A learner-centred

approach
Part 1
By Diachenko Tatiana

What is student-centred (or

learner-centred or learningcentred) approach?
They were all
talking and
doing things

I, the teacher,
didn't talk as
much as I usually
do

I included some pair work in the lesson

However,

I can be working in a group or a

pair - I can be talking and doing
things - and yet find that the
subject matter is of no interest
or relevance to me, and I find
myself doing things simply
because I have been told to do
them.

The phrase learner-centred suggests that

the learning is not just directed at the
learner, but in some way focused on
them, drawing its sense of direction from
them, maybe drawing its energy and
power from them.

Learner-centred teaching is about

having trust in your students' abilities to learn and in
their abilities to make decisions about what and how
to learn.
a greater degree of empathy with each individual.
creating a political climate in which students can be
more autonomous within a class.

Why do I want my lessons to

student-centred?
The more a person makes decisions for
themselves, the more motivated he or she is
likely to feel. The more a person is told what to
do, and the less say he or she has in what,
how and when, the less the person is likely to
feel interested or committed to the task.

Fully learner-centred approach.

Learners make their own autonomous

decisions about what to work on, how
to study and so on, perhaps taking
account of guidance, advice or
information from the teacher.

What about the teacher?

The teachers role is not to forget all
responsibilities and sit back reading a newspaper.
There is a real need for expert facilitation skills,
i.e. to do those things that help people learn to
work autonomously, work together, listen better
to each other and discuss and negotiate
successfully.

1 Start small
Dont jump in the deep end, offering huge decisions
for students to make. Start by offering very small
choices in discrete points.
Would you like me to explain that again?
Shall I write that on the board?
The crucial point is that you go with what they
decide (rather than what you think best for them).

2 Offer binary choices

Give limited A or options to offer some decisionmaking power, but to constrain the choices
Would you like to work in pairs or groups of three?
Would you like to have five minutes or ten minutes
to do this task?
Would you like to write a story or do a grammar
exercise for homework?

3 Allow divided outcomes

There doesnt always need to be
agreement on decisions. If half the class
chooses one option and others choose
something different, where possible, allow
each student to do what they chose.

4 If you offer a choice, make it

genuine
Dont offer a choice if you are not able to
go along with the outcome. If students
make a decision that you dont agree
with, swallow hard, make your views
known if you wish, and then go along with
their decision.

5 Make any constraints absolutely

clear
If there are some things that are not discussable
(e.g. the school requires you to use a certain
coursebook or do a certain exam), then make sure
that students understand that this is not negotiable.
The interesting thing is to take creative decisions
within those constraints (e.g. we have to use this
book ... but how shall we use it?).

6 Dont make a big deal about

choices
Initially, dont announce that you are
trying an experiment or that you want to
make students more autonomous. Just
start doing it. Just let students get used to
the fact that you are giving them chances
to say what they want a little more.

7 Get students to notice that not everyone has

the same viewpoint

When you start offering choices, differences of

opinion will quickly appear. Dont simply go with
the first to shout out. Allow a number of students
to give their view. Actively encourage quieter
students and weaker ones to state what they
think. Encourage everyone to get involved.

8 Avoid wordings that imply that the teacher is

someone who needs to be pleased

Students need to work for themselves and start

to be able to evaluate their own successes or
problems. Watch out for habitual instructions,
such as What Id like you to do for me now ...
that imply that students are working for the
teacher rather than for themselves.

9 Get students discussing some

decisions

When you have time, and the decision

seems worth discussing, get students
to state why they think their decision
is the best one, and try to persuade
others to change their minds.

10 Demonstrate that you are listening, but also

have an opinion

You are also a member of the class and an important one.

Feel free to join in any discussion about what to do, suggest
what you think is the best path, but dont force them to
follow your suggestion. The class will be very impressed if
you make your case strongly, they decide another route and
then you are seen to follow their choice without argument.
This will send a powerful message about how you trust them
and are willing to genuinely share your power.

11 Dont always go with the

majority

You may feel that there is not time to discuss every decision, and it may well not feel like
time well-spent if you did so. So when you offer a decision to students, the simpler option
is usually to go with the majority answer, Most students said that they wanted to do
this ... so lets do that. However, the minority may need to have their voice heard,
especially if they seem to be frequently overruled. Reserve the right to go with their
choices at times, maybe by saying something Iike,Well, we always do it that way ... so
how about doing it this other way, for a change?

12 Ask different people to make

each decision
As an alternative to whole-class decision making, for
some decisions, ask an individual to decide. For
example,
For the next task we could do the speaking exercise
on page 96 or listen to a song Ive brought in. Karl?
What shall we do?
Make sure that you ask a range of people overtime.

13 Dont let decision-making get

boring
Get decision-making crisp and to the point. You need to find a
balance between offering students a real decision and taking
too long to reach the conclusion. Students will soon get bored if
they find that they spend too long bumbling around, making
decisions that drag on too long. Once the class has been
trained in making decisions, avoid offering basic or pointless
choices. Dont string things out too long. Dont waste time on
fruitless fine points. Take appropriate teacher authority to
decide inconsequential classroom-management decisions.

14 Restrain yourself from being the power, the

authority, the decider

Look for opportunities where students

could do something themselves that until
now you have habitually done on automatic
pilot. Slowly, over time, train yourself not
to automatically jump in to make decisions,
to order, to select, to organise.

15 Offer choices more often as days

go by

Over time, slowly increase

the number of choices
offered.

16 Offer more open decisions as

time goes on

Move on from binary decisions to

more open ones that allow a range
of ideas and possibilities.

17 Offer more important decisions

Start to offer decisions that are about

more crucial or longer-term issues
(e.g. whether to start a big
project).These will almost certainly
require discussion.

18 Train your learners in listening and

negotiating skills

Point out when students dont listen to or talk

over each other. Encourage them to state their
cases more clearly. Discourage any angry or
dismissive comments. Teach students to
summarise all points and arguments and to
look for balance and compromise.

19 Train students to evaluate

themselves
Get students used to reflecting on their own
progress and assessing their achievement and
level clearly and honestly against criteria. Cando statements or a learner portfolio are a good
starting point. With time, learners will become
more demanding on themselves and start to set
more challenging goals.

20 Hand over a big decision and a strategy for

deciding
When you feel that your class is ready, give them a big
decision (e.g. what project to do, which coursebook to
choose) to make on their own, but also lay down the
method by which they will reach that decision. Write out
a timed plan for them to follow, e.g. brainstorming
possible projects, appointing advocates to consider plus
and minus points for each one, selecting the decisionmaking method (e.g. majority vote); and then plan a
discussion meeting at which proposals are introduced by
advocates, discussed and eventually a decision is made.

21 Ask big questions

When you feel that you and your class are ready, start
opening up the biggest questions for discussion:
Whats the point of learning English?
Is this the best way to study it?
What other ways could we learn the language?
Argue your beliefs, but dont feel that you need to push
or guide them to correct or school-approved answers.

The end