Teach English in XiAnnǚhu Zhen [SAnba XiAng] - Chongqing

Role Of The TeacherWhat is the role of the teacher in an ESL classroom? Or any classroom? Sometimes, in the mad rush of planning curriculum, grading papers, meeting with students, and -- somewhere in there -- having a life, the central purpose what we're doing can get a bit blurred. Which is why it's important to periodically remind ourselves what exactly our focus should be. Wendy Kopp, President of Teach for American, a non-profit organization that places recent college graduates in under-served communities, puts it this way: "At Teach for America we know that teaching successfully is an act of leadership, and I often hear our corps members and alumni describe the moment they broke through as a teacher as the moment they realized that this work is not about them, but rather about their students" (George & Kopp, 2007). The concept and application of education (a term which should fully encompass both teaching and learning) have come a long way in the past few decades; gone are the days of the professor lecturing from a podium, dispensing knowledge to the (silent) students, and then assessing how well the they've absorbed this knowledge with quizzes and tests. As times have changed, teachers now need to take a proactive hand the learning process as well as teaching. One of the most significant manifestations of this new paradigm is the shift in focus, from teacher-centered classrooms to student-centered classrooms. "This shift makes the students (learners) more responsible for their education, forcing them to draw upon previously learned skills in order to learn new materiel" (Brown, n.d.). How, then, does a teacher facilitate this new focus, and create an effective student-centered classroom? We must first begin by defining, in clear terms exactly what student-centered learning is. This is easier said than done, given the wide range of interpretations and theoretical models that have been connected to the term. One large online database for ESL educators defined student-centered learning in these basic, practical terms: Language activities, techniques, and methods where the students/learners are the focus and the teacher plays only a peripheral role. students are allowed some control over the activity or some input into the curriculum...Learner-centered education is thought to be intrinsically motivating and thus beneficial. (ESL Glossary, n.d.) This can be contrasted with traditional (teacher-centered) learning; but even given this clear contrast, what is the practical application of these ideas? How does one balance the need to build or implement a curriculum of quality with the desire to focus on the student in a meaningful way? One of the earliest advocates of student-centered learning, specifically in the ESL classroom, was Barry P. Taylor, whose article "Teaching ESL: Incorporating a Communicative, student-Centered Component" was published in the March 1983 issue of the tesol QUARTERLY. Taylor's article, which is based on papers and lectures he gave at a series of linguistic and ESL focused conventions and conferences throughout the early 1980's, gives us a more nuanced (but still practical) definition of student-centered learning: Current research in applied linguistics claims that most adult learners acquire a second language only to the extent that they are exposed to and actively involved in real, meaningful communication in that language. An ESL class which sets out to provide opportunities for such communication, therefore, requires at least two basic components: an environment which will encourage learners to exercise their own initiative in communicating, and activities which will motivate them to do so. (1983) He goes on to say that students can be given a good amount of freedom in how they engage with the activities employed, and that though the teacher is responsible for setting-up and explaining the activities, they should then step back and keep a low profile, perhaps only asking "attention-directing" questions. This position allows students to take on the activity individually or as a group, depending on the activity assigned, but with a large degree of independence. student-centered learning is not a magic bullet, and cannot ever take the place of thoughtful, organized, holistic preparation and curriculum development on the part of educators. In general, though, it puts the focus of a classroom, and everyone participating within that classroom, exactly where it should be: "Placing learners at the heart of the learning process" (Edwards, as cited in O'Neill & McMahon, n.d.).