Participants in the

learning process

Who are the main participants in the

learning process?

TEACHERS

plan

LEARNERS

participate

organize
motivate
encourage

collaborate
take initiative
take responsibility

Task
What are the most important qualities a
teacher needs to have? Work in pairs, make
a list of the qualities a teacher needs to have
and put them in the order of importance.
Compare your list with another pair.

Language teaching
has been described in terms of what
teachers do: that is, in terms of the
actions and behaviors which teachers
carry out in the classroom and the
effects of these on learners .
(J. C. Richards and C. Lockhart)

Teachers tasks:

Selecting learning activities

Preparing students for new learning
Presenting learning activities
Asking questions
Conducting drills
Checking students understanding
Providing opportunities for practice of new
items
Monitoring students learning
Giving feedback on student learning
Reviewing and reteaching when necessary

Metaphors about teachers:

actors

because they are always

on stage

Metaphors about teachers:

orchestral conductors

because they direct conversation

and set the pace and tone

Metaphors about teachers:

gardeners

because they plant the seeds

and then watch them grow

Task
Think of some other metaphors
describe teachers and explain them.

that

Teachers beliefs stem from:

Their own experience as language
learners;
Experience of what works best;
Established practice;
Personality factors;
Educationally based or research-based
principles;
Principles derived from an approach or
method.

What if
teachers
beliefs and
assumptions

learners
beliefs and
assumptions

dont match?

Learners comments:
I just want a program so I know what I
have to learn. They're the teachers. They
know their job.
There is no system in these courses. It's all
'bits and pieces'.
Without the grammar you can't learn the
language.

Learners comments:
I dont want to clap and sing. I want to
learn English.
You need a teacher to learn English
properly - you cant learn it by yourself
because there is no one to correct you.
I want something I can take home and
study. We do a lot of speaking but we
never see it written down.

Task
Write down some of your own beliefs about
teaching and learning.

Teachers roles:
CONTROLLER

teachers are in charge of the class

and the activities;
students are denied access to their
own experiential learning;
students are not given enough
opportunities to speak;
fewer individuals have a chance to
say anything at all;

Over-reliance in transmission teaching can result

in a lack of variety in activities and classroom
atmosphere.

Teachers roles:
giving the students information;
ORGANIZER
telling them how they are going
to do the activity;
putting them into pairs or
groups;
closing things down when it is
time to stop.
Within this role, the teacher has several tasks:
engage, instruct (demonstrate), initiate, organize
feedback.

Teachers roles:
ASSESSOR

offering feedback and correction;

grading students in various ways;
telling them what they are looking for
and what success looks like so that
they can measure themselves against
this;
being fair and sensitive.

A bad grade can be made far more acceptable if it

is given with sensitivity and support.

Teachers roles:
PROMPTER

helping students when they are lost

for words or dont know how to
proceed;
but not taking charge in order to
encourage students to think creatively
and not rely on the teacher all the
time;
it needs to be done sensitively,
encouragingly, and with discretion.

The teacher should supply the right amount of

encouragement without taking initiative away
from the students.

Teachers roles:
PARTICIPANT enlivening things from the
inside instead of always having
to prompt or organise from
outside the group;
it can be enjoyable for both the
students and the teacher;
The teacher in the role of a participant should be
careful not to dominate the activity.

Teachers roles:
RESOURCE

offering students guidance as to

where they can look for information;
encouraging them to use resource
materials for themselves in order to
become more independent in their
learning;
not giving all the answers.

When teachers are acting as a resource they need to be

helpful and available, but at the same time they have to
resist the urge to spoon-feed their students so that they
become over-reliant on them.

Teachers roles:
TUTOR

a combination of the roles of

prompter and resource;
helping students who are working
on projects individually or in small
groups;
not suitable when students are
working in large groups because it
implies more intimate relationship
and personal contact.

Teachers need to find a balance and not intrude too much

because it will impede learner autonomy, or too little
because it will be unhelpful .

Teachers roles:
OBSERVER

observing students work in order to

be able to give group or individual
feedback about what they do wrong,
but also about what they do right;
the aim is not only to give feedback
but also to assess the success of the
activities and materials, as well as
the effect of their actions on the
students.

Teachers should try to avoid drawing attention to

themselves because it may distract students from the task
they are involved in.

Task
Try to picture a lesson you have experienced
as a language learner. Write down as many
actions that the teacher performed as you
can. Then think about the different roles the
teacher had for each action.

What students expect from their

teachers:
They should make their lessons interesting so
you dont fall asleep in them.
A teacher must love her job. If she really enjoys
her job that will make the lessons more
interesting.
I like the teacher that has his own personality
and doesnt hide it from the students so that he
is not only a teacher but a person as well and
it comes through the lessons.
I like a teacher who has lots of knowledge, not
only of his subject.

What students expect from their

teachers:
A good teacher is an entertainer and I mean
that in a positive sense, not a negative sense.
Its important that you can talk to the teacher
when you have problems and you dont get
along with the subject.
A good teacher is somebody who has an affinity
with the students that theyre teaching.

What students expect from their

teachers:
A good teacher should try and draw out the
quiet ones and control the more talkative ones.
He should be able to correct people without
offending them.
A good teacher is someone who helps rather
than shouts.
A good teacher is someone who knows our
names.

What is a good teacher?

The most obvious common feature of the
different teachers accounts was that in
response to our question about their
teaching they almost always talked about
what their pupils were doing.
(Conclusion of the survey conducted with a group
of good teachers chosen by their pupils.)

