Teachers’ perspectives on

learner autonomy Phil Benson

Macquarie UniversityCAMTESOL 2016

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• What is learner autonomy?• The problem of teaching• Teachers’ perspectives on autonomy• An exploratory practice project• Some implications for professional

development

What is learner autonomy?

Galileo Galilei 1564-1642

“You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself.”

Zhu Xi 朱熹 1130-1200

“If you are in doubt, think it out by yourself. Do not depend on others for explanations. Suppose there was no one you could ask, should you stop learning?”

Learner autonomy‘…a capacity to control your own learning…’

Ability

FreedomDesire

AUTONOMY

It is impossible to teach learners everything they need to know of a language in class….

Personal relevance of learning

….Class time should be used to teach “those aspects of the language which the learners themselves deem to be the most urgently required”.

Nunan, D. (1988). The learner-centered curriculum. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 3.

Ownership of language“Having a choice in their own language learning means the language learner or user taking control not only of the language being learnt, but also of the goal and purpose of that learning…. Autonomy resides in being able to say what you want to say rather than producing the language of others…”

Macaro, E. (2008). Learning strategies in foreign and second language classrooms. London: Continuum. (p. 59-60).

The problem of teaching

“Suppose I had a magic wand that could produce one change in our educational systems. What would that change be?”(Carl Rogers 1902-87)

The problem of teaching

“I finally decided that my imaginary wand, with one sweep, would cause every teacher to forget that he or she is a teacher.”

‘Transmission’ teaching

Jean Marc Coté. A L’école, 1903

The problem of language teaching in Asia

• Policies favour autonomy, learners are willing. But…

• Early start in language learning• Shortage of trained teachers• Students’ approaches to learning conditioned by a series of experiences of

‘being taught’

What’s wrong with ‘being taught’?

• Instruction helps language learning? The evidence is……weak

• Participating in learning activities help language learning? The evidence is……much stronger

Pedagogical strategies for autonomy

• Encouraging student preparation• Drawing on out-of-class experience• Using ‘authentic’ materials and

‘real’ language • Independent inquiry• Involving students in task design

Pedagogical strategies for autonomy

• Encouraging student-student interaction

• Peer teaching• Encouraging divergent outcomes• Self- and peer-assessment• Encourage reflection

Teachers’ perspectives on autonomy

Borg and Al-Busaidi (2012)• Few studies of teachers’ views on learner

autonomy• Previous studies show gap between

– positive theoretical views – less positive reports of practice in the

classroom• Questionnaire on teachers’ perspectives +

professional development activities

Borg & Al-Busaidi - Findings

• >90% agreed LA has a positive effect on learning

• 80% believed their teaching gave students opportunities to develop LA

• (Response rate 30%)

Borg & Al-Busaidi - Findings

• Should students make decisions?• ‘Desirability rated above feasibility’

– Widest gap for objectives, materials and assessment

– More feasible for when, where, how questions

– Less feasible for what, what for questions

An exploratory practice project

• Collaborative Professional Development project between Macquarie Applied Linguistics and English Language Centre

• PD workshop on pedagogical strategies • 1 year project with two pairs of ELC teachers

– ‘Book Club Café’ – José Lara & Lesley Speer– ‘Motivating Learner Independence’ – Mary Ann

Chehade & Gamze Sayram

Exploratory Practice puzzles

• Exploratory practice – “… a vehicle for practitioners (teachers and

learners) to plan and work together to deepen deepen their understandings their understandings of life in the language classroom” – Dick Allwright

• Puzzles– BCC - Why don’t students read more?– MLI - Why can’t students be more active learners

in and out of class?

My puzzle – feasibility

• Innovations in autonomy are…–often ‘experiments’–often ‘outside’ the curriculum–successful in short-term–but sustainability and transferability

unclear

The big puzzle• Exploratory Practice projects

– repeated over 8 x 5-week blocks– with different classes / different teachers– within the existing curriculum– How can teachers design and

implement sustainable and transferable pedagogical strategies for autonomy

Exploratory Practice - findings

• Sustainable pedagogical strategies are…– integrated into the curriculum–repeatable–allowed to evolve over time–‘plant a seed’

Exploratory Practice - findings

• Transferable pedagogical strategies are• clearly articulated• flexible and uncomplicated• adaptable to different teaching styles,

courses and proficiency levels

Implications for professional development

• PDfor autonomy is about– closing the gap between desirability and

feasibility– exploring possibilities

• Exploration leads to change, but…– it needs time and conversation– it grows out of repetition and variation

…to have learned something is only a point of departure…

“To have learned something for the child is only a point of departure. When he has learned the meaning of an exercise, then he begins to enjoy repeating it and he does repeat it an infinite number of times, with the most evident satisfaction.” Maria Montessori (1870-1952)

Pedagogical strategies for autonomy• Encouraging student preparation• Drawing on out-of-class experience• Using ‘authentic’ materials and ‘real’ language • Independent inquiry• Involving students in task design• Encouraging student-student interaction• Peer teaching• Encouraging divergent outcomes• Self- and peer-assessment• Encourage reflection