This document discusses the student-centered approach to teaching English as a foreign language. It emphasizes creating a positive learning environment that considers students' needs, abilities, and learning styles. An effective student-centered classroom is collaborative, promotes student motivation and curiosity, and involves students in authentic learning experiences and self-evaluation. The teacher acts as a facilitator rather than knowledge dispenser. Creating an English-speaking environment in the classroom through displays, activities, and routines can help develop students' positive attitudes toward the language. Motivation and reducing anxiety are also important for language learning. The teacher should understand students' characteristics like age, learning styles, and language aptitude to best support their development.

1. TOPIC 25. THE STUDENT- CENTRED
APPROACH IN THE FOREIGN
LANGUAGE AREA. IDENTIFYING
MOTIVATION AND ATTITUDES
TOWARDS THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.
PRACTICE APPLICATION.

2. INTRODUCTION
The student –centred approach is based
on constructivism tenets since students
actively construct their own learning.
This approach departs from students’
previous knowledge and experiences and
takes into account their needs, abilities,
interests, and learning styles. The teacher
function is mainly to facilitate learning
experiences instead of dispenser of
knowledge.

3. Student –centred learning environment
• The learning process is creative and active, and
the teacher is a collaborator.
• Student’s motivational orientation is important.
• The learning environment will be open, dynamic,
trusting and respectful, and will promote the
natural desire and curiosity to learn.
• Students will collaborate on meaningful,
authentic problems which serve to further their
understanding of the subject.
• Students participate in the evaluation of their
learning.

4. The learners’ characteristics
• Age. Children are more spontaneous in the learning of a second
language than adults since the brain lose plasticity. Children are not
afraid of other people’s point of view and have less interference of
their mother tongue.
• Emotional factors. If the person is motivated and relaxed, his or
her learning process will function much better than if a person’s
brain detects anxiety. When students feel stressed, thinking and
memory are affected and inhibited. This is one of the reasons why
we should create a positive learning environment.
• Learning styles. Kinsella (1995) defines student’s learning style as
“individual’s natural, habitual, preferred ways of absorbing,
processing and retain information and skills”. The knowledge of our
students’ learning styles allows us to analyse, motivate and assist
students in school. When we plan our lessons, we should introduce
a wide variety of activities and teach in different ways to reach all
the students and motivate them.
Teaching requires the difficult task of adapting our lessons to the
diversity of the classroom. Even within the same classroom there are a
lot of differences. Teacher should pay attention to:

5. Learning styles
• Visual learners are those who learn through visual
images, charts, pictures, posters, flashcards, etc.
• Auditory learners are those who remember better
when they listen to the teacher, follow the oral
explanation of the topic, listening activities, etc.
• Kinaesthetic learners are those who need
movement, manipulate to acquire information; they
are good doing things. These are those students
that can not sit still for more than half an hour.
“I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.”
Confucius

6. Howard Gardner. Multiple
Intelligences Theory.

8. Language aptitude
Not everybody learns a language in the same way
or with the same effort. People have more
aptitude than others to acquire foreign
languages depending on:
1. Phonemic ability: is the ability to distinguish
the foreign phonemes and remember them.
2. Grammatical ability: is the ability to recognise
the grammatical function that words have in
sentences.
3. Inductive learning ability: is the ability to
generalise structures.
4. Memory capacity: is the ability to associate
materials both in short and long term memory.

9. The student’s motivation
• Intrinsic motivation. It refers to inner factors:
- The instrumental refers to the importance that students give to learn a
new language for their future. E.g. to study abroad.
- The integrative refers to the level of acceptance of English culture. If they
like any famous person, city, team, singer or group of music from
English speaking countries.
• Extrinsic motivation. The students are motivated by external factors:
- The physical qualities of the classroom: the space, the lighting, the
number of students, etc.
- The student’s characteristics. The characteristics of the students differ
from one group to another so we should teaching in different ways.
- The teacher’s characteristics. The teacher attitude has an effect on the
learning process. The teacher should be strict when it is necessary but
overall he or she should be kind towards and respectful on his/ her
students.
- The teacher’s goal. The teacher should be realistic with the right level for
each class.
- The methodology. When planning, we should keep in mind the students’
interests and needs, and to use an active methodology in which
students participate.

10. The student’s attitude
• The positive attitudes are typically connected
to the speakers of the language in question and
the culture represented by its speakers. Is
students are interested in the countries where
the languages are spoken; they will be more
motivated to learn the language.
• Negative attitudes, on the other hand, can
impede language learning. These attitudes are
usually the result of a lack of interest or
difficulties with the teacher, low self esteem,
learning difficulties, low expectations, rejection of
the culture, etc.

11. An English environment
We can find two options in the schools. The first one is to have
our own English classroom and the students come in, and
the second one, the most widespread, is that the teacher
goes to their students’ classroom and, consequently, has to
carry all the materials from one classroom to another.
If we had our own English classroom, we could hang or
display on the walls maps and flags of the different English
speaking countries, posters and pictures of important
speaking people (actors, singers, athletes, etc.), cities,
monuments, etc; hang on students’ works, the important
vocabulary of the topic, routines and common sentences
such as “What’s the meaning of…?, Can I…?”, the rules,
and so on.
We could arrange the materials in the different corners e.g.
the library with dictionaries, books, stories, DVD, etc.
However, the reality is that teachers have only an English
corner where the space is quite reduced.

12. An English environment

13. A pleasant atmosphere
• The interaction between peers and teacher –students has to create a
communicative environment, fun, respectful and tolerant.
• Active and participatory, we should ensure that everyone has the
chance to speak and express what he or she feels. The teacher should
negotiate with the students the contents and methodology of the course
encouraging them to formulate their own objectives.
• Reality: situations related to the students lives, habits and experiences.
• Variety: to use a wide range of contents, materials, topics, games and
activities, structures, vocabulary and accents.
• Safety: students should feel confident expressing themselves and not
worried about errors. Errors are natural part of the learning process.
• To design the classroom rules, routines and procedures at the
beginning of the year or the didactic unit. If everyone knows exactly what
to do and how to do it and why they have to do it, the final product will be
a success.
• ZDP Vygotsky: Comprehensible Input is very important, neither too
difficult or easy. To adapt the lessons to our students’ characteristics.
• Interesting lessons with enjoyable materials, activities, games, English
songs, etc.
• To change their seating arrangements depending on the type of activity.

14. PRACTICE APPLICATION
• Miming new vocabulary.
• Mouthing new vocabulary.
• Pretending to not understand L1 speech.
• Conducting classroom business in English.
• Step by step art projects.
• Reading in different voices.
• Turn the activities into games.
• To provide them with English names; it is a
funny and interesting for them and it is an
excellent way to teach pronunciation.

15. CONCLUSION
It is vital than students be motivated and have good attitudes
towards the target language. Students must learn the
language and the culture of English speaking countries in a
context that is not real. The teacher should show them the
importance of the language in the world of communication.
Attitudes are shaped by social factors. Student’s attitude can
change if they realise the importance of to know a new
language for their future. Motivation is not a fixed pattern. It
varies from one moment to the next depending on the
learning context, topic or task. The more motivated students
will learn a new language easier.
The student centred approach and the creation of an English
and positive learning environment will help them to be
motivated and have positive attitudes towards the target
language. Here the role of the teacher is very relevant
through the activities we propose, the environment we
promote and the type of lessons we carry out.