英语学习策略与技巧教程教师用书unit3

Unit 3 Learner Autonomy
Aims and Objectives
After learning this unit, the students should know:
1. what is learner autonomy,
2. what are its features,
3. what are the ways to promote leaner autonomy.
Tasks
1. The most important difference between teacher-directed learning and independent
learning is:
In the former, you do not have to have an overall plan for your learning. The teacher
will do this for you. For example, the teacher will work out such things as the purpose of
learning, the method of learning, the timetable, the problems to overcome trouble to be
shot, and so on.
In the latter, you have to be responsible for the whole learning process yourself. You
should consider your purpose, the methods to be adopted, the amount of time to be spent
on it per week, the problems trouble you would overcome come across in the course of
learning, the way out, etc.
2. Autonomous learners have the following features. They
1) have insights into their learning styles and strategies;
2) take an active approach to the learning task at hand;
3) are willing to take risks, i.e., to communicate in the target language at all costs;
4) are good guessers;
5) attend to form as well as to content, and pay attention to that is, place importance on
accuracy as well as appropriacy;
6) develop the target language into a separate reference system and are willing to revise
and reject hypotheses and rules that do not apply; and
7) have a tolerant tolerance of and outgoing approach to the target language and its
culture.
3. It is generally agreed that L2 learners should develop learner autonomy. Language
learning is such a complex and enormous project. It is also time-consuming. Even if
classroom learning is available to you, it is impossible for the teacher to teach everything
you need for your ultimate goal is such a complex system that it is impossible to exhaust
a portion of it. In this connection, the learner should be able to learn on their own
themselves to expand the limit of classroom learning.
What‘s more, independent learners will also develop independent personality. They
tend to be able to cope with other problems independently. This is an important quality
for L2 learner to communicate in L2 because autonomous learners are faster in adapting
themselves to the new role of L2 users in different communicative situations.
4. Among others, you should consider the following questions:
1) What benefits and drawbacks learning a second language could have in general.
2) What benefits and drawbacks learning a particular language could have.
3) What the nature of language and language learning is.
4) What are the language elements, if any, that need to be learned regardless of one‘s
purpose, and to what degree.
5) For the purpose of one‘s study, what elements of the language need to be learned
and to what degree.
6) In what order these elements could be learned.
7) How the

se elements could be learned.
8) How much time it would normally take to learn a particular element.
9) How objectives can be set and study plans made.
10) What the necessary resources are and where they are available.
11) What kind of language learner you are and how you learn.
12) How the learning of a particular item can be evaluated as you learn and after you
have learned.
13) What your strengths are in learning L2 in question.
14) What your weaknesses are in learning L2 in question.
15) How much time you are prepared to spend on your language learning per week.
16) What resources you will need.
17) What kind of support you will need.
18) How you will keep your motivation up.
Etc.
5. Careful consideration of these questions helps you be more aware of your need. Therefore
you will be a more conscious and efficient learner if you do as you are required in this
task.
6. By considering the criteria, you may know what is the proper way to plan and write a
composition and eventually try to write it in a proper way.
7. It is important for you to have the interview questions ready beforehand with regard to the
task performed.
8. There is no hard and fast answer to this task.
9. There is no hard and fast answer to this task.
Home Assignment
The assignment is to engage students to experience learning as an autonomous learner. By
surfing on the internet, they will have a better understanding of how to be an autonomous
learner and how to learn on their own. Let the students do it themselves.
Some hints for L2 teachers to encourage learner autonomy
The following list includes practical tips one could consider using when trying to develop
learner autonomy in the future.
1. Encourage students to be interdependent and to work collectively. The less students
depend on their teacher the more autonomy is being developed. Many students like
working in small groups and usually can be placed in pairs or small groups for various
exercises quite easily, that is, not against their wills. Pairs and groups can read dialogues
together, do information-gap activities and consult each other on the meaning and
clarification of the task at hand.
2. Ask students to keep a diary of their learning experiences. Through practice, students
may become more aware of their learning preferences and start to think of new ways of
becoming more independent learners. Diary entries could be written after every lesson so
that students can record their sentiments about it. Students could also record whether or
not they thought they benefited from what they did and give reasons why or why not.
After they record their experiences for a month or two, teachers could help their students
interpret their experiences and give them additional techniques to suit their learning
styles.
3. Explain teacher/student roles from the outset. As well, asking students to give their
opinions on the issue of roles could be b

