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2 Concepts of autonomy in language learning Phil Benson Introduction It i s ofte n take n fo r grante d tha t w e kno w wha t learne r autonom y fo r language learning is although the concept is, in fact, commonly represented in a t leas t thre e differen t ways . For some , learner autonom y i s an idea l state, seldom actuall y achieved , where learner s ar e fully responsibl e fo r decisions about their own learning. For others, it represents a set of skills that can be learned. And fo r other s still, autonomy is an inborn capacit y that is suppressed as we go through the processes of institutional education. These appea r t o be significan t differences , bu t thei r implication s hav e seldom been discussed. Indeed a casual observer o f the literature on th e topic might easily gain the impression that the concept of learner autonomy for language learnin g i s entirel y unproblematic . A s th e startin g poin t for any discussion of the concept, however, three points need to be acknowledged : 1. Fo r every paper published on autonomy in language learning there are at least twenty on autonomy and self-direction in other fields of learning. In North American adult education in particular, self-direction is a tried and tested concept. Evaluations of it, even those made by some of its advocates, are by no means universally positive. 2. Autonom y is a multifaceted concep t with political, psychological an d philosophical ramifications . It s applicatio n i n th e fiel d o f languag e learning is highly problematic, and we cannot expect to find an off-theshelf concept of autonomy neatly packed and ready for use. 3. Nobod y has yet succeeded in developing a version of autonomy tha t specifically take s accoun t o f th e natur e o f languag e an d languag e learning. Little (1991) has taken us a long way in this respect, but w e 28 Phi l Benson must nevertheles s recogniz e that , s o far , w e hav e n o theor y o f autonomous language learning. As concepts currently on the radical edge of language learning methodology, learner autonom y an d self-directio n ar e ope n t o critiqu e fro m mor e traditional positions. In the field of adult education, more trenchant critiques have come from the direction of critical pedagogy. In this chapter, I want to explore the relevance o f these critiques to the field o f language learnin g and discuss what a more critical approach to learner autonomy for language learning might involve. Autonomy and critical pedagogy In a paper published in AdultEducation Quarterly, Stephen Brookfield (1993), a leading North American authority in the field of adult education, reports on what amounts to an ideological crisis in the field of self-directed learning. He argue s tha t self-directe d learning , havin g becom e "comfortabl y ensconced i n th e citadel , firml y par t o f th e conceptua l an d practica l mainstream" (p . 227), is increasingly open to attack from th e direction of critical theory. From the perspective of critical pedagogy, he says of selfdirected learnin g tha t a n "alternativ e for m o f practic e tha t bega n a s a challenge t o institutiona l adul t educationa l provisio n ha s becom e technocratic and accommodative" (p. 228). Self-direction is further open to criticism for its promotion of individualism and its failure to confront issues of power an d contro l in learning. It is in response t o this critique that a number o f educators, including Brookfield himsel f (als o Hammond an d Collins 1991 ; Garrison 1992) , have launche d attempt s t o rescu e th e radicalism of self-directed learning by framing the concept in more critical terms. In the fiel d o f languag e learnin g ther e i s apparently n o crisi s of th e kind Brookfield reports for adult education, but the signs are there. Wenden (1991:11), for example, observes that encouraging learners to become more autonomous is a goal with which few language teachers would disagree . This suggests that the concept of autonomy is indeed beginning to enter...

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