Pedagogy for Autonomy as (Becoming-)Appropriate Methodology

Smith, Richard

doi:10.1057/9780230504684_8

Cited by 63 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…While warning against stereotyping 'Asian learners', Littlewood (1999) suggests that socialisation practices in family and school inevitably influence learners' attitudes and responses to academic freedom, and that therefore different types of learner autonomy may be suited to Asian educational contexts. Supporting this view, both Hart (2002) and Smith (2003) found that their Japanese university students responded well to classroom activities which promoted group rather than individual autonomy.…”

Section: Independent Learning and Cultural Differencesmentioning

confidence: 88%

'It Depends on the Students Themselves': Independent Language Learning at an Indonesian State School

Lamb¹

2004

Language, Culture and Curriculum

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There is continuing interest in the notion of learner autonomy, both as an effective means and valid goal of a language learning curriculum. However, the concept is recognised as emanating from Western tertiary educational contexts and as open to question in different sociocultural settings. This paper reports on a study of language learning attitudes and activity among adolescents in provincial Indonesia, during their first year in junior high school. Combining questionnaire, interview and classroom observation data, the study found that even younger learners are already learning English independently of their teacher's prescriptions, both inside the classroom and outside formal school. Their openness to the increasing learning opportunities in the local environment is often not recognised in local curricula, however, which instead impose a rigid diet of language items transmitted by teachers and their textbooks and assessed in national exams. In this local context, it seems that the promotion of appropriate forms of learner autonomy is essential if the majority of school pupils are not to be frustrated in their struggle to learn English.

show abstract

Section: Independent Learning and Cultural Differencesmentioning

confidence: 88%

'It Depends on the Students Themselves': Independent Language Learning at an Indonesian State School

Lamb¹

2004

Language, Culture and Curriculum

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Teachers' or students' culture is often seen as a key factor shaping people's ideas and decisions about roles, attitudes, and approaches in TESOL. In recent years, TESOL researchers have been increasingly interested in the sociocultural contexts and processes that shape TESOL programs (Block & Cameron, 2002;Coleman, 1996;Holliday, 1994;Lantolf, 2000;Norton, 2000;Palfreyman & Smith, 2003;Pennycook, 1994;Phillipson, 1992), and in the search for appropriate methodologies based on cultural continuity and local knowledge in innovation and practice (Holliday, 1994(Holliday, , 1999Canagarajah, 1999Canagarajah, , 2002Smith, 2003). Not only researchers but also teachers are increasingly encouraged to make greater efforts to understand cultural aspects of their working contexts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Othering in an English Language Program

Palfreyman

2005

TESOL Quarterly

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this article, I discuss how the administrators and local teachers in a Turkish university English language centre perceive others in the institution. I present interview data to illustrate processes of Othering, whereby a group constructs a shared, Us-Them representation of another group. The data show that administrators and local teachers view students and each other in terms of difference from themselves. In constructing such representations, they draw on local and wider discourses about learning, social order, national and institutional characteristics, class, and gender. Interrogating biases and developing a deeper understanding of Othering in TESOL contexts can help English language educators to develop appropriate and authentic pedagogies and curricula for local contexts in an increasingly globalized world.

show abstract

“…Little (2004), however, stressed the fact that all three principles are clearly interdependent. Smith (2003) distinguished between "weak" and "strong" versions of autonomy. The "weak" version tends to view "autonomy as a capacity which students currently lack" and/or identify it with a mode of learning "which students need to be prepared for" (Smith, 2003, p. 130).…”

Section: Autonomy: the Concept In Language Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Influence of the Learning Environment on Learner Autonomy: A comparative Study of Polish and Yemeni EFL Undergraduate Learners

Al-Khawlani¹

2018

SUET

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The goal of autonomous language learning is to create an atmosphere where learners take charge of their own learning. Creating this atmosphere encounters various challenges which are partially context-specific. Influenced by the learning environment, learners of different educational contexts vary in their degree of autonomy. The present study examines the impact of the learning environment on learner autonomy at higher education. The study focuses on the differences between Polish and Yemeni EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners with respect to their autonomy in language learning. A questionnaire was distributed to a total of 140 (59 Polish and 81 Yemeni) undergraduate learners. The questionnaire was coded into seven categories: beliefs and attitudes, planning, management, self-regulation, sources and materials, in-class responsibility, and out-of-class responsibility. Data were analysed quantitatively via SPSS (Statistical Product and Service Solutions). Independent Sample t-Test is used to investigate the differences between Polish and Yemeni learners and Pearson Correlation is used to perform correlational analysis among the seven categories. The results show significant differences between Polish and Yemeni learners in some of the categories as well as a significant correlation among other categories.

show abstract

Pedagogy for Autonomy as (Becoming-)Appropriate Methodology

Cited by 63 publications

References 0 publications

'It Depends on the Students Themselves': Independent Language Learning at an Indonesian State School

'It Depends on the Students Themselves': Independent Language Learning at an Indonesian State School

Othering in an English Language Program

The Influence of the Learning Environment on Learner Autonomy: A comparative Study of Polish and Yemeni EFL Undergraduate Learners

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About