Progress in second language instruction requires both new materials and a change in teacher attitudes, but the materials are easier to come by than the attitude change. The paper describes classroom exchanges occurring in two lessons given in Austrian sixth and eighth grade English classes respectively that illustrate the differences between a teacher-centered and a learner-centered approach. In the teacher-centered approach, the methodological sequences are relatively fixed; by contrast, the learner-centered approach has as its objective to stimulate the students' imagination and encourage them to share it with the class. The teachers' descriptions of their feelings during the lessons and the reactions of teacher trainees to similar situations show that it is their anxieties that prevent them from letting go of their function as a classroom control mechanism and acting as facilitators for the students' language development. A common teacher attitude appears to be that errors must be corrected directly and immediately. Other teacher concerns include fear of classroom silence, pressure to cover the necessary material, and feelings of inadequacy to the teaching task. This suggests that teacher training should focus more on teacher confidence and ability to establish an atmosphere in which students can experiment with the language. Three samples of students' writing are included. (MSE)