Mei 4 pp presentacion

FROM PASSIVE PARTICIPANT TO ACTIVE THINKER A LEARNER-CENTERED APPROACH TO

MATERIALS DEVELOPMENTBy Nguyen Thi Cam Le

PRESENTED BY CARLOS ARAYA

February 2011

From Passive Participant to Active Thinker A Learner-Centered Approach to Materials Development

By Nguyen Thi Cam Le

• INTRODUCTION:

• The following presentation summarizes the main ideas from the article stated above, published in the English Teaching Forum Magazine, volume 43, number 3, 2005 as a requisite of MEI-4 Teaching English as a Foreign Language course at ULatina.



Role of students:

In most countries students have a passive role in the EFL class.

Teachers say Ss lack critical skills to express their points of view.

SS view teachers as the embodiment of knowledge.

Teachers’ control over SS hinders their free communication.

SS passive role is more likely a result of their educational context.



• STRATEGIES EFL TEACHERS CAN ADOPT TO INCREASE SS’s PARTICIPATION AND CRITICAL THINKING:

• 1. Taking a thoughtful approach to Materials Development.



• A. Select materials related to culture and experience of EFL students.

• B. Choose meaningful materials: This encourages students to show interest. Consequently they are more participatory.

• C Keep a balance between foreign and local cultural concepts and images.

• D. Explain cultural differences: This activates SS’s curiosity and invites them to ask questions.



• How to localize materials ?

• A. Nationally produced materials.

• B. Select those that focus on the cultures of English-speaking countries.

• C. Adapt ESL materials that can lead to further activities according to SS’s needs.



• HUMANIZE MATERIALS:

• A. Take into account SS’s feelings, emotions and social experience as integral to the educational process.

• B. Make language learning an affective experience.

•



• Employ / Promote Critical Thinking

• Critical thinking occurs when SS question their own beliefs or what they are told (Marshall & Rowland, 1998).

• It is the ability to distinguish between facts and opinions, judgements and inferences, objective and subjective impressions.



• TECHNIQUES TO PROMOTE CRITICAL THINKING:

• 1. Ask Ss WH-questions.

• 2. Elicit meaningful S reactions to texts.

• 3. Construct activities to help Ss distinguish facts from opinions, supported opinions vrs. unsupported ones.

• 4. Use 2 or more texts with different views on the same matter.

• 5. Be sentitive to controversial issues.



• Develop learner autonomy:

Learning autonomy: “Ability to take charge of one’s own

learning.”

1. Encourage Ss to be self-motivated, to continue learning outide the classroom.

2. Suggest extra curricular activities.

3. Train Ss to take charge of every stage of their own learning.

4. Give Ss a chance to bring to class texts, stories, topics,etc, that interest them.



• “A motivated student would have a greater interest in what was to be learnt and thus be more ready and able to take on responsibilities in the language learning process.”

• (Humphreys & Chan 2002)



• CONCLUSION:

• Ss do not actively participate in the EFL class for a variety of reasons, including cultural disposition and a country’s educational context.

• Teachers face great challenges to counteract passive learning and make Ss more thoughtful and engaged. A learner-centered approach to developing materials is recommended in this article as one way to overcome the problem.

• Materials development offers both Ts and Ss the opportunity to make learning English more purposeful and productive. It requires effort on the teacher when selecting and adapting materials to create a classroom environment that supports interaction and critical thinking.



Education

Mei 4 pp presentacion