Learner Autonomy

Learner autonomy can be thought of as primarily a matter of taking responsibility for ones
own learning. It is a goal, but more importantly, it is an ongoing process requiring both
individual and collective effort in the classroom context. One of the most important aspects of
the process is the acquisition both of study skills and certain attitudes towards study. It
depends on learners ability and willingness. Ability is the knowledge and skills that helps an
individual to be able to make choices and willingness is the motivation and confidence that
helps an individual to take responsibility for the choices required.

At the core of the notion of autonomy are the learners ability and willingness to make
choices independently (Littlewood, 1996, p.427)
Characteristics of Autonomy:
1. Concept based in natural tendency for learners to take control over their learning.
Autonomy may be displayed in different ways and to different degrees depending on
each learner and learning situation.
2. Learners who lack autonomy are capable of developing it given appropriate conditions
and preparation.
3. Autonomous learning is more effective than non-autonomous learning.

Goal of Teaching:
General Teaching: To help learners become independent in how they think, learn and behave

Language Teaching: to help learners become independent from their teachers in their learning
and use of language

Teachers Role

In order to help learners to develop autonomy in their process of acquiring the language, a
teacher should consider three domains (for different levels of autonomy)

i. Communication through language

ii. Learning process
iii. Students personal life
Different Levels of Autonomy in language learning
1. Communication - the ability to use the
language creatively
[Autonomy as
communicators] - the ability to use
appropriate strategies for
communicating meaning in
specific situations
2. Learning - the ability to engage in
independent work
[Autonomy as learners]
- the ability to use
appropriate learning
strategies (inside and outside
classroom)
3. Personal life - the ability to express
personal meanings
[Autonomy as persons]
- the ability to create
personal learning contexts
Factors affecting the development of learners autonomy
All behavior is governed by beliefs and experience.
Autonomous language learning behavior may be supported by a particular set of beliefs
or behaviors.
The behavior may either contribute to or impede the development of their potential for
autonomy
- to make choices in grammar
and vocabulary
- to make choices in the
meaning they intend to
express
- to make far-reaching
decisions about goals,
meanings and strategies (in
different context)
- to choose and shape their
learning contexts (how can
they learn better?)
- to make decisions in
domains which have
traditionally belonged to the
teacher (e.g. materials,
learning tasks)
- to determine the nature
and progression of their own
syllabus
- to use language
independently outside
classroom
Students belief in
1. Role of the teacher- Director VS Facilitator
2. Role of feedback- Informative VS Evaluative
3. Learner independence- Classroom learning VS Self learning
4. Learner confidence in study ability- Motivated VS Unmotivated
5. Experience of language learning- Experience VS Inexperience
6. Approach to studying- Learn the language VS Use the language

Reasons for teachers to foster learners autonomy

People who take the initiative in learning (Proactive learners) learn more things and learn
better than do people who sit at the feet of teachers, passively waiting to be taught (Reactive
learners). They enter into learning more purposefully and with greater motivation. In the past
two decades, as our language teaching practice shifted to a more communicative approach, it
has also become more learner-centered. For language teachers, language learners are
becoming the source of information for class activities and the focus of curriculum design
(Campbell and Kryszewska, 1992; Nunan, 1993; Tarone and Yule, 1989).

Relationship between autonomy and motivation

Autonomous learners can identify goals, formulate their own goals, and can change goals to
suit their own learning needs and interests; they are able to use learning strategies, and to
monitor their own learning.
Learners active and independent involvement in their own learning (autonomy) increases
motivation to learn and consequently increases learning effectiveness (Dickinson, 1995, p.165)

Extrinsic motivation (Teacher-centered)

Use extrinsic incentives
Grades, Praise, Rewards
Use controlling events
Exercise, tests and exams
Intrinsic motivation (Learner-centered)
 Use intrinsic incentives
Explain the purpose of language learning
Provide uncontrolled events
Authentic context

Ways for teachers to foster learners autonomy

In the area of independent work, teachers need to consider-

- Students motivation by clarifying the relationship of the tasks to their own needs and
objectives.
- Students confidence by beginning with structured and controlled tasks to creative
tasks.
- Students knowledge and skills by providing a systematic approach to familiarizing
students with the tasks. i.e., from easy to difficult.
In the area of communication strategies, we need to explore-

Ways of encouraging learners to be ready to take risks and make errors in

communication- Non-threatening atmosphere

Ways of increasing students confidence in their ability to communicate successfully-

Positive feedback

Ways of making students aware of specific strategies for compensating gaps in their
linguistic knowledge- Information exchange

