Learning by teaching - An effective learning method in the language classroom
Learning by teaching (LBT) is a positive method that is demonstrated
to be effective in the process of learning and teaching, especially in the language
classroom. Besides the knowledge students are required to achieve, the LBT approach
helps students more in their competence development and soft skill improvement. The
approach was also practically applied successfully in the English language classroom
at Nguyen Duc Upper-secondary School, Quang Nam province. Therefore, the paper
would like to introduce LBT as a way of innovation in education, increasing students’
learning motivation and contributing to improving educational quality.
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LEARNING BY TEACHING - AN EFFECTIVE LEARNING
METHOD IN THE LANGUAGE CLASSROOM
Ho Trinh Quynh Thu1
Abstract: Learning by teaching (LBT) is a positive method that is demonstrated
to be effective in the process of learning and teaching, especially in the language
classroom. Besides the knowledge students are required to achieve, the LBT approach
helps students more in their competence development and soft skill improvement. The
approach was also practically applied successfully in the English language classroom
at Nguyen Duc Upper-secondary School, Quang Nam province. Therefore, the paper
would like to introduce LBT as a way of innovation in education, increasing students’
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 a pedagogical approach in which students play the
role of the teacher. It was deemed a phenomenon attracting researchers’ interests since
the late 1960s and of cially emerging as an educational method in the mid-1980s with
con icting opinions (Duran, 2016). Several controversies have broken out surrounding
the effectiveness of the LBT method when the traditional distinguished role of teachers
in the classroom is replaced; however, many researchers show that students spending
time teaching what they learned understand the knowledge better and remember it longer
than those who spend the same time re-studying (Aslan, 2015; Duran, 2016). LBT is also
described as an effective positive method of pedagogy that not only enhances students’
learning experience but also develops their skills of 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 demonstrated to 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 to personal psychological and intellectual growth (Impedovo & Iaquinta,
1. PhD., Department of Foreign Lnaguages, Quang Nam University
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LEARNING BY TEACHING - AN EFFECTIVE LEARNING METHOD...
2012). So far there have been different views of teaching but the approaches to teaching
are fundamentally classi ed into two schools of thought based on the roles of teachers
and students in the process of teaching. They are teacher-centred and 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 the teacher and based
on students’ background so that it is proper for students to receive the taught knowledge
(Sangoleye & Kolawole, 2016). According to this viewpoint, an activity of teaching
must satisfy ve criteria; namely, (i) the teacher (who is performing the act consciously
and deliberately), (ii) the student (who is 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 to be the art 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, Ho Trinh Quynh Thu and Doan
Phan Anh Truc (2019) mentioned the term “traditional view of teaching” to express
the teacher-led teaching approach in which professional knowledge, experiences, facts
and information, competences and skills, moral standards and social behaviours that are
believed to be necessary for students are transmitted to them by their teachers. In this
model, the teacher is given the authority and domination of the class whereas students
are completely passive in receiving the knowledge.
Unlike teacher-centred approach to teaching, student-centred activities of teaching
are aimed at facilitating 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 under the teacher’s guides and supports, which encourages students in their
active and independent creation of new knowledge; hence teaching as assisted knowledge
creation (Starr-Glass, 2018). This model of teaching gives prominence to the students’
cognitive integrity, which helps develop their habits of working with different viewpoints
to reach the truth or best decisions. As such, teaching is not the teacher’s process of
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 language teacher Jean-Pol Martin in German schools in the
1980s (Martin, 1985 cited in Stollhans, 2016). This educational approach does 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 plays the role
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HO TRINH QUYNH THU
of a teacher. To ful l this duty, the student is forced to make every effort to master the
goals of the lesson carefully and to nd out proper methods and strategies for presenting
the information to her/his peers effectively. In other words, the LBT approach 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 the LBT model, the student takes over the teacher’s position in the classroom
whereas the teacher is transferred to another position: a supervisor. In the novel role, the
teacher is responsible for observing students’ performances, controlling their activities
to make sure that all students in the classroom are involved in the learning process and
that they are given equal chances to join learning activities (Heinrich, 2007). What’s
more, the teacher has a duty to respond to students’ needs, providing them with materials
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 that all
students can acquire full and accurate knowledge and information (ibid.).
