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Ⅰ.Introduction This study investigated the teachers’ perceptions of learner-centeredmethod in English language teaching (ELT) in Lufeng Middle schools.Learner-centered method of teaching, which originated as a concept in West, hasbeen an all-known word in the field of education for a long time. In recentyears, there has been a growing interest in the developing countries inimplementing learner-centered approach in education. However, its meaning haschanged and developed over the years and has been interpreted differently bydifferent people in different contexts. In china, learner-centered method hasalso been obviously promoted in the recent national curriculum innovation inall subjects including English in schools. However, how this notion is receivedby Chinese middle school teachers in English language teaching remains largelyunknown, especially in Yunnan province. So, the purpose of this study is tofind out how Middle school teachers perceive the concept of learner-centeredmethod and how they use it in English teaching. This study will try tocontribute to a better understanding of learner-centered teaching, theadvantages and potential problems in learner-centered teaching in some middleschools. The following is some background information of the education reformsin China: copyright paper51.com English as a foreign language has been formally added to the Middleschool curriculum for many years. It has been a formally recognized course inthe Middle school curriculums and it has received a lot of attention and enthusiasmfrom many local educational authorities, schools and parents since the late1980s and has experienced a rapid development in provision entering the 1990smainly in costal regions and major cities. However, there had been a lack ofinvestment for training teachers and for producing appropriate materials. Whatwas done in the middle schools is specially focused on the study of vocabularyand grammar rules in a teacher-centered approach in the past. In the 21stcentury, in order to adapt to the rapidly changing society and meet the changesof globalization, the education system was reformed by the government. It aimedat improving teaching practice, so schools will equip the children who willlive their lives in the 21 century. The main objective of the educationalreform is to shift from the traditional teacher-dominated didactic mode ofteaching into another mode of teaching, that is learner-oriented,experience-based, problem-solved, putting more emphasis on satisfying learner’saffective demands, cultivating their creative minds and developing theircooperative and interactive abilities. Thus, learner-centered method willbecome a motto with the educational reform in all school subjects. Then, Inorder to change the teacher-dominated classroom into a more learner-centeredclassroom, a new national English curriculum was designed and published in2001. The new curriculum states its main task in the curriculum is to shiftfrom overemphasizing the transmission mode of teaching and learning based ongrammar and vocabulary into the development of students’ overall ability inlanguage use. The provision of English should attach great importance toactivating students’ life experiences and cognitive stages of development,prompting learning through their actives involvement in the process ofexperiencing, practicing, participating in activities, cooperating with eachother and communication with the language-learning through doing. “The overallobjective of the course is to develop students’ comprehensive languagecompetence by making learning a process during which they form positiveattitudes, develop thinking skills, improve cross-cultural awareness anddevelop autonomous learning strategies so as to gradually become independentlearners.” (English Curriculum for Nine-Year Compulsory Education P.1. TheMinistry of Education, China 2001). http://www.paper51.com As Maryellen Weimer explains, learner-centered teaching focuses attentionon what the student is learning, how the student is learning, the conditionsunder which the student is learning, whether the student is retaining andapplying the learning, and how curriculum to the process and objectives oflearning rather than to the content delivery alone. As a result, this newcurriculum is much more popular with the teachers and children because of itseffective improvement of students’ overall ability in language use. paper51.com |