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beseenasthekeyfeatureofalearner-centeredapproachtoteaching.
Inotherwords,itassumesthedevelopmentofamoreequalrelationshipbe-
tweentheteacherandlearnersthanisthecaseintraditionalapproachesto
teaching.Theabovementionedrelationship,however,isbasedonmutual
knowledgeandunderstanding,andonrespectoftheother’sindividuality.
Sucharelationshipmuststartsomewhere,andwithinalearner-centeredap-
proachtoteaching,learnertrainingoffersthemostfruitfulforumforinitiat-
ingthissharingofknowledgeandinsights.Therearecertainreasonswhythe
linkingoftheterms‘learner-centredness’and‘innovation’maybejustified.
Oneofthosereasonsisrelatedtothedegreetowhichtheindividualteacher’s
trainingandpriorprofessionalexperiencehavepreparedhim/herforalearn-
er-centeredmodeofteaching:inthissense,thedegreeofinnovationwill
varyfromteachertoteacher.Morefundamentally,however,thereissome-
thinginherentlyinnovativeaboutthelearner-centeredapproachtoteaching
foraverysimplereasonthatnoonegroupoflearnerswilleverbequitelike
another,andnoteachingsituationwillhavepreciselythesameconfiguration
ofparticipantsandimperativesasanother.Theteacherwhoiscommittedto
alearner-centeredmodeofteaching,needs,therefore,todevelopreflective
awarenesswhichwillallowhim/hertobecomeopentochanges,andatthe
sametimetobeabletoreactflexiblytotheneedsofthestudentsandofthe
educationalcontext(Tudor1996:66).
Learner-centeredteachingdoesnotexcludetheuseofexistingtext-books,
butitmayencouragetheuseofavarietyofotherteachingmaterialsderiving
fromthelearners’occupationalconcernsorfromtheiraffective/culturalin-
terests.Theteachersmaythusfindthemselvesdealingwitharangeofmate-
rialsthatareconsiderablybroaderthantheywereusedto,andwhichmay
derivefromsourcesthattheyareunfamiliarwithineitherconceptualorlin-
guisticterms.Teacherswhohavebeentrainedwithinaspecificapproachto
teachingorwhoseexperiencehasbeenwithinaframeworkdefinedbyadher-
encetoapre-establishedcurriculum,theuseofrecommendedtextbooksorof
agivenmethod,mayfindthattheessentiallyopen-endedandexploratory
natureoflearner-centeredteachingplacesnewdemandsontheirpedagogical
skillsandtheteacher-learnerrolerelationships.Whiletheteacherwillnever
forfeithis/herroleasknower,inalearner-centeredapproachthiswillbesub-
sumedundertherolesoflearningcounselorandeducator.Prabhu(1987:
105)pointsoutthatthenewperceptioninpedagogy,implyingdifferentpa
tternofclassroomactivity,isanintruderintoteachers’mentalframesan
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