We want learners to have autonomy in a teacher-directed classroom setting, in settings such as

self-access learning centers and in the real world. Teachers have a very important role in
helping language learners understand learning strategies and expand their own self-direction in
learning. We need to be open for the new roles of teachers as helpers, facilitators, advisors,
guides. We need to construct a shared understanding of the language learning process in order
to foster students learning autonomy. (i.e., shared belief).
 Material Development

Definition:

Material development refers to anything which is done by writers, teachers or learners to

provide sources of language input and to exploit those sources in ways which maximize the
likelihood of intake: in other words, the supplying of information about and/or experience of
the language in ways designed to promote language learning.
Materials development is both a field of study and a practical undertaking. As a field it studies
the principles and procedures of the design, implementation and evaluation of language
teaching materials
(Tomlinson 2001 : 66)

Different Types of Material

There are various types of materials available and the range is rather big. To include some of
the major ones, we can make 3 divisions of the materials and them put the elements in them.
i. Materials By purpose: Which can be artificial, Instructional or Authentic

ii. Materials By format: Materials can be paper based, like books, handouts, chart
papers, lecture sheets, research, thesis, assignments etc. Then there are audiovisual
materials like video clips, audio clips, animations, visual diagrams, plans etc.
Materials can be electronic too, the electronic gadgets used to teach or process the
information.
iii. Materials By creator: It can be commercial, or can be made in-house

Classification/Characteristics of Materials
Littlejohn & Windeatt argue that materials have a hidden curriculum that includes attitudes
toward-knowledge; teaching/learning; role and relationship of the teacher/student, and values
and attitudes related to gender, society, etc. Materials have an underlying instructional
philosophy, approach, method, and content, including both linguistic and cultural information.
Clarke argues that communicative methodology is important and is based on authenticity,
realism, context and a focus on the learner. Most people associate the term teaching materials
only with course books because that has been their main experience of using teaching
materials. However, in fact, the term can be used to refer to anything which is used by teachers
or learners to facilitate the learning of the language. Related to that, materials can be classified
into some types as follows:

Printed materials: Textbook, students work sheet, pictures, photographs, newspapers&

magazines
Audio materials: Cassette & compact disc
Audio visual: Video compact disc, film
Interactive teaching materials: Web based learning materials, computer assisted instruction.

Authentic materials- refer to the use in teaching of texts, photographs, video selections, and
other teaching resources that are not specially prepared for pedagogical purposes.
Created materials- refer to textbooks and other specially developed instructional resources.
Edge (1993) uses the term teacher-produced materials and student materials to refer to
how the materials are produced or used during the process of teaching/learning in the
classroom.
Teacher-produced materials- play an important role to bridge the gap between the classroom
and the world outside. In doing so, teachers might produce their own worksheets for their
students.
Student-produced materials

Teachers can ask the students to produce simple maps that they know as the basis for an
activity. In this way, students are then using their own knowledge & personal background to
produce learning materials for their classmates.
Students as materials
When we see the learners as materials, we can also use our methods to make learning
enjoyable. In doing so, teachers could, for instance: ask a student to close his/her eyes &
describe what someone else is wearing; describe what someone else is wearing until the rest of
us can recognize that person; divide the class into pairs and ask each pair to do one the above.
 Principals of Material Development

Brian Tomlinson suggests some basic principles in conducting materials development for the
teaching of language. Each of the principals have their explanations in details in his book but
today in this short time, Ill introduce the key points of them.

1. Materials should achieve impact. which means they should have attractive presentation
and appealing content to target learners. Impact is achieved when materials have a noticeable
effect on learners, that is when the learners curiosity, interest and attention are attracted.
Materials can achieve impact through novelty, variety, attractive presentation, appealing
content etc.
2. Materials should help learners to feel at ease. which means texts & illustration in materials
should make learners feel comfortable, relaxed and being supportive.
3. Materials should help learners to develop confidence. which means they should make
learners feel successful and push learners to develop their skills. It can also help if the activities
encourage learners to use and to develop their existing extra-linguistic skills.
4. What is being taught should be perceived by learners as relevant and useful. which means
materials should convince learners that teaching points are useful whereby teachers need to
find what the learners are interested in.

5. Materials should require & facilitate learners self-investment. which means they should
encourage learners to invest their interests, efforts and attentions to profit most. The role of
the classroom and of teaching materials is to make efficient use of the resources in order to
facilitate self-discovery.
6. Learners must be ready to acquire the points being taught. which means using materials
to prepare learners to focus on features of target language which they havent learnt yet, so
they might be attentive to learn these features. Instruction can facilitate natural language
acquisition processes if it coincides with learners readiness and can lead to increased speed
and frequency of rule application and to application of rules in a wider range of linguistic
context.

