T25: Learner-centred foreign language teaching and learning. FOundation and applications.

Motivation and attitudes towards learning a foreign language. Didactic applications

1. Intro

2. Learner-centred foreign language teaching and learning: foundation and applications

2.1. Foundation of learner-centred curriculum

2.2. Applications of the learner-centred model of TEFL

2.3. The role of the teacher in a learner-centred approach

2.4. The role of the student in a learner-centred approach

2.5. Resources and materials in a learner-centred approach

2.6. Evaluation in a learner-centred approach

3. Motivation and attitudes towards learning a foreign language

3.1. Identifying motivation and attitudes in the EFL class

3.2. Didactic application

4. Conclusion

5. References

1. Introduction

Aim TEFL RD 126/2014 acquisition 7 key competences- Lomce, RD 126/2014 General Objective F- acquisition at least 1 FL, Order 15th January 2021 specific objectives for

learning a FL- 5 (listen, speak, write, read, phonics)

The quality of learning engagement in the classroom is heavily influenced by complex motivational and affective factors as well as students’ cognitive ability. Extensive research

in the fields of L2 motivation and educational psychology has generated two premises: first, the classroom environment is powerful in motivating students (Pintrich, Marx & Boyle

1993) which then affects their learning outcome. And second, teachers play a crucial role in creating motivating learning environments by employing a number of proactive

motivational strategies (Brophy, 2004) which has been described by Dörnyei (2006) as ´motivational teaching practice.´

2. Learner-centred foreign language teaching and learning: foundation and application

We can define curriculum as the plan for learning that includes the totality of experiences for children through their education.

Professor John Bobbitt in his book ´The Curriculum´in 1918 defined curriculum as all of the things children must do and experience in order to develop the ability to deal well with

the affairs of adult life. He believed that some conventional school subjects had to be eliminated while including others such as citizenship, health or languages.

WHite (1988) distinguishes two types of curricula: Teacher directed is that which is external to the learner and the teacher is the decision maker. This is determined by the

educational authorities with emphasis on the subject and the product. This type of curriculum has been traditionally followed in foreign language teaching approaches and methods.

They begin with a list of contents (grammar rules, structures, functions and communicative situations) which are established and decided by the education authorities and teachers

external to the students themselves. Second there is learner-centred which is based on students’ needs and interests and in which they become part of the decision-making process.

Here, the emphasis is on the learning process and the contents of the course are made up of what the subject is and what the learner needs and wants. Teachers carry out a needs

analysis to discover students’ interests and needs then negotiate the contents with the students. All class activities and tasks are based on students previous knowledge, experience

and the cultural background that they bring to the class (Campbell, 1992).

2.1 Foundation of the learner-centred curriculum

The main goal of permanent education (LEA, art. 5, a) can only be achieved if the syllabuses are centred on learners’ needs. This is the only way through which education allows

our pupils the capacity to control their future professional careers and integrate into society. Thus, the learner should be seen as the centre of the educational process.

There are a number of principles that can be identified in a learner-centred curriculum. Pupils learn best when the learning objectives are congruent with their own goals, new

information is presented in a variety of familiar contexts and the content is relevant to their own personal experiences and interests. This means students are actively involved in

their learning process and those who have learnt ‘how to learn’ are the most productive learners. Students do not learn when they are over-stimulated or stressed.

Furthermore, Campbell (1992) points out some characteristics and advantages of following a learner-centred approach. They include keeping in mind the potential of the learner.

Our students bring their own ideas, beliefs, attitudes and interests with them into the classroom. If they can see these things reflected in the activities used to learn English they will

be more motivated to use language for effective communication. It is easier for students to talk about topics they have chosen and this means they can draw on their knowledge to
talk about, instead of a topic which is completely irrelevant to them. Therefore, we must introduce topics that students are interested in, which can be used to supplement or replace

unsuitable textbook themes. Pupils also bring with them their mother tongue and culture so learner-centred teaching encourages them to transfer this into their target language

competence. Another principle is that of continuously analyzing students’ needs. It is a continuous cycle of analyzing students' needs, choosing activities to meet those needs,

spotting any problems while students realize those activities to introduce remedies and re-evaluating needs for the next set of activities. This all factors into the continuous

assessment in a learner-centred approach.

In addition, students should become involved in preparing the materials to be used in lessons, allowing them the chance to practice language in the creation of learning materials as

well as seeing how their classmates use the materials. This gives them a real-life reason to pay attention in the feedback stage. By creating and using learner-made materials

students are also given the opportunity to take part in peer teaching and correction, allowing them to learn from each other and increasing their level of socialization. Group and

pair work based on their needs and interests helps to foster a spirit of group solidarity and pupils learn to work together instead of compete with one another, improving the

classroom atmosphere and creating a commitment to learning English as a collaborative effort.

