Enhancing learner autonomy and responsibility in an EAP class
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| Year of publication | 2018 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
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| Description | The concept of learner autonomy goes hand in hand with responsibility; as is aptly expressed by Çakici (2015), “learner autonomy grows out of the individual learner’s acceptance of responsibility for his/her own learning“. Students are no longer just obedient creatures who blindly follow every single instruction their teacher utters without even thinking about it. It must be added that in order to be able to accept responsibility for own’s own learning, students must be well aware of the goals of the course and understand not only what, but also how and, above all, why. In the present paper, the author will show how she tries to raise students’ responsibility for their own learning process by applying certain elements from a purely autonomous English class in her “standard” courses of EAP focused on presentation skills. She tries to draw on her experience with individual counselling in English autonomously to individualise students’ personal learning plan, so that it is tailored to their personal needs. Via several one-to-one meetings with the teacher, students set their personal goals and try to achieve them throughout the term. As the author’s classes are focused on skills and pragmatic competences, the importance of claiming responsibility for improving them becomes even more essential. |