DEVELOPING LEARNER AUTONOMY
Keywords:
learner autonomy, responsibility, strategy training, critical thinking, metacognitive strategiesAbstract
The implementation of communicative language teaching approaches instead of the traditional methods
has led to many changes in the classroom. Unlike the traditional methods where the teacher has the central role, s/he
presents the new material and gives all the explanations while the students are passive recipients of that knowledge,
in contemporary approaches to teaching and learning the students have the central role. They are expected to
participate actively in all stages of the learning process, to take responsibility for their learning, to use strategies that
can help them achieve better results, to monitor their progress and to be able to evaluate their knowledge. These
changes in foreign language instruction have led to more and more frequent use of the term learner autonomy. A lot
of experts point out that one of the goals of language teaching is to encourage learners to be more independent in the
learning process and not rely on the teacher all the time, to develop capacities for critical thinking, for making their
own choices and for making decisions. In this way, they will not only learn more efficiently in the classroom, but
they will be able to supplement learning in the classroom with learning outside the classroom, and they will develop
skills for self-directed learning after completing their formal education. As it is a long process, teachers need to help
their learners gradually break away from the dependence on the teacher and develop skills for independent learning.
The aim of this paper is to elaborate on the importance of developing learner autonomy and to present several
possible ways of encouraging learner autonomy in foreign language learners.
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