I-Literature review on learner autonomy in education
2-What is autonomy?
In the Holec's seminal report (1981:3) autonomy was defined as
`the ability to take charge of one's own
learning'.
Holec's definition of learner autonomy has proved remarkably
robust and remains the most widely cited definition in the field. Although
Holec treated autonomy as an attribute of the learner, the term was also used
to describe learning situations.
`Ability' is often replaced by
`capacity' (a term used by Holec elsewhere), while
`take charge of ' is often replaced by `take
responsibility for' or `take control of ' one's own
learning (terms also used by Holec).(Cited in Benson,2006)
In his book on self-instruction, Dickinson (1987: 11), for
example, described autonomy
as :
`the situation in which the learner is totally
responsible for all of the decisions concerned with his learning and the
implementation of those decisions'.
The key element in definitions of this kind is the idea that
autonomy is an attribute of learners, rather than learning situations. (Cited
Benson,2006)
The strengthening of this view, based on the assumption that
learners do not develop the ability to self-direct their learning simply by
being placed in situations where they have no other option, is one of the more
significant developments in the definition of learner autonomy over the past 30
years. (Benson,2006)
As Allwright (1988:35) put it, the idea of learner autonomy
was for a long time `associated with a radical restructuring of language
pedagogy' that involved `the rejection of the traditional classroom and the
introduction of wholly new ways of working'. For Allwright, however, autonomy
needed to be re-conceptualized if it was to be applied to the classroom.
Autonomy could be, for example, recognized in students' unpredictable
contributions to classroom activities that could temporarily throw the
teacher's plans off course. (Cited in Benson,2006)
-6-
I-Literature review on learner autonomy in education
This turn towards classroom applications led a second wave of
interest in autonomy in the 1990s, with important theoretical implications.
Indeed, the tendency has been towards a blurring of the distinction between
`classroom' and `out-of-class' applications,
leading to new and often complex understandings of the role of autonomy in
language teaching and learning. (Benson,2006)
For Little (1991:4) and in his provisional definition of
autonomy:
«Essentially, autonomy is a capacity -
for detachment, critical reflection, decision-making, and independent action.
It presupposes, but also entails, that the learner will develop a particular
kind of psychological relation to the process and content of his learning. The
capacity for autonomy will be displayed both in the way the learner learns and
in the way he or she transfers what has been learned to wider
contexts».
This definition emphasized the psychological attributes of
autonomous learners and prioritized `interdependence' over
`independence' in learning. And in a later paper on teacher
autonomy, Little (1995) argued that learner autonomy did not imply any
particular mode of practice, but was instead dependent upon the quality of the
`pedagogical dialogue' between teachers and learners.
In his book on learner training, Dickinson (1992) also argued
that learners often acted `independently', both cognitively and behaviorally,
in the classroom. (Cited in Benson,2006)
For Dickinson (1993) ,
«Autonomy is a situation in which the learner is
totally responsible for all the decisions concerned with his/her learning and
the implementation of those decisions''; (Cited in
Balçikanli,2007)
Dam (1995) demonstrated how principles of autonomy could be
integrated into secondary school classrooms without self-access or formal
learner training.(Cited in Benson,2006).And gave the definition: «Autonomy
is characterized by a readiness to take charge of one's own learning in the
service of one's needs and purposes.». (Cited in
Balçikanli,2007).
-7-
| 
