Fostering student autonomy in class Students are active and responsible participants in the learning process. When learners become more aware of the learning process, make choices and decisions, and self-assess their progress in the classroom they develop learner autonomy. Fostering learner autonomy in class is quite a challenge for many teachers as some students tend to rely on teachers too much and are reluctant to develop a sense of responsibility for the outcome of their learning. One of the best ways to foster learner autonomy is to assign students various kinds of homework, such as written exercises, compositions or further study. Thanks to this activity, students are encouraged to work independently and explore new and existing resources. Apart from homework, we can help students become more autonomous by encouraging them to use monolingual learners’ dictionaries. Students will have to look for the meaning of words on their own instead of asking the teacher what the words mean. We can also encourage students’ involvement on learning by making them investigate a grammar issue or solve a reading puzzle on their own, rather than providing them with the answers. Learning autonomy is quite helpful while learning a second language since it teaches students the importance of self- assessment. Thank to this, learners can build up their own personal criteria for the quality of their work and develop independence from the teacher as the only judges of their weaknesses and strengths. This helps students make informed decisions about their next steps in the process of learning a second language and removes the dependence on the teacher. They do not have to wait for him to tell them what to do next and how well they are doing.
Fostering student autonomy in classStudents are active and
responsible participants in the learning process. When learners
become more aware of the learning process, make choices and
decisions, and self-assess their progress in the classroom they
develop learner autonomy. Fostering learner autonomy in class is
quite a challenge for many teachers as some students tend to rely
on teachers too much and are reluctant to develop a sense of
responsibility for the outcome of their learning. One of the best
ways to foster learner autonomy is to assign students various kinds
of homework, such as written exercises, compositions or further
study. Thanks to this activity, students are encouraged to work
independently and explore new and existing resources. Apart from
homework, we can help students become more autonomous by
encouraging them to use monolingual learners dictionaries. Students
will have to look for the meaning of words on their own instead of
asking the teacher what the words mean. We can also encourage
students involvement on learning by making them investigate a
grammar issue or solve a reading puzzle on their own, rather than
providing them with the answers.Learning autonomy is quite helpful
while learning a second language since it teaches students the
importance of self-assessment. Thank to this, learners can build up
their own personal criteria for the quality of their work and
develop independence from the teacher as the only judges of their
weaknesses and strengths. This helps students make informed
decisions about their next steps in the process of learning a
second language and removes the dependence on the teacher. They do
not have to wait for him to tell them what to do next and how well
they are doing.
Alexandra Pacheco PrietoBibliography
http://iteslj.org/Articles/Thanasoulas-Autonomy.htmlScrivener, J.
(2005). Learning Teaching. Oxford: Macmillan.Harmer, J. (2007). How
to teach English. London: Pearson.