And finally, students must be involved from the beginning stages of the teaching and learning process in learner-centred approaches. The preparation work is longer, and as the

activity progresses so does the pace of the class.

2.2 Applications of the learner-centred model of TEFL

Curriculum design can be studied from several different perspectives. The key difference between learner-centred and traditional curriculum development is that the former is a

collaborative effort between teachers and learners, since students are actively involved in making decisions abouts the content, goals and how it is taught.

According to Nunan (1988) we can look at the decision-making level of curriculum design in relation to identifying learners’ needs, establishing objectives, selecting and grading

content, choosing appropriate methodology, as well as organizing learning arrangements and groupings and adapting or developing learning tasks, materials and assessment tools.

Syllabus design focuses more narrowly on the selection and grading/sequencing of contents. Traditionally, syllabuses specify what is to be taught and methodology explains how it

is to be taught. However, in communicative language teaching there is a more integrative approach and learner-centered curriculum designs include both elements.

Pupils come to have a more realistic idea of what they can achieve in a course when they are involved in negotiating the objectives and contents with the teacher and knowing that

the selected content can be modified when more data about their needs becomes available. By stating explicitly those goals and contents self-assessment becomes more feasible.

A communicative curriculum uses tasks that are linked to real-world situations and cater to a range of learning styles. Riding and Ryner describe learning style as an individual

preference and approach to organizing and representing information.

Every pupil is different and learns in a unique way. Pupils must gradually be made aware of their learning styles and educators should try to develop different learning strategies

and skills which help them build their learning to learn competence and enable them to become more effective and autonomous learners. Therefore, as teachers we must aim to

provide learners with efficient learning strategies and help them to identify their own learning styles. In this way we can encourage them to set their own realistic goals and the

time frame in which to accomplish them. We also must assist them in developing skills in self-assessment.

O’Malley and Chamot (1990) proposed a classification of learning strategies that include metacognitive strategies, cognitive strategies and social-affective strategies.

Metacognitive strategies involve planning for learning, self-assessment and reflection on the learning process. Cognitive strategies involve classifying, predicting, inference, etc,

while social-affective strategies include cooperation, self-reinforcement (motivation) and questioning.

When dealing with inexperienced learners it is often necessary for the teacher to begin by making most of the decisions. For this reason, the curriculum is conceptualized as much

by process (carrying out tasks) as by products (specification of objectives and contents).

However, a learner-centred approach is not free from disadvantages. It places a higher demand on the teacher who must have a change of attitude towards course-planning as well

as a range of new skills to make a learner-centred model a reality. Teachers must be provided assistance and support to carry out the student-centred curriculum. This includes

being provided the instruments necessary for appropriate needs analysis, a broad framework of the course guidelines so they can negotiate the curriculum with students, and

educational counseling to address any curriculum problems that may arise from this type of approach.

Furthermore, students need to show more responsibility and learn to use self-assessment. Students must collaborate more in a learner-centred curriculum, and teachers may find

resistance since learners may be used to a traditional teacher directed method.

Lastly, there are external restraints such as the Educational Administration’s teaching requirements, the national and local education laws such as RD 126/2014 and Decree

181/2020 and the Educational Project of the school itself which all set standards and goals that must be followed by the teacher and reached by the students. Nevertheless, there is

still a wide margin for decision-making at the classroom planning level to adapt the curriculum to students’ real needs.
2.3 The role of the teach in a learner-centred approach

One of the most difficult and important tasks of becoming a teacher is learning how to motivate students. A student who is not motivated will not learn effectively. The main role

of the teacher in a learner-centred approach is that of curriculum developer, adapting the planned curriculum to the students’ characteristics and the teaching situation, otherwise

known as the implemented curriculum. After which, the teacher must assess what students learn (assessed curriculum). Therefore, teachers’ training courses must include a range

of skills and guidelines to support teachers in curriculum development, such as syllabus design and needs’ analysis.

In the learner-centred approach to foreign language teaching teachers also must create a good rapport with students, encourage them with open communication and be their

cheerleaders by showing enthusiasm and praising them for their contributions. It’s important to get students involved by giving each student a classroom job and fostering active

participation. It may also be necessary to offer small incentives apart from encouraging pupils to participate. Small rewards make learning fun and gives learners a sense of

accomplishment and a goal to work towards. It’s also the teacher’s duty to avoid monotony in the class. Changing around the structure, teaching through games and discussions,

using visual aids are all great motivators for young learners. The class environment can be made warm and stimulating by using posters, models and students’ projects to decorate.

