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Learnerautonomy Little 2003
Learnerautonomy Little 2003
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Contents
Definitions
Why learner autonomy?
Helping language learners to become autonomous
Research
Current developments and future trends
References
Definitions
There are two general arguments in favour of trying to make learners autonomous. First, if
they are reflectively engaged with their learning, it is likely to be more efficient and
effective, because more personal and focused, than otherwise; in particular, what is
learned in educational contexts is more likely to serve learners’ wider agendas. Second, if
learners are proactively committed to their learning, the problem of motivation is by
definition solved; although they may not always feel entirely positive about all aspects of
their learning, autonomous learners have developed the reflective and attitudinal
resources to overcome temporary motivational setbacks.
In the particular case of second and foreign languages there is a third argument. Effective
communication depends on a complex of procedural skills that develop only through use;
and if language learning depends crucially on language use, learners who enjoy a high
degree of social autonomy in their learning environment should find it easier than
otherwise to master the full range of discourse roles on which effective spontaneous
communication depends.
Helping language learners to become autonomous
Attempts to theorise the process of ‘autonomisation’ (e.g., Little 1999, 2000a, 2000b) have
been strongly influenced by neo-Vygotskian psychology, which sees learning as a matter
of supported performance and emphasises the interdependence of the cognitive and
social-interactive dimensions of the learning process. According to this model, the
teacher’s role is to create and maintain a learning environment in which learners can be
autonomous in order to become more autonomous. The development of their learning
skills is never entirely separable from the content of their learning, since learning how to
learn a second or foreign language is in some important respects different from learning
how to learn maths or history or biology.
How to support the development of learner autonomy is also a key issue for self-access
language learning schemes. Where self-access learning is not embedded in a taught
course, it is usually necessary to provide learners with some kind of advisory service:
learner counselling is central to the self-access literature. The most successful self-access
projects tend to be those that find effective and flexible ways of supporting learners;
particularly worthy of note is the approach developed at the University of Helsinki
(Karlsson et al. 1997).
Research
It is sometimes assumed that the central research question to be answered is: ‘Does
learner autonomy work?’ But this is to confuse ‘autonomy’, which works by definition, with
attempts at ‘autonomisation’, which can take many different forms and may or may not
succeed. Similarly misguided are attempts to measure the development of autonomy in
learners as if it could be detached from the goals and content of learning.
For more than a decade Leni Dam and Lienhard Legenhausen have studied the linguistic
development of Dam’s learners using empirical techniques derived from second language
acquisition research. They have provided a wealth of evidence to show how and why
Dam’s approach is more successful than mainstream teacher-led approaches (see, e.g.,
Dam and Legenhausen 1996, Legenhausen 1999a, 1999b, 1999c). Approaches that
equate the process of ‘autonomisation’ with ‘strategy training’ have been less successful:
the benefits of teaching learners strategies have still to be demonstrated.
Another important research question has been whether learner autonomy is an exclusively
Western cultural construct and thus alien to learners in other cultures. There is convincing
evidence to support the view that learner autonomy is a psychological phenomenon that
can transcend cultural difference, though learning behaviour is always and inevitably
culturally conditioned (see, e.g., Aoki and Smith 1999, Littlewood 2001).
Current developments and future trends
References
Aoki, N. and Smith, R. (1999). Learner autonomy in cultural context: the case of Japan. In
D. Crabbe and S. Cotterall (eds), Learner Autonomy in Language Learning:
Defining the Field and Effecting Change, 19–27. Frankfurt: Lang.
Benson, P. (2001). Teaching and Researching Autonomy in Language Learning. Harlow:
Longman/Pearson Education.
Dam, L. (1995). Learner Autonomy 3: From Theory to Classroom Practice. Dublin:
Authentik.
Dam, L. and Legenhausen, L. (1996). The acquisition of vocabulary in an autonomous
learning environment – the first months of beginning English. In R. Pemberton et al.
(eds), Taking Control: Autonomy in Language Learning, 265–80. Hong Kong: Hong
Kong University Press.
Holec, H. (1981). Autonomy and Foreign Language Learning. Oxford: Pergamon. (First
published 1979, Strasbourg: Council of Europe.)
Karlsson, L., Kjisik, F. and Nordlund, J. (1997). From Here to Autonomy. A Helsinki
University Language Centre Autonomous Learning Project. Helsinki: Helsinki
University Press.
Legenhausen, L. (1999a). Language acquisition without grammar instruction? The
evidence from an autonomous classroom, Revista Canaria de Estudios Ingleses 38:
63–76.
Legenhausen, L. (1999b). The emergence and use of grammatical structures in
conversational interactions; comparing traditional and autonomous learners. In B.
Mißler and U. Multhaup (eds), The Construction of Knowledge, Learner Autonomy
and Related Issues in Foreign Language Learning, 27–40. Tübingen: Stauffenburg.
Legenhausen, L. (1999c). Traditional and autonomous learners compared: the impact of
classroom culture on communicative attitudes and behaviour. In C. Edelhoff and R.
Weskamp (eds), Autonomes Fremdsprachenlernen, 166–82. Munich: Hueber.
Little, D. (1991). Learner Autonomy 1: Definitions, Issues and Problems. Dublin: Authentik.
Little, D. (1999). Developing learner autonomy in the foreign language classroom: a social-
interactive view of learning and three fundamental pedagogical principles, Revista
Canaria de Estudios Ingleses 38: 77–88.
Little, D. (2000a). Learner autonomy and human interdependence: some theoretical and
practical consequences of a social-interactive view of cognition, learning and
language. In B. Sinclair, I. McGrath and T. Lamb (eds), Learner Autonomy, Teacher
Autonomy: Future Directions, 15–23. Harlow: Longman/Pearson Education.
Little, D. (2000b). Learner autonomy: why foreign languages should occupy a central role
in the curriculum. In S. Green (ed.), New Perspectives on Teaching and Learning
Modern Languages, 24–45. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Little, D. (2002). The European Language Portfolio: structure, origins, implementation and
challenges, Language Teaching 35.3: 182–9.
Little, D. and Perclová, R. (2001). European Language Portfolio: guide for teachers and
teacher trainers. Strasbourg: Council of Europe. Also available at:
http://culture.coe.int/portfolio
Littlewood, W. (2001). Students’ attitudes to classroom English learning: a cross-cultural
study. Language Teaching Research 5.1: 3–28.
Schärer, R. (2000). European Language Portfolio: final report on the pilot project.
Strasbourg: Council of Europe. Also available at: http://culture.coe.int/portfolio
Ushioda, E. and Ridley, J. (2002). Working with the European Language Portfolio in Irish
post-primary schools: report on an evaluation project. CLCS Occasional Paper
No.61. Dublin: Trinity College, Centre for Language and Communication Studies.