1. A survey of Learner autonomy in language learning
Wang Zhe
Doctoral Student in Peking University
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2. Abstract
The present study is a survey of learner autonomy in language teaching and learning. It focuses on English teachers’ & students' attitudes towards learner autonomy and practice, especially on inside and outside classroom activities. Based on the literatures reviewed, the items in the survey are grouped under 5 variables:

3. (1) The present conditions for learner autonomy; (2) English teachers’ & students' attitudes towards learner autonomy; (3) Relationship between teachers and learners; (4) Classroom activities which are considered to be conducive to autonomous learning and teaching activities; ⑸Teachers’ professional development in learner autonomy.

4. Focus on the following questions:
What are teachers’ general attitudes towards learner autonomy?
How did they push on learner autonomy in class?
How do they put it into practice?
What kinds of obstacles in promoting
learner autonomy in China?

5. Contents Abstract Introduction Literature Review Research Method
Results and Discussion
Conclusions
References

6. Introduction 
1. “Learner Autonomy” has been used more and more frequently in the discussion of language learning in China.
2. Autonomy in the discussion of language teaching and learning has become a key concept within the framework of theories as communicative language teaching, cooperative learning, and learning by doing.
3. It has also been brought to people’s attention in a wider educational context in cognitive science, educational psychology, and critical thinking.

7. Literature Review 1.1 Autonomy beyond the Field of Language Education
1.1.1 Autonomy is originally from Western philosophy- learners are members of society.
1.1.2 Constructivism: Learners are active makers who construct their own version of the target language.

8. 1.2 Relevant Issues Concerning Autonomy in language Education
1.2.1 Autonomy and Self-access
“a way of describing materials that are designed and organized in such a way that students can select and work on tasks on their own”
1.2.2 Autonomy and Learner Training
Dickinson:Learner training was also an important issue in the development of learner autonomy in recent years. In order to carry out effective self-directed learning, learners who were accustomed to teacher-centered education would also need to be psychologically prepared for more learner-centered mode of learning.

9. 1.2.3 Autonomy and Individualization
Dickinson(1987) defined 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”
1.2.4 Autonomy and Interdependence
To Boud, the shift to interdependence is other portrayed as a process starting from dependency and moving progressively through counter-dependence and independence to interdependence.

10. 1.3 Defining Learner Autonomy
1) “The ability to make your own decisions about what to do rather than being influenced by someone else or told what to do” in Collins Cobuild English Dictionary
2) Holec (1981) :“ability to take care of one’s own learning and to hold the responsibility for all the decisions concerning all aspects of this learning”
•determining the objectives;
•defining the contents and progressions;
•selecting methods and techniques to be used;
•monitoring the procedure of acquisition properly speaking;
•evaluating what has been acquired

11. 3) Benson (1997) : autonomy as a capacity- a construct of attitudes and abilities that allow learners to take more responsibility for their own learning.
4) Littlewood’s definition (1996) : autonomous person as “one who has an independent capacity to make and carry out the choices which govern his or her actions.”
Autonomy as a capacity in which ability and willingness to take change of one’s own learning and interdependence are integral parts of the construct.

12. Above all, we can say learner autonomy includes the following aspects:
1) Attitude: learners would like to take an active attitude to their study, that means learners are willing to study and be responsible for their study;
2) Capacity: learners should cultivate the capacity and learning strategies so as to finish one’s own tasks independently;
3) Environment: learners should be given a lot of chances to train their learning capacity.

13. The Justification for Learner Autonomy as a Language Educational Ideal
1.4.1 Active Learning
1.4.2 Deep-level Learning
1.4.3 Life-long Learning
1.4.4 Independent Thinkers
in a Modern Society

14. 1.5 Conditions for the Development of Learner Autonomy
1.5.1 Cultural Foundations for Learner Autonomy
1.5.2 Institutional Conditions and the Evaluation System
1.5.3 Teachers’ Cultivation for Autonomous Learning

15. 1.5.3.1 Teachers’ Roles in Learners’ Autonomous learning
A) facilitator; b)counselor ; c) resource
To help learners pass different stages: entry stage, reactive stage, proactive stage and integrative stage
Teachers both as Equal Moral Agents and Experts
Classroom Activities are conducive to learner Autonomy
a) Trust each other
b)  Choices and Decision Delegation
c) Cooperation and Group Cohesion

16. Research Method 2.1 The Background of the Present Study
2.2 The Present Study on Learner Autonomy
2.3 General Design
2.4 Participants Profile
2.5 Data Collection Scheme

17. The study is conducted by an anonymous survey using a questionnaire
The study is conducted by an anonymous survey using a questionnaire. The design of the questionnaire was based on three major resources.
1) the literatures reviewed with the following views ( Littlewood’s definition of leaner autonomy which says that learners’ ability and willingness to assume responsibilities are at the core of the notion of autonomy; Candy ’s distinction between teachers’ roles both as equal moral agents and experts who currently know better than the learners; and Boud ’s discussion of a interdependent self.

