A Comparative Study of Learner-centeredness in Communicative Language Teaching and Task-Based Language Teaching

This comparative study examines how Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) and Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) operationalize learner-centeredness in language education. Through analyzing teacher-student roles, instructional design, and assessment and feedback, the study reveals that CLT prioritizes scaffolded participation through structured activities, while TBLT emphasizes autonomous creation via authentic tasks. This study aims to explore how CLT and TBLT embody learner-centeredness in their methodologies. While both emphasize learner agency, they vary in teacher-student roles, instructional de-sign, and assessment and feedback. The pedagogical implications propose adaptability principles: matching CLT’s support to beginner proficiency, align-ing TBLT’s tasks with advanced competencies, and contextualizing both ap-proaches within Chinese educational realities. By advocating a flexible blend of methods tailored to learner levels, goals, and cultural settings, this study of-fers educators a framework to enhance student agency in diverse classrooms.