eneficial. However, their prior experiences may
not match the type of environment you wish to foster. Thus, while the eventual goal is
independence/interdependence (see point 4, below), the initial outcome of discussion on
roles may not result in a fully-developed notion of an independent learner. It would be
profitable to set aside time at various points throughout the academic year so that these
roles may be reassessed as students' feelings of independence grow. Emphasis could also
be given to learning about the target language and its social contexts of use. Learning
about autonomy may be something the students are hearing for the first time and some
might react negatively to it. Therefore, learning about learner autonomy should be
introduced gradually over time (see point 4) as the students experience its benefits.
Teachers could mention cultural differences in the beginning of courses to outline what
the students will be doing in class, and suggest to them that they may be doing something
different from what they may be used to. Also, having a discussion regarding how English
conversation differs from other subjects could be beneficial. For example, teachers could
ask the students if learning English is similar to History or Math, where it is common to
listen to lectures about information and theory, or if learning English is similar to playing
the piano or baseball where it is common to practice and be active.
4. Progress gradually from interdependence to independence. Give the students time to
adjust to new learning strategies and do not expect too much too soon. Start the
development of learner autonomy from larger groups, then work towards smaller groups,
pairs, and finally individuals. Also, start courses by giving the students fewer choices
concerning their learning and work towards many choices, and finally freer choices, such
as open-ended tasks, or allowing students to make their choices entirely on their own.
5. Give the students projects to do outside the classroom. Such projects may increase
motivation. For example, set up a pen-pal writing exchange program with a foreign
school, or have the students do interviews with foreigners they happen to meet. Outside
projects are important for most students learning English because most students spend so
little time in class or language lab. For those serious about learning English, out-of-class
time is the only way they are going to study enough to make much of a difference.
6. Give the students non-lesson classroom duties to perform (taking roll, writing
instructions, notices, etc. on the board for the teacher). But do this only if it is done in
English and there is adequate time.
7. Have the students design lessons or materials to be used in class. Also do an "interests
and ability" inventory at the beginning of every school year so you can understand how to
tailor your lessons. Time could be set aside at the end of th

e course for practical criticism
of study tasks and textbooks used in the course. More student control over the
management of learning resources could be encouraged as well.
8. Instruct students on how to use the school's resource centres: the school library, the
language lab, and the language lounge. Teachers could encourage the students to join the
school's English Club. Explain everything about the resource centres, taking nothing for
granted. Have a lesson centred on using the various resources. Work with the people in
charge of the resources to get their full cooperation and support.
9. Emphasize the importance of peer-editing, corrections, and follow-up questioning in
the classroom. Inform the students that feedback from their peers can be valuable in that
they can become more aware of their language mistakes, including grammar errors and
vocabulary misuse. Using follow-up questions not only among classmates but also with
their teacher can facilitate learning and higher levels of awareness and understanding of
the target language.
10. Encourage the students to use only English in class. Tell the students that this is a great
chance for them to use only English, and few opportunities like this exist for them. Part of
the role of the language teacher is to create an environment where students feel they
should communicate in the target language and feel comfortable doing so. Heavy reliance
on the students' native language may side-track efforts to reach optimal levels of the
target language in the classroom. Students could be introduced to ways of greeting each
other and starting and maintaining conversations.
11. Stress fluency rather than accuracy. Therefore, emphasize communication and the
negotiable and interpretive aspects of English conversation. Students need not constantly
over-concern themselves with correct grammar and vocabulary usage and accuracy.
Students should be encouraged to use dictionaries sparingly and to try as best they can not
to use erasers while taking notes, writing in diaries or journals, or doing writing exercises,
including compositions. Much more information could be conveyed and absorbed if
students spent less time worrying about their language accuracy.
12. Allow the students to use reference books, including dictionaries (preferably
English-English), in class. Not to contradict the previous tip, provided students do not use
these aids too often or fall into the "accuracy is more important than fluency" fallacy, they
can develop autonomy and independence by looking up information and meanings on
their own, in pairs, or in groups.