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Screenagers today may not have any difficulties in using digital technology for everyday social and entertainment purposes, but the extent to which they can make effective use of it for their own learning has not yet been fully explored. The purpose of the study is to investigate secondary school students’ autonomous learning and perspectives on the use of digital technology in EFL reading. With a total of 275 middle school students in Gyeongsang-do area of South Korea, the research was carried out in a mixed method. The data was collected through a survey questionnaire, supplemented by interviews. The results identified 60.4% of participants as autonomous learners in reading with digital technology. The level of learner autonomy was also positive for the five categories. The students’ perspectives are slightly positive (52.2%) towards the use of digital technology in autonomous reading. While recognizing its usefulness, they were neither interested nor motivated in the use of digital technology in autonomous reading. Grade three responded most negatively in terms of their perspectives on the use of it. It is suggested that teachers should promote the students’ enjoyable reading by exposing it to various useful resources and monitoring their progress.

This study investigated university students’ perceptions of learner autonomy in English learning in the East Asian region. The study was conducted in 2006 based on the assumption that promoting learner autonomy is an appropriate pedagogical goal in EFL environments if teachers are aware of their roles, and that unique concepts of learner autonomy should be established and their applications for East Asian classrooms explored. The purposes were 1) to find out whether subjects from three different language areas could be surveyed about learner autonomy by one set of questionnaires and 2) to discover any common factors related to learner autonomy with regard to the subjects’ perceptions of responsibility and English learning activities outside of class. One hundred and seven Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese students were asked to answer the questionnaires. The authors analyzed the data using factor analysis. Three common factors were identified: “class management,” “study outside the class,” and “past regret.” These results proved the appropriateness of the questionnaires, though some revision is needed. The data also indicated the existence of a factor that may inhibit students from developing learner autonomy. Based on the study, the authors suggest that teachers should give students more opportunities to control their own learning as well as providing them with more support for continuing their study outside of the classroom in order to develop learner autonomy in an East Asian context.

Learner autonomy is a multidimensional and complex concept that has attracted immense research attention in both Western and Asian contexts. The majority of this research focused on privileged environments neglecting underprivileged contexts, where learner autonomy has been recognised as a rescue strategy. Simultaneously, most research addressed either student or teacher perceptions on learner autonomy development in a single study. This study addressed the aforementioned gaps, by investigating EFL teachers’ and students’ perceptions about the prospects and barriers in the promotion of learner autonomy in disadvantaged Indonesian secondary schools. It adopted a phenomenological qualitative approach comprising 32 interviews with EFL teachers and focus groups with 30 EFL learners. Findings revealed that both teacher and student participants identified socioeconomic factors as the most prominent hindrance comprising limited access to learning resources and limited time to conduct autonomous learning. Moreover, a notable disparity emerged in the teachers’ and students’ perceptions of the enabling factors for promoting autonomy. The students were more optimistic about the feasibility of developing learner autonomy, acknowledging several enabling factors compared to their teachers. The study provides practical implications for designing appropriate teacher training to address the needs of many similar underresourced teaching environments.

Otonomi pebelajar adalah konsep multidimensi dan kompleks yang telah menarik perhatian banyak penelitian di konteks Barat dan Asia. Mayoritas penelitian ini berfokus pada konteks lingkungan yang maju dan memiliki hak istimewa namun mengabaikan konteks yang kurang mampu, di mana otonomi pebelajar telah diakui sebagai strategi penyelamatan. Secara bersamaan, sebagian besar penelitian membahas persepsi siswa atau guru saja dalam satu studi tentang pengembangan otonomi pebelajar. Penelitian ini merujuk pada kesenjangan yang disebutkan di atas, dengan mengeksplorasi persepsi guru dan siswa yang yang mempelajari Bahasa Inggris sebagai bahasa asing tentang prospek dan hambatan dalam meningkatkan otonomi pebelajar di sekolah menengah tertinggal di Indonesia. Penelitian ini mengadopsi pendekatan kualitatif fenomenologis yang terdiri dari 32 wawancara dengan guru Bahasa Inggris dan wawancara kelompok dengan 30 pelajar. Temuan menunjukkan bahwa baik guru maupun siswa mengidentifikasi faktor sosial ekonomi sebagai hambatan terbesar yang terdiri dari terbatasnya akses terhadap sumber belajar dan terbatasnya waktu untuk melakukan pembelajaran mandiri. Namun, kesenjangan yang mencolok muncul pada persepsi kedua kelompok partisipan ini terkait faktor pendukung dalam implementasi otonomi pebelajar. Hal ini terkonfirmasi dalam persepsi kedua kelompok partisipan tersebut mengenai kelayakan implementasi otonomi pebelajar ini. Dalam hal faktor pendukung untuk meningkatkan otonomi, siswa lebih optimis mengenai kemungkinan mengembangkan otonomi pebelajar, dan menyatakan beberapa factor pendukung dibandingkan dengan guru mereka. Studi ini memberikan implikasi praktis untuk pelatihan guru yang sesuai untuk memenuhi kebutuhan banyak lingkungan pengajaran yang kekurangan sumber daya.

