Maintaining Control: Autonomy and Language Learning

7. Reflective lesson planning: Promoting learner autonomy in the classroom

Reflective lesson planning 109 Introduction Learner autonomy is a somewhat nebulous concept. It is, in Holec’s (1981: 3) widely used definition, “the ability to take charge of one’s own learning”. However, for language teachers wanting to develop a more student-centred approach in the classroom which might lead to the promotion of autonomy, this definition does not help to identify how autonomy can be achieved. A more detailed definition is Dam et al.’s view (1990: 102) that an autonomous learner is: an active participant in the social processes of classroom learning ... an active interpreter of new information in terms of what she/he already and uniquely knows ... [someone who] knows how to learn and can use this knowledge in any learning situation she/he may encounter at any stage in her/his life ... This definition, I believe, helps us as teachers to understand what it is to encourage our learners to become ready to take charge of their own learning — to be autonomous. Dam et al.’s (1990) definition merits close inspection. For instance, the classroom is the focus of learning; the learner has to be active; the learner has unique knowledge that he or she can contribute to lessons; and what happens in the language classroom has some impact on what happens, or can happen, outside the classroom. In this paper I shall refer to Dam et al.’s definition of autonomous learners and illustrate, via a process I call ‘Reflective lesson planning’, how the concept of autonomy can be realised in the classroom. 7 Reflective lesson planning: Promoting learner autonomy in the classroom Lindsay Miller 110 Lindsay Miller Background to learner autonomy The debate about learner autonomy has a long history, and one in which language has not usually been the central focus. Benson (2001) lists some of the philosophers and educationalists who have proposed autonomy as a learning goal: among them are Galileo, Rousseau, Dewey, Kilpatrick, Freire and Illich. These thinkers and scholars situate their discussion of learner autonomy in the realms of political philosophy, psychology or educational reform, and it is useful to keep these realms in mind when considering issues related to language learning autonomy as they help us to frame our discussions about language learning within the wider domain of the goals of education. The global issues related to learner autonomy are directly related to any debate about language learning and vice versa. Based on the previous writing on learner autonomy (see Benson 2001), Gardner and Miller (1999) highlight three possible reasons why teachers may wish to promote language learning autonomy: it enhances the personal characteristics of learners; it has political implications inside and outside the classroom; and it can be seen as an integral part of educational practices. From the perspective of personal characteristics, writers such as Kenny (1993) maintain that all students have different needs and wants which are often not met in conventional language lessons. As a response to teacher-fronted language lessons, students often follow the stereotype inherent in passive ‘consumer’ education: they follow the instructions but do not actively participate in their learning. Kenny states that language learners need to be given the opportunity to manage their own learning, to be active producers of their own knowledge rather than only passive consumers of education. Following a similar perspective on empowering learners, Benson (1997) and Pennycook (1997) argue for a more political view of language education. These writers advocate a critical pedagogical approach to language education in order to help learners move towards becoming autonomous. Benson and Pennycook see autonomy in an overtly political manner: autonomy is possessed by those who have power (the teachers) over those who do not (the students). Learners can only become more autonomous if they become more critically aware of the learning process. However, to become critically aware, learners need to be involved in, and given power over, their learning within the different stages of the language lessons that they take part in. Reflective lesson planning 111 Thus, approaches stressing either personal characteristics or a political orientation both argue for the rights of the individual learner within the educational system. Paradoxically, the oppressive nature of the educational system itself may also be the driving force that encourages autonomous learning. Benson (1997: 31) states that “Many teachers have turned towards practices such as self-access and learner training out of dissatisfaction with conventional teaching methodologies which are seen as socially oppressive...