When we talk about "autonomous learners," we may have slightly
different features and emphases in mind, but we would probably agree that
"learners' taking responsibility for their own learning" (Holec,
1981) is central. Similarly, we would probably agree that "Learner
Development" aims to make learners responsible for their own learning
processes through planning, monitoring, and evaluation (e.g. Wenden, 1991).
And some of us would claim that learner autonomy is necessarily the result
of such learner development. However, I read "learners' responsibility
for their own learning" as their self-directed awareness of their
role as learners, whatever the learning situation happens to be. Learner
autonomy, then, may not be a consequence of a particular teaching style,
itself. Nor, in my opinion, does autonomous learning necessarily mean a
complete shift of instructional mode from teachers to learners. Rather,
an autonomous learner is one who can learn from various teaching styles
and develop and practice autonomy in a number of ways, depending on the
context of the classroom.
In short, an essential element of learners' autonomy is their conscious
ability to direct themselves: it may be internal, not public (Dickinson
1996), but its basis is the learners' acceptance of responsibility, and
the ways of acting, feeling, and thinking such acceptance implies (Little
1995a).
To investigate students' attitudes toward their roles and classroom learning,
I interviewed 24 first year private university EFL majors, in small groups.
I had never faced them as a teacher. The one-hour interviews, in their native
Japanese, were taped in a relaxed atmosphere--so that the students could
feel free to express themselves--and later transcribed.
Japanese students are typically described as passive learners, accepting
teachers' authority without question or challenge (cf. Purdie, Doglas &
Hattie, 1996; Pierson, 1996). The following discussions however, give the
students a chance to express their own feelings and ideas.
"What is the role of the learner in the learning process?"
S1: The learners' role is to attend class with a motivation to learn
more.
S2: If students are motivated to learn, teachers may also be motivated
to teach. So, together with teachers, we students should accept our own
role of stimulating the class, show our motivation by, for example, asking
questions in class. The most important point is that we are motivated.
S3: I would like to expect teachers to be good advisors when we have
problems with continuing our studies, not only as far as English is concerned.
If teachers think about students, we feel happy.
S2: There should be no barriers between students and teachers.
S1: It is difficult to talk with teachers.
S4: We should make use of opportunities to stimulate one another (teachers
and students).
S9: We should show our personality; we should let other students and
the teacher know what sort of persons we are. Individual students should
open up to others. It may be difficult though.
S10: I am the same as everyone else. We students should act more on our
own initiative. We should get what we can. There are various people at university,
but most of people are not active enough and just attend the class. People
who major in English stop trying to improve once they can speak simple English.
They seem to decide to stop. I am doing my best, but sometimes feel bored
in class. Is it because of the lesson? If I question myself. . . . University
study is different from high school study. There are lots of things to do
at home. I can do many things privately outside the classroom. I have many
things to do, apart from digesting the lessons.
S8: We should even stimulate the teacher, so he becomes motivated to
teach us. For example, if we ask lots of questions, he may realize that
students want to know these kind of things. In this way, students stimulate
learning. Then, both the teacher and the students create a better atmosphere.
S10: I think there are many students who are doing the minimum. We do
not realise that all lesson contents can be used for our future, and there
might be lots of useful things for us in our lessons.
S9: The biggest problem is that many people have no particular aim.
S8: Many people do not know what they need to do clearly, so they simply
try to get the necessary credits. So, many people think as long as they
do the minimum requirement, they will have no problem.
S10: On the other hand, there are some people who try to gain as much
as possible because they want to improve themselves. Even though they do
not have any clear objectives for their future, they try to do their best
for the time being.
"What is the role of classroom learning?"
S3: There are some lessons which are not so interesting, and we don't
like lessons if we are not interested. But any lesson has some useful points.
There is always something that we can use to improve ourselves. I believe
that we should not completely hate or reject a class. Teachers try their
best to teach us.
S2: There are no lessons which are 100% no good, are there?
S1: No. The point is our motivation.
S2: But there are teachers who never try to change, even though they
know our feelings. I understand teachers have their own ways, but students
don't follow them. I would like teachers not to speak just about their specialist
subjects. Instead, teachers should concern themselves with what and how
students learn, and with what students are interested in.
