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LEARNINGBYTEACHING-ANEFFECTIVELEARNING
METHODINTHELANGUAGECLASSROOM
HoTrinhQuynhThu1
Abstract:Learningbyteaching(LBT)isapositivemethodthatisdemonstrated
to be effective in the process of learning and teaching, especially in the language
classroom.Besidestheknowledgestudentsarerequiredtoachieve,theLBTapproach
helpsstudentsmoreintheircompetencedevelopmentandsoftskillimprovement.The
approachwasalsopracticallyappliedsuccessfullyintheEnglishlanguageclassroom
atNguyenDucUpper-secondarySchool,QuangNamprovince.Therefore,thepaper
wouldliketointroduceLBTasawayofinnovationineducation,increasingstudents’
learningmotivationandcontributingtoimprovingeducationalquality.
Keywords: learning-by-teaching, educational method, learning motivation,
pedagogicalrenovation,positiveeducation
1.Introduction
Learningbyteaching(LBT)isapedagogicalapproachinwhichstudentsplaythe
roleoftheteacher.Itwasdeemedaphenomenonattractingresearchers’interestssince
thelate1960sandofciallyemergingasaneducationalmethodinthemid-1980swith
conictingopinions(Duran,2016).Severalcontroversieshavebrokenoutsurrounding
theeffectivenessoftheLBTmethodwhenthetraditionaldistinguishedroleofteachers
intheclassroomisreplaced;however,manyresearchersshowthatstudentsspending
timeteachingwhattheylearnedunderstandtheknowledgebetterandrememberitlonger
thanthosewhospendthesametimere-studying(Aslan,2015;Duran,2016).LBTisalso
describedasaneffectivepositivemethodofpedagogythatnotonlyenhancesstudents’
learningexperiencebutalsodevelopstheirskillsofcommunicationandcollaboration
among others. Besides the achievements of knowledge and competences, the LBT
classroomisevidentlydemonstratedtomakestudentsencouraged,excitedandeagerto
attendthelesson(Setiawan,2019).Inthecontextthattraditionaleducationalparadigms
havestillbeendominatinginVietnam,inordertoproposeamotionofEnglishlearning
and teaching innovation in the classroom, thepaper would liketo present the LBT
approach,apedagogicalmethodthathasbeenpracticallydemonstratedtobeeffectivein
theprocessoflearningandteachingEnglishbymyselfatNguyenDucupper-secondary
school,QuangNamprovince,Vietnam.
2.Content
2.1.Whatisteaching?
Teaching is the job of being a teacher, which is educationally treated as the
concertedsharingofknowledgeandexperiencewithinadisciplineandastheprovision
ofstimulustopersonalpsychologicalandintellectualgrowth(Impedovo&Iaquinta,
1.PhD.,DepartmentofForeignLnaguages,QuangNamUniversity
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2012).Sofartherehavebeendifferentviewsofteachingbuttheapproachestoteaching
arefundamentallyclassiedintotwoschoolsofthoughtbasedontherolesofteachers
andstudentsintheprocessofteaching.Theyareteacher-centredandstudent-centred
approacheswhereteachingisrespectivelyunderstoodas“knowledgetransmission”and
“assistedknowledgecreation”(Starr-Glass,2018).
Focusing on the activities of teacher’s knowledge transmission, philosophical
theories describe teaching as a combination of interrelated activities including
explaining,questioning,illustratingandinstructingdesignedbytheteacherandbased
onstudents’backgroundsothatitisproperforstudentstoreceivethetaughtknowledge
(Sangoleye& Kolawole, 2016).According to this viewpoint, an activityofteaching
mustsatisfyvecriteria;namely,(i)theteacher(whoisperformingtheactconsciously
anddeliberately),(ii)thestudent(whoisbeingtaught),(iii)thesubjectmatter(whatis
beingtaught),(iv)theintentionofteachingandlearningand(v)moralandpedagogical
methodsorprocedures.Besides,teachingisdeemedtobetheartandsciencewhereby
the knowledgeis conveyedfromateacher to studentsvia a varietyofmethodsin a
formalsetting(Maboe,2019).Sharingthesamethought,HoTrinhQuynhThuandDoan
PhanAnhTruc (2019) mentioned the term“traditionalview of teaching” to express
theteacher-ledteachingapproachinwhichprofessionalknowledge,experiences,facts
andinformation,competencesandskills,moralstandardsandsocialbehavioursthatare
believedtobenecessaryforstudentsaretransmittedtothembytheirteachers.Inthis
model,theteacherisgiventheauthorityanddominationoftheclasswhereasstudents
arecompletelypassiveinreceivingtheknowledge.
Unliketeacher-centredapproachtoteaching,student-centredactivitiesofteaching
areaimedatfacilitatingtheactiveprocessofstudents’knowledgeacquisition.Because
theyarenotspoon-fed,studentsareforcedtothinkmore,searchforandgettheinformation
theyneedundertheteacher’sguidesandsupports,whichencouragesstudentsintheir
activeandindependentcreationofnewknowledge;henceteachingasassistedknowledge
creation(Starr-Glass,2018).Thismodelofteachinggivesprominencetothestudents’
cognitiveintegrity,whichhelpsdeveloptheirhabitsofworkingwithdifferentviewpoints
toreachthetruthorbestdecisions.Assuch,teachingisnottheteacher’sprocessof
knowledge transmission or provision but the students’ acquisition of knowledge by
themselvesthroughteachers’aids.