The study aimed to investigate the effects of English writing classes focusing on self and peer review on learner autonomy at a Korean university, leading to finding ways to improve the quality of the English writing classes. An English writing class consisting of 29 students majoring in English language was organized and lessons were provided over a period of seven weeks. An online questionnaire was conducted to identify students’ perceptions of the effects of the English writing class on motivation, responsibility, ability to make choices in learning activities, and engagement in learning activities. An open-ended questionnaire was also conducted with four students, the teacher who implemented the program, and one academic professional in L2 writing instruction. It was found that the English writing class focusing on self and peer review had positive effects on students’ perception of students’ and teachers’ responsibilities and English learning activities outside classrooms while it had moderate effects on their motivation and English learning activities inside the classroom. Secondly, the results of the open-ended questionnaire to the students and the teachers implied that students’ writing competences might improve. In addition, more systematic learner training needs to be provided to increase the effects of the class, particularly the effects of self and peer review. Finally, it was found that the clarity of the responsibility between teachers and students did not lead to the increase of the ability to choose the learning activities. Attention needs to be paid to how to increase the ability.

본 연구는 홍콩 출신의 한국어 우수 학습자 데이지를 연구 참여자로 섭외 하고 내러티브 탐구를 진행하여 학습자의 자율성이 어떠한 양상으로 나 타나는지 살펴보았다. 연구 결과 데이지는 첫째, 스스로 학습 과정을 결 정하고 그 결정에 대해 책임지는 모습을 보였다. 둘째, 완벽주의라는 개 인 성향의 특성에 따라 자신의 학습 수준을 평가한 후 학습 목표를 지속 적으로 점검하고 재설정하였다. 셋째, 자신이 스스로 설정한 학습 목표 에 적절한 학습 내용 및 방법을 찾아 적용하고 있었다. 넷째, 교사, 동료 학습자, 한국인 교류인 등 주변인들과의 상호작용을 통해 학습에 대한 긍정적인 자극을 받았다. 다섯째, 자신이 속해 있는 사회에 대한 관심이 한국어 학습 동기나 목표에 영향을 미치고 있었다. 연구 결과, 학습자 자 율성은 단순히 독립적으로 학습하는 과정이 아니라 주변과의 상호작용 속에서 형성되고 강화되는 동적인 과정임이 확인되었다.

This study employed narrative inquiry to explore learner autonomy through the experiences of Daisy, a proficient Korean language learner from Hong Kong. The findings revealed that she took full ownership of her learning, regularly assessed her progress, and adjusted her goals and strategies accordingly. She also actively selected learning materials, engaged in meaningful interactions with teachers, peers, and native Korean speakers, and was shaped by her broader social environment. The study concludes that learner autonomy extends beyond independent learning, emerging as a dynamic process fostered through continuous social engagement.

Now, ‘learner-centered’ is a buzzword in translation education and a social constructivist approach, in which knowledge is not viewed as discovered but constructed by a learner, is highly accepted. In keeping with this, this paper focuses on learner autonomy (hereafter LA) and critical thinking in the interests of helping learners break away from a teacher beyond classrooms. LA is defined here as a concept pertaining to understanding of translation, translation competence, and affective factors of learners, and ‘self-reflection’ is an essential element for realizing it. A ‘thinking’ teaching method has been adopted in an undergraduate translation class to foster LA. In this method, before any explanation and lecture by a teacher, students perform translation-related activities, think back, and write a reflective writing(hereafter RW) freely about their feelings, thoughts, opinions, learning, etc. RW here is a useful way of looking into the learning process and of measuring the level of the learner’s LA as it reveals the strengths and weaknesses of a learner and the learner’s' self-reflection. A questionnaire has been conducted to assess whether or not the ‘thinking’ method was helpful in promoting the learners' LA and if so, in what way. Discussions are made based on the RW and the results of the questionnaire.

