Developing EFL Learners' Autonomy in Speaking English: An Investigation Into Teachers’ Support at a University in the Mekong Delta

Abstract

Learner autonomy (LA) has been concentrated in the Vietnamese educational context for more than two decades as it equips learners the capacity for lifelong learning. For the EFL tertiary context, students encounter various challenges practicing language skills, especially English speaking, because of lacking the language environment (Huyen & Cang, 2021). As the importance of LA and students’ English speaking skills in language learning, this study aims at exploring what EFL teachers support to develop LA in speaking English. The study using a mix-method approach was conducted at a university in the Mekong Delta with the participation of 12 EFL teachers. To gain insights into teachers’ support to develop LA in speaking English, a questionnaire, recording observations and a semi-structured interview were used to collect data from the participants. The result indicated that the teachers positively supported their learners by offering choices of relevant information belonging to English speaking topics delivered, implementing class discussion and group work activities, encouraging them to self-evaluate and emphasizing the importance of LA in speaking development.

Konsep Lingkungan Bahasa Arab Informal Untuk Perguruan Tinggi

“…Saat ini, siswa tidak lagi bergantung pada institusi untuk mengakses materi dan belajar bahasa, karena banyaknya materi pembelajaran yang tersedia saat ini, konten asli, dan alat membuat pembelajaran bahasa menjadi mahir dengan cara otonom menjadi tujuan yang layak dan agak murah (Betancor-Falcon, 2022). Samin (Samin, 2019a) Namun demikian, Agar siswa mendapat manfaat dari penggunaan teknologi secara otonom untuk pembelajaran bahasa, dukungan dan bimbingan yang tepat dari instruktur sangat penting (Yu, 2023), guru berperan penting sebagai pengarah, pembimbing, dan fasilitator dalam meningkatkan kemandirian belajar siswa (Alharbi, 2022), hal ini misalnya dengan cara guru secara positif mendukung pembelajar mereka dengan menawarkan pilihan informasi yang relevan terkait dengan topik berbahasa yang disampaikan, melaksanakan diskusi kelas dan kegiatan kerja kelompok, mendorong mereka untuk mengevaluasi diri dan menekankan pentingnya LA dalam pengembangan berbicara (Nguyen et al, 2022). Shelton-strong (2022) mengemukakan bahwa Menasihati dalam pembelajaran bahasa dapat memainkan peran penting dalam memberikan iklim yang mendukung otonomi yang dapat mendorong kepuasan kebutuhan peserta didik.…”

Overview of Foreign Language Learning from Fiki Naki: Efforts to Find Alternative Concepts and Methods for Arabic Learning in the Digital Age

“…However, so that students benefit from using technology to learn an autonomous, appropriate language, support and guidance from the instructor is very important; the teacher plays a vital role as director, mentor, and facilitator in increasing the independence of Study students (Alharbi, 2022). For example, teachers positively support learners by offering choice-relevant information related to the topic and the language spoken, implementing discussion classes and activities in Workgroups, pushing them to evaluate themselves, and stressing the importance of deep LA development (Nguyen et al, 2022). Put forward that advising in learning a language can provide a supportive climate, possible autonomy, and satisfaction needs participant education (Shelton-Strong, 2022).…”