ELT Journal Advance Access originally published online on August 18, 2008
ELT Journal 2009 63(3):246-254; doi:10.1093/elt/ccn054
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© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press; all rights reserved.
Process-oriented pedagogy: facilitation, empowerment, or control?
William Littlewood was involved in language teaching and teacher education in the UK for many years before moving to Hong Kong in 1991 to join a project in ELT curriculum development. He is currently a Professor in the Department of English, Hong Kong Institute of Education, Tai Po, Hong Kong. He has published widely in the areas of language teaching methodology and language learning
Email: blittle{at}ied.edu.hk
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Abstract |
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A feature of language teaching in recent decades has been the development of process-oriented approaches. This orientation towards processes encourages us to facilitate learner choice and individual development. However, it is challenged by the current educational climate, which prioritizes accountability and assessment. In this situation, a new perspective on process orientation has emerged. This perspective focuses not on the processes which occur as part of learning but on the processes which are the intended outcomes of this learning. Discrete features of the communication and learning processes become pre-specified ‘learning outcomes’, which are to be observed and assessed. Outcomes-based education is promoted as a means of empowering learners with the knowledge and skills required for living. However, it is also a powerful instrument for effecting compliance with centralized conceptions of education and can minimize the voices of learners and teachers in the process of education.