Moroccan EFL Secondary School Teachers’ Perceptions and Practices of Learner-Centered Teaching in Taroudant Directorate of Education, Morocco

The present paper reports on a qualitative study that (a) investigated Moroccan EFL secondary school teachers’ perceptions of LCT, (b) assessed how these perceptions affect their actual teaching practices, and (c) surveyed the different constraints to the implementation of LCT in Moroccan EFL classes. Structured open-ended interviews and non-participant classroom observations were used to collect data from four EFL secondary school teachers belonging to three public secondary schools in the provincial directorate for national education in Taroudant, Morocco. First, teachers were interviewed to obtain information related to their perceptions and understanding of LCT as well as the challenges facing its implementation. Then, they were observed to gain complementary data about teachers’ practices of LCT. The results have revealed that teachers do hold right perceptions and good understanding of LCT. Yet, due to constraints such as the standardized curriculum and examination, lack of materials and large class size, teachers find themselves obliged to keep different traditional practices.