In short, the LBT approach centres on students’ activities of teaching in their
learning process with the teacher’s aids. The knowledge that students need to acquire
is prepared and presented by themselves. Thus, they are free to choose the methods,
techniques and strategies for all the activities in the classroom, which can help develop
their independence and creativity.
2.2.2. Bene ts of the learning by teaching approach
Joining the LBT class, students directly undertake the duties of both teachers and
students, which means that they must make a greater effort to learn what they will teach,
to study materials carefully in order to master the knowledge and teach it effectively to
their peers. Accordingly, it can be said that the LBT approach not only motivates students’
learning process but also creates conditions for students to deepen their knowledge of
the topics. 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 their creativity and self-con dence (Aslan, 2015). In addition, Kinnebrew et
al. (2013) con rmed the paradigm of LBT can help to 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, the distance between the teacher and
students is absolutely erased in the LBT class, which stimulates students to raise
questions and to open up discussions until the issues are solved and the ambiguity is
removed. This process helps students understand more about the lesson, develop their
skills of information processing and critical thinking whereby their self-con dence and
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LEARNING BY TEACHING - AN EFFECTIVE LEARNING METHOD...
communicative abilities are 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
survey carried out by Aslan (2015) reveal ve weaknesses of LBT including (i) group
work assessment as it is dif cult to reach a consensus among members in a group; (ii)
misconceptions due to poor or insuf cient preparation; (iii) limited knowledge of the
topic because students pay more attention to their topic than to others, which makes
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 for these
disadvantages that some controversies have broken out over the effectiveness of LBT
which is presented right in the next session.
2.2.3. Effectiveness of the learning by teaching approach
There have so far been some doubts 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 both academic and social performances. Academically, students who
join the LBT classes become better test-takers than those who just prepare for test. Duran
(2016) shed light on the statement based on the metal process and cognitive mechanism.
According to this expert, LBT consists of two phases, learning for teaching and learning
while teaching. Learning to teach others creates conditions for students to change their
learning process, promoting them to make every effort to deepen materials and understand
the content of the lesson as much as possible so that they can teach effectively. During
the process of learning to teach and teaching, students repeatedly realise the core content
and relevant elements which helps them consolidate their knowledge better. Besides,
when teaching, students are forced to use the language exibly for description and
explanation in order to support others’ understanding. As a result, their skills of using
language and communication are developed over time, which coincides with Skinner’s
(1994) conclusion. It is that LBT is especially effective in learning foreign languages
because it creates chances for students to speak the target language more in the class.
Meanwhile, Setiawan (2019) argued that learning through teaching promotes the needs
of communication and socialisation in order to share and acquire the knowledge. As
can be seen, the effects of LBT are really signi cant and practical if it is performed
successfully.
2.3. Actual application of learning-by-teaching approach in English language
classrooms
2.3.1. Process of application
a. Participants: 40 students of grade 11 at Nguyen Duc Upper-secondary School.
They were divided into small groups of 3 (two of them consisted of 2), drawing lots to
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HO TRINH QUYNH THU
prepare for the lessons.
b. Textbook: English 11 (standard level) with 15 units (2 cuts). Each unit is
composed of 5 parts, reading, speaking, listening, writing and language 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 for applying LBT in 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, it was studied and experimentally
applied to English teaching at Nguyen Duc High School (Quang Nam province,
Vietnam). All the process of using LBT in my English language classroom included 5
steps as follows.
Step 1- Choosing the lesson. At the beginning of each semester, the teacher asked
students to draw lots to decide the lessons of each group but listening lessons were
not included because, according to the students at that time, listening was dif cult and
they were not self-con dent enough to perform the lesson. Moreover, in my subjective
opinion then, applying LBT to listening lessons would not be successful because
students’ listening skills were rather poor. And students had little experience to deal with
challenges in listening situations.
Step 2- Preparing for the lesson. Students read textbook and supporting materials
at home, designing the lesson as they thought it was the best for their classmates. The
contents of the lesson had to be suf cient and appear in order of the steps they intended
to present to their peers in the classroom.
