Plenary presentation at CAMTESOL

1. Teachers’
perspectives on
learner autonomy
Phil Benson
Macquarie University
CAMTESOL 2016
I wonder if this
presentation is on
slideshare.net?
I wonder if this
presentation is on
slideshare.net?

2. Menu
• What is learner autonomy?
• The problem of teaching
• Teachers’ perspectives on autonomy
• An exploratory practice project
• Some implications for professional
development

3. What is learner autonomy?

4. Galileo Galilei 1564-1642
“You cannot teach
a man anything;
you can only help
him find it within
himself.”

5. Zhu Xi 朱熹 1130-1200
“If you are in doubt,
think it out by yourself.
Do not depend on
others for
explanations. Suppose
there was no one you
could ask, should you
stop learning?”

6. Learner autonomy
‘…a capacity to control your own learning…’
Ability
FreedomDesire
AUTONOMY

7. It is impossible to teach learners everything they
need to know of a language in class….

8. Personal relevance of learning
….Class time should be used to teach “those
aspects of the language which the learners
themselves deem to be the most urgently
required”.
Nunan, D. (1988). The learner-centered curriculum.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 3.

9. Ownership of language
“Having a choice in their own language
learning means the language learner or user
taking control not only of the language being
learnt, but also of the goal and purpose of
that learning…. Autonomy resides in being
able to say what you want to say rather than
producing the language of others…”
Macaro, E. (2008). Learning strategies in foreign and second
language classrooms. London: Continuum. (p. 59-60).

10. The problem of teaching
“Suppose I had a
magic wand that
could produce one
change in our
educational systems.
What would that
change be?”
(Carl Rogers 1902-87)

11. The problem of teaching
“I finally decided
that my imaginary
wand, with one
sweep, would cause
every teacher to
forget that he or she
is a teacher.”

12. ‘Transmission’ teaching
Jean Marc Coté. A L’école, 1903

13. The problem of language teaching in Asia
• Policies favour autonomy, learners are willing.
But…
• Early start in language learning
• Shortage of trained teachers
• Students’ approaches to
learning conditioned by
a series of experiences of
‘being taught’

14. What’s wrong with ‘being taught’?
• Instruction helps language learning?
The evidence is…
…weak
• Participating in learning activities
help language learning? The
evidence is…
…much stronger

15. Pedagogical strategies for autonomy
• Encouraging student preparation
• Drawing on out-of-class experience
• Using ‘authentic’ materials and
‘real’ language
• Independent inquiry
• Involving students in task design

16. Pedagogical strategies for autonomy
• Encouraging student-student
interaction
• Peer teaching
• Encouraging divergent outcomes
• Self- and peer-assessment
• Encourage reflection

17. Teachers’ perspectives on autonomy

18. Borg and Al-Busaidi (2012)
• Few studies of teachers’ views on learner
autonomy
• Previous studies show gap between
–positive theoretical views
–less positive reports of practice in the
classroom
• Questionnaire on teachers’ perspectives
+ professional development activities

19. Borg & Al-Busaidi - Findings
• >90% agreed LA has a positive
effect on learning
• 80% believed their teaching gave
students opportunities to
develop LA
• (Response rate 30%)

20. Borg & Al-Busaidi - Findings
• Should students make decisions?
• ‘Desirability rated above feasibility’
–Widest gap for objectives, materials and
assessment
–More feasible for when, where, how
questions
–Less feasible for what, what for questions

21. An exploratory practice project
• Collaborative Professional Development
project between Macquarie Applied
Linguistics and English Language Centre
• PD workshop on pedagogical strategies
• 1 year project with two pairs of ELC teachers
– ‘Book Club Café’ – José Lara & Lesley Speer
– ‘Motivating Learner Independence’ – Mary Ann
Chehade & Gamze Sayram

22. Exploratory Practice puzzles
• Exploratory practice
– “… a vehicle for practitioners (teachers and
learners) to plan and work together to deependeepen
their understandingstheir understandings of life in the language
classroom” – Dick Allwright
• Puzzles
– BCC - Why don’t students read more?
– MLI - Why can’t students be more active learners
in and out of class?

23. My puzzle – feasibility
• Innovations in autonomy are…
–often ‘experiments’
–often ‘outside’ the curriculum
–successful in short-term
–but sustainability and transferability
unclear

24. The big puzzle
• Exploratory Practice projects
– repeated over 8 x 5-week blocks
– with different classes / different teachers
– within the existing curriculum
– How can teachers design and
implement sustainable and transferable
pedagogical strategies for autonomy

25. Exploratory Practice - findings
• Sustainable pedagogical strategies
are…
–integrated into the curriculum
–repeatable
–allowed to evolve over time
–‘plant a seed’

26. Exploratory Practice - findings
• Transferable pedagogical strategies
are
• clearly articulated
• flexible and uncomplicated
• adaptable to different teaching styles,
courses and proficiency levels

27. Implications for
professional development
• PDfor autonomy is about
–closing the gap between desirability and
feasibility
–exploring possibilities
• Exploration leads to change, but…
–it needs time and conversation
–it grows out of repetition and variation

28. …to have learned something is only a point
of departure…
“To have learned something
for the child is only a point of
departure. When he has
learned the meaning of an
exercise, then he begins to
enjoy repeating it and he
does repeat it an infinite
number of times, with the
most evident satisfaction.”
Maria Montessori (1870-
1952)

29. Pedagogical strategies for autonomy
• Encouraging student preparation
• Drawing on out-of-class experience
• Using ‘authentic’ materials and ‘real’ language
• Independent inquiry
• Involving students in task design
• Encouraging student-student interaction
• Peer teaching
• Encouraging divergent outcomes
• Self- and peer-assessment
• Encourage reflection