TEACHER TALKING TIME VS. STUDENT TALKING TIME: MOVING FROM TEACHER-CENTERED CLASSROOM TO LEARNER-CENTERED CLASSROOM

Teacher talking time refers to the amount of class time the teacher spends speaking to the class, either as part of a lecture or in discussions. Particularly in ESL classes, more time needs to be given to students so they can speak more—foreign language learners improve more rapidly when they are able to practice what they’ve learned more often.Some EFL/ESL researchers say that students should speak for 70% of the lesson. Teachers should speak for 30% of the time. Of course, some lessons may require longer explanations on the part of the teacher. Or other lessons may only require a minimal amount of explanation, and 90% or more may be devoted to conversational activities. But this 70/30 figure works well as a goal in most classroom situations.The aim of the paper is to show whether this percentage is true and achievable and whether this percentage is applicable for both literature and linguistic content. The results will be achieved through a research conducted with the teachers of English in both elementary and high schools in Bitola, who will answer a series of questions regarding how much they talk in class and how much time they dedicate to Q&A sessions.