S4: One-way lessons in which teachers talk: These kinds of lessons make
it difficult for students to ask questions in class. Even we wish to make
lessons more interesting, it is hard in this kind of situation.
S1: There may be different answers possible, but in this kind of class,
we think that we need to follow what the teacher says.
S2: We are not getting anywhere. We keep coming back to the same point.
S1: Maybe, it is possible to apply this to various things.
S2: Teachers also have their plans. So, they must follow their plans.
S1: To the next thing, then the next, like this, teachers go ahead. So,
we have to follow, even if we have questions, it is hard to stop the stream
of lessons and ask a question.
S3: The atmosphere is too quiet.
S2: If we talk, it seems strange. That is what we feel.
S1: We are shy.
S2: If we express our opinions, it seems to be no good. That's what we
feel. That we should not interrupt.
S3: If someone speaks out, that person will stand out.
S1: We are too quiet!
S2: We cannot open our mouths.
S3: I want to ask questions, and also I want teachers to reply to me.
S1: So do I. But everyone is too quiet, so I don't have a chance to do
this.
S2: I don't know why it is so quiet.
S4: We don't know people around us very well. We don't know the class
members very well.
S1: Because there is a clear distinction between the teacher and students.
S3: The important thing is encouragement. If the teacher says "your
essay was very impressive," then I would like to write an even better
one next time, and surprise him. So, I will be more motivated. I believe
the communication between teachers and students is extremely important.
S7: I prefer the lessons where teachers and students communicate with
each other. Not just ones where a teacher talks and we listen, but where
we communicate with each other.
S6: I think when the teacher only proceeds with the lesson, there is
no arrow from the students to the teacher. So, the teacher should take time
to find out whether the students really understand or not. Otherwise, only
the content goes to the students and not the meaning. In this case, it is
meaningless to go to lessons.
S7: In the past, we had a style of lesson where the teacher talks and
students listen. But at university, I want lessons which stimulate me.
S6: We should learn by ourselves. It means that things should not only
be taught, but we should think what to learn and how to learn. So, I feel
something should be different from the past experience of simply receiving
information from the teacher. Maybe, we are now allowed to show our wish
to learn actively.
S7: Even we want to show this, there is a difficult atmosphere.
S6: Probably, everyone wants to show this. So, someone should break the
ice.
S7: Whether I can do it or not, at least, I feel something should be
changed.
S6: It is hard, isn't it. We need courage to do it. I feel sometimes
we should not be like this. We are allowed to change it.
From the above extracts, the students seem to be aware that students
and teachers need to make an effort to change the process of classroom learning.
They expressed a need for interaction between the teacher and students.
Also, they seem to think the students' role should be that of active learner
and teachers' role that of facilitator or advisor. Probably, their behaviour
in the classroom is affected by the atmosphere of the class; the class room
atmosphere may be influenced by the relationship of the teacher and other
students. The interviews show that our students' internal attitudes are
often different to their external performance in the classroom.
One Autonomous Learner's Self-Direction
What needs to be considered to promote learner autonomy? I interviewed
Fumiko, an apparently autonomous learner, and analysed how she thinks about
her own learning in order to clarify aspects of learner autonomy.
On what occasions do you feel frustrated?
When my TOEIC scores or some other test scores didn't improve at all,
I felt frustrated. But when I feel frustration, I try to believe in myself.
I believe in myself and keep trying very hard. I believe that if I keep
trying, I will progress. It is very difficult, but even if I don't concentrate
on my studies, I use the time to study English. If there is a person who
speaks better than me, I feel frustration, too. But I get ideas from this
person as to how he studies English.
She evaluates herself, and if she finds no improvement, she feels
frustrated. That is purely her own matter. She compares her present ability
to her past ability, not to that of others. Indeed, she sees the superior
ability of others as a positive opportunity for her to learn. Also, her
belief in her ability to learn seems to lead her to progress and give her
independent support.
What is your role inside the classroom?
To get everything from the class, from the teacher. To get everything
in that class. To take full advantage of the class. I prepare for the class
and review the lesson. So, together this makes a complete class. Some people
often say that the level of the lesson is not suited for them, or the content
is no good. But you can learn something from any lesson. The matter lies
in the learners themselves. It depends on them. Whether people improve in
English or not is their own responsibility and due to their own motivation.