Step 3- Revision. The lesson plan students prepared had to be submitted to the
teacher three days before it was 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 and submitted to the teacher again. If it was good enough to present to others, the
lesson took place as it was expected.
Step 4- Performance. The lesson prepared by students after being rati ed would be
presented in the classroom. All members of the group took part in the presentation. Other
students participated in the lesson as normally as it was taught by the teacher. They were
also stimulated to raise questions and make discussions until the problems relating to the
lesson were made clear. 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 than 15 minutes because of time limitation. All the students in the class were
encouraged to attend it, to give their opinions about the lesson performance and some
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LEARNING BY TEACHING - AN EFFECTIVE LEARNING METHOD...
suggestions if possible. Then they made their assessment by putting a tick in the proper
boxes of the assessment sheet with ve criteria agreed between the teacher and students at
the beginning of the semester. The criteria focused on (i) the activities and performances
in the classroom, (ii) lesson charisma, (iii) performers’ manners, (iv) performers’ abilities
to handle situations, (v) performers’ English pronunciation and uency. The assessment
was nally synthesised, analysed and sent to the group of students who had performed
the lesson, thereby they could effort more to better what they were not good at.
2.3.2. Results
Testing, observation and interview were the methods that were utilised to measure the
results achieved when the LBT approach was applied in the language classroom. Testing
was used to evaluate students’ academic results, namely the knowledge accumulated
from the lessons and language skills. Observation and interview were employed to
appreciate students’ attitudes towards the lessons, their skills of communication, dealing
with situations, public speaking among others.
Table 1. Students’ test results
Scores
Tests
=8.0
No. % No. % No. % No. %
Input test 9 22.5 18 45.0 11 27.5 02 5
1st semester test 04 10.0 15 37.5 17 42.5 03 7.5
2nd semester test 0 0 17 42.5 16 40.0 07 17.5
Testing results were collected periodically according to schedule. At the beginning
of the rst semester, students had to take a 45-minute test in order to check their input. The
result of this test was compared to the results collected from the tests at the end of the rst
and second semesters. The comparison showed that students studied well and LBT was
academically effective though the improvement did not achieve a major breakthrough
(see more in Figure 1). No students got bad marks (i.e. less than 5). A large number of them
were in the 5.0-7.9 score band in the nal test (accounting for 82.5%). It is noteworthy
that the number of students who achieved good and excellent marks increased to 57.5
percent from 32.5 percent
(see more in Table 1).
According to the result
of observation and interview,
most students (95 percent,
equivalent to 38 students)
were excited with the LBT
model because they wanted
to experience the job of a
teacher. Thus, they were
very enthusiastic in spite of
Figure 1. A comparison of students’ test results before
and after using LBT
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HO TRINH QUYNH THU
many dif culties. Then students found learning through teaching really interesting. They
had chances to work with more materials and got more knowledge outside the textbook,
which made them like it. Besides, as the teaching activities were done by students, the
atmosphere of the classroom was always friendly and relaxed. 82.5 percent of students
conceded that they felt almost free to communicate with their student-teacher without any
worries about mistakes. As a result, their skills of communication and English speaking
were bettered. Gradually, they became to like learning English. Moreover, my statistics
showed that 32 students (accounting for 80 percent) found the LBT approach useful. It
helped them practise the patience, develop the self-con dence and improve other soft
skills such as group work, public speaking, presentation, critical thinking, and so on.
Figure 2. Two- aspect re ection of LBT
So far, it can be said that LBT is really an effective pedagogical approach that
drives students to a comprehensive development although both students and teacher
encountered a lot of challenges during the process of implementing the approach (see
more in Figure 2).
