THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER IN AUTONOMOUS LANGUAGE LEARNING: A PILOT INTERVIEW STUDY Buzásné Mokos Boglárka

Aim of research To gain insights into teachers’ views on their role in enhancing autonomous and self-regulated learning of adult EFL learners in Hungary

The process of the pilot 1. Start-up 2. The follow-up Reading on guidelines of constructing and piloting an instrument Planning the main steps of the process Additional research on literature 3. First interview schedule + feedback on it 4. Self- interview and first pilot 5. Revising and modifying the interview schedule 6. Conducting additional interviews (4 more) 7. Data analyses

1. The start-up phase/ Step 1 First discussion:  Brainstorming a topic → field of research  Determining a research aim → research question  Over viewing literature → research niche  Asking for advice → research design

2. The follow-up/ Second phase Finalizing the upcoming steps and tasks:  Reading about the guidelines of constructing and validating an instrument- an interview (Mezei, 2006, Prescott, 2011)  Checking more recent literature from the field → after 2010  Modifying the research question → perceived roles instead of cognition  Research design  First draft of the interview design

Field of research Teachers’ views on their roles in autonomous and self-regulated learning of EFL adults in Hungary  Adult learners: over the age of 19 learning English at accredited language schools or in their companies  Autonomous learning: taking responsibility for the content and management of learning (Benson, 2001) and independent use of learning resources and technology (Kormos & Csizér, 2014)  Self-regulated learning: managing one’s own learning (Zimmermann, 1998)

Research niche Research gap in teacher’s views in adult education  Most research conducted in secondary and tertiary education (Benson, 2010, Nguyen & Gu, 2013)  East Asian or Anglo-American contexts (Gao, 2010, Littlewood, 1999, Lo, 2010)  Autonomy linked to motivation, learning strategies (Cross, 2014 Kormos & Csizér, 2014)  Teachers’ roles are highlighted but rarely investigated (Crookes, 1997, Wang & Zhang, 2014)

Research question How do teachers perceive their role in enhancing autonomous and self- regulated learning of EFL adults in Hungary?

Research method Qualitative design  Small scale pilot study  Participants: 5 (3 females, 2 males) EFL teachers employed by private language schools or multinational companies  Instrument: semi-structured interviews  Main themes in the interviews: teaching experience and conditions, teacher roles, the learners and their learning aims, strategies

3. Feedback on the first draft Improving the first draft of the interview schedule 1. eliminating technical terms revealing the research focus (e.g.: autonomous learning) 2. reducing the number of questions (45 → 33) 3. rewriting the questions in Hungarian

4. Piloting the interview 1. Self-interview → checking time management 2. First pilot → checking the clarity and relevance of the questions 3. Modification of the interview → improving

5. Modification of the interview  Reducing the number of background questions (e.g.: Where did you work before?)  Rephrasing some questions (e.g.: What does your company expect from you? → the employer of your learners)  Reordering some questions  Adding more questions about autonomy (independent learning, how to support, what the benefits and challenges are)

6. Conducting the interviews  arranging meetings with teachers  recording the interviews  transcribing the interviews

7. Data analyses  Inductive approach  Coding of interview questions  Unitizing the data → defining categories  Identifying themes

Categories and themes  Categories: teacher roles, learner descriptions, English lessons, learning outside the lessons  Emerging themes: relationships, responsibility, motivation, preparation, time constraints of learners, passivity ↔ pro-activity of learners, lack of knowledge in CALL resources

Findings I) 1. Teachers believe their biggest role is motivating their learners by: - Conducting exciting lessons („Everyone will leave the lesson delighted and happy.”) - Showing good examples of preparation for the lessons („I’m so well prepared that they we’ll feel bad if they do not prepare/ do homework for the lessons.”) - Encouraging learners to use English at work („I always ask what they were doing that day or what they will have to do later on in the office.”)

Findings II) 2. Teacher-learner responsibility for the progress is not less than 50-50% + good relationship 3. Learner autonomy is mainly bringing work- related materials in class with teacher support 4. Self-regulation and preparing for lessons seem to be neglected due to time constraints → teachers compensate for this with revisions and additional practices

Discussion Psycho-social support seems to overtake technical support (Voller, 1997) Supporting autonomy by a teacher-based approach (Benson, 2001) Incorporating strategy training into teaching (Wenden & Rubin, 1987)

Feedback on the instrument  Feasible → min  Concise → little clarification  Explorative → emerging themes  Some questions seem less relevant (How would you describe your learners?/ How much do you prepare for an English lesson on average?)  Teachers’ roles in autonomy and self-regulation only partly explored → additional instrument needed (observation, learner feedback)

Limitations of the study  lack of experience of the researcher  small number of participants  lack of insight into learners’ learning strategies outside the lessons

Further directions  interviewing adult learners  classroom observations  developing a questionnaire for teachers based on the emerging themes of the interviews

Link to further research interests  Comparison with learner coaching → similarities and differences  Exploring the characteristics of adult education  Implications to teacher training

References Benson, P. (2001). Teaching and researching learner autonomy in language learning. London, England: Longman. Benson, P. (2010). Teacher education and teacher autonomy: Creating spaces for experimentation in secondary school English language teaching. Language Teaching Research 14 (3), Crookes, G. (1997). What influences and how second and foreign language teachers teach? The Modern Language Journal 81 (1), Cross, J. (2014). Promoting autonomous listening to podcasts: A case study. Language Teaching Research 18 (1), Gao, X. (2010). Autonomous language learning against all odds. System 38, Kormos, J. & Csizér, K. (2014). The interaction of motivation, self-regulatory strategies, and autonomous learning behavior in different learner groups. TESOL Quarterly 48 (2), Littlewood, W. (1999). Defining and developing autonomy in East Asian contexts. Applied Linguistics 20,

References Lo, Y-f. (2010). Implementing reflective portfolios for promoting autonomous learning among EFL college students in Taiwan. Language Teaching Research 14 (1), Mercer, S., Ryan, S. and Williams, M. (Eds.). (2012). Psychology for language learning: Insights from research, theory and practice. New York: Pallgrave Macmillan. Mezei, G. (2006). Egy interjúkérdéssor validálása: A motivációs tanítási gyakorlat vizsgálata. Iskolakultúra, 16 (10), Nguyen, L.T.C. & Gu, Y. (2013). Strategy-based instruction: A learner-focused approach to developing learner autonomy. Language Teaching Research 17(1), Prescott, F. (2011). Validating a long qualitative interview schedule. WoPaLP, 5, Voller, P. (1997). ‘Does the teacher have a role in autonomous learning?’ In Benson, P. and Voller, P. (eds.) Autonomy and Independence in Language Learning. London: Longman, pp Wang, Q. & Zhang, H. (2014). Promoting teacher autonomy through university- school collaborative action research. Language Teaching Research 18 (2), Wenden, A, & Rubin, J. (Eds.).(1987). Learner strategies in language learning. Hertfordshire: Prentice Hall. Zimmermann, B. J. (1998). Developing self-fulfilling cycles of academic regulation: An analysis of exemplary instructional models. In D.H. Schunk & B. J. Zimmermann (Eds.), Motivation and self- regulated learning : theory, research and applications (pp-1-30). New York, NY: Lawrence Erlbaum.

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