The presenter will draw conclusions from the joint reflections in Burkert, Heim & Schwienhorst (2020). She will first briefly sketch how the authors perceive the discourse on Learner Autonomy in their respective countries and settings and how the concept is (not) reflected in curricula and teaching practice. She will point out conceptual elements that all three authors share and will subsequently provide samples from her own university-based work to illustrate these reflections .
Developing the autonomy of learners is a declared goal not only of the CEFR but also of school curricula in both Germany and Austria; nevertheless, the reality of the classroom in both countries does not necessarily reflect this laudable aim. In the German-speaking countries, there has been a long tradition of research which advocates more active involvement of learners and provides a constructivist view on learning and teaching as well as on teacher education. This also entails the call for educating reflective practitioners (Wallace, 1991) and the claim that future teachers should get the opportunity to experience the type of innovative teaching that is expected of them first-hand during their teacher education. The presenter will briefly summarize and contextualize this discourse in the German-speaking context and will present some current innovative developments in Austrian and German schools and universities. In a second step, the presenter will share examples from her own work and research that has clearly been influenced by both the German-speaking advocates and international Learner Autonomy communities.
Wallace, M.J. (1991). Training Foreign Language Teachers: A Reflective Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
