Learner-Centred Instruction: What, Why and How? (original) (raw)

In the last 15-20 years, there has been a noticeable shift towards-and a considerable interest in-Learner-Centered Instruction (LCI) in education in general, and Second/Foreign Language (2L) teaching in particular. In language teaching, the consequence of this shift was a change from teachercentered/directed instruction (a teaching situation in which most decisions are made and carried out by the teacher based on his/her priorities) to LCI (a teaching situation that makes the learner "central to all aspects of language teaching, including planning teaching, and evaluation" (Richards & Schmidt, 2010, pp. 326-327). This change, in turn, is in line with recent and current approaches to L2 teaching that also make the learner central to all aspects of language teaching, such as communicative language teaching and task-based language teaching (for a review of these approaches, see Larsen-Freeman, 2011). However, when pressed hard, very few practicing teachers and instructors know what LCI is exactly, why it is more effective for L2 learning and teaching, and how to implement it in the ELT classroom. The article will first define LCI and identify its main characterizing features. Next, it will illustrate the Second Language Acquisition (SLA) basis of LCI. After that, it will present ways of implementing LCI in the ELT classroom. The SLA Basis of Learner-Centered Instruction Although there is broad interest in the potential value of LCI to enhance language teaching and learning, there is also considerable diversity in the theoretical scope, applied practice, and research that