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Rong Liu
Ph.D. Candidate
Second Language Acquisition and Teaching
2006 TESOL
(Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc.)
Tampa, Florida
March 15 -18, 2006
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“A Paradigm Shift of Learner-centered Teaching Style: Reality or Illusion?”
Abstract
While learner-centered language teaching has been advocated in higher education in recent years, teacher-centered teaching style may be still dominant in the actual practice. Using Adapted Principles of Adult Learning Styles (APALS), which is originally developed by Conti in 1979 and revised in 1985 and 2004, the present study investigates the teaching style of instructors in a renowned university in a southwest state in USA. Because previous studies have revealed conflicting results on the relations between variables such as gender, degree obtained, course type, etc. with the perceived teaching styles, the study also examines the
correlation between the possible variables that correlates with teaching styles. Seven factors in APALS are designed to assess participants' teaching styles and they have been proven as reliable tools by many studies. They are learner-centered activities, personalizing instruction, relating to experience, assessing student needs, climate building, participation in the learning process, and flexibility for personal development. The data was collected through questionnaires and analyzed with SPSS. Results show that most instructors still employ traditional, teacher-centered styles in university settings despite the call for a paradigm shift to learner-centered teaching style. Among the seven factors, personalizing instruction and flexibility for personal development are the least practiced by university instructors. Reasons for the discrepancy between theory and practice are addressed. Implications for teacher training are also discussed in the paper.
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