Language Centres at a Crossroads

Learner autonomy is not only a buzz word in ELT, but it is also daily bread for many of my students. My presentation is based on the areas which Richard Smith identifies as the ones that the institutions, often represented by the teachers or the textbooks, make the decisions about: objectives, contents (including materials), stages or syllabus, methods and techniques, pace, time, and place, evaluation procedures. These areas are the building blocks for structuring my presentation which will discuss and demonstrate how the responsibility for these areas might or might not be shifted towards the students.

As David Little says, learner autonomy may take many different shapes and forms and I have been experimenting with it in different contexts and with a range of students. The examples I plan to provide are based on my experience at two universities, in 6 different courses, which will explore a variety of opportunities for developing and fostering students' autonomy. The courses I will talk about are EAP and ESP courses and the students in these courses come from a range of study fields. Some of the courses are compulsory for the students of particular disciplines, others are elective and optional; they are completed either with a pass/fail assessment or with a grade, which will allow me an insight into student evaluation with autonomy in mind, and they are taught at either Bachelor's or Master's programme.

The aim of the presentation is to demonstrate how learner autonomy support can expand to the areas that we often feel are limited by the university context. Apart from my experience and practice, I will also use my students' insights to include their reflections.

Podpora autonomie u mých studentů pro mě znamená mj. příležitost zahrnout je do rozhodování v oblastech, které obvykle určuje instituce nebo vyučující: tempo, časové rozvržení, místo výuky, metody a techniky, ale také cíle, materiály, obsah a hodnocení. Tyto oblasti jsou kostrou mé prezentace, která představí, jak je nebo není možné přesunout odpovědnost na studenty v kurzech akademické a odborné angličtiny. Prezentace je založena na mých zkušenostech v šesti rozdílných kurzech a na zpětné vazbě studentů.

References:

• Smith, Richard C. (2008). Learner Autonomy. In: ELT Journal. Volume 62/4.
• Little, David (1991). Learner Autonomy: Definitions, Issues and Problems, Dublin, Trinity College: Authentik Language Learning Resources Ltd.

Lenka Zouhar Ludvíková comes from a teacher family and she graduated from Masaryk University in Pedagogy and English and American Studies. She has taught English at preschool, primary, secondary and tertiary level, in language schools