2.2.Learningbyteachingapproach
2.2.1.WhatisLearningbyteaching?
Learning by teaching (LBT) is a student-centred teaching activity which was
developedbytheFrenchlanguageteacherJean-PolMartininGermanschoolsinthe
1980s(Martin,1985citedinStollhans,2016).Thiseducationalapproachdoesnotlet
students run in the conventional way wherethey have the lesson presented by their
teachersbutitgivesthemchancestopresentthelesson.Thatis,thestudentplaystherole
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ofateacher.Tofullthisduty,thestudentisforcedtomakeeveryefforttomasterthe
goalsofthelessoncarefullyandtondoutpropermethodsandstrategiesforpresenting
theinformationtoher/hispeerseffectively.Inotherwords,theLBTapproachfocuses
ontrainingthestudent’sabilityofbuildingknowledgeinsteadofthatofjustreceivingit
passively(Setiawan,2019).Therefore,itcanhelppromotestudents’initiative.
IntheLBTmodel,thestudenttakesovertheteacher’spositionintheclassroom
whereastheteacheristransferredtoanotherposition:asupervisor.Inthenovelrole,the
teacherisresponsibleforobservingstudents’performances,controllingtheiractivities
tomakesurethatallstudentsintheclassroomareinvolvedinthelearningprocessand
thattheyaregivenequalchancestojoinlearningactivities(Heinrich,2007).What’s
more,theteacherhasadutytorespondtostudents’needs,providingthemwithmaterials
necessary for thelesson, givingthemguidance on theirlessonplan,andintervening
immediatelyincaseofunclearorwrongexplanationsfromthestudent-teachersothatall
studentscanacquirefullandaccurateknowledgeandinformation(ibid.).
Inshort, the LBT approachcentres onstudents’ activities ofteaching in their
learningprocesswiththeteacher’saids.Theknowledgethatstudentsneedtoacquire
ispreparedandpresentedbythemselves.Thus,theyarefreetochoosethemethods,
techniquesandstrategiesforalltheactivitiesintheclassroom,whichcanhelpdevelop
theirindependenceandcreativity.
2.2.2.Benetsofthelearningbyteachingapproach
JoiningtheLBTclass,studentsdirectlyundertakethedutiesofbothteachersand
students,whichmeansthattheymustmakeagreaterefforttolearnwhattheywillteach,
tostudymaterialscarefullyinordertomastertheknowledgeandteachiteffectivelyto
theirpeers.Accordingly,itcanbesaidthattheLBTapproachnotonlymotivatesstudents’
learningprocessbutalsocreatesconditionsforstudentstodeepentheirknowledgeof
thetopics.Concurrently,thismodelalsodevelopsstudents’abilitiestoguide,teachand
motivateothers. Moreover, in the LBTapproach students are frequently trainedand
practisinghowtoplanout,organiseandimplementthelessonproductively,whichmay
alsohelpthemimprovetheircollaborative,interactiveandpresentationskills,support
students’developmentofcommunication,raisetheirawarenessofresponsibilities,and
increasetheircreativityandself-condence(Aslan,2015).Inaddition,Kinnebrewet
al.(2013)conrmedtheparadigmofLBTcanhelptodevelopstudents’cognitiveand
metacognitiveskills,makingthemmoreactivelyawareoflearningprocess,encouraging
them to seek out and apply effective learning strategies, through which students’
competenceandautonomyareenhanced.Also,thedistancebetweentheteacherand
students is absolutely erased in the LBT class, which stimulates students to raise
questionsandtoopenupdiscussionsuntiltheissuesaresolvedandtheambiguityis
removed.Thisprocesshelpsstudentsunderstandmoreaboutthelesson,developtheir
skillsofinformationprocessingandcriticalthinkingwherebytheirself-condenceand
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communicativeabilitiesareimproved.
ItisevidentthatLBTisapositiveapproachthatbringsmanybenetstostudents.
Itdoesnotmean,however,thatthemethodiswithoutdisadvantages.Thendingsofa
surveycarriedoutbyAslan(2015)revealveweaknessesofLBTincluding(i)group
workassessmentasitisdifculttoreachaconsensusamongmembersinagroup;(ii)
misconceptionsduetopoororinsufcientpreparation;(iii)limitedknowledgeofthe
topicbecausestudentspay more attention totheir topic thantoothers,whichmakes
studentsuninterestedinthelesson;(iv)studentsnottakingthelessonseriouslybecause
they don’t respect the student-teacher conducting the lesson; (v) time limitation to
preparethelessonforcingstudentstorush,whichresultsinweakness(ii).Itisforthese
disadvantagesthatsomecontroversieshavebrokenoutovertheeffectivenessofLBT
whichispresentedrightinthenextsession.
