Slide 1 : School of Education, Communication, and Language Sciences
University of Newcastle
Learner Autonomy in Language Teaching
Saad Almutairi
Definitions : Definitions “The ability to take charge of one’s own learning” Holec 1981
Little (2000a: 69):
“Autonomy in language learning depends on the development and exercise of a capacity for detachment, critical reflection, decision making and independent action (Little 1991:4); autonomous learners assume responsibility for determining the purpose, content, rhythm and method of their learning, monitoring its progress and evaluating its outcomes, (Holec 1981:3)”
Slide 3 : Autonomy Psychological
Learners’ self-directedness (Wenden, 1991)
Self-instruction and changes in consciousness (Brookfield, 1985) Political
Teacher authority
Student empowerment (Pennycook, 1997)
Models : Littlewood’s Model (1997)
Language acquisition (autonomy as a communicator)
Learning approach (autonomy as a learner)
Personal development (autonomy as a person) Nunan’s Model (1997)
Action
Involvement
Intervention
Creation
Transcendence Models
Models : Models Macaro’s Model (1997)
- Language competence
- Language learning competence
- Choice and action Scharle & Szabo’s Model (2000)
Raising awareness
Changing attitudes
Transferring roles
Alternatives : Alternatives Mainstream autonomy (Pennycook, 1997): Psychology Learning
strategies
Alternatives : Alternatives A way of helping students to find a voice in English A way of helping students to confront a range of cultural constructions as they learn English Pennycook (1997)
Slide 8 : Social autonomy (Holliday, 2003): “Autonomy resides in the social worlds of the students, which they bring with them from their lives outside the classroom” Schmenk, (2005): “Autonomy is not a universal and neutral concept. It encompasses a critical awareness of one's own possibilities and limitations within particular contexts”
Autonomy outside the classroom : Autonomy outside the classroom CALL
Distance learning
Self-access (integrating centers with coursework Gremmo & Castillo 2007)
Tandem learning
Study abroad
Out-of-class learning
Self-instruction (Benson 2006)
Slide 10 : Autonomy in the classroom The shift towards classroom applications of autonomy (Miller 2006)
Cooperative classroom decision making (Coyle 2003)
Classroom autonomy (Benson 2007)
Learning strategies & self-regulation : Learning strategies & self-regulation Autonomy involves more than use of learning strategies.
Learner training should not be limited to strategy use.
Palfreyman (2003a) Self-regulation “the degree to which individuals are active participants in their own learning”
Dornyei (2005)
Motivation : Motivation Enhanced motivation is necessary for learners taking responsibility for their own learning. Ushioda (2006)
Intrinsic motivation
Individual differences & sociocultural approaches : Individual differences & sociocultural approaches Autonomy Individual differences ‘Individual differences research helps us understand how psychological and social factor affects learning processes and outcomes but not how learners develop individual identities through language learning processes.’ (Benson 2005)
Slide 14 : Teacher autonomy Freedom to exercise discretion in curriculum implementation.
A professional attribute
Teacher autonomy and learner autonomy
Related to classroom contexts Teacher education needs ‘a teaching force of transformative intellectuals who can navigate their professional worlds in ways that enable them to create educationally sound, contextually appropriate, and socially equitable learning opportunities for the students they teach’ Johnson (2006: 235)
Conclusions : Conclusions Autonomy is good but complex.
Implications for teacher and learners.
Learner assume power and choice
References : References Benson, P. (2005). (Auto)biography and learner diversity. In Benson & Nunan (eds.), 4-21.
Benson, P. (2006). Autonomy in language teaching and learning. Language Teaching 40, 21-40.
Benson, P. (2007). Teachers’ and learners’ perspectives on autonomy. In Lamb & Reinders (eds.).
Brookfield, S. D. (1985). “Analysing a Critical Paradigm of Self-directed Learning”. Adult Education Quarterly. 36, 1, 61-64.
Coyle, D. (2003). Managing the differentiated classroom: Differentiation and learner autonomy. In Jimenez Raya & Lamb (eds.), 165-176.
Dornyei, Z. (2005). The psychology of the language learner: Individual differences in second language acquisition. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Gremmo, M-J. & D. Castillo (2007). Advising in a Multilingual Setting: New Perspectives for the Role of the Advisor. In Lamb & Reinders (eds.).
Holec, H. (1981). Autonomy and Foreign Language Learning. Pergamon Press.
Holliday, A. (2003). Social autonomy: Addressing the dangers of culturism in TESOL. In Palfreyman & Smith (eds.), 110-126.
Johnson, K. E. (2006). The sociocultural turn and its challenges for second language teacher education. TESOL Quarterly, 40.1, 235-257.
Slide 17 : Little, D. (1991). Learner autonomy 1: Definitions, issues and problems. Dublin: Authentik.
Little, D. (2000a). Autonomy and autonomous learners. In Byram (ed.), 69-72.
Littlewood, W. (1997). Self-access: Why do we want it and what can it do? In Benson & Voller (eds.), 79-92.
Macaro, E. (1997). Target language, collaborative learning and autonomy. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Miller, L. (ed.) (2006). Learner autonomy 9: Autonomy in the classroom. Dublin: Authentik.
Nunan, D. (1997). Designing and adapting materials to encourage learner autonomy. In Benson & Voller (eds.), 192-203.
Palfreyman, D. (2003a). Expanding the discourse on learner development: A reply to Anita Wenden. Applied Linguistics 24.2, 243-8.
Pennycook, A. (1997). “Cultural alternatives and autonomy”. In Benson, P. and Voller, P. (ed). Autonomy and Independence in Language Learning. London and New York: Longman: 35-53.
Scharle, A. & A. Szabo (2000). Learner autonomy: A guide to developing learner responsibility. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Schmenk, B. (2005). Globalizing learner autonomy. TESOL Quarterly 39. 1, 107-118.
Ushioda, E. (2006). Motivation, autonomy and sociocultural theory. In Benson (ed.), 5-24.
Wenden, A. (1991). Learner Strategies for Learner Autonomy: Planning and implementing Learner Training for Language Learner.