Abstract

This paper reports on research findings on leaner-centered approach compared to teacher-centered approach in teaching English grammar as a foreign language in Iranian high school context. It shows the need for grammar instruction in English language classes when roughly all education efforts are bottom-up explicit approach. One could compare and contrast these two learning approaches and try to evaluate the effectiveness of them. To this end, a cohort of 60 male homogeneous students at a junior high school in Tabriz, Iran participated in this study. All participants were native speakers of Azerbaijani and Persian aged around 16. There were two classes, including 30 students in each group (class) who were assigned to the control and experimental group. The experimental group received a treatment in passive-active voice, followed by a grammar pre- and post-test. All the tests consisted of multiple-choice, cloze, and fill-in-blanks, which were administered to study the homogeneity in their grammar knowledge over one month, and the results were compared. Two groups were observed, namely the control group (group A) or teacher-centered and the experimental group (group B) or student-centered. This experimental study also comprised classroom observations and teacher interview. When the students are given the opportunity to merge input in what they learn and how they learn, academic achievements and comprehension occur. The results support the implementation of teacher-centered process for the purpose of developing grammar knowledge of Iranian EFL learners. English classes cannot fulfill the learners’ needs on communication. The findings suggest the need for explicit teaching of grammar rules and their use through communicative tasks.

Highlights

  • Student-centered learning or active learning is a method of instruction in which the student is in the center of focus and the teacher has the least impression in language instruction

  • The results support the implementation of teacher-centered process for the purpose of developing grammar learning in Iranian EFL learners

  • All represent that regarding long term learning of English language in teacher-centered process made it possible for students to improve their learning

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Summary

Introduction

Student-centered learning or active learning is a method of instruction in which the student is in the center of focus and the teacher has the least impression in (grammar) language instruction. In Iran, English grammar teaching has been carried out within classrooms, in which learning is shaped in practices, teacher’s management, and particular course books without any opportunity for the students to use it. Students are imposed to be passive and respectful to the teachers who are the reminders of old educational system and so inefficient to cope with new system, in which students are the main players with their needs All these barriers in Iran’s English education system block students from any communicative interactions even after graduation from high school or university. This study tries to focus on the importance of communicative (top-down) approach or student-centered learning, any advantageous or disadvantageous, successes or failures compared to teacher-centered learning in Iranian context and how to increase the output in EFL learners in this system. The results could be useful for authorities and educators in the ministry of education to alert them for primary and high school teachers’ needs on any innovation and reform in educational system

Teacher-centered Learning and Importance of Learning Grammar
Student-centered Learning
The Principles of Student-centered Learning
Problem
Ways to Incorporate Student-centered Learning
Method
Participants
Instrumentation
Materials
Results
10. Discussion
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