Supporting Learner Autonomy in the University Classroom: A Personal Account

10.47908/9/8 ◽  
2013 ◽  
pp. 153-169
Author(s):  
Anja Burkert
Keyword(s):  
Classroom Environment ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Learner Autonomy ◽  
Self Evaluation ◽  
Peer Reviewing ◽  
Evaluation Task ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
The University

In this practice-oriented paper I will report on how I personally try to develop and promote the autonomy of my students in my English language classes at Graz University. I will begin by pointing out a number of constraints with which I am faced in my particular teaching and learning context, and which, at first sight, seem to rule out the establishment of a learner-centred classroom environment involving students actively in relevant decision-making processes. I will then discuss, in some detail, those aspects of a pedagogy for autonomy which I have been introducing over the years to encourage my students to take on a more active role in their learning: learner diaries, peer-reviewing sessions, a seating arrangement in groups of four, and self-evaluation tasks/progress checks before exams. I will also reproduce in my paper short extracts from learner diaries and peer-reviewed texts produced by my students, and an example of a self-evaluation task/progress check. I will conclude by stressing that for me personally the discovery of the concept of learner autonomy was an invaluable experience, influencing my whole approach to teaching and learning.

scholarly journals Impact of Teacher-Learner Rapport on L2 Learning: A Study of Public Sector University, Sindh Pakistan

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 87
Author(s):  
Aisha Bhatti ◽  
Habibullah Pathan ◽  
Syed Waqar Ali Shah
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Classroom Environment ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Nonparametric Test ◽  
Research Paper ◽  
L2 Learning

Nowadays English language plays a crucial role in every field of educational institutes in Pakistan. It is considered as the base of education because the entire scientific studies are in English. The topic of this research paper is impact of teacher-Learner rapport on L2 learning. In today’s civilization having positive teacher-student rapport is more vital than ever before. The purpose of my research paper is to know learners’ point of view about impact of teacher-learner rapport on second language learning. Total 209 participants were selected through random sampling. There are three main public sector universities in Jamshoro, Sindh and among those universities I have selected UoSJ and MUET. The data was conducted quantitatively thus Kendall's tau-b correlation coefficient a nonparametric test was applied to measure the correlation between impact of teacher-learner rapport on second language learning proficiency. The study findings clearly depict that there is strong positive relationship between rapports and second language learning. Undoubtedly for successful learning and teaching outcomes, it is very essential to create rapport for positive classroom environment which provides the enormous opportunities and appropriate conditions to enhance and improve students’ classroom performance in L2 learning. Therefore, at higher/ tertiary level education, teaching and learning environment requires more attention on teacher-learner rapport because at this level learners are more aware and mature enough to understand the ways teacher behaves that directly impacts on leaner’s psychological nurturing and willful leaning.

scholarly journals Learner Autonomy Practices in English Language Teaching in EFL Context

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 53-61
Author(s):  
Jagadish Paudel
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Learner Autonomy ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Qualitative Research Design ◽  
Taking Charge ◽  
The One ◽  
Language Teaching And Learning

Einstein says “I never teach my students. I simply provide the situations in which they can learn”. In line with this saying the learner autonomy (LA) approach provides learners with situations where they can learn independently in their own pace. This learner centered approach to teaching, emerged during the 1980s, aims at empowering learners by transforming responsibilities to them. This study aimed at exploring the practice level scenario of LA in English language teaching and learning. To this end, I employed the qualitative research design i.e. I observed teachers’ classes and conducted Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with the students. The information elicited from participants was transcribed, codified, categorized and finally themes were generated. The study revealed that, though the teachers and the students were affirmative towards LA, in a real sense, the majority of them did not adopt in English language teaching and learning. The classroom ritual is still teacher oriented. On the one hand, the teachers are still in the cockpit of pedagogy without providing any agency for the students. On the other hand, students' readiness for bearing responsibility of their learning was found weak. They preferred attachment to teachers without taking charge of learning.

scholarly journals Exploring Factors Causing Demotivation and Motivation in Learning English Language among College Students of Quetta, Pakistan

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maheen Sher Ali ◽  
Zahid Hussain Pathan
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Classroom Environment ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Motivating Factors ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
Quantitative Design ◽  
Instrumental Motivation ◽  
Learning English

