Creating a Learner-centered Teacher Education Program

上海龙凤1314 shlfby Mustafa Zulkuf Altan and Christine Trombly

Teacher education is based on the assumption that students will eventually teach in the way that they were taught (Johnson 1995). At In?nü University in Turkey, an ELT teacher education program has set out to change students?beliefs about language learning and teaching during their preparatory year, and thus to create a new type of language teacher in Turkey. Since these students are studying to become teachers, it is important early in their careers to impart the notion of learner-centered education. This means organizing a class so that students are more involved in the teaching and learning process and the teacher is less likely to dominate classroom events (Nunan 1995). We have found that a learner-centered classroom enhances students?development in the process of becoming teachers.

上海龙凤1314 shlfEnglish instruction in Turkey is important because without English proficiency, professionals in many sectors of society are blocked from career advancement. The need for more and effective English language teachers is greater than ever before. Yet language education is particularly challenging in Turkey, as it is in other parts of the world, due to the traditional classroom in which teachers are considered authorities and the learning environment is teacher-centered. In a traditional teacher-centered classroom, some students are motivated to learn English. However, we believe that students progress more rapidly in learning English in a more learner-centered environment.

This article describes how we created a learner-centered classroom environment with students who come from a teacher-centered background. We explain how we used the communicative approach, process writing,

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