She directs her own learning opportunistically. She takes responsibility
as a learner to motivate herself. Rather than treat the environment as a
given, she makes her own environment suit her learning. She insists on the
importance of the learner, rather than the style or method of classroom
learning. In addition, she considers her classroom learning as only part
of her learning. It forms the core and is supplemented by outside learning.
She insists that these two can not be separated and together they constitute
her present learning.
What is classroom learning?
Helping each other, I realise what other people do, or think. I can get
ideas from the class that I can't think of by myself.
She considers classroom learning a place for interaction. She is aware
of learning from her social relationship with others.
What is your goal?
In the future, I would like to have a particular area of work which relates
to English, but I am thinking now what I can do with my English. Studying
my English is a very convenient way of learning because we can do a small
amount each time. We do not necessarily have to set aside a particular time
for it. There are lots of things we can do if we use a short period of time
each day. I do not want to waste my time. I would like to use 24 hours wisely.
She has a particular goal in mind. She thinks she needs to know exactly
what she wants to do and what she can do. She is reflective: She questions
herself and deliberately tries to think flexibly. In addition, she is very
conscious about time. This attitude seems to be the basis of her learning
and thinking.
Implications for Students
Brookfield (1985) identified two major aspects of "self-directedness":
(a) the technique of self-instruction and (b) internal changes in consciousness.
I would like to consider the latter the focus of learner autonomy. Learner
development aims to raise learners' awareness of their role as learners.
It may be effective for learners to take charge of their own learning processes,
for example, through project work (e.g. Dam, 1995). However, the most important
point to consider is how far learners are aware of their own role in any
learning situation. We cannot deny the possibility or the importance of
self-directed learner roles in the traditional classroom. As Crabbe (1996)
claimed, "the fostering of autonomy is not necessarily a challenge
to a traditional role of teachers. Nor is it necessarily incompatible with
all existing practice."
To put it concretely, learners should have the opportunity to consciously
reflect and question themselves in the following ways, for example:
- What are my problems?
- What do I need to do in order to overcome my problems?
- How am I doing now?
- How can I motivate myself?
- What can I do in the future?
Learner development ought to promote learners' self-confidence and self-motivation
through the language learning process in order to encourage learners to
believe in their own potential.
Students themselves need to improve their ability of self-analysis and
encourage themselves to trust in their own potential. At the same time,
it is extremely important for students to get the teachers' support and
understanding. The teachers' role is to make an effort to understand the
learners' perspectives, and to trust their potential. Lier (1996) argued
that "a teacher cannot simply transmit the sort of skills and attitudes
to learning that are required, nor can he or she train learners in the way
that recruits are trained to march in step." Fostering autonomy is
not just a matter of learning a few techniques--it involves changing the
way in which we relate to learners (Hoffman, 1997).
Implications for Teachers: My Learning as a Teacher
Although teachers and learners must both struggle with their limits and
potentials, it is my belief that promoting learner autonomy does not necessarily
mean a complete rejection of teacher authority, or that teachers and students
should have equal positions of power. It is a fact that power differences
between the teacher and the students exist. As Widdowson (1987) notes, "the
learner really exercises autonomy only within the limits set by teacher
authority." For both teachers and students, learner development is
a challenge for self-realization, in opposition to the limitations of the
status quo, and it is the means by which they can become aware of this struggle.
Pennycook (1997) also insisted on students' empowerment: "to become
the author of one's world, to become an autonomous language learner and
user is not so much a question of learning how to learn as it is a question
of learning how to struggle for cultural alternatives" (p45). Enhancing
learner autonomy should not be undertaken merely in order to make teachers
and learners appear equal in power. Instead, we should consider the importance
of trust between the teacher and the students. Basically, if students and
the teacher do not accept each other, the lessons will not be organized
properly.
As for us, most Japanese teachers have been taught a language teaching
method that involves one-way knowledge transmission. So we teachers ourselves
need to reflect critically on our past learning experience. But this does
not mean a total rejection of teacher-centeredness. Reflecting on my teaching
diary, I feel now a complete rejection of teacher authority might be dangerous.
I believe that the most important thing to consider is the responsibility
of a teacher as a teacher and a learner as a learner; self-direction of
their own roles as teachers and learners.
(An earlier version of this paper was presented at the JALT98 Annual
Conference in Oomiya, Japan on 22nd November, 1998)
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