3. Conclusion
Despite controversies over the effectiveness of LBT, many researchers have
con rmed the bene ts the approach brings to students. In the LBT approach, students
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LEARNING BY TEACHING - AN EFFECTIVE LEARNING METHOD...
have to go through two phases of learning, one for teaching and one while teaching,
which create favourable conditions for them to understand more about the lesson contents
and to grasp the main points of the topic. Besides, LBT helps students consolidate and
enrich knowledge, develop their competence and improve soft skills such as group work,
public speaking, presentation, critical thinking, and so on. Although both the teacher and
students faced many dif culties, the experience at Nguyen Duc Upper-secondary School
proved the academic and social effectiveness of this method in the English language
classroom. Not only were the students’ academic results bettered but LBT put students in
a relaxing atmosphere of learning where they felt free to use English in communication,
stimulating them to do more self-study so as to get more knowledge and information for
their learning and teaching activities. These positive results encourage me to present it
to those who are interested in LBT and pedagogical renovation. However, there are not
any best methods of learning and teaching for all; a teacher should choose and develop
an own personal methodology so that it can be proper to the lessons and help to achieve
speci c objectives.
REFERENCES
[1] Aslan, S. (2015). “Is learning by teaching effective in gaining the 21st century skills?
The view of preservice science teachers”. Educational Sciences: Theory and
Practice, 15(6), p.1441-1457.
[2] Duran, D. (2016). “Learning-by-teaching. Evidence and implications as a
pedagogical mechanism”. Innovations in Education and Teaching International.
DOI: 10.1080/14703297.2016.1156011
[3] Heinrich, C. (2007). “Learning by teaching: The goal is independence”. Goethe-
Institut. Available at
[4] Hồ Trịnh Quỳnh Thư & Đoàn Phan Anh Trúc (2019). “Dạy học tiếng Anh theo
hướng tích cực- nhân tố quan trọng để tạo nên lớp học hạnh phúc”. Tạp chí Khoa
học- trường Đại học Quảng Nam, số15, tr. 110-116.
[5] Impedovo, M.A. & Iaquinta, R. (2012). “From broadcasting to transforming: The
social construction of knowledge for understanding lawfulness”. Handbook of
research on didactic strategies and technologies for education: Incorporating
advancements. p.298-306.
[6] Kinnebrew, J.S., Biswas, G. & Sucer, B. (2013). “Investigating self-regulated learning
in teachable agent environments”. In Azevedo & Aleven (Eds), International
Handbook of Metacognition and Learning Technologies, p. 451-470. Springer.
[7] Maboe, K.A. (2019). “Students’ support in an ODeL context: Students in ODeL. In
Darinskaia”, Modern technologies for teaching and learning in socio-humanitarian
disciplines, p.114-137.
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[8] Sangoleye, S.A. & Kolawole, C.O. (2016). “A critique of selected instructional
strategies in Shigher Institutions in Nigeria”. Journal of education and practice,
7(7), p.78-84.
[9] Setiawan, M. (2019). “The effectiveness of learning by teaching: A case of junior high
school students studying tenses”. Humaniora, 10(1). Available at Doi: 10.21512/
humaniora.v10i1.5038
[10] Skinner, J. (1994). “Learning by Teaching”, Zielsprache Englisch, 2, p.38-39.
[11] Starr-Glass, D. (2018). “Engagement, publishing, and the scholarship of teaching
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HỌC QUA DẠY - PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC HIỆU QUẢ
TRONG LỚP HỌC TIẾNG
HỒ TRỊNH QUỲNH THƯ
Trường Đại học Quảng Nam
Tóm tắt: Học qua dạy (LBT) là phương pháp dạy học tích cực được chứng minh
có hiệu quả trong quá trình dạy học, đặc biệt trong các lớp học tiếng. LBT giúp sinh viên
không chỉ đạt được kiến thức theo yêu cầu bài học mà còn cải thiện, phát triển năng lực
và các kĩ năng mềm. Phương pháp dạy học này đã được áp dụng thành công vào thực tế
dạy học môn tiếng Anh tại trường THPT Nguyễn Dục, tỉnh Quảng Nam. Vì vậy bài viết
này muốn giới thiệu, chia sẻ LBT trong đổi mới phương pháp dạy học, tăng hứng thú học
tập cho người học, góp phần cải thiện chất lượng giáo dục.
Từ khóa: Học qua dạy, Phương pháp dạy học, Hứng thú học tập, Đổi mới phương
pháp dạy học, Giáo dục tích cực.
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