This study investigated the effects of metacognitive instruction in oral communication for EFL learners over a semester. Participants (N = 58) were sampled from four oral communication classes in a private university in the western part of Japan where the researcher had been working as an English instructor. They were freshmen whose majors were not English. The treatment group (n = 28) received metacognitive instruction in oral communication (i.e., they were taught how to improve oral communication skills and how to become more autonomous learners through metacognitive processes as well as activities such as planning, monitoring, and reflecting). The contrast group (n = 30), taught by the same teacher, did not receive metacognitive instruction although they used the same textbooks and materials and had more time for interaction in English. Results of the questionnaire (SRLQ, the Self-Regulated Learning in Oral Communication Questionnaire, Kobayashi, 2016a) showed that students in the treatment group became more self-regulated learners. Moreover, it was found that the treatment group made greater gains in interactional competence, regulation of cognition, cognitive strategies and interaction strategies. Furthermore, it was verified that learners with low interactional competence in the treatment group benefited the most from such metacognitive instruction.

This paper reports on the introduction of in-class self-directed learning in an intensive English program at a woman’s university in Japan. This self-directed learning was organized around can do descriptors, and supported by a portfolio and formative assessment. This new curriculum emerged from our use of the CEFR. A second reason for this change stemmed from an increased lack of student engagement during teacher-directed instruction. For self-directed learning, a student determined what can do’s she wanted to learn, and what activities she would study to learn these skills. This student control also involved deciding what can do’s to be individually tested on and when. At the end of the academic year, students (n = 37) completed a 12-item Likert scale survey to assess the curriculum changes. The results revealed that students had mixed support for self-directed planning. Specifically, students indicated a lack of confidence in making study plans. Students did like the use of can do’s, but wanted more language guidance for them. Students also strongly favored the use of the portfolio and formative assessment. An analysis of student can do test results for the year revealed that students made greater gains than were possible with the prior teacher-directed curriculum.

This study investigated how Korean EFL students’ self-directed English learning abilities, learning strategy use, and the relationship between the two constructs change as they advance to upper level schools. Data were collected from 447 elementary, middle, and high school students in Seocho-gu, Seoul, using Self-Directed Language Learning Readiness (SDDLR) and a revised version of Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL). The results showed that elementary school students’ SDDLR and SILL scores were significantly higher than those of middle and high school students, with no significant difference between the two groups. Among the learner factors, interest toward English study was the only factor which affected all the three groups’ SDDLR as well as SILL scores. The influence of study-abroad experience and starting age of private education was limited to the elementary school student group, indicating their short-lived effects on self-directed learning and strategy use. Lastly, there was a high or moderately high positive correlation between SDDLR and SILL in all the three groups. However, the specific relationship among subcategories of the two constructs was complicated and different among the three groups.

Currently, there is increasing recognition of the fact that the beliefs individuals hold are the best indicators of the decisions they make during the course of everyday life (Bandura, 1986). Substantial research regarding language learners’ explicit and implicit beliefs has been conducted in diverse language teaching environments. The present research was undertaken to understand the learning beliefs of PRC learners studying for a Nursing diploma course in Singapore. Our aim was to use a biographical approach to understand learner beliefs and examine the transformation of these beliefs as the learners undergo changes in their learning environment. In analyzing the biographies of these learners, we also tried to establish a connection between two kinds of change: change in the learning environment and change in the learning beliefs. In this study, students in their first and second years of a nursing diploma course in Singapore were interviewed using semistructured interviews. The paper presents our analysis of two interviews keeping the focus of this description on the changes in beliefs about language learning which correlate with changes in the learning environment. While we have reconstructed the narratives, our intention is to focus on the transformation of beliefs of these learners.

