From Surface to Deep Learning Approach: An EFL Teaching Real-life Experience

Proceedings of ‏The 3rd International Conference on Academic Research in Science, Technology and Engineering

Year: 2020

DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.33422/3rd.icate.2020.11.128

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From Surface to Deep Learning Approach: An EFL Teaching Real-life Experience

Messaouda LITIEM

ABSTRACT: 

This study is one of my real-life experiences as an EFL teacher who worked on the idea of changing students’ approach of learning from being surface to making it deep and effective. Its purpose was to reach with students the best of their learning in a world which encourages laziness and superficial ways of getting knowledge. The population of the study were EFL pupils in El Bashir El Ibrahimi secondary school and EFL learners in a private school in Touggourt, Algeria. The two samples were interviewed and their oral and written performances were evaluated after a semester of study. During this semester, participants from both samples were placed in an environment which supports deep learning. The role of the teacher in this teaching journey was to create all the conditions which contribute to promote deep approach of learning. After the analysis of the data collected and the results obtained, the researcher arrived to prove that applying deep learning principles improves students’ performance. Moreover, the change in the students’ learning approach is an impact of teacher intervention. Bringing this type of real-life teacher experiences into light and discussing them can be of great help to many teachers all over the world.

Keywords: approach change, EFL learner, EFL pupil, private school, secondary school.