Focus on the Learner

摘要

Language teaching is often discussed from the point of view of the teacher. Some of the waysrnin which teachers beliefs, goals, attitudes, and decisions influence how they approach of teachingrnhave already been examined by many people. However, while learning is the goal of teaching, it isrnnot necessarily the mirror image of teaching. Learners, too, bring to learning their own beliefs,rngoals, attitudes, and decisions, which in turn influence how they approach their learning. Thisrnthesis examines some of the contributions learners bring to learning by exploring learners’ beliefsrnabout teaching and learning, the influence of cognitive styles, and the role of learner strategies.rnDifferences between teachers’ and learners’ beliefs can sometimes lead to a mismatchrnbetween their assumptions about what is useful to focus on in a language lesson. For example, arnteacher may teach a reading lesson with the purpose of developing extensive reading skills, whilernthe students may think of the activity as an opportunity for intensive reading, building up theirrnknowledge of vocabulary and idoms.rnLanguage learners might value some language learning strategies which the teacher may tryrnto discourage. For example, students from a culture where rote learning and memorization arernwidely used may think that these are useful strategies in learning English. However, their teacherrnmay come from a culture where such strategies are not valued and may try to discourage their usernby learners.rnFor some learners, a native-like pronunciation may not be considered an important goal,rnsince they will use English mainly to speak with other nonnative speakers of English. For otherrnstudents, however, acquiring a native-like accent in English may be a high priority.rnSome of the views learners hold about language learning and language teaching can bernrelated to differences of what is referred to as cognitive style or learning style.rnThe current interest in learners strategies in second language teaching highlights ways inrnwhich teachers and learners can be collaboratively engaged in developing effective approaches tornlearning. Both are viewed as sharing the task of facilitating learning by finding how learners canrnlearn more effectively.