people spend more money on clothes.	Agree or disagree? Employers should never expect employees to work for more than 40 hours a week.
Agree or disagree? It is cruel to keep a cat or a dog in an apartment.	Agree or disagree? Censorship is never justifiable.
Agree or disagree? Computers waste more time than they save.	Agree or disagree? Capital punishment is unjustifiable and barbaric.
Agree or disagree? The best age to get married is around 25.	Agree or disagree? It is reasonable for employers not to give jobs to people with piercings or tattoos.
Agree or disagree? It would be better if TV had never been invented.	Agree or disagree? All advertising is dishonest.
Agree or disagree? It is fair that famous people should be pursued by the press.	Agree or disagree? The more security cameras, the better.
Agree or disagree? National museums which buy expensive works of art are wasting taxpayers’ money.	Agree or disagree? Famous actors and sports celebrities are paid far too much.
Agree or disagree? There is nothing wrong with being able to choose the sex of your baby.	Agree or disagree? People are less superstitious than they used to be.
Agree or disagree? You can tell a lot about a person from the way they dress.	Agree or disagree? Military service for both sexes is a good idea.

2) Tell me about …

Each student will need a card (it doesn’t matter if cards are duplicated). The class stand and circulate, finding partners and proceeding as directed. Continue until everybody has spoken to at least four or five others.

Greet another student. Ask her/him to tell you about one of the following subjects: Her/his last holiday About her/his occupation Her/his plans for the future Her/his musical interests Don’t accept a short answer! Ask more questions about the subject.	Greet another student. Ask her/him to tell you about one of the following subjects: Her/his journey here today What she/he is doing tomorrow Her/his favourite kind of film Her/his attitude to pets Don’t accept a short answer! Ask more questions about the subject.
Greet another student. Ask her/him to tell you about one of the following subjects: Her/his experience of school What she/he is doing next weekend Her/his hobbies Her/his favourite kind of food Don’t accept a short answer! Ask more questions about the subject.	Greet another student. Ask her/him to tell you about one of the following subjects: Her/his city, town or village What she/he did yesterday Her/his attitude to children Her/his ambitions Don’t accept a short answer! Ask more questions about the subject.
Greet another student. Ask her/him to tell you about one of the following subjects: Where she/he would like to go on holiday What she/he did before the lesson Her/his academic plans Her/his family Don’t accept a short answer! Ask more questions about the subject.	Greet another student. Ask her/him to tell you about one of the following subjects: Her/his last long journey What she/he did last weekend Her/his hopes for the future Her/his attitude to taking exercise Don’t accept a short answer! Ask more questions about the subject.
Greet another student. Ask her/him to tell you about one of the following subjects: Her/his eating habits What she/he is doing after the lesson Her/his occupation Her/his plans for the future Don’t accept a short answer! Ask more questions about the subject.	Greet another student. Ask her/him to tell you about one of the following subjects: Her/his telephoning habits What she/he was doing this time last year Her/his hobbies Her/his ambitions Don’t accept a short answer! Ask more questions about the subject.

Introduction

The objectives of the paper are

- to highlight the importance of learner-centered activities in teaching English;

- to describe its main peculiarities and types;

- to discover students educational process and if it helps to learn the language;

Chapter I. Learner-centered teaching and learning.

1.1. A Clear Rationale for Learner – Centered Teaching.

Student-centered learning allows students to actively participate in class. Students spend the entire class time constructing a new understanding of the material being learned in a proactive way. A variety of hands-on activities are given in order to promote successful learning. Unique, yet distinctive learning styles are encouraged in a student-centered classroom, and provide students with varied tools, such as task- and learning-conscious methodologies, creating a better environment for students to learn. With the use of valuable learning skills, students are capable of achieving lifelong learning goals, which can further enhance student motivation in the classroom. So, student-centered teaching is designed to allow this to happen – the methods shift the focus of activity from the teacher to the learners. These methods include active learning, cooperative learning and inductive teaching. Active learning is when students solve problems, answer questions, formulate questions of their own, discuss, explain, debate, or brainstorm during class; Cooperative learning, is when students work in teams on problems and projects under conditions that assure both positive interdependence and individual accountability; and inductive teaching and learning, is when students are first presented with challenges (questions or problems) and learn the course material in the context of addressing the challenges. Inductive methods include inquiry-based learning, case-based instruction, problem-based learning, project-based learning, discovery learning, and just-in-time teaching.

If teachers focus their attention on the learning experiences of students and make changes based on what we know about teaching that promotes learning:

Students will understand more of what they are learning – When students interact with the content, when they speak about it and work with it, they make it their own and it becomes meaningful to them. It makes sense. They see why it’s important, why they must know it and how it fits with what they already know and still need to learn.

