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This information is so clear that it is basically the content the student teachers should be familiar

with and impart in their learners. (Karki, 2016)

2.3.3. Learner centred approach/method employed by student teachers when
teaching poetery

One of the leading exponents of learner-centered methodology, David Nunan (1995), has ex-
panded this definition to include the concept of learner involvement in selecting content, in the

process of learning and in making decisions about “what will be taught, how it will be taught,

when it will be taught and how it will be assessed” (Nunan 134). In the studies on literature in
foreign language teaching, the former definition seems to be prevalent and in this paper, the terms

“learner-centered” or “student-centered” are used to refer to a more interactive, participatory style

of learning, emphasising learner activity rather than passivity.

According to a study conducted by Happel (2016) in Viena two learners centred teaching

approaches were encountered when teaching poetry. The language-based approach and stylistic
approach are basically the approaches which English Second Language teachers use, of which this

could also be applicable when student teachers are delivering a lesson. When teaching a poem
following the language-based approach the main focus is on, as the name already suggests, the

language. Language-based approaches are usually student-centred and activity-based, promoting

the use of group and pair-work activities. Thus, they support an interactive way of teaching poetry.
Student teachers should not teach poetry in a traditional way of teaching which the teacher centred

approach and learners are turned into passive entities. Instead they should put learners into groups

and pairs to make them very active and dominate the learning process.

The second learner centered approach as indicated by Happel’s (2016) study is stylistics approach

which may be used in the ESL classroom. He further suggests to use “activities which will engage
students with poetic texts and draw their attention to the possible significance of particular

linguistic features as conditions on interpretation”. That is, in using student-centred, interactive
tasks the learners can explore the words of a verse together, negotiate when they are of different

opinions and, consequently, learn to value the importance of how language is used to create

meaning.

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