An Investigation of Responsibility and Learner Autonomy in a Sino-British EAP Program in China

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Learner autonomy has become a universally acknowledged benign notion and exercised in all levels of education, especially in tertiary settings, although some doubts have been cast on its suitability in teacher-dependent contexts. Learner autonomy entails capacity to take on responsibility for ones’ own learning. This study aims to investigate students’ perceptions of their own responsibility and their teachers’, and then evaluate students’ autonomy in English learning in an EAP curriculum in a Sino-British university in China. To these aims, a 30-item questionnaire was compiled to administer to 276 year 1 and year 2 students, and T-test and one-way ANOVA were used to analyze the data. It was found that students in this Sino-British context perceived themselves to assume more responsibility for their own learning compared to their Chinese counterparts, but teachers had more responsibility to stimulate their learning inside the classroom. The degree of autonomy increased accordingly by students’ language proficiency level. Female students assumed more responsibility than male students while the latter were more autonomous than the former. Although students had a good understanding of course aims, they had low awareness of setting goals and plans. These findings have implications for promoting autonomy in tertiary settings in this specific context, as well as in other tertiary settings.

참고문헌 (Reference)

1 Little, D., "Towards greater learner autonomy in the foreign language classroom" Authentic 2002

2 Reinders, H., "Towards a classroom pedagogy for learner autonomy : A framework of independent language learning skills" 35 (35): 40-55, 2010

3 Chamot, A., "The learning strategies handbook" Addison Wesley Longman 1999

4 Chamot, A., "The CALLA handbook: Implementing the cognitive academic language learning approach" Addison Wesley Longman 2009

5 Brown, H., D., "Strategies for success: A practical guide to learning English" Addison Wesley Longman 2002

6 Knowles, M. S., "Self-directed learning: A guide for learners and teachers" Prentice Hall 1975

7 Chan, V., "Readiness for learner autonomy: What do our learners tell us?" 6 (6): 505-519, 2001

8 Dörnyei, Z., "Questionnaires in second language research: Construction, administration, and processing" Lawrence Erlbaum Associates 2003

9 Sakai, S., "Promoting learner autonomy: Student perceptions of responsibilities in a language classroom in East Asia" 43 (43): 12-27, 2010

10 Coterral, S., "Promoting learner autonomy through curriculum : Principles for designing course" 54 (54): 109-117, 2000

11 Ellis, G., "Learning to learn English" Cambridge University Press 1989

12 Wenden, A., "Learner strategies for learner autonomy" Prentice Hall 1991

13 Bekleyen, N., "Learner behaviors and perceptions of autonomous learning" 20 (20): 1-20, 2016

14 Scharle, A., "Learner autonomy: A guide to developing learner responsibility" Cambridge University Press 2000

15 Sinclair, B., "Learner autonomy, teacher autonomy: Future directions" Longman 4-14, 2000

16 Orakci, S., "Learner autonomy scale : A scale development study" 5 (5): 25-35, 2017

17 Dam, L., "Learner autonomy 3: From theory to classroom practice" Authentik 1995

18 Benson, P., "Learner and teacher autonomy: Concepts, realities, and response" John Benjamins 15-35, 2008

19 Oxford, R., "Language learning strategies: What every teacher should know" Heinle & Heinle 1990

20 Ayako Kobayashi, "Investigating the Effects of Metacognitive Instruction in Listening for EFL Learners" 아시아테플 15 (15): 310-328, 2018

21 Ariza, J. A., "Interweaving autonomous learning and peer-tutoring in coaching EFL student-teachers" 11 (11): 85-104, 2009

22 Yang, N., "Integrating portfolios into learning strategy-based instruction for EFL college students" 41 : 293-317, 2003

23 Sinclair, B., "Innovation and best practice in British ELT" Longman 96-107, 1999

24 Kano, S., "How language learning strategies affect English proficiency in Japanese university students" 7 (7): 239-262, 2005

25 Perez-Llantada, C., "Handbook of research in second language teaching and learning Vol. III" Routledge 42-55, 2017

26 Hsu, W., "English language education in a global world: Practices, issues and challenges" Nova Publishers 35-46, 2015

27 Liu, H., "EFL motivations and autonomy in English learning : An investigation of Chinese non-English major undergraduates" 32 (32): 82-97, 2008

28 Bin Zou, "EAP and Occupations" 아시아테플 14 (14): 320-326, 2017

29 Boud, D., "Developing student autonomy in learning" Kogan Press 1-23, 1987

30 Oguz, A., "Developing a scale for learner autonomy support" 13 (13): 2187-2194, 2013

31 Li, C., "Changes in beliefs about language learning among Chinese EAP learners in an EMI context in Mainland China : A socio-cultural perspective" 55 (55): 43-52, 2015

32 Spratt, M., "Autonomy and motivation: Which comes first?" 6 (6): 245-266, 2002

33 Holec, H., "Autonomy and foreign language learning" Pergamon 1981

34 Chan, V., "Autonomous language learning : Hong Kong tertiary students’ attitudes and behaviors" 16 (16): 1-18, 2002

35 Yan, G., "Autonomous English learning among postgraduate EFL learners in China : A study of attitudes and behaviors" 4 (4): 47-70, 2007

36 Xu, J., "A survey study of autonomous learning by Chinese non-English major post-graduates" 2 (2): 25-32, 2009

37 Ou, C., "A review of language learner autonomy research in China(2006-2016) : Based on 12 key domestic journals" 10 (10): 76-86, 2017

38 Buendia Arias, X. P., "A comparison of Chinese and Columbian university EFL students regarding learner autonomy" 17 (17): 35-53, 2015