2.2.3.Effectivenessofthelearningbyteachingapproach
TherehavesofarbeensomedoubtsabouttheeffectivenessoftheLBTapproach,
stillseveralresearchers(i.e.Aslan,2015;Duran,2016;Setiawan,2019;Skinner,1994)
presentedtheevidencetoconrmthatitisagreatmethodwhichgivesoverwhelmingly
positiveresultsinbothacademicandsocialperformances.Academically,studentswho
jointheLBTclassesbecomebettertest-takersthanthosewhojustpreparefortest.Duran
(2016)shedlightonthestatementbasedonthemetalprocessandcognitivemechanism.
Accordingtothisexpert,LBTconsistsoftwophases,learningforteachingandlearning
whileteaching.Learningtoteachotherscreatesconditionsforstudentstochangetheir
learningprocess,promotingthemtomakeeveryefforttodeepenmaterialsandunderstand
thecontentofthelessonasmuchaspossiblesothattheycanteacheffectively.During
theprocessoflearningtoteachandteaching,studentsrepeatedlyrealisethecorecontent
andrelevantelementswhichhelpsthemconsolidatetheirknowledgebetter.Besides,
when teaching, students are forced to use the language exibly for description and
explanationinordertosupportothers’understanding.Asaresult,theirskillsofusing
languageandcommunicationaredevelopedovertime,whichcoincideswithSkinner’s
(1994)conclusion.ItisthatLBTisespeciallyeffectiveinlearningforeignlanguages
becauseitcreateschancesforstudentstospeakthetargetlanguagemoreintheclass.
Meanwhile,Setiawan(2019)arguedthatlearningthroughteachingpromotestheneeds
ofcommunicationandsocialisationinorder toshareandacquire the knowledge.As
can beseen,theeffectsof LBTarereallysignicantand practicalifitisperformed
successfully.
2.3.Actualapplicationoflearning-by-teachingapproachinEnglishlanguage
classrooms
2.3.1.Processofapplication
a.Participants:40studentsofgrade11atNguyenDucUpper-secondarySchool.
Theyweredividedintosmallgroupsof3(twoofthemconsistedof2),drawinglotsto
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prepareforthelessons.
b.Textbook: English 11 (standard level) with 15 units (2 cuts). Each unit is
composedof5parts,reading,speaking,listening,writingandlanguagefocus.Ittakes
teachersfrom 1 to 2 periodstoteacheach part based on the amountof knowledge.
Readingandlanguagefocusareoftenperformedwithin2periods.
c.ProcedureforapplyingLBTinEnglishlanguageclassroom
Asmentionedinprevioussessionsofthepaper,LBTissupposedtobeoneofthe
positive methodsforteachinglanguage;therefore,itwas studiedandexperimentally
applied to English teaching at Nguyen Duc High School (Quang Nam province,
Vietnam).AlltheprocessofusingLBTinmyEnglishlanguageclassroomincluded5
stepsasfollows.
Step1-Choosingthelesson.Atthebeginningofeachsemester,theteacherasked
studentsto draw lotsto decide the lessonsof each group but listening lessons were
notincludedbecause,accordingtothestudentsatthattime,listeningwasdifcultand
theywerenotself-condentenoughtoperformthelesson.Moreover,inmysubjective
opinion then, applying LBT to listening lessons would not be successful because
students’listeningskillswereratherpoor.Andstudentshadlittleexperiencetodealwith
challengesinlisteningsituations.
Step2-Preparingforthelesson.Studentsreadtextbookandsupportingmaterials
athome,designingthelessonastheythoughtitwasthebestfortheirclassmates.The
contentsofthelessonhadtobesufcientandappearinorderofthestepstheyintended
topresenttotheirpeersintheclassroom.
Step3-Revision.Thelessonplanstudentspreparedhadtobesubmittedtothe
teacherthreedaysbeforeitwaspresentedintheclassroomsothattheteacherreviewed
thecontentsofthelesson,approvingoftheplanoraskingforrevisions.Alltheteaching
aids such as pictures, music, questions and expected answers were required to be
included.Adaybeforethelessonhappened,studentswereforcedtocompletethelesson
planandsubmittedtotheteacheragain.Ifitwasgoodenoughtopresenttoothers,the
lessontookplaceasitwasexpected.
Step4-Performance.Thelessonpreparedbystudentsafterbeingratiedwouldbe
presentedintheclassroom.Allmembersofthegrouptookpartinthepresentation.Other
studentsparticipatedinthelessonasnormallyasitwastaughtbytheteacher.Theywere
alsostimulatedtoraisequestionsandmakediscussionsuntiltheproblemsrelatingtothe
lessonweremadeclear.Incasesthestudent-teacherscouldnotanswerthequestionsnor
dealwiththeinquiriesfromtheirpeers,theteacherwouldhelpthem.
Step5-Assessment.Theassessmentoftenhappenedoutsidetheclassroom,lasting
nomorethan15minutesbecauseoftimelimitation.Allthestudentsintheclasswere
encouragedtoattendit,togivetheiropinionsaboutthelessonperformanceandsome