Autonomy and student-centered learning

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Autonomy and student-centered learning

• Phil Benson
• Hong Kong Institute of Education

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(No Transcript)
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Autonomy and student-centered learning

• What is autonomy - definitions and versions?
• Why autonomy, why now?
• What kind of autonomy do we want?

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Sources for autonomy in language teaching and
learning
Political philosophy
Educational reform
Personal autonomy
Freedom in learning
Autonomy in language learning
Constructivism
Self-directed learning
Psychology of learning
Adult education
Focus on learner
Language learning
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Sources for autonomy

• Political philosophy Immanuel Kant,
  Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Jean-Paul Sartre, Robert
  Young, Joseph Raz, Anthony Giddens
• Psychology Lev Vygotsky, George Kelly, Bruno
  Bettleheim
• Educational reform John Dewey, William
  Kilpatrick, Paolo Freire, Ivan Illich, Carl
  Rogers
• Adult education Allen Tough, Malcolm Knowles,
  Philip Candy, Stephen Brookfield, Jack Mezirow
• Language learning Learner-centredness,
  Communicative language teaching, Individual
  differences, Learning strategies, Sociocultural
  theory

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What is autonomy?
Learning situations Learning without a teacher or on your own
Teaching situations Autonomous classrooms, learning schemes, etc
Methods of learning Self-instruction, use of learning strategies, etc.
Learners independent actions Autonomous events and episodes
Learners responsibility Self-directed learning, planning, decision-making,etc.
The right to control ones own learning Student power, learner control, learners rights.
A capacity that learners possess or acquire Abilities, attitudes, predispositions, etc.
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Definitions that are not definitions

• 100 competencies associated with autonomy
  (Candy, 1991)
• Autonomy in learners can take numerous different
  forms, depending on their age, how far they have
  progressed with their learning, what they
  perceive their immediate learning needs to be,
  and so on (Little, 1991, p.4).
• Autonomy is a multidimensional capacity that
  will take different forms for different
  individuals, and even for the same individual in
  different contexts or at different times
  (Benson, 2001 p.47).

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Control over learning

• Autonomy is the capacity to take control of
  ones own learning Benson (2001)
• What is a capacity?
• What do we mean by control of learning?

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What is a capacity?
AUTONOMY
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What is a capacity?

• just as the ability to drive a motor vehicle
  does not necessarily mean that whenever one gets
  into a car one is obliged to take the wheel,
  similarly the autonomous learner is not
  automatically obliged to self-direct his learning
  either totally or even partially. The learner
  will make use of his ability to do this only if
  he so wishes and if he is permitted to do so by
  the material, social and psychological
  constraints to which he is subjected.
• (Holec, 1988 p.8)

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Controlling what?
AUTONOMY
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Controlling what?

• Learning management
• (e.g. making a study plan)
• Cognitive processes
• (e.g. attention/noticing input)
• Learning content
• (e.g. choosing what you learn)

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Versions of autonomy(Benson, 1997)

• Technical
• Positivism focus on learning management
• Psychological
• Constructivism focus on cognitive processes
• Political
• Critical theory focus on learning content

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Perspectives on autonomyOxford (2003)

• Objected to privileging the political
• Added Sociocultural I (Vygotskyan)
  Sociocultural II (SCT, investment, situated
  learning, etc.)
• All perspectives are valid

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Proactive and reactive autonomy

• Proactive autonomy
• regulates the direction of activity as well as
  the activity itself.The key words are action
  words learners are able to take charge of their
  own learning, determine their objectives, select
  methods and techniques and evaluate what has been
  acquired
• Reactive autonomy
• ...regulates the activity once the direction has
  been setthe kind of autonomy which does not
  create its own directions but, once a direction
  has been initiated, enables learners to organize
  their resources autonomously in order to reach
  their goal.
• Littlewood (1999)

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Versions of autonomy

• Convergence, divergenceconvergence and
  convergencedivergence perspectives Ribé
  (2003)
• Individualcognitive, socialinteractive and
  exploratoryparticipatory perspectives -
  ORourke Schwienhorsts (2003)
• Nativespeakerist, culturalrelativist and
  social approaches Holliday (2003)

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Strong and weak pedagogies

• Weak pedagogies
• Assume that students lack autonomy
• autonomy is seen as a deferred goal and as a
  product of instruction rather than as something
  which students are currently ready to exercise
  directly.
• Strong pedagogies
• Assume that students are already autonomous
• Focus on co-creating with students optimal
  conditions for the exercise of their autonomy
• (Smith, 2003, 130-132)

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Arguments for autonomy
AUTONOMY
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Arguments for autonomy

• Ideological
• the individual has the right to be free to
  exercise his or her own choices, in learning as
  in other areas, and not become a victim (even an
  unwitting one) of choices made by social
  institutions.
• Psychological
• Learning is more meaningful, more permanent,
  more focussed on the processes and schemata of
  the individual when the individual is in charge.
• Economic
• society does not have the resources to provide
  the level of personal instruction needed by all
  its members in every area of learningindividuals
  must be able to provide for their own learning
  needs, either individually or cooperatively, if
  they are to acquire the knowledge and skill they
  want.
• Crabbe, D. (1993, p.443)

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Why autonomy? Why now?