7. Materials should expose learners to language in authentic use. which means they should
provide learners with advice and instructions for their activities, spoken language and written
text. Krashen claims that comprehensible input in the target language is both necessary and
sufficient for the acquisition of that language. Though many researcher agree that authentic
use of target language is necessary but not sufficient.

8. The learners attention should be drawn to linguistic features of the input. which means
materials should include grammar and how the language is actually used. White argues that
there are some features of the L2 which learners need to be focused on because the
deceptively apparent similarities with L1 features make it impossible for the learners to
otherwise notice certain points of mismatch between their interlanguage and target language.
9. Materials should provide learners with opportunities to use target language to achieve
communication process. Using language for communication involves attempts to achieve a
purpose in a situation in which the content, strategies and expression of the interaction are
determined by the learners. Interaction can be achieved through for example- information,
opinion gap activities, post-listening, post-reading, creative writing, creative speaking etc.
10. Materials should take into account that the positive effects of instruction are usually
delayed. Acquisition results from the gradual and dynamic process of internal generalization
rather than from instant adjustments to the learners internal grammar.
11. Materials should take in account that learners differ in learning style. which means they
should provide a variety of activities and should support all learning styles, such as, visual
learners, auditory learners, kinesthetic learners, studial learners, experiential learners, analytic
learners, global learners, dependent learners and independent learners.
12. Materials should take in account that learners differ in affective attitudes. which
means they should provide different types of text and activities, as well as should be aware of
cultural sensitivities of target learners.

13. Materials should permit a silent period at the beginning of instruction. which means they
should not force learners to speak until they are ready. This silent period can facilitate the
development of an effective internalized grammar which can help learners to achieve
proficiency when they eventually start to speak in the L2.
14. Materials should maximize learning potential by encouraging intellectual, aesthetic &
emotional involvement which stimulates both right and left brain activities. A narrowly
focused series of activities usually leads to shallow and ephemeral learning unless linked to
other activities which stimulates mental and affective processing.
15. Materials should not reply too much on controlled practice. which means they should
focus on language use. Controlled practice appears to have little long term effect on the
accuracy with which new structures are performed and has little effect on fluency.

16. Materials should provide opportunities for outcome feedback, especially feedback on the
effectiveness of use of language rather than accuracy of language. Feedback which is focused
first on the effectiveness of the outcome rather than accuracy of the output can lead to output
become a profitable source of input.
 Material Evolution Stages
Tomlinson used the term materials evaluation as the activity which measures the value of a
set of learning materials by making judgments about the effect of the materials on the people
using them. It tries to measure, for example: appeals of the materials to the learners; materials
validity/flexibility; materials ability to interest the learners; materials potential learning value;
delivery & assessment.
There are 3 stages of material development.
External evaluation : An external evaluation examines the extent to which a set of materials
meets the needs of a particular group of learners, the syllabus, and the examination, i.e.
whether a set of materials is suitable for a group of students. An overview evaluation of
materials where the cover, the blurb, the introduction and the table of contents are
investigated. After completing the external evaluation, and having funds and a potential group
of learners in mind, we can arrive at a decision as to the materials appropriacy for
adoption/selection purposes. If our evaluation shows the materials to be potentially
appropriate and worthy of a more detailed inspection, then we can continue with our internal
or more detailed evaluation. If not, then we can exit at this stage and start to evaluate other
materials if we so wish.
Internal evaluation : An internal evaluation focuses on the internal accountability of the
materials, e.g. the theoretical assumptions behind the materials; the intended objectives and
the extent to which the objectives have been realized; the justification of language selection
and grading; the design of activities and tasks. It is a more detailed in-depth evaluation of the
materials. The main purpose of this evaluation is to investigate whether the components
examined in the external evaluation stage match with the tasks in the materials. The essential
issue at this stage is for us to analyze the extent to which the factors in the external evaluation
stage match up with the internal consistency and organization of the materials as stated by the
author/ publisher for, as strong claims are often made for these materials.
Overall evaluation : At this stage we hope that we may now make an overall assessment as to
the suitability of the materials. When all the criteria have been analyzed, we can then reach our
own conclusions regarding the suitability of the materials for specified groups or individuals, as
the aim of this final stage is intended to enable the evaluator to decide the extent to which the
materials have realized their stated objectives. Even after the internal evaluation we still have
the option of not selecting the materials if we so wish.
After doing an external and internal evaluation of a course book, we can then make an overall
evaluation based on four factors-

iv. The usability factor : How usable is it for the course? Does it fit in with the
syllabus? Is it level and age appropriate for the students? Could it be used as
a core material or would it serve better as supplementary material?
 v. The generalizability factor : Is the material generally useful? Can the teacher
and students use most of the material?
vi. The adaptability factor : Is the material in the course book adaptable to the
teachers particular group of learners and/or for any specific course?
vii. The flexibility factor : Can the teacher use different parts of the course book
at different times, or is the course book very rigid and s/he have to follow it
exactly the way it is laid out?

