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A survey of Learner autonomy
in language learning
Wang Zhe
Doctoral Student in Peking University
E-mail: [email protected]
Mobile: 13832401306
Abstract
The present study is a survey of
learner autonomy in language teaching
and learning. It focuses on English
teachers’ & students' attitudes towards
learner autonomy and practice, especially
on inside and outside classroom activities.
Based on the literatures reviewed, the
items in the survey are grouped under 5
variables:
(1) The present conditions for learner autonomy;
(2) English teachers’ & students' attitudes towards
learner autonomy;
(3) Relationship between teachers and learners;
(4) Classroom activities which are considered to be
conducive to autonomous learning and teaching
activities;
⑸Teachers’ professional development in learner
autonomy.
Focus on the following questions:
What are teachers’ general attitudes
towards learner autonomy?
How do they put it into practice?
How did they push on learner
autonomy in class?
What kinds of obstacles in promoting
learner autonomy in China?
Contents
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Literature
Review
 Research Method
 Results and Discussion
 Conclusions
 References

Introduction
1. “Learner Autonomy” has been used more and
more frequently in the discussion of language
learning in China.
 2. Autonomy in the discussion of language
teaching and learning has become a key concept
within the framework of theories as
communicative language teaching, cooperative
learning, and learning by doing.
 3. It has also been brought to people’s attention in
a wider educational context in cognitive science,
educational psychology, and critical thinking.

Literature Review
1.1 Autonomy beyond the Field of
Language Education

1.1.1 Autonomy is originally from

Western philosophy- learners are members
of society.

1.1.2 Constructivism: Learners
are active makers who construct
their own version of the target
language.

1.2 Relevant Issues Concerning
in language Education

1.2.1 Autonomy and Self-access
Autonomy

“a way of describing materials that are designed and
organized in such a way that students can select and
work on tasks on their own”



1.2.2 Autonomy and Learner Training
Dickinson:Learner training was also an important
issue in the development of learner autonomy in
recent years. In order to carry out effective selfdirected learning, learners who were accustomed to
teacher-centered education would also need to be
psychologically prepared for more learner-centered
mode of learning.

1.2.3 Autonomy and Individualization

Dickinson(1987) defined autonomy as “the situation
in which the learner is totally responsible for all
of the decisions concerned with his learning and
the implementation of those decisions”


1.2.4 Autonomy and Interdependence

To Boud, the shift to interdependence is other
portrayed as a process starting from dependency and
moving progressively through counter-dependence and
independence to interdependence.
1.3 Defining Learner Autonomy

1) “The ability to make your own decisions
about what to do rather than being influenced
by someone else or told what to do” in Collins
Cobuild English Dictionary
 2) Holec (1981) :“ability to take care of one’s own
learning and to hold the responsibility for all the
decisions concerning all aspects of this learning”
•determining the objectives;
•defining the contents and progressions;
•selecting methods and techniques to be used;
•monitoring the procedure of acquisition properly
speaking;
•evaluating what has been acquired
3) Benson (1997) : autonomy as a capacitya construct of attitudes and abilities that
allow learners to take more responsibility
for their own learning.
4) Littlewood’s definition (1996) : autonomous
person as “one who has an independent capacity to
make and carry out the choices which govern his
or her actions.”
Autonomy as a capacity in which ability and
willingness to take change of one’s own learning
and interdependence are integral parts of the
construct.

Above all, we can say learner autonomy
includes the following aspects:
 1) Attitude: learners would like to take an
active attitude to their study, that means
learners are willing to study and be responsible
for their study;
 2) Capacity: learners should cultivate the
capacity and learning strategies so as to finish
one’s own tasks independently;
 3) Environment: learners should be given a lot
of chances to train their learning capacity.
The Justification for Learner Autonomy as a
Language Educational Ideal

1.4.1 Active Learning
 1.4.2 Deep-level Learning
 1.4.3 Life-long Learning
 1.4.4 Independent Thinkers
in a Modern Society
1.5 Conditions for the Development of
Learner Autonomy

1.5.1 Cultural Foundations for
Learner
Autonomy
 1.5.2 Institutional Conditions and the
Evaluation System
 1.5.3 Teachers’ Cultivation for Autonomous
Learning

1.5.3.1 Teachers’ Roles in Learners’ Autonomous
learning
A) facilitator; b)counselor ; c) resource
To help learners pass different stages: entry stage,
reactive stage, proactive stage and integrative stage
1.5.3.2 Teachers both as Equal Moral Agents and
Experts
1.5.3.3 Classroom Activities are conducive to
learner Autonomy
a) Trust each other
b) Choices and Decision Delegation

c) Cooperation and Group Cohesion






Research Method

2.1 The Background of the Present Study
 2.2 The Present Study on Learner
Autonomy
 2.3 General Design
 2.4 Participants Profile
 2.5 Data Collection Scheme

The study is conducted by an anonymous
survey using a questionnaire. The design
of the questionnaire was based on three
major resources.

