Autonomy in the transition from foreign language learning to foreign language teaching

Abstract

This paper discusses the historical development of the concept of teacher autonomy in foreign language education and its relationship to the idea of learner autonomy. Three major phases in the development of conceptions of teacher autonomy are reviewed, involving attention to teacher roles in autonomous learning projects, professional development and professional freedom. Different ways of conceptualising the link between teacher and learner autonomy are discussed and an alternative conception based on the notion of transition from learner autonomy to teacher autonomy in learning-teaching careers is proposed. KEY-WORDS: Learner autonomy; Teacher autonomy; Self-directed learning; Teacher development.RESUMO: Este trabalho discute o desenvolvimento histórico do conceito de autonomia do professor de língua estrangeira e suas relações com a idéia de autonomia do aprendiz. São analisadas três fases importantes do desenvolvimento dos conceitos de autonomia do professor, envolvendo a atenção aos papéis do professor em projetos voltados para o desenvolvimento da autonomia na aprendizagem, o desenvolvimento profissional e a liberdade profissional. São discutidas diferentes formas de se conceituar o relacionamento entre a autonomia do professor e do aluno e é proposta uma perspectiva alternativa, baseada na noção de transição da autonomia do aprendiz para a autonomia do professor no processo de ensino-aprendizagem. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Autonomia do aprendiz; autonomia do professor; aprendizagem autodirecionada; desenvolvimento do professor.

Autonomous English learning: Teachers’ and students’ perceptions

“…Hafner and Miller (2011) and Lengkanawati (2017) have examined, suggesting that learner autonomy or students' autonomous learning in English language teaching is often mistakenly defined as the condition where one is able to learn alone with no need for support from a teacher or an instructor or the condition where students are mostly in charge of the whole learning process with no more intention on planning and evaluating (Dang, 2012). Such a misconception is possibly held since both teachers and students in this study possess little knowledge or information on the concept of autonomous learning, which is understandable considering that this concept is originally emerged from the European (Western) context (Benson & Huang, 2008). Different ways of understanding autonomous learning atmosphere between the Eastern and the Western countries might add to the reason why this misconception occurs (Ivanovska, 2015).…”

Learner Autonomy in the Indonesian Efl Settings

“…All the definitions above seem to have significant roles in the process of learning to support students' learning outcome. The concept of autonomy, which is frequently associated with the concepts of independent learning, self-directed and self-regulated learning has been viewed as fundamental components of good teaching and learning (Benson & Huang, 2008). Kumaravadivelu (2003, p.39) promotes macro-strategies in learning.…”

Autonomy in an EFL Teacher Training Context: Trainee Teacher Perceptions of Instructor Expectations

“…However, there seems to be a lot of criticism on the lack of coherence in the theoretical framework of learner autonomy (Martinez, 2008) in terms of interrelationships between the concepts which are still unclear (Lamb, 2008). To foster learner autonomy among learners, it is also argued that teachers need some degree of autonomy, freedom and internal capacity as well to exercise discretion in matters of curriculum implementation (Benson & Huang, 2008;Benson, 2010). On the other hand, there is a need to develop more systematic models of learner autonomy (Benson, 1997;Oxford, 2003).…”