• Globalization and
• The expansion of second language education
• The self as a reflexive project
• The self as technology

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The expansion of second language education

• More teachers and more learners
• Biographical diversity
• Diversity of purposes
• Migration of learners
• Migration of teachers
• Diversity within classrooms
• Diversity of situations and practices
• Autonomy as
• Sensitivity to diversity
• A practical solution to the problems posed by the
  complexity of mass education

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The self as reflexive project Giddens (1991)

• Traditional vs. late modern cultures
• The need to form ones own identity in late
  modern society
• The self as a reflexive project narrative
  identity
• The role of second language learning in the
  formation of new identities
• Identities are fragmented, contradictory and
  dynamic but falling to pieces is
  pathological
• What holds our identities together??

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The self as technology

• Self-improvement culture
• a range of practices and text-types focusing
  on the individual and her or his relationships
  with others, and particularly on the problems of
  modern personal life. Among the most accessible
  expressions of this culture are self-help and
  popular psychology books, and broadcast talk
  shows of the confessional type where people
  talk about their experiences, problems and
  feeling, sometimes receiving advice from an
  expert (a therapist, counsellor or
  psychologist). (Cameron, 2002, p.75)
• Emphasis on self-training workforce and the
  importance of communication skills in the new
  economy.

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Autonomy and agency

• We believe that learners have to be seen as more
  than processing devices that convert linguistic
  input into well-formed (or not so well-formed)
  outputs. They need to be understood as people,
  which in turn means we need to appreciate their
  human agency. As agents, learners actively engage
  in constructing the terms and conditions of their
  learning. (Lantolf Pavlenko, 2001 p. 145)

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Conclusion

• What is autonomy? Or what kind of autonomy do we
  want?
• Autonomy as the production of responsible,
  active, flexible and adaptable
  worker-learners?
• Autonomy as agency learners as critically
  aware individuals capable of authoring the world
  in which they live?

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References

• Benson, P. (1997) The philosophy and politics of
  learner autonomy. In P. Benson P. Voller (eds.)
  Autonomy and Independence in Language Learning.
  London Longman, pp. 18-34.
• Benson, P. (2001) Teaching and Researching
  Autonomy in Language Learning. London Longman.
• Benson, P. (2007) Autonomy in language teaching
  and learning. State of the Art article. Language
  Teaching, 421.
• Cameron, D. (2002) Globalization and the
  teaching of communication skills. In D. Block
  D. Cameron (eds.) Globalizaton and Language
  Teaching. London Routledge, pp.67-82.
• Candy, P.C. (1991) Self-direction for Lifelong
  Learning. San Francisco Jossey-Bass.
• Crabbe, D. (1993) 'Fostering autonomy from within
  the classroom the teacher's responsibility'.
  System, 214, 443-452.
• Giddens, A. (1991) Modernity and Self-identity
  Self and Society in the Late Modern Age.
  Cambridge Polity.
• Holec, H. (1988) 'General presentation, Prospects
  / Présentation Génerale. Perspectives'. In H.
  Holec (ed.) Autonomy and Self-directed Learning
  Present Fields of Application. Strasbourg
  Council of Europe, pp. 5-18.
• Holliday, A. (2003) Social autonomy addressing
  the dangers of culturism in TESOL. In D.
  Palfreyman R.C. Smith (eds.) Learner Autonomy
  across Cultures Language Education Perspectives,
  Basingstoke Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 110-126.

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References

• Lantolf , J. P and Pavlenko, A. (2001) (S)econd
  (L)anguage (A)ctivity theory understanding
  second language learners as people. In Breen, M.
  (ed.), Learner contributions to language
  learning New directions in research. London
  Pearson Education (pp. 141-158).
• Little, D. (1991) Learner Autonomy. 1
  Definitions, Issues and Problems. Dublin
  Authentik.
• Littlewood, W. (1999) 'Defining and developing
  autonomy in East Asian contexts'. Applied
  Linguistics, 201, 71-94.
• Oxford, R.L. (2003) Toward a more systematic
  model of L2 learner autonomy. In D. Palfreyman
  R.C. Smith (eds.) Learner Autonomy across
  Cultures Language Education Perspectives,
  Basingstoke Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 75-91.
• ORourke, B. K. Schwienhorst (2003). Talking
  text Reflections on reflection in
  computermediated communication. In Little,
  Ridley Ushioda (eds.), Learner autonomy in
  foreign language classrooms Teacher, learner,
  curriculum and assessment. Dublin Authentik, pp.
  4762.
• Ribé, R. (2003). Tramas in the foreign language
  classroom Autopoietic networks for learner
  growth. In D. Little, J. Ridley E. Ushioda
  (eds.), Learner autonomy in foreign language
  classrooms Teacher, learner, curriculum and
  assessment. Dublin Authentik, pp. 1128.
• Smith, R. C. (2003). Pedagogy for autonomy as
  (becoming)appropriate methodology. In D.
  Palfreyman R.C. Smith (eds.) Learner Autonomy
  across Cultures Language Education Perspectives,
  Basingstoke Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 129146.