1) the literatures reviewed with the following views
( Littlewood’s definition of leaner autonomy which says
that learners’ ability and willingness to assume
responsibilities are at the core of the notion of autonomy;
Candy ’s distinction between teachers’ roles both as equal
moral agents and experts who currently know better than
the learners; and Boud ’s discussion of a interdependent
self.

2) some of the activities were recommended
in the research articles published by
Chinese teachers and researchers (Ye Bin,
2000; Wang Meilan, 2002; Xiao Qiaoyun,
2000 for example).
 3) suggestions given by teachers during the
revising stage of the questionnaire were
accepted.

The questionnaires were distributed to the
English teachers who work in colleges or
universities in Poland and China to make a
comparison of Learner Autonomy between
China and Poland.
 As the questionnaire contains 52 items, the
teachers who took part in the questionnaire
were expected to complete them in their
spare time and then collected the
questionnaires later.

The initial statistical analysis of the data was
carried out by using SPSS 11.0 for Windows.
 The analysis of data involves calculating the
percentages of responses to different statements
and looking for the general trend in the teachers’
attitudes towards each variable. Participants’
“strongly agree” and “agree” responses are
presented together as are their “disagree” and
“strongly disagree” responses. This has been done
in order to allow generalization to survey was also
complemented by information from informal
conversations with both teachers and
students(interviews).
Table 1 Number of Items for each subset and Sample Items.
Subsets
Item Number
Sample
Teachers’ awareness &
attitudes
4,5,6,8,40,45,47
5. Learner autonomy is a Western concept, so it is
inconsistent with Chinese culture and tradition.
Reflections
46,47,48,49,50,51,52
4 8 . I have to spend more time preparing for my
lesson after innovation
Perceptions
difficulties
44
There are too many students in one class, so it is
hard for teachers to manage it.
3,33,52
3 . Learner autonomy is inappropriate under the
excessive
pressure
of
university
entrance
examinations.
9,12,35,36
36. The official teaching material I use presently
is not good for learner autonomy.
Moral relationship
10, 22, 32, 41, 42
32. I often praise and encourage my students in my
class.
Pedagogical
relationship
1, 7, 14, 19, 28, 37
1 . Most of my students prefer to be directed by
their teachers.
Class activities
13, 15, 16, 17, 18,
20, 21, 23, 24, 25,
26
1 7 . I encourage my students to experiment with
learning strategies and discover which work well
for them.
Autonomous teaching
2, 29, 38, 39
38. I have the habit of keeping teaching dairies to
reflect my own teaching.
Professional
development
11, 40, 44, 46
1 1 . I’ve received teacher training courses with
regard to learner autonomy.
Perceptions
of
assessment system
Perceptions
materials
the
of
Table 2.
Teachers’ awareness and attitudes towards learner autonomy in Poland
Item
Frequency
1
2
3
4
5
4. Learner autonomy means that learners
should be able to learn in isolation
without the helps provided by others
13
22.4
%
35
60.3
%
8
13.3%
2
3.4%
0
0%
6. The most important thing in education
is to pass on to the learners some basic
knowledge they are in need for life,
which is more important than the
development
of
autonomous
learning
ability.
12
20.6
%
36
62%
9
15.5%
7
12%
4
3.7
%
8 . Autonomous learning is not suitable
for young learners since students have
not yet acquired the self-directed
skills that needed.
20
34.4
%
24
41.3
%
13
22.4%
1
1.7%
0
0%
(In China)
Item
Frequency
1
2
3
4
5
4 . Learner autonomy means that
learners should be able to learn in
isolation without help provided by
others
35
32.4%
57
52.8%
4
3.7%
8
7.4%
4
3.7
%
6 . The most important thing in
education is to pass on to the learners
some basic knowledge they are in need
for life, which is more important than
the development of autonomous
learning ability.
8. Autonomous learning is not suitable
for young learners since students have
not yet acquired the self-directed skills
that needed.
20
18.5%
58
53.7%
12
11.1%
14
13.0
4
3.7
%
13
12.0%
35
31.4%
20
18.5%
32
29.6%
7
6.5
%
Table 3. Teachers’ perceptions of materials in poland
Item
9 . There is a self-access
center for English learning
in our school.
12. I have on time to introduce extra
teaching materials to my students
since I’m densely occupied with
predetermined teaching syllabus.
3 5 . The official teaching
material I use presently is
not good for learner autonomy.
3 6 . In my school, it is much more
convenient for teachers to use the
school library or other learning
resource compared with students.
Frequency
1
2
3
4
5
5
12
5
16
20
8.6
%
2
20.
6%
15.
0%
8
8.6
%
9
34
%
17
3.4
%
28
13.
7%
13
15.
50%
12
37.
9%
4
29.
3%
48.2
%
1
22.
4%
3
20.
6%
8
6.8
%
12
1.
7%
34
1.7
%
5.1
%
13.
7%
20.
6%
58.
6%
22
1
(In China)
Item
Frequency
1
2
3
4
5
24
42
21
16
4
22.4%
39.3%
19.6
%
15.0
%
3.7
%
12. I have on time to introduce
extra teaching materials to my
students since I’m densely
occupied with predetermined
teaching syllabus.
13
48
9
32
6
12.0%
44.4%
8.30
%
29.6
%
5.6
%
3 5 . The official teaching
material I use presently is
not good for learner
autonomy.
6
38
26
29
7
5.7%
35.8%
24.5
%
27.4
%
6.6
%
36. In my school, it is much
more convenient for teachers to
use the school library or other
learning resource compared
with students.
14
33
18
39
4
13.0%
30.6%
16.7
%
36.1
%
3.7
%
9.There is a self-access
center for English
learning in our school.