Learning is not
necessarily the
mirror image of
teaching.
(J. C. Richards and
C. Lockhart)

Characteristics of good language

learners:

a tolerance of ambiguity,
positive task orientation,
ego involvement or positive self-image,
high aspirations,
goal orientation and perseverance.
(Naiman et al.)

Characteristics of good language

learners:

learning to live with uncertainty

finding their own way
being creative
making intelligent guesses
making their own opportunities for practice
making errors work for them not against them
using contextual clues
(J. Rubin and I. Thompson)

Characteristics of good language

learners:

A willingness to listen
A willingness to experiment
A willingness to ask questions
A willingness to think about how to learn
A willingness to accept correction
(J. Harmer)

A good language learner:

is a willing and accurate guesser
tries to get a message across even if specific language
knowledge is lacking
is willing to make mistakes
constantly looks for patterns in the language
practises as often as possible
analyzes his or her own speech and the speech of others
attends to whether his or her performance meets the
standards he or she has learned
enjoys grammar exercises
begins learning in childhood
has an above-average IQ
has good academic skills
has a good self-image and lots of confidence
(P. M. Lightbown and N. Spada)

Task
Look at the characteristics of good language
learners listed by Lightbown & Spada. Do
you agree with all of them? Which ones
would you be less inclined to expect in a
successful learner? Can you add some more?

Learners differences:
APTITUDE

Modern Language Aptitude Test:

a) the ability to identify and
memorize new sounds,
b) the ability to understand how
words function grammatically in
sentences,
c) the ability to figure out
grammatical rules from language
samples,
d) memory for new words.

Different learners have different aptitude for

language learning.

Learners differences:
INTELLIGENCE

A wide range of abilities such as

reasoning, understanding, learning,
problem-solving, abstract thinking.
A connection between intelligence
and the ability to learn a second or
foreign language.

Intelligence is more likely to influence the acquisition of

skills used in the formal study of the language such as
reading, writing, grammar and vocabulary study, and
less likely to influence the acquisition of oral fluency skills.

Learners differences:
PERSONALITY Personality characteristics:
extroversion/introversion, inhibition,
self-esteem, empathy, talkativeness
Extrovert learners are expected to be
better language learners.
Most of the studies have failed to
find a strong relationship between
extroversion/introversion and
proficiency.
Personality is more important in the acquisition of the
communicative competence and less important in the
acquisition of grammatical accuracy or knowledge of rules.

Learners differences:
MOTIVATION
& ATIITUDES

learners goals and needs,

their persistence in achieving these
goals,
their attitudes towards the target
language community.

Motivation and attitudes are important factors in language

acquisition, but it is not clear how motivation affects
learning, whether it is motivation that produces successful
learning, or successful learning that enhances motivation.

Learners differences:
LEARNING
STYLES &
STRATEGIES

Learners have their preferred style of

learning,
Different learners approach the tasks
with different set of skills and
strategies.
Some learners prefer to hear things,
others would rather see the things
they need to learn, a third group likes
to connect the new material with a
physical movement or activity, etc.
Learners also differ in the techniques
and strategies they use in their
learning.

Task
What can teachers do about the differences
of the learners in the classroom?

Learners beliefs:
Beliefs about the nature of English:
English is much more difficult to learn than
other languages.
The most difficult part of learning English is
learning grammar.
English is the world's most important
language.

Learners beliefs:
Beliefs about the four language skills:
You need to know a lot of idioms to be good in
speaking English.
The best way to improve listening is by
watching television.
It is a waste of time for me to read magazines
in English because of the vocabulary.

Learners beliefs:
Beliefs about teaching:
Teachers should explain grammar rules.
You can't learn very much from other
students in groups.
It's useful for the teacher to correct all the
mistakes I make in my writing.
The teacher's responsibility is to provide
information.
The teacher should follow the book.
The teacher should always set an example.

Learners beliefs:
Beliefs about language learning:
The best way to learn a language is to mix
with native speakers of the language.
It's not useful to try and remember grammar
rules.
You need to practice every day to improve
your English.

Learners beliefs:
Beliefs about self:
I'm not a good language learner. I can't pick
up the language naturally.
Remembering vocabulary is easy for me.
I feel uncomfortable when I have to speak to
a native speaker.

Learners beliefs:
Beliefs about goals:
I just want to be able to make myself
understood.
I'd like to be able to write well in English.
I'm not interested in learning to read, only
to speak.

Learners beliefs:
Beliefs about appropriate classroom behaviour:
It's not polite to ask the teacher a question
during class time.
You shouldn't leave the classroom until the
teacher has dismissed the class.
It's OK to get up and ask another student to
help you when you need to.
It's OK to copy another student's answers for
a homework assignment.

Learners roles:
The Audiolingual Method:
reactive role
repeat after the teacher
respond to stimuli

Total Physical Response:

listeners
performers

The Silent Way and

Community Language
Learning:
collaborator

Learners roles:
Communicative Language Teaching:
active participants

planners
monitors
evaluators
negotiators
collaborators
researchers
investigators

How can teachers help learners

fulfill the role of participant:
invite students to respond,
provide group and pair work,
value contributions made by praising and
responding appropriately,
respect when students do/do not want to speak
and reflect on why this may be the case.
By helping learners to perform different roles
in the classroom, teachers will help them
become more successful language learners.

Task
Write down several learner roles. How might
learners benefit from being effective in each?