Teaching or Learning a Foreign Language?

One of the most interesting issues that has come up in the methodology of languages in the last few years is the distinction between teaching and learning. Until not very long ago it was believed that there was a strict correspondence between what we "taught" our students and what they actually "learnt". Nowadays we know that teaching and learning are two different processes which, although they run parallel, are not so interdependent as it was thought in the past. The thing is that the focus has shifted from teaching to learning and this new position has had and it is still having a great effect on how the whole process of language acquisition is now understood and of course on the classroom management itself.

Perhaps one of the most significant consequences of this new approach is the changing of the roles of teacher and student in the classroom. The activities in class tend to be more student-centered than they used to be and that involves a more active participation on the part of the student, whereas the teacher’s role has become more that of a facilitator or helper than the mere instructor that he used to be in the past times.

"The teacher can help, advise and teach; but only the learner can learn." (Keith Morrow). I like to use this quotation with my students. I think it points out the great responsibility that the student should have for their own process of learning. The teacher will certainly be present to help and advise but at the end of the day it is the student and only the student who has to do the job of "learning" the language.

Looking at it from this new point of view we must admit that the student has a lot more to say about how they understand, they live and they feel about their own learning process. Their interests, motivations, what kind of learners they are, at what pace they want to advance, etc... should be new variables to take into account in this new approach.
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If you feel like reading a bit more about student-centered learning, click here.