2.4 The role of the pupil in learner-centred approach

In the same way as teachers, students have their own roles in a learner-centred approach to TEFL. Students become the negotiators by suggesting interesting topics and

collaborating on the curriculum development with the teacher. Students are the ones who participate in the tasks and class activities while at the same time monitor their own

progress by carrying out self-assessments, for instance with the use of a portfolio. In this way we help to promote learner independence.

Good learners will feel comfortable to participate in the group and be able to adapt to different learning situations. They will seek out opportunities to use the target language

because they have a strong desire to learn the L2, be it due to integrative or instrumental motivation. Good learners also have skills necessary to perceive, categorize, store L2 and

monitor their errors and progress.

2.5 Resources and materials in a learner-centred approach

In a learner-centred approach the materials and resources used should facilitate the development of communicative tasks and activities as well as foster independent learning. It is

also essential that the materials can be used by a mixed ability group and in a variety of different ways by different language levels. Since the main goal in TEFL is to develop

students’ communicative competence, chosen materials should reflect real life outside the classroom with some degree of authenticity. According to Nunan (1988), authentic

materials are those which were designed for purposes other than to teach language and can be taken from a wide array of sources: video clips, extracts from TV, radio, magazines,

photographs, tickets, leaflets, menus, etc.

Even though authenticity is generally thought of in terms of the materials used, we also must keep in mind the authenticity of the goal, of the environment, of the text and of the

task (Edelhoff 1982). In order for materials to be considered authentic by our students, they must be recognized by students as useful and appeal to students’ interests to stimulate

genuine communication and reflect the sociocultural context of the class group.

In Primary Education, authentic materials must be rich in illustrations so children can infer meaning from context. Students can also design and prepare their own didactic

materials such as flashcards and wallcharts.

2.6 Evaluation in a learner-centred approach

The final component in curriculum design is the evaluation. In a learner-centred approach, evaluation is continuous and happens at all stages of the learning process, not just at the

end like with more traditional methods.

The aim of assessment is to determine whether the objectives of a course of instruction have been achieved. If the objectives have not been achieved, the evaluation can provide

feedback to help determine why and then re-orient the goals. It is necessary to know who is carrying out the evaluation, how they will evaluate, what they will evaluate, when the

evaluation will occur and what are the purposes of the evaluation. Traditionally evaluation was done by testing at the end of the learning process, or a summative evaluation. In a

learner-centred model, evaluation is a continuous assessment throughout the teaching and learning process by and for both teachers and students. This is done through self-

evaluation carried out both by teachers and students on themselves. Any and all stages and elements of the curriculum must be evaluated including in the planning stages with the

needs analysis, the implementation of the activities, learning arrangements and materials and activities. A learner-centred evaluation helps students to monitor their own learning,

identify causes of learning failure and suggest remedies for improvement. Self-assessment in the basic levels of Primary Education should be simple, such as the use of smiley

faces or a student’s diary.

3. Motivation and attitudes towards learning a foreign language

Students are motivated when they want to do something and when they think they should be doing something.
Motivation can be defined as the attitudes of students towards the realization of a task; this attitude can be modified by the students themselves (intrinsic motivation) or by other

external factors (extrinsic motivation) (Ortega, 2002). That means that if students are less motivated, it is possible to influence them. Motivation may also change over time

(Dörnye 2001) thus motivation can change throughout the teaching and learning process. However, Gardner (1985) makes a clear distinction between motivation and attitude.

According to him, motivation is a combination of effort, desire and positive attitudes towards learning the target language, while attitudes show a reaction to some referent (such as

the teacher, the EFL classroom, the textbook) based on the learner’s belief about the referent (opinions, emotional reactions). Stern (1983) went even further to classify 3 types of

attitudes. Those towards the community who speak the FL, towards the foreign language and towards languages and language learning in general. Attitudes are generally

influenced by an individual’s personality, by the family environment and the society in which learning takes place. So, if attitudes are positive, they are expected to aid in learning;

if they are negative, they are expected to hinder learning (Stern 1983).

Harmer (2007) states that motivation can be influenced by internal factors such as age, gender and a person’s attitudes, or external factors including expectations, rewards,

confidence, feedback (positive or negative) by teachers. Furthermore, Stern (1985) distinguishes two types of motivation. Integrative motivation is that which occurs when learners

have a desire to integrate themselves into the culture of the second language group. Integrative learners want to learn the target language so they can understand and get to know

the people who speak it and their culture. Instrumental motivation may be defined as having a practical purpose for learning the foreign language, such as to graduate university, to

find a better job or to travel. However, neither of these traditional concepts apply to young learners. Instead, we should mention activity motivation (Bazo, 1995). Activity

motivation is how children fulfill their needs of self-expression through participating in activities such as games, songs, plays, etc. It is similar to intrinsic motivation. Children, in

general, learn through participatory action where language and action go together.

