Learner Autonomy: A Case of M.Ed. Students

Abstract

The renewedinterest of the last forty years in learner autonomy has added newtaste in the field of SLA. Since the term ‘Learner Autonomy’ entered the arenaof ELT in 1981; it has been watched so curiously by severalscholars andresearchers. Many studies have shown that autonomous learning is inevitable inthis era where humanistic trend in learning has become the day demand.Taking a mixed-methodological design, the current study aims to make asurvey of autonomouslearning activities of the subjects.Besides, it exploreswhat their perceptions are ofthe roles oftheir own andthat of theirteachersinlearning. The attempts have also been made to find out how it has beenwatched from the teachers’ view point, particularly as a part of theirexperience. For these purposes, a sample of 80 English major students and 6 oftheir teachers was selected from the Department of English Education,University Campus, T. U. Kirtipur. Analyzing the data collected through thelearner autonomy survey questionnaire and the semi-structured interview; it hasbeen found that the learners make good practice of autonomous activities. Theyundertake various plans and activities so as to learn and improve their Englishlanguage in learning. Moreover, they view their role as an important factor insuch learning; also take their teachers’ role equally important too.From theanalysis of the responses of the teachers, it has been found that autonomouslearning is very important for the learners. So, they have suggested the learnersto be autonomous. These all findings imply that the teachers and the learnersboth are highly positive towards autonomous learning. This work comprises of four chapters. Thefirst chapterpresents the generalbackground, definitions of learner autonomy, its brief history, the versions, theteacher and learner roles in such learning, and the factors that influence it.Further, the chapter deals with review of the related literature; the objectives ofthe study and thedefinitions of the specific terms used in the study. Thesecondchapteris about the methodology used in the process of this study. Namely,they are: sources of the data, population of the study, sampling procedure, the