How can improve the students learning by making them active students

My classroom teaching was quite teacher-centered, as I have been taught . I

am a second year of secondary education teacher. I place a significant
emphasis in bringing knowledge to the students. Seeing the communicative
teaching approach, I began to wonder if this teacher-centered pattern was
sufficient enough to improve the students learning. I realized that I might
have been restraining the students creativity and initiative, giving no
chance for their independent and deep thinking. So, I resolved new ways of
teaching that would improve the students learning. I made myself questions
such How do I activate students so they can improve their learning.
Why I was concerned?
The students silence and the non-participation made it difficult to me to
arrange the class easily and lead an even more teacher-centered class. The
students were bored and students participation became less and less. So a
teacher-centered pattern determine that students just listen and follow the
teacher in a passively way, but it doesnt mean that they are learning and
making themselves improve actively. I found they didnt actually know what
they were supposed to know. This evidence could be found in their wiritting
work, the nervous way of speaking and in their lack of confidence. So, the
language learning wont work without practice which connotes an active
actitude and participation. Activate their actitude toward learning.
Why were my students quiet?
The traditional teaching method difficult
independent leaning ability of students.

the

development

of

the

The students lack of confidence due to their poor general knowledge.

What could I do?
I decided that I needed to find ways to change this situation so that I can
really improve the students learning. I could try to put a students centered
model into my class. To start I will study some actions that enable me to
make a judgment:

Students attendance to class

The completion of homework
Their participacion in discussion
Their attitude toward homework
Their performance in the exams.

What did I do?

I started to work in the specific actions. I collected information about
students from their work. I went through textbooks and the teaching
syllabus and also had a discussion with colleages. And finally I worked out
some specific and different actions to take into my class:

I didnt explain all language points, but asked them to give the main
idea, or tell each others why they thought this statement is true or
false.
In exercises, I asked to discuss in groups first, with a group leader,
and then one of them told us what they had done, and I correct the
errors, if necessary.
In reading comprehension, I designed some questions and asked
them to answer.
According to vocabulary, I no longer explained words one by one.

All this actions were aimed to make students active. I believed they would
break their depending and would become more active.
I began to concern for each student their psychological needs, especially for
those poor in English, those lazy, and those who gave up easily. What I felt
at the beginning to give every change and ecouragemetn to them. For
example in the translation of a sentence that a students did not do his best,
I encouraged him by saying try again, and gave him a little hint and he did
really well. When I waited for the students to answer the questions hands
began to stand up voluntarily, not like before. For those who made progress
in their written work, I wrote comments like:

Thats great, keep doing like this.

Im proud of you
This is the best Ive seen today

I think their success in their homework would lead to increase their

confidence, and confidence will motivate and encourage their next
voluntary effort. I also gave them constructive criticism comments :

You are doing great, keep in mind the capital letters

Thats good, be careful with your handwriting

For those who are very bright, I didnt correct any of their mistakes, but
underlined the wrong points, expecting their own corrections. These new
ways changed the class atmosphere and the whole situation. The
students felt that I was trying a new kind of method. I could often see
that they were trying to cooperate with me. The comments and the
methods of marking were proved helpful. They show how students may
improve their work. I read their exercise book during break time.
Moreover, for those students with the underlined errors had corrected
them all. Even the students put a sing to warn himself in order to avoid
that mistake, and to not commit it again.
These sings really encouraged me, and made me think students were all
subconsciously active.
I considered the students asking and the teacher answering pattern. I
found that students were still very slow at asking questions, they were
simply unable to form a question and their questions were always the

same pattern: I dont understand this or that or just this sentence

please. I began to try the way that teacher designed the questions,
students discussed then, or students discussed first and form their
questions in pairs or in groups. Without my whole attention they might
fell relaxed and free.
This actions applied were all proved quite effective, I found they made
the students active. In the building of vocabulary it was quite impressive
that students werent so mechanical as they had been before, They
seemed confident and tried to correct any kind of mistakes the teacher
made.
All the actions taken influenced my situation in teaching. I collected a
great sheer of data, relating to the activities. My collecting of data
methods are the following:

Journal notes: I noted down individual and group responses

Home work: students homework reveal some answer
Conversation: between students and myself
Other college support, visits to class.

I found that they showed an attitude towards their homework. Some

student made fewer grammatical mistakes in their written work. And
several others corrected all the mistake I had pointed out.
Noted from my observation also that most students are not so nervous
and shy as they were before, they appear to be braver. Also my aiming
make them to learn have been well accepted. For example 9 of them
take the chance voluntarily to make a short speech in about five
minutes, and they did quite good.
Others colleges came to my class lessons during the speeches and they
made comments on their presentations, they are active and cooperate
with you.
The students were organized in groups which were composed by
students with a low level of English mixed with high language level
students so they can cooperate each other to obtain from the peer the
best to improve their learning process and their communicative skills.
At the end of the second week of my new method I made a questionnaire
to the students that showed that they had all been aware of my new
methodology. Trough their answer I can see their approval to my new
methodology. They show answer like, you are trying we learn more
information by ourselves, you are a guide, I became less dependent from
the teacher, etc
To conclude, with this new methodology the marks has changed
dramatically, they obtain higher marks and over the eighty per cent of
the students overpasses the requirements in the class.

Conclusion
So far, I can conclude that being student-centered has been a proved an
educational way to activate students. The specific methods applied show
in the students a greater confidence, independence, initiative and
enjoyment. So, I Have archieved what I intended to do, to improve the
quality of learning experience of my students. The actions change the
class in the way I dont dominate the class, I dont always speak and ask
them to do this or that, and the students as a result became the principal
part of the class.
In a student centered class, the teacher will have to know their
individuals differences, to encourage their learning attempt, and value
their initiative in learning. So only if the content is relevant to the
students knowledge and experience, can their learning practice be
worthy and their leaning motivation more intense and their interest
stronger and their learning more effective and productive.