The prime aim of this research was to determine both demotivating and motivating factors for Pakistani college students of Quetta in learning English language. A quantitative design was employed in which 150 freshman college students studying in three different disciplines: Pre-medical, Pre-engineering and I.C.S at Government Girls college students of Quetta, Pakistan were included. A demotivation questionnaire was adopted from the study by Sakai & Kikuchi(2009) consisting of one open-ended question and 35 close-ended items on six factors of demotivation: grammar-based teaching, teacher’s behaviour, course contents and teaching materials, effects of low test score, classroom environment and lack of self-confidence and interest. Additionally, a modified 20-items AMTB motivation questionnaire along with one open-ended question was adapted from the study by Gardner (1985) which identifies the integrative and instrumental motivation. The closed ended questionnaire was analyzed applying descriptive statistics in SPSS (version, 22) whereas content analysis was performed on narrative data extracted from open-ended questionnaire and was quantified to establish the order and rank of factors causing motivation and demotivation among students in learning English language. The findings revealed that course content and teaching material emerged as the most salient demotivating factor. On the other hand, instrumental motivation emerged as the most influential source of motivation among students. The findings have implication on both teaching and learning of English language in Pakistan. 

scholarly journals ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE EDMODO USAGE IN LEARNING ACTIVITIES FOR ENGLISH LITERATURE STUDENTS

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Herland Franley Manalu ◽  
Diana Anggraeni ◽  
Asrul Munazar
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Teaching Method ◽  
English Literature ◽  
Learning Activities ◽  
Learning Tools ◽  
The University

The increment of concern in the use of online learning tools into English Language Teaching to adopt the Industrial Revolution 4.0 has inspired this study to examine students’ thoughts on Edmodo, as one of the online learning tools, at the English Literature department within the University of Bangka Belitung. Edmodo is used by the researchers to discuss the students’ attitude in improving their English skills. Data were collected by means of questionnaires and interview. A Likert scale questionnaire was administered and open-ended interviews were conducted to get more information from the students. Data were qualitatively and quantitatively analysed by using SPSS v.22 Software. The results reveal that the Edmodo usage is aiding students’ cooperation in small group discussions, reflecting that teaching and learning activities established on the ground of communicative teaching method were able to improve cooperation and communication, raising students’ motivation to take part and involve in various learning and also empowering them to be self-determining and be more responsible for their own learning. This study is an endeavor to attract more researchers to do further investigations on this area within the Indonesian English learners at the university level.

scholarly journals Perspectives on the Strategies for Teaching and Learning English as a Second Language at the University of Juba, South Sudan

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-225
Author(s):  
Majok Mabor Matoc Apadier
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Arabic Language ◽  
Large Classes ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
The North ◽  
Government Education ◽  
English Speaking World ◽  
The University

In line with South Sudan’s vision of a self- governing community, much hope was invested in the English speaking world thereby making a shift from Arabisation from the North. As a result, the English language was adopted a marker of identity and opposition to Arabic, language of government, education as well as international communication. As part of South Sudan’s look south policy, English was made to be a second language as opposed to a foreign language. In tandem with this country’s vision the University of Juba is not spared from the adoption of English as the language of instruction and a learning subject.  Due to the democratisation of schooling and education for all, enrolment in the learning of English is increasing and resultantly large classes are emerging.  In view of this, the paper therefore examines and provides preliminary results on the nature and feasibility of some teaching and learning of English in large classes at the University of Juba. This was done in light of the principles and concepts of Richards and Rodgers’ (2001) Communicative Language Teaching approach. It emerges from the findings that in the absence of a teaching framework there is no uniformity on the strategies that being adopted by both learners and teachers in the learning and teaching of English as a second language.

scholarly journals Blended Learning Mobility Approach and English Language Learning

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Mazen Ismaeel Ghareb ◽  
Saman Ali Mohammed
Keyword(s):  
Blended Learning ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Kurdistan Region ◽  
English Language Teachers ◽  
The University

Although the benefits of blended learning have been well documented in educational research, relatively few studies have examined blended mobilities in education in Kurdistan region government and in Iraq. This study discusses a blended mobility approach for a teacher training program designed for in-service English language teachers (ELT) and investigates its effectiveness by comparing the latest participation of the University of Human Development for computer science and proposing the same program for training English for lecturers and students. The research involved proposes new mobility program for teaching and learning English language and using their language skills in an ongoing business project using several software for communication and management of their projects. Results will show the framework for new blended learning and blended mobilities of many different English language teaching (ELT) aspects.

scholarly journals Analysing the Situation of ESL Teaching and Learning in Large University Classes in Pakistan

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 250
Author(s):  
Abdul Hameed Panhwar ◽  
Shah Nawaz Barich ◽  
Syed Khuram Shahzad
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Esl Teachers ◽  
Large Classes ◽  
Language Support ◽  
Teacher Student ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
The University

