Centre for Linguistics, Language Education and Acquisition Research (CLLEAR) Seminar

Language Learner Autonomy: Asian perspectives

Dr. Roger Barnard, University of Waikato

5.00-7.00pm Wednesday 22^nd October 2014, Lecture Theatre C (Avenue Campus)

Abstract: Developing language learner autonomy has been discussed and applied in many contexts for more than thirty years. However, as Borg & Al-Busaidi (2012) have pointed out, little attention has been paid to what language teachers actually believe and do about learner autonomy. This presentation will report some preliminary findings from a research project currently under way in ten Asian settings (Barnard & Li, forthcoming). In each context, a team of researchers issued the same questionnaire as Borg & Al-Busaidi, and followed these up with interviews with a sample of the respondents. Subsequently, a series of professional development workshops were held, in which participants shared their views and reported practices regarding the development of learner autonomy in their own university or high school contexts. Tentative implications will be drawn based on these findings, and the point reinforced that any curricular innovation needs to fully take into consideration the perceptions and practices of practitioners.