Learner autonomy

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Learner autonomy has been a 'buzz' word in foreign language education in the past decades, especially when talking about life-long learning skills. It has transformed old practices in the language classroom and has given origin to self access facilities around the world such as the SALC at Kanda University of International Studies in Japan, and the SAC at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. As the result of such practices, language teaching is now seen as language learning and it has placed the learner as the centre of our attention in language learning education.

The term "learner autonomy" was first coined in 1981 by Henri Holec, the "father" of learner autonomy. Many definitions have since been given to the term, depending on the writer, the context and the level of debate, educators have come to. It has been considered as a personal human trait, as a political measure or as an educational move. This is due to the fact that autonomy is seen either (or both) as a means or as an end in education.

Some of the most well known definitions in present literature are:

  • 'Autonomy is the ability to take charge of one's own learning' (Henri Holec)
  • 'Autonomy is essentially a matter of the learner's psychological relation to the process and content of learning' (David Little)
  • 'Autonomy is a situation in which the learner is totally responsible for all the decisions concerned with his [or her] learning and the implementation of those decisions'. (Leslie Dickinson)
  • 'Autonomy is a recognition of the rights of learners within educational systems'. (Phil Benson)

Taken from Gardner and Miller, Establishing Self-Access from theory to practice. CUP (1999)

One of the key aspects to consider in defining Learner Autonomy is whether we view it as a means to an end (learning a foreign language) or as an end in itself (making people autonomous learners). These two options do not exclude each other, both of them can be part of our views towards language learning or learning in general.

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