Some interviews(In Poland)
 Teacher A:
 “Most textbooks that were issued for
students’ use are suitable for our students.
Compared them with the textbooks being
used by university students, the level of
difficulty between them is well linked up,
which is good to develop students’ learner
autonomy”.
Teacher B:

“I think that’s a way to cultivate students’ ability of learner
autonomy. Students could set realistic objectives for
themselves, they will adjust their paces and methods
according to their objectives and their own situations.
According to the syllabus worked out by the school
teachers and students, students should do project work on
each topic of the term, students will be divided into several
group according to their interests and each group will
choose one or two topics to prepare them and do
presentation in class. Then discuss what students talked
about, brainstorm and debate, at last the teacher will make
a conclusion.

Interviews in China

Teacher C:
 “I have no right to choose textbooks and
design syllabus for my students, they are
already there, I should follow them.
According to the syllabus, I don’t have enough
time to do project work .”
 Teacher D:
 “Although I promote learner autonomy in my
class, finally the evaluation system does not match
well with learner autonomy. The examination
can’t reflect students’abilities of learner autonomy.
So I have to give up at last.”

Project work or investigative learning
 It is a way of delegating more decisions to
learners as stated by Kenny (1993), since by
doing projects learners get chances to
determine the content, the objectives, and
the methods of inquiry by themselves. And
they exercise control over the forms of input
and output.
The conversation between a student and the author is
summarized below: (In Poland)












“A (Author): Do you do project work for your English study?
S (Student A): Yes, a lot
A: Do you do it in groups or alone?
S: Group.
A: What kind of topics do you usually choose?
S: The topics are the interesting topics we choose by ourselves.
A: How do you do the research?
S: Usually we just go to library to find some material or get on the
internet, download some intriguing pictures, or do some survey to get
some data and then write something by ourselves.
A: How much time do you need for such kind of work?
S: A few days will be more than enough.
A: Do you need to present your findings to your classmates?
S: Yes, we will do some presentations, discuss and make a conclusion
in class, ”

Some comments from students in China:

“I don’t like group works or discussions. You cannot learn
much from it. The discussion time is always so limited and
I don’t even have enough time to think about the topic.
And as l observed, most of my classmates are just as
unprepared as me. So to some extent, such kind of
discussion is just a waste of time” (Student A).

“I like group discussion very much in discussion we get
chances to talk with our classmates, we could always talk
about something else besides the topic given by the teacher.
And sometimes we talk in Chinese” (Student B).
Table 4. Professional development(In Poland)
Items
11. I have
systematic
training
concerning
autonomy
Frequency
received
teachercourses
learner
1
2
3
4
5
2
3
3
23
27
3.4%
5.1%
5.1%
39%
46.4
%
(In China)
Items
1 1 . I havereceived
systematic
teachertraining
courses
concerning
learner
autonomy
Frequency
1
2
3
4
5
17
47
22
17
5
15.7%
43.5%
20.4%
15.7%
4.6
%
Results and Discussion
3.1 Teachers’ awareness and attitudes
towards learner autonomy as an
educational goal
 3.2 Reflections from teachers who have
experimented with learner autonomy
 3.3 Teachers’ perceptions of the existing
difficulties

3.4 Teachers’ Perceptions of the
Applicability of Learner Autonomy
under the Present Assessment System
 3.5 Teachers’ perception of the Newly
Developed Textbooks and Other
Learning Materials


Conclusions
(1) There
is certainly an awareness of
learner autonomy and teachers’ attitudes
towards learner autonomy are very
positive, the concept of learner autonomy
has already gone deep into most
teachers’mind.
(2) Many of them are quite willing to treat
students as equal agents instead of passive
knowledge containers. When autonomous
learning is put into practice, most teachers like to
try the new method, students also like the way of
it, both of them can get a lot of benefits.
 (3) The
main constraining factors in
China that serve to hinder the
development and promotion of
learner autonomy are:
 a) the limited materials in library,
especially in non-key universities;
 b) the evaluation system need to be
reformed and perfected
 c) the need for professional
development of teachers and renewing
the conception of administration.
Thank you for your attention!
Please oblige me with your critical
remarks on my paper!
Thanks for your suggestions which will
give me more self-confidence and let me
know how to do it better and move Learner
Autonomy forward!