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Promoting learner autonomy
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itoring language learning progress through personal journal writ- ings, in addition to taking regular class tests and other standard- ized tests;
reaching out for opportunities for additional language reception or production beyond what they get in the classroom, for example, through library resources, learning centers, and electronic media such as the Internet;
seeking their teachers’ intervention to get adequate feedback on areas of difficulty and to solve problems. This can be done through dialogues and conversations in and outside the class;
collaborating with other learners to pool information on a speci- fic project they are working on. This is done by learners forming small groups and dividing the responsibilities of consulting ref- erence materials such as dictionaries and encyclopedias to col- lect information and sharing it with the group; and
taking advantage of opportunities to communicate with compe- tent speakers of the language. This can be achieved by participat- ing in social and cultural events and by engaging in conversations with competent speakers either in person or “virtually” through Web sites.
Collectively, these activities can contribute to at least two bene- ficial results. Learners gain a sense of responsibility for aiding their own learning and that of their peers. They also develop a degree of sensitivity and understanding toward other learners who may be more or less proficient than they are.
As the above discussion reveals, proponents of the learning-to- learn approach to learner autonomy aim at making the learners aware of learning strategies and at training them to use those strate- gies effectively. Wenden (1991, p. 15) captures the spirit of this ap- proach when she says this about learners whom she considers to be “successful” or “expert” or “intelligent”: “They have acquired the learning strategies, the knowledge about learning, and the attitudes that enable them to use these skills and knowledge confidently, flex- ibly, appropriately and independently of a teacher. Therefore, they are autonomous.” Proponents of this approach also claim that “the ideal system is one which allows the learner to take as much re- sponsibility for his own learning as he wishes to, and which makes provision both for those who want full autonomy and those who do not want any!” (Dickinson,1987, p. 88). There are, however, critics