The Application Of Learner-centered Approach In College English Teaching

According to McDevitt, the end product of education is an independent learner and cultivating a learner's independence of autonomy should be regarded as the end goal that teachers or educators try to pursue. Foreign language teaching, one special area in education, is, of course, no exception. According to the description in the newly revised College English Syllabus (1999) in China, after the completion of the four years' English learning, the students should be able to use English as a tool to obtain whatever information needed for their future specialties and also as a solid foundation to further improvement of their command of the language. But the present practice in ELT classroom in China could not provide satisfactory conditions for both teachers and students to achieve such goals. The characteristics of current college English teaching in China are language-centered, teacher-centered and text-based. Students are less autonomous and the teaching is low efficient. In order to improve the condition, the Learner-centered Approach (LCA) should be adopted in English Language Teaching (ELT). The LCA puts learners at the center of the learning process and attaches great importance to learners' needs. Learners are seen as being able to assume a more active and participatory role than they did in traditional approaches. A new role for the English teacher should be facilitator rather than director.The thesis consists in three chapters.Chapter 1 explores the theoretical bases of the LCA. In this chapter four approaches to teaching related to the LCA are discussed. They are direct instruction based on behavioral psychology, constructivist instruction based on cognitive psychology, student-directed instruction based on humanistic psychology and communicative approach. Among them the humanistic psychology contributes the most to the theory of therLCA. The proponents are Maslow, Rogers and Combs.Chapter 2 introduces the basic principles of the LCA. It is stressed that the learner autonomy is the most essential. Besides, teacher's role in the LCA is versatile, and teachers should match their teaching styles with learners' learning styles. Finally, the importance of learners' motivation in the LCA is discussed.Chapter 3 is based on the experience of the author as a teacher of non-English major. The mode of the LCA in college English teaching is introduced, and the implementation of the LCA is discussed as well.