18. 2) some of the activities were recommended in the research articles published by Chinese teachers and researchers (Ye Bin, 2000; Wang Meilan, 2002; Xiao Qiaoyun, 2000 for example).
3) suggestions given by teachers during the revising stage of the questionnaire were accepted.

19. The questionnaires were distributed to the English teachers who work in colleges or universities in Poland and China to make a comparison of Learner Autonomy between China and Poland.
As the questionnaire contains 52 items, the teachers who took part in the questionnaire were expected to complete them in their spare time and then collected the questionnaires later.

20. The initial statistical analysis of the data was carried out by using SPSS 11.0 for Windows.
The analysis of data involves calculating the percentages of responses to different statements and looking for the general trend in the teachers’ attitudes towards each variable. Participants’ “strongly agree” and “agree” responses are presented together as are their “disagree” and “strongly disagree” responses. This has been done in order to allow generalization to survey was also complemented by information from informal conversations with both teachers and students(interviews).

21. Table 1 Number of Items for each subset and Sample Items.
Subsets
Item Number
Sample
Teachers’ awareness & attitudes
4,5,6,8,40,45,47
5. Learner autonomy is a Western concept, so it is inconsistent with Chinese culture and tradition.
Reflections
46,47,48,49,50,51,52
48. I have to spend more time preparing for my lesson after innovation
Perceptions difficulties 44
There are too many students in one class, so it is hard for teachers to manage it.
Perceptions of the assessment system
3,33,52
3.Learner autonomy is inappropriate under the excessive pressure of university entrance examinations.
Perceptions of materials
9,12,35,36
36. The official teaching material I use presently is not good for learner autonomy.
Moral relationship
10, 22, 32, 41, 42
32. I often praise and encourage my students in my class.
Pedagogical relationship
1, 7, 14, 19, 28, 37
1. Most of my students prefer to be directed by their teachers.
Class activities
13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26
17. I encourage my students to experiment with learning strategies and discover which work well for them.
Autonomous teaching
2, 29, 38, 39
38. I have the habit of keeping teaching dairies to reflect my own teaching.
Professional development
11, 40, 44, 46
11. I’ve received teacher training courses with regard to learner autonomy.

22. Table 2.
Teachers’ awareness and attitudes towards learner autonomy in Poland
Item
Frequency 1 2 3 4 5
4. Learner autonomy means that learners should be able to learn in isolation without the helps provided by others 13
22.4% 35
60.3% 8
13.3%
3.4% 0%
6. The most important thing in education is to pass on to the learners some basic knowledge they are in need for life, which is more important than the development of autonomous learning ability. 12
20.6% 36
62% 9
15.5% 7
12%
3.7%
8. Autonomous learning is not suitable for young learners since students have not yet acquired the self-directed skills that needed. 20
34.4% 24
41.3%
1.7%

23. Item Frequency (In China) 1 2 3 4 5
4. Learner autonomy means that learners should be able to learn in isolation without help provided by others 35
32.4% 57
52.8%
3.7% 8
7.4%
6. The most important thing in education is to pass on to the learners some basic knowledge they are in need for life, which is more important than the development of autonomous learning ability. 20
18.5% 58
53.7% 12
11.1% 14
13.0
8. Autonomous learning is not suitable for young learners since students have not yet acquired the self-directed skills that needed. 13
12.0%
31.4% 32
29.6% 7
6.5%

24. Item Frequency Table 3. Teachers’ perceptions of materials in poland 12 3 4 5
9.There is a self-access center for English learning in our school. 12 16 20
8.6%
20.6%
15.0%
34%
12. I have on time to introduce extra teaching materials to my students since I’m densely occupied with predetermined teaching syllabus. 8 9 22 17
3.4%
13.7%
15.50%
37.9%
29.3%
35. The official teaching material I use presently is not good for learner autonomy. 28 13
48.2%
22.4%
6.8%
1.7%
36. In my school, it is much more convenient for teachers to use the school library or other learning resource compared with students. 34
5.1%
58.6%