Material Evolution Framework

The framework of evaluating material framework is first to set an objective then we have to
derive content from the objective. Now a sequence for the content has to be established and
then techniques and exercise for each content have to be defined. Lastly, weve to decide the
selected materials for accomplishing the objectives and developing content.
Taking decisions for materials is a three-stage process that is-
1. Adopting material: It is necessary to decide what types of materials are desirable: books,
CD etc. All available materials of these types should be located just in case they might
prove useful. Some form of review/evaluation procedures must be set up to pare the list
to only those materials that should be seriously considered so that final choices can be
made. Some strategy for the regular review of these adopted materials must be set up
to make sure that they do not become irrelevant to the needs of the students and the
changing conditions in the program.
Checklist for Adopting Textbook:
i. Material Background: Authors credentials/records- education and experience.
Publishers reputation- quality
ii. Fit to Curriculum: Approach- assumptions and theories. Syllabus- KI/KD. General
language needs- proficiency and students. Situational needs- availability and cultural
appropriateness. Percentage of match- degree of appropriateness. Order- degree of
order (appropriate order/organization). Content consistent with techniques used in
the program- degree of acceptance.
iii. Physical Characteristics: Space- white spaces, pictures and text- qualities and
quantities, highlighting- effectiveness, organization- existence and quality, Table of
contents, Index, Answer key, Glossary, Reference potential, accuracy, consistency,
clarity and practicality, directions, examples, material (paper, binding) quality.
iv. Logistical Characteristics: Price, auxiliary parts (audiovisual aids, wordbook,
software, unit test), Availability.
v. Teachability: Teachers edition, answer key, annotations, reviews.
 2. Developing Material: Developing materials can be done only if all efforts to adopt
materials for purposes of teaching those objectives fail to uncover suitable materials.
We need to pay attention to needs assessment, goals and objectives, and tests which
describe a program. Materials can be developed that will create the best possible match
between materials and the curriculum in question.
3. Adapting Material: It is to find and evaluate materials that might serve at least some of
the students' needs and help to meet at least some of the course objectives and to Fill in
the gaps that have been identified. There are several stages of adapting material like
finding and evaluating, analyzing, classifying, filling in the gaps, reorganizing etc.
Adapting materials for language teaching:
i. Finding and Evaluating: refer to the checklist in adopting materials
ii. Analyzing: Matches & mismatches to the current objective, Percent of objectives
that need to be supplemented from outside these materials, Percent of existing
matches that will require revision, Decide which set(s) of materials to adapt.
iii. Classifying: Use any logical classes of objectives to help in grouping them for
analysis, List of places in materials where each objectives is addressed, Leaving
blanks where supplemental materials are needed
iv. Filling-in the Gaps: From other materials, From created materials, Teacher as
resources, Resource file
v. Reorganizing: Reorganizing & completing the list
Edge (1993) stated that materials exist in order to support learning/teaching, so they should be
designed to suit the people & the processes involved. Most teachers are not creators of
teaching materials but providers of good materials. For that purpose, teachers may conduct
materials adaptation in order that they can provide good materials for their students. Materials
adaptation involves changing existing materials so that they become more suitable for specific
learners, teachers or situations.
Tomlinson and Masuhara (2004) suggest that the most effective way of conducting material
adaptation is to:
Have a large bank of categorized materials that you can readily retrieve for adaptation.

Have colleagues with whom you can share resources and who are willing to go through
the adaptation process together; have colleagues who are happy to give you feedback
on your adapted materials.

Be in an environment in which materials evaluation, adaptation &development are

encouraged & teachers time and efforts are acknowledged.
Revisit adapted materials and improve them.
 The Context of Adaptation
A straightforward starting point for considering the relationship between evaluation and
adaptation is to think of the terms adopting and adapting. Adaptation, is a process
subsequent to, and dependent on, adoption. Furthermore, whereas adoption is concerned with
whole course books, adaptation concerns the parts that make up that whole.
Adaptation Techniques
- Adding : The notion of addition is, on the face of it, straightforward, implying that
materials are supplemented by putting more into them, while taking into
account the practical effect on time allocation.
- Deleting or omitting: Deletion is clearly the opposite process to that of addition.
However, although material is taken out rather than supplemented, as a technique it
can be thought of as the other side of the same coin. Material can be added both
quantitatively (extending) and qualitatively (expanding), the same point applies when a
decision is taken to omit material.

