Should Humanism Approach Be Applied In English As A Second Language (ESL) Classrooms?

Abstract

In the process of learning, many elements fall into place wholly in order to enhance effectiveness. These elements include not only environmental factors but also learners’ mentality which involves their feelings, needs and interests. Humanism approach is one which caters these elements required by learners’ learning process through emphasis on student-centeredness in class. The paradigm of this approach is mainly on what learners are desire to learn, instead of teaching them what is perceived to be essentially acquired. For years, there have been controversial debates concerning the effectiveness of humanism approach in teaching. With the aim of scrutinizing the relevance and applicability of this approach in the Malaysian teaching context, a humanistic lesson was conducted and recorded in Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN). The lesson was then analysed to obtain some results.