Abstract Summary
This presentation reports on a longitudinal case study on Chinese school teachers’ cognition and practice about language learner autonomy. The findings revealed the complexity of this issue in six categories: an autonomous practitioner, an experimenting explorer, a practising doubter, a superficial follower, a lip service payer, and an inactive actor.
Abstract :
Shifting control from teachers to learners is the key to the development of learner autonomy, which is a complex process involving teachers genuinely relinquishing control and facilitating learners’ taking over. Regarding this process, while much has been written in theory, little has been researched of language teachers’ classroom practices together with the rationales as well as their understanding of the notion of learner autonomy (Borg & Alshumaimeri, 2019). This presentation reports on a longitudinal case study on English language teachers’ practice and cognition about learner autonomy, focusing particularly on the shift of control between the teacher and the learner. Specifically, it addresses two research questions: 1) What practices were observed in the school regarding the English language teachers’ shifting control to learners in class? 2) How did the teachers perceive their practices as well as the concept of learner autonomy?
The study was conducted in a Chinese private school which was promoting learner autonomy through a top-down innovative project designed by the school executive director. All the nine teachers in the English department participated in the research. Data was collected through classroom observations, post-lesson discussions, departmental open discussions, interviews, and various materials used in the class. Data analysis employed grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967).
The findings presented a complex picture of teachers’ diverse activities, actions, reflections and thoughts about giving control to learners for more autonomy. According to divergences and convergences between the teachers’ thinking and doing, six categories emerged: an autonomous practitioner, an experimenting explorer, a practising doubter, a superficial follower, a lip service payer, and an inactive actor. To understand the complexity of this issue, cultural historical activity theory (Cole & Engeström, 1993) was adopted and suggested for related studies in similar contexts, leading towards the ultimate goal of strengthening learner autonomy.