Most psycholinguists highlight the importance of the learner’s attitudes and motivation as playing a major role in second language acquisition. Some of the major theories of

language acquisition support this. Krashen’s monitor model considers attitudes and motivation the most influential elements in language acquisition. Carroll’s conscious

reinforcement model (1981) claims that language learning begins when the learner feels motivated to communicate something to someone. Gardner's socio-educational model

(1985) considers the learner’s intelligence, aptitude, motivation and attitudes as the factors which determine learner’s outcomes.

So, it is easy to conclude that attitudes and motivation are the most important determinant factors in the learning or acquisition of a target language.

3.1Identifying motivation and attitudes in the EFL class

If students are going to learn English, they must want to learn it, make a considerable effort and feel happy about the learning experience. Thus, in a learner-centred approach,

teachers must identify the internal and external factors that motivate students and foster FL learning.

According to Madrid (1999) students may be motivated to learn English due to its importance in our society (instrumental motivation), the characteristics of the English teachers,

the learning activities and tasks used in the classroom, environment and family backgrounds as well as the desire to learn English in order to integrate into English-speaking

communities.

In general, students feel satisfied with the English class if it is lively and they have the chance to participate in communicative activities and games based on their capabilities and

interests, as opposed to having to do grammatical exercises and written activities. Motivating learning activities include communicative games, songs, watching videos of graded

difficulty, pairwork and groupwork in dialogues and role plays and acting out. They are also motivated by praise and satisfactory marks rather than blame and failures. Students

like English lessons when the teacher is friendly with a good sense of humour and shows genuine interest in students’ feelings and needs. They also like teachers who explain

clearly and give personal attention. Factors that students do not care for, and which can reduce motivation, include too much homework, frequent tests and a teacher who is too

strict and easy to anger.

3.2 Didactic Applications

According to Harmer (2007), teachers can influence students and their motivation. He suggests 5 ways through which teachers can create interest for their lessons and keep their

students motivated. Firstly, teachers can learn more about students’ personal lives in order to feel affection for them and understand some behaviours. Secondly, teachers should

help students to achieve since that inspires motivation. It is important that tasks and activities are not too easy so as not to be boring, but also not too challenging leading students

to give up. Teachers must find the delicate balance of difficulty. Next, teachers must be confident in their knowledge and abilities as an English teacher. They must come to class

with their lessons prepared and timed well so students are not left with idle time to misbehave. This also includes designing and offering activities that cater to all the different

learning styles and which students enjoy doing. Finally, allowing students to take an active role in their own learning by letting them choose their own activities helps them take

responsibility for their learning and keep them motivated for longer.
In order to meet our pupils’ needs and interests, teachers must have detailed knowledge of the main sources of motivation and bear these in mind when negotiating the topics,

contents and activities with students as part of the curriculum design. In a learner-centred approach we should adapt our teaching styles and methodology to the pupils’ different

learning styles and levels to help maintain the motivation and positive attitude of all students.

Children learn best by doing, so neither of the two traditional concepts of motivation (integrative and instrumental) may be applied to young learners. Their need for self-

expression is met through singing and playing games, which leads us to the concept of activity motivation. Activities will be the ways and means through which motivation is

sustained and increased for foreign language learning.

Although language students often have no personal long-term motivation, teachers can select topics and activities that serve to motivate them in the short term. If an activity can

stimulate interest and involvement for 10 minutes, students may learn something during that time. A learner-centred communicative approach will also help motivate students to

use the target language as often as possible.

Moreover, success and satisfaction are key factors in sustaining motivation. If students feel they have achieved something worthwhile through their own individual effort, they are

more likely to participate the next time. Therefore, when confidence is low, teachers may select simple communicative activities that students can do with success, such as

exchanging phone numbers to make a class telephone directory. Praise and encouragement also help to increase motivation, so teachers must be careful when correcting errors so

as not to undermine students' confidence. The focus of the EFL class should be meaning and communication and we should not expect accuracy in the early stages of FL learning.

Students also build their confidence through activities like repeating after the teacher, so a little time each lesson can be dedicated to that. Children also enjoy learning songs,

poems, chants and even dialogues by heart which can help them to recognize new sounds and intonation patterns. Later, learners will benefit from activities with a higher degree of

difficulty, both cognitive and linguistic.

4. Conclusion

Students needs and interests when designing the syllabus and learning activities

Learner centred approach to TEFL

The importance of motivation

The richness of mixed ability groups