The present study is based on a chapter of the PhD project conducted by the main researcher. It aims to explore the ESL teaching and learning practices in a Pakistani university by focusing on difficulties perceived and confronted by learners and teachers, and solutions suggested by them. One of the most significant issues at the university is large classes-exceeding to 100 and more students on average. The main researcher, being an ESL teacher at the target university, faced the same problem of large size and found it difficult to teach these classes. He embarked on analysing the situation so that he might come across some solutions through the suggestions and experiences of the ESL teachers and students of the same university. The design of the study is descriptive and the results of the present study come from the quantitative data collected through student and teacher questionnaires. The Student-participants were 300 undergraduate students from various major subjects attending English language support classes and 22 ESL teachers teaching these English language support classes at different institutes of the university. The data were analysed descriptively and presented with help of the boxplots. The views, commonly held by teachers are supported by the study’s findings i.e., large classes are likely to endorse teacher-centred approaches of teaching; very little significant student-student and teacher-student interaction is practised because of the inadequate physical environment; majority of learners remain off-task and appear to be unruly and they are given little, if any, feedback on their in-class and home tasks. Conversely, many teachers and learners reported that the adoption of group/pair work is likely to be an effective technique to use in these classes. Albeit a few teachers revealed having adopted group work infrequently, none used it all the time.

scholarly journals EFL students’ attitudes towards learner autonomy in English vocabulary learning

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 86
Author(s):  
Thao Quoc Tran
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Learner Autonomy ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Higher Institution ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
Shed Light

Whether EFL learners can use English well or not depends much on vocabulary they possess. Learner autonomy (LA), however, plays a pivotal role in amassing EFL learners’ vocabulary. This study endeavored to explore students’ attitudes towards LA in English vocabulary learning. Two hundred English majors from a Ho Chi Minh City based higher institution, Vietnam got involved in answering the closed-ended questionnaire, and ten students took part in semi-structured interviews. The findings indicated that participants were cognitively aware of the importance of LA in English vocabulary learning, but affectively and behaviorally they showed low interest in LA in English vocabulary learning. Such findings may shed light on how to improve the teaching and learning of the English language in general and English vocabulary in particular at the research context and other similar EFL contexts.

scholarly journals PROMOTING LEARNER AUTONOMY IN AN ESL CONTEXT IN PAKISTANI UNIVERSITIES: A TEACHERS’ PERSPECTIVE

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 1048-1055
Author(s):  
Asma Kashif Shahzad ◽  
Akifa Imtiaz ◽  
Tahira Asgher
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Learner Autonomy ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Classroom Teaching ◽  
Esl Teachers ◽  
Language Classrooms ◽  
University Level ◽  
Teachers Perspectives ◽  
The University

Purpose of the study: The present research aims to study the effectiveness of using learner autonomy in English language classrooms at the university level from teachers' perspectives. The study seeks to determine what roles can be performed by the language teachers while fostering learner autonomy at the university level. Methodology: The study is descriptive and qualitative. The data has been collected with the help of a structured interview. The researchers prepared a list of questions to collect data from the interviews with 19 ESL teachers. The respondents are from the five universities of South Punjab. The interviews are recorded and transcribed and further analysed in terms of thematic categories discussed with the teachers. Main findings: The research explores a great deal of awareness of the concept of learner autonomy among university teachers, which they use indirectly or directly in their classroom teaching. The teachers discuss many roles they can perform to develop and use autonomy in the English language classroom. They express that practising autonomous learning in an ESL context could result in learning the English language more naturally and effectively. Application of this study: The present study contributes to using and developing learner autonomy in an ESL context. It would be an inspiration to research and explore more avenues of systematic inquiry in the field it deals with. The pedagogical implication of the study is that it would help ESL teachers practice the concept in their classroom teaching effectively. Novelty/Originality of this study: Most of the studies found in the field of learner autonomy are learner-centered. our research explores the phenomenon from the viewpoint of language teachers. The study focuses on the effectiveness of learner autonomy perceived by the teachers. It further records the teachers' opinions about what role(s) they can perform to practice it in the classroom.

scholarly journals English language teachers’ perspectives on learner autonomy

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 220-232
Author(s):  
Chetnath Panta
Keyword(s):  
School Environment ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Learner Autonomy ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Global Trends ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
English Language Teachers ◽  
Teachers Perspectives

This study explores the perceptions and practices of the English language teachers to create autonomous learning environment in the context of Nepalese secondary EFL classroom. The study further unpacks the role of the teachers in creating better learning opportunities for learners so as to promote learner autonomy. The research is based on interpretive paradigm to look into kaleidoscopic view of variety of perspectives, classroom practices and emerging dilemmas of the teachers. Based on the findings, the research showcases the deep rooted social practices and myths to bring tensions in the relation between teachers and students. The school environment has to be homely and autonomy supportive. It seems pertinent to think over the concept of learner autonomy globally and act locally adapting the global trends and issues of teaching and learning, and at the same time, there is a dire need to remain mindful of the translated concept of learner autonomy thinking contextually and pragmatically.

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