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Students’ autonomous learning; a Teacher’s awareness task. How would it be a classroom full of discipline students, with self-decision of their own learning and total independence from the teacher? Students’ autonomous learning in Colombia context has been considered an important issue to reflect on. EFL teachers have a certain responsibility to develop learners’ self-sufficiency of their own learning; however, there has always been a struggle to accomplish with this kind of learners’ academic behavior. According to Holec, (1981) autonomous learning has to do with a person’s ability to take full responsibility of his or her own learning. That includes the ability to decide what, when, how and for how long learning should take place. Taking into consideration the author’s idea, it is important to say that the characteristics previously mentioned are not easy to identify and develop nowadays’ context. For that reason, teachers should be aware that developing students learning autonomy is not an easy task to obtain. Firstly, an English classroom may not provide the opportunity for students to have an active role on their own learning. Teachers and students must work together in order to create an enjoyable and dynamic classroom atmosphere in which both can establish guidelines that may foster students’ autonomous learning. It is necessary to mention Little & Dam (1998) who considers that in learner autonomous classrooms teachers and learners become a learning community and the target language is one of the principal tools with which the collaborative process is shaped. In order to provide a suitable setting for students that hold an active participation, teachers and students should work hand by hand; additionally, teachers need to provide a set of strategies and activities that can foster students’ learning; as well, involve themselves in a collaborative work that is

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Students’ autonomous learning; a Teacher’s awareness task.

How would it be a classroom full of discipline students, with self-decision of their own learning and total independence from the teacher? Students’ autonomous learning in Colombia context has been considered an important issue to reflect on. EFL teachers have a certain responsibility to develop learners’ self-sufficiency of their own learning; however, there has always been a struggle to accomplish with this kind of learners’ academic behavior. According to Holec, (1981) autonomous learning has to do with a person’s ability to take full responsibility of his or her own learning. That includes the ability to decide what, when, how and for how long learning should take place. Taking into consideration the author’s idea, it is important to say that the characteristics previously mentioned are not easy to identify and develop nowadays’ context. For that reason, teachers should be aware that developing students learning autonomy is not an easy task to obtain.

Firstly, an English classroom may not provide the opportunity for students to have an active role on their own learning. Teachers and students must work together in order to create an enjoyable and dynamic classroom atmosphere in which both can establish guidelines that may foster students’ autonomous learning. It is necessary to mention Little & Dam (1998) who considers that in learner autonomous classrooms teachers and learners become a learning community and the target language is one of the principal tools with which the collaborative process is shaped. In order to provide a suitable setting for students that hold an active participation, teachers and students should work hand by hand; additionally, teachers need to provide a set of strategies and activities that can foster students’ learning; as well, involve themselves in a collaborative work that is intended to develop their learning. In Jacobs & Farrell’s studies (2001) it can be stated that Group activities play a large part in this because learners acquire a lot of learning strategies when collaborating with, and receiving support from their peers and not just the teacher.

Secondly, teachers are not aware of their role in class for promoting students’ autonomous learning. A traditional view is that teachers should have the control of the class and their role is all the time to be in charge of it and direct learning. In relation to that perspective, it might be impossible to involve and promote students’ self-decision of their own learning; Gardner & Miller (2002) summarize teachers’ roles in self-access learning as an information provider, counselor, authentic language user, manager, materials writer, assessor, administrator and organizer. Lacey (2007) defines that learner autonomy may sound more like bringing chaos in the classroom. Nevertheless teachers can successfully make the choice of relinquishing control and sharing it with the learner. Moreover, many studies have addressed that learners must be given opportunities in which they can make important decisions in class; furthermore, the teachers need to encourage students to take part and include them as well; what is more, learners have to be given the tools they need to become more self-sufficient and independent. Nunan (2003) states that fostering autonomy in the classroom is done by providing learners with opportunities to make significant

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choices and decisions about their learning in an informed way. Besides, a clear perspective and position of the teacher’s role is that they must help students bringing instances to put into practice the target language as it is stated by Lowes & Target (1999) that the teachers’ role in an autonomous language classroom is to help learners learn by exposing them to the language and providing opportunities for them to practice the new language in class as well as at home.

Further on, it is really significant to consider the students as active receivers of information and active protagonists in an autonomous class. There are many factors that contribute the development and involvement of autonomy learning in EFL class; the teacher, the classroom’s environment, activities provided, the use of ICT, but there should be a highly emphasis on one particular and special aspect: learners. As it was mentioned before in the previous ideas, they must have a central role and responsibility before, during and after class and when they want to learn a new language. It is essential to state Little, Ridley, & Ushioda (2003) in which express that learner autonomy includes the learner’s reflective involvement in all aspects of the learning processes. Learners become autonomous by assuming responsibility for their own learning. This includes being involved in all aspects of the learning process: planning, implementation (monitoring) and assessment. Their autonomy grows as they become conscious of the process of learning. Students have the capacity to think and reflect on their own academic process, for that reason, teacher should be aware that this must take into consideration on their daily life work.

To summarize the three aspects previously stated and mention my point of view will be based on the many factors that an ESL teacher should keep on mind for fostering students’ autonomous learning as: promote a learning autonomy classroom or environment, increase teacher’s awareness and the consideration of students as active part of this learning process. All these aspects aforementioned are not easy to include and put all of them together. However, teachers should and need to be conscious that it is not an impossible task to attain, with the help of students and with the inclusion of them in the learning and teaching process, autonomous learning can take place in EFL context.

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References:

Gardener, D., & Miller, L. (2002). Establishing Self-Access from Theory to Practice. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. (Chapter 10)

Holec, H. (1981) Autonomy and foreign language learning. Oxford: Pergamon

Jacobs, G. M., & Farrell, T. S. (2001). Paradigm Shift: Understanding and Implementing Change in Second Language Education

Lacey, F. (2007). Autonomy, never, never, never! Independence (42), 4-8.

Little, D., & Dam, L. (1998, 09 04). JALT98 Special Guest Speakers: Learner Autonomy: What and Why?

Little, D., Ridley, J., & Ushioda, E. (Eds.). (2003). Learner autonomy in the Foreign Language Classroom: teacher, learner, curriculum and assessment. Dublin: Authentik.

Nunan, D. (2003). Practical English Language Teaching. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Lowes, R., & Target, F. (1999). Helping Students to Learn - A guide to Learner Autonomy. (P. Seligson, Ed.) London: Richmond Publishing.