When motivation has been discussed in relation to autonomy in language learning, it has often been put forward as a product of autonomy. This paper suggests a more complex relationship in which motivation in many cases precedes autonomy. It discusses some of the relevant literature and presents results from a large-scale study of Hong Kong tertiary students. The study aimed to assess students’ readiness for learner autonomy in language learning by examining their views of their responsibilities and those of their teachers’, their confidence in their ability to operate autonomously and their assessment of their level of motivation to learn English. It also investigated their actual practice of autonomous learning in the form of both outside and inside class activities. Results indicated that motivation played a key role in this readiness, and this led the authors to look at the relationship between autonomy and motivation as revealed in the study and in the literature. The findings lead the authors to conclude that motivation is a key factor that influences the extent to which learners are ready to learn autonomously, and that teachers might therefore endeavour to ensure motivation before they train students to become autonomous.
BackgroundMental health problems are common among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and difficulties with emotion regulation processes may underlie these issues. Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is considered an efficacious treatment for anxiety in children with ASD. Additional research is needed to examine the efficacy of a transdiagnostic treatment approach, whereby the same treatment can be applied to multiple emotional problems, beyond solely anxiety. The purpose of the present study was to examine the efficacy of a manualized and individually delivered 10‐session, transdiagnostic CBT intervention, aimed at improving emotion regulation and mental health difficulties in children with ASD.MethodsSixty‐eight children (M age = 9.75, SD = 1.27) and their parents participated in the study, randomly allocated to either a treatment immediate (n = 35) or waitlist control condition (n = 33) (ISRCTN #67079741). Parent‐, child‐, and clinician‐reported measures of emotion regulation and mental health were administered at baseline, postintervention/postwaitlist, and at 10‐week follow‐up.ResultsChildren in the treatment immediate condition demonstrated significant improvements on measures of emotion regulation (i.e., emotionality, emotion regulation abilities with social skills) and aspects of psychopathology (i.e., a composite measure of internalizing and externalizing symptoms, adaptive behaviors) compared to those in the waitlist control condition. Treatment gains were maintained at follow‐up.ConclusionsThis study is the first transdiagnostic CBT efficacy trial for children with ASD. Additional investigations are needed to further establish its relative efficacy compared to more traditional models of CBT for children with ASD and other neurodevelopmental conditions.
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