Application of Learner-Centered Approach in College English Instruction in China: A Case Study

With a development history of more than half a century, the learner-centered approach has become a new teaching paradigm worldwide. The approach can produce effective and significant learning focusing on learners’ development, learning, and learning outcomes. This study aimed to determine how a learner-centered approach can increase students’ engagement, improve their English learning strategies, and enhance their academic performance in a specific EFL setting. Bloom’s taxonomy, Zhao’s “Neo Tri-Centers,” Krashen’s L2 acquisition theory, and primarily Biggs’ constructive alignment functioned as valuable guidelines when designing the instructional activities. Constructive alignment holds that intended learning outcomes, teaching and learning activities, and assessment tasks should be aligned organically to achieve effective learning. Data collected through the instructor’s observations, questionnaires, assessments of the students’ performances, and colleague’s feedback show that the learner-centered approach has remarkably motivated the students, improved their learning strategies, and enhanced their academic performance. The results and implications of this study may be of reference importance for future language teaching in a foreign language or second language setting.