Students will retain what they learn longer – When students are engaged and involved with the content, when they are really learning, as in understanding the material, they remember it longer. Their knowledge goes from being something crammed in their heads which bursts out and drains away on an exam to being a solid foundation on which more new learning can rest.

Students will learn more than just the content – When students are involved and engaged with the material, directing their learning of it and working on it with others, they are developing important learning skills. They are learning to ask questions, to find answers, to challenge reasons, to consider alternatives, to evaluate evidence, and to solve problems. The acquisition of those skills is enhanced further with constructive feedback from teachers. Students leave these kinds of learning experiences, not just knowing the content, but equipped to learn more on their own and for themselves.

Chances are good students will be changed by what they learn – Deep, conceptual understanding transcends whatever it is the student has learned. Understanding at that level has implications for which they are, how they think and what they see in the world around them. When students own the material and the learning process, learning is often a transformative experience—one that involves deep and profound change.

Students will love learning more – A good learning experience where the student conquers challenging content, finds out something fascinating, and through the process discovers an aptitude for doing something; this is what creates an ongoing hunger for learning.

We think these are compelling reasons to change the way we teach—to move away from instruction devoted to teacher-transmitted content and teacher-directed learning and toward more student-centered teaching. There is still a time and place for telling students what they need to know and ought to do. The process of moving toward learner-centeredness is a developmental one for teachers and students. But student discovery of what they need to know, their selection of the processes by which they learn it, their firsthand experience of the messiness of learning, and their need to assess what they have learned—we need to make more time and a larger space for that kind of teaching and learning.

“ Although teacher, one of the most intelligent questions a student can ask is, ”Why do we have to do this? “states Robert Sylvester. The first step to helping students adjust to learner – centered teaching is to explain WHY this approach is the best possible way to enhance their academic success.

This includes explaining how the new learning roles and responsibilities expected of them in a learner-centered classroom will allow them to better meet their learning and life goals.

Perhaps the best way to help student understand why we have changed to a learner- centered practice is to simply say – this is where the research has led us. New discoveries about how the human brain learns in harmony with these discoveries have guided the learner-centered approach to teaching. The students need to see that teachers following the best research in designing their teaching approaches, just as they are require them to follow the best research in doing their course work. There are some rationales, I believe are key to helping our students understand why we need them to take on the new roles and responsibilities required of them in a learner-centered environment. Changes in teachers understandings of how humans learn. Many of the changes students will see in teachers teaching approach can be explained by their desire to bring their teaching into harmony with the new discoveries about how the human brain learns. For example, teachers want students to do more firsthand learning, group learning, practicing, reflecting, teaching of others, and presentations because all of these learning activities require active learner engagement. [6: 95] Teachers know from neuroscience research that the dendrites of their brain cells only grow when the brain is actively engaged and the neuron-networks formed in their brains only stay connected when students are used repeatedly [ Ratey, 2002 p 19 ][1]. If we don't prepare them to be lifelong learners, capable of independent, self-motivated learning, then we have done less than a satisfactory job with their college education. One of the reasons students are being asked to take on more responsibility for their own learning is because they will be responsible for it the rest of their lives. The responsibility we have to develop our students lifelong learning skills is justification for many of the changes we are asking our students to make in a learner-centered classroom. When we ask them to write copiously, read large amounts of information, learn to

manage their time, work well with others, accept and give feedback and criticism, express ideas in clear, listen attentively, teachers do so because students will have to do these things the rest of their lives if they are to be successful. One of the basic facts that all teachers know about the learning process is: the one who does the work does the learning. But being able to successfully do the work in a learner-centered classroom will require most students to advance their learning skills. We have identified eight areas where students will likely need teachers help in developing their learning skills:

-Learning how to learn on their own;

-Developing the communication skills needed to collaborate with others;

-Taking more control for their own learning;

-Teaching others;

-Making presentations;

-Developing lifelong learning skills;

-Developing their metacognitive skills – knowing what they know,

or don't know or misunderstand;

-Developing the ability to evaluate themselves, their peers, and the teacher;

Each of these areas takes a more prominent role in a learner-centered classroom. All, however, are areas where most students have only limited experiences and are often not highly skilled. For example, the ability of students to evaluate the quality of their own work is crucial to their career and life success, but few students have ever been asked to do this. Students will need to be taught how to do meaningful self- assessment of their work; teachers cannot expect them to know how to do something they have never been taught. Among the most important skills teachers need to help their students develop are speaking and listening. These are also the most overlooked in our teaching. The key to helping students to learn in this new environment is to take a lesson from basic teacher training – always check to see what the students already know and can do before making learning assignments. If teachers find their students are unskilled, then they must teach them to be successful learners in a learner – centered classroom[2].

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