This interview study aims at exploring how two Korean college graduates strive autonomously to manage their English world before, during and after college-graduation. The participants were two very autonomous students out of 34 students the researcher met at a 15-week autonomy-based English Speaking/Writing class at a college in 2003. Two major findings emerged from the interview data collected in April 2005: (1) B"s initial interest in English came from teachers" urgings to get good test scores, but his visit to America and Australia made him more interested in learning communicative English; (2) S"s interest in non-Korean people and countries, inspired by her first English teacher, made her go abroad and practice English very actively in and beyond Korea. The findings shed light on a critical issue concerning the application of the learner autonomy theory with Korean students who learn English in Korean educational contexts: the limit and effectiveness of classroom-English-learning. Pedagogical implications of the findings are added at the end.

Various problems have been associated with the introduction of self assessment for evaluation purposes, and in particular students’ lack of accuracy. However, several research studies have demonstrated that students are able to assess themselves accurately and that there can be from moderate to high degrees of correlation between teacher and student assessments. In this article, we report on a study aimed at 1) comparing students’ oral self assessment with those of teachers’ and 2) inquiring as to students’ attitude toward self assessment. Data were collected from 94 students who were given training in self assessment. Students’ scores were correlated with teachers’ scores using the Pearson correlation coefficient. Students were also given a questionnaire which examined their feelings about self assessment. Results of the study showed from moderate to high correlations between teachers’ and students’ self evaluations and positive attitudes toward self assessment. The implications for the classroom are: 1) self assessment needs to be done on a continuous basis with constant guidance from the teacher, 2) cultural acceptance of self assessment needs to be raised, 3) students need to be provided with help on the use of self assessment as a means to identify cognitive and metacognitive learning strategies, and 4) teachers need to be trained for student autonomy.

This study aims to investigate how some Korean primary school students practiced autonomous English-learning while they exchanged email letters with foreign friends for 20 weeks. In order to achieve triangulation of the study, the following data resources were used: email letters exchanged and uploaded at an Internet cafe, a survey implemented in April and July as an autonomy measuring instrument, the informants’ comments on keypal activities written in July, two times of individual interviews and the researcher’s observation report. One major finding emerged from the data is that there were four types of autonomy development. Some implications drawn from the study findings are added for future keypal-based English-learning autonomy development programs.

In a teaching environment where all instructors have to teach the same class materials within limited time, from which they have to create the same test items, it is very difficult to create some space that could foster learner autonomy (LA). The purpose of the study is to examine the effects of LA on college students’ academic achievements, task perceptions, and classroom engagement at a Korean university. The study was undertaken in four sections of the same beginner level college English course over the course of a semester. A total of 84 students enrolled in the college English class participated in the study, of which 41 students were assigned to the control group and 43 students to the experimental group. The students’ learning outcomes between the control and experimental groups, their responses to the LA task, and the instructor’s observations of the students’ learning process were analyzed. The study revealed that the students in the experimental group produced significantly higher scores in their exams than those in the control group. Also, compared to its counterpart, the experimental group appeared to engage in the learning process more actively. Educational implications for promoting LA in EFL college classes are discussed.

This study investigated teachers’ understanding about learner autonomy and their practices in English classrooms. The participants for this study consisted of 85 English teachers in two local Korean cities who were teaching English in middle and high schools. The data for this study were collected for 7weeks during the fall semester of 2015. Two strategies for data collection were used: a questionnaire and interview. According to the data, teachers’ definitions of learner autonomy reflected those prevalent in the literature, with recurring support for concepts such as independence, control, responsibility, and choice. Their descriptions of how they did highlighted their role as facilitators and counselors. Also, the teachers indicated that learners did not understand the importance of developing autonomy, lacked the skills to learn independently, and were not accustomed to being asked to take responsibility for their learning. Finally, some implications based on the study results are discussed.

This study explores the relationship between learner autonomy and English language proficiency of Japanese university students from 16 universities. Questionnaires were administered to 721 students to clarify the perception they hold of their learning and learner autonomy. The students were divided into three levels of English proficiency, based on their score in a vocabulary test. The authors compared the subjects’ differences in perceptions of learner autonomy among the three groups. The questionnaire was analyzed using factor analysis, and nine factors emerged. For future analysis, ANOVA and multiple comparisons, using Tukey HSD, were employed on three levels for those factors. Results show that there were differences in the degree of autonomy among the groups and revealed that good performers show attributes of “independent users”, the middle group stayed at the range of “independent learners”, and the poor performers were struggling at the “dependent learners” level. Based on these findings, the authors have summarized the characteristics present in the three levels of Japanese university students. This paper will present these findings and discuss the pedagogical implications of this study and how learner autonomy can be nurtured in each group.