25. (In China)
Item
Frequency 1 2 3 4 5
9.There is a self-access center for English learning in our school. 24 42 21 16
22.4%
39.3%
19.6%
15.0%
3.7%
12. I have on time to introduce extra teaching materials to my students since I’m densely occupied with predetermined teaching syllabus. 13 48 9 32 6
12.0%
44.4%
8.30%
29.6%
5.6%
35. The official teaching material I use presently is not good for learner autonomy. 38 26 29 7
5.7%
35.8%
24.5%
27.4%
6.6%
36. In my school, it is much more convenient for teachers to use the school library or other learning resource compared with students. 14 33 18 39
13.0%
30.6%
16.7%
36.1%

26. Some interviews(In Poland)
Teacher A:
“Most textbooks that were issued for students’ use are suitable for our students. Compared them with the textbooks being used by university students, the level of difficulty between them is well linked up, which is good to develop students’ learner autonomy”.

27. Teacher B:
“I think that’s a way to cultivate students’ ability of learner autonomy. Students could set realistic objectives for themselves, they will adjust their paces and methods according to their objectives and their own situations. According to the syllabus worked out by the school teachers and students, students should do project work on each topic of the term, students will be divided into several group according to their interests and each group will choose one or two topics to prepare them and do presentation in class. Then discuss what students talked about, brainstorm and debate, at last the teacher will make a conclusion.

28. Interviews in China Teacher C:
“I have no right to choose textbooks and design syllabus for my students, they are already there, I should follow them. According to the syllabus, I don’t have enough time to do project work .”
Teacher D:
“Although I promote learner autonomy in my class, finally the evaluation system does not match well with learner autonomy. The examination can’t reflect students’abilities of learner autonomy. So I have to give up at last.”

29. Project work or investigative learning
It is a way of delegating more decisions to learners as stated by Kenny (1993), since by doing projects learners get chances to determine the content, the objectives, and the methods of inquiry by themselves. And they exercise control over the forms of input and output.

30. The conversation between a student and the author is summarized below: (In Poland)
“A (Author): Do you do project work for your English study?
S (Student A): Yes, a lot
A: Do you do it in groups or alone?
S: Group.
A: What kind of topics do you usually choose?
S: The topics are the interesting topics we choose by ourselves.
A: How do you do the research?
S: Usually we just go to library to find some material or get on the internet, download some intriguing pictures, or do some survey to get some data and then write something by ourselves.
A: How much time do you need for such kind of work?
S: A few days will be more than enough.
A: Do you need to present your findings to your classmates?
S: Yes, we will do some presentations, discuss and make a conclusion in class, ”

31. Some comments from students in China:
“I don’t like group works or discussions. You cannot learn much from it. The discussion time is always so limited and I don’t even have enough time to think about the topic. And as l observed, most of my classmates are just as unprepared as me. So to some extent, such kind of discussion is just a waste of time” (Student A).
“I like group discussion very much in discussion we get chances to talk with our classmates, we could always talk about something else besides the topic given by the teacher. And sometimes we talk in Chinese” (Student B).

32. Table 4. Professional development(In Poland)
Items
Frequency 1 2 3 4 5
11. I have received systematic teacher-training courses concerning learner autonomy 23 27
3.4%
5.1%
39%
46.4%
(In China)
Items
Frequency 1 2 3 4 5
11. I havereceived systematic teacher-training courses concerning learner autonomy 17 47 22
15.7%
43.5%
20.4%
4.6%

33. Results and Discussion
3.1 Teachers’ awareness and attitudes towards learner autonomy as an educational goal
3.2 Reflections from teachers who have experimented with learner autonomy
3.3 Teachers’ perceptions of the existing difficulties

34. 3.4 Teachers’ Perceptions of the Applicability of Learner Autonomy under the Present Assessment System
3.5 Teachers’ perception of the Newly Developed Textbooks and Other Learning Materials

35. Conclusions
(1) There is certainly an awareness of learner autonomy and teachers’ attitudes towards learner autonomy are very positive, the concept of learner autonomy has already gone deep into most teachers’mind.
(2) Many of them are quite willing to treat students as equal agents instead of passive knowledge containers. When autonomous learning is put into practice, most teachers like to try the new method, students also like the way of it, both of them can get a lot of benefits.

36. (3) The main constraining factors in China that serve to hinder the development and promotion of learner autonomy are:
a) the limited materials in library, especially in non-key universities;
b) the evaluation system need to be reformed and perfected
c) the need for professional development of teachers and renewing the conception of administration.

37. Thank you for your attention Welcome to criticize and comment
Please oblige me with your critical remarks on my paper!
Thank you for your attention
Welcome to criticize and comment

38. Thanks for your suggestions which will give me more self-confidence and let me know how to do it better and move Learner Autonomy forward!