Addition and deletion often work together, of course. Material may be taken out and then
replaced with something else. Where the same kind of material is substituted, as for instance
one set of minimal pairs for another, the internal balance of the lesson or the syllabus is not
necessarily altered.

Textbook Evaluation
According to Cunningsworth (1995) there are 4 criteria for evaluating textbooks
1. They should correspond to learners needs. They should match the aims and
objectives of the language program.
2. They should reflect the uses (present or future) that learners will make of the
language. Textbooks should be chosen that will help equip students to use
language effectively for their own purposes.
3. They should take account of students needs as learners and should facilitate
their learning processes, without dogmatically imposing a rigid method
4. They should have a clear role as a support for learning.
When teachers open a page in their textbook, they have to decide whether they should use the
lesson on that page with their class. If the language, content and sequencing of the textbook
are appropriate, the teacher might want to go ahead and use it. If, however, there is something
wrong with the textbook, the teacher has to decide what to do next. Therefore, when
evaluating the quality of a textbooks exercises or activities, four key questions should be
answered:
 Do the exercises and activities in textbook contribute to students language acquisition?
Are the exercises balanced in their format, containing both controlled and free practice?
Are the exercises progressive as the students move through the textbook?
Are the exercises varied and challenging?

After all these questions are answered, we can take further steps to adapt material rather than
just addition or omission. Like-

- Modifying: In order to introduce further possibilities for adaptation,

we shall restrict its meaning here to an internal change in the approach or
focus of an exercise or other piece of material. Content may need to be changed
because it may not suit the target learners, perhaps because of factors related to the
learners age, gender, social class, occupation, religion, or cultural background. Exercises
and activities may need to be changed to give them an additional focus. For example, a
listening activity may focus only on listening for information, so it is adapted so that
students listen a second or third time for a different purpose.
- Rewriting: Rewriting, may relate activities more closely to learners own backgrounds
and interests, introduce models of authentic language, or set more purposeful,
problem-solving tasks where the answers are not always known before the teacher asks
the question.

- Restructuring: For many teachers who are required to follow a course book, changes in
the structuring of the class are sometimes the only kind of adaptation possible.
- Simplifying: Strictly speaking, the technique of simplification is one type of modification,
namely, a rewriting activity. Many elements of a language course can be simplified,
including the instructions and explanations that accompany exercises and activities, and
even the visual layout of material so that it becomes easier to see how different parts fit
together.
- Addressing Omissions: The text may omit items that the teacher feels they are
important. For example, a teacher may add vocab. activities or grammar activities to a
unit.
- Reordering: This procedure, the final one discussed in this section, refers to the
possibility of putting the parts of a course book in a different order. This may mean
adjusting the sequence of presentation within a unit, or taking units in a different
sequence from that originally intended. A teacher may decide to reorganize the syllabus
of the book, and arrange the units in what s/he considers a more suitable order, or
within a unit s/he may decide not to follow the sequence of activities in the unit but to
reorder them for a particular reason.
At one end of the scale, adaptation is a very practical activity carried out mainly by teachers in
order to make their work more relevant to the learners with whom they are in day-to-day
contact. It is, however, not just an exercise done in self-contained methodological isolation. Like
all our activity as teachers, it is related, directly and indirectly, to a wider range of professional
concerns. Adaptation is linked to issues of administration and the whole management of
education, in so far as it derives from decisions taken about material to be adopted.

Material Development Now

In the last forty years materials development has progressed dramatically, both as an academic
field and as a practical undertaking. We are now much more aware of the principles and
procedures of materials development that are most likely to facilitate language acquisition and
development and are much better at actually developing effective materials. Teachers also
seem to be more constructively critical of their course books and to be more willing, confident
and able to localize and personalize their course books for their learners. This is especially so in
regions where teachers have been trained as materials developers, either on teacher
development courses or on national or institutional materials development projects.

Material Development in Future

What Tomlinson think will happen in the future is that materials will increasingly be delivered
electronically through computers and smart phones, that commercially produced materials will
continue to provide users with the materials they expect and that more and more institutions
and countries will decide that the only way to develop locally appropriate materials is to do it
themselves.
What Tomlinson hope is that commercial publishers will respond to the challenge from local
publications and develop more flexible courses designed to be localized, personalized and
energized by teachers and learners. What I know is that teachers will continue to develop
positively as a result of their involvement in materials development, whether as course
participants, members of project teams or adapters of materials in their classrooms.