A Reflection on Learner Autonomy

Abstract： With the reform in College English teaching in the past 10 years in China， more and more attention have been paid to learner autonomy， which is aimed at improving students language communicative competence by replacing the traditional grammar-translation method and advocating learner-centered strategies. This literature makes a comprehensive study of learner autonomy in English teaching home and abroad， which helps English teachers home and abroad know more about autonomy.

Key words： learner autonomy；communicative competence；learner-centered

Ⅰ.Autonomy VS self-directed learning

It is not that easy to give a definition of autonomy precisely， as it is often confused with self-directed learning， self-assessment learning， and individualized learning， etc..

The 1970s and 1980s saw a lot of studies on self-directed learning. “Self-directed learning describes a process in which individuals take the initiative， with or without the help of others， in diagnosing their learning needs， formulating learning goals， identifying human and material resources for learning， choosing and evaluating learning outcomes” （Knowles， 1975， cited in Benson， 2005： 33）. In self-directed learning， the objectives， progress and evaluation of learning should be determined by learners themselves， so they would need to “develop skills related to self-monitoring and self-assessment” （p.10）. Then in 1980s， researchers paid much attention to self-access learning， which was considered as a means of facilitating self-directed learning. Over the past three decades， a great number of self-access language learning centers were founded to offer opportunities and facilitate language learning. It is often assumed that self-access work will automatically lead to autonomy. Recently， however， self-access language learning is treated “as a synonym for self-directed or autonomous learning” （p.9）. Another branch of autonomy is individualization， or， individualized learning. During the 70s and 80s， autonomy had roughly the same meaning as individualized learning in which “l(fā)earners were expected to work in their way， at their own pace， through materials prepared by teachers” （p.11）. It was considered that the two concepts were closely associated together with each other.

Ⅱ. The Definition of Autonomy

The term， autonomy， has been widely accepted and discussed by researchers since the 1980s.In brief， the term begins with the Council of Europes Modern Language Project. In his seminar paper， Holec defined autonomy as “the ability to take charge of ones learning” （Benson， 2006， p.22）. The key element in his definition is the idea that autonomy is an attribute of learners， rather than learning situations. Dickinson described autonomy as “the situation in which the learner is totally responsible for all of the decision concerned with his learning and the implementation of those decisions” （p.22）. Allwright put forward that the idea of learner autonomy was for a long time “associated with a radical restructuring of language pedagogy” that involved “the rejection of the traditional classroom and the introduction of wholly new ways of working” （p.22）. The aim above all is to hand over responsibility for learning to the student. The teacher is a helper who assists with choice of materials and advises what to do but does not teach directly （Cook， 2000）. As Holec （1985a， cited in Cook， 2000） from the CRAPEL puts it， “By becoming autonomous， that is by gradually and individually acquiring the capacity to conduct his own learning program， the learner progressively becomes his own teacher and constructs and evaluates his learning program himself.”

Ⅲ. The Application of Learner Autonomy

Making use of autonomous learning depends on devising a system through which students can make a choice of learning in their own way. To quote Holec （1987， cited in Cook， 2000） again， “Learners gradually replace the belief that they are ‘consumers of language courses…with the belief that they can be ‘producers of their own

learning program and that this is their right.”Cook （2000， p.201） described his research： “At North-East London Polytechnic （ now University of East London）， we had a simple system in which students could make use of language teaching material of their own choice from the selection provided in a language laboratory at any time. One afternoon per week， helpers were available in all the languages on offer. These could be used by the students in any way they liked， say discussion of which materials to use， or assessment of progress， or straightforward conversation practice. But self-direction can also be offered to children within the secondary school classroom”.

A radical approach to learner autonomy is called the process syllabus （Breen， 1984， as cited in Cook， 2000）. The idea is that what is covered in the classroom should not be decided by the teacher or the curriculum designer in advance but by a continuous process of negotiation between the teacher and the students. In a cycle， the teacher and students discuss what they want to know， choose the types of activities and tasks to carry it out， and then evaluate how successful they have been.

Ⅳ. Summary

I believe that a teachers job is to watch， to listen and to ask questions of students in order to learn about them and about how they learn. Only in this way may we be more helpful to them. Learner-centeredness is one of the most important principles of constructivist FLT. And we could say constructivism in education calls for the promoting of learner autonomy in the language teaching and learning to a great extent nowadays.

References

[1]Benson， P. （2005）. Autonomy in Language Learning. Beijing： Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press

[2]Benson， P. （2006）. Autonomy in Language Teaching and Learning. Cambridge Journals.doi：10.1017/SO261444806003958.

[3]Cook， V. （2000）. Second Language Learning and Language Teaching. Beijing： Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. p.200-202

[4]Fosnot. & Catherine. （1996）. Constructivism： Theory， Perspective， and Practice. New York： Teachers College Press. p.126.

[5]Piaget， J. （1973）. To understand is to Invent. New York： Grossman.

作者簡介

蔡建平（1982-），男，江蘇鹽城人，碩士，武漢輕工大學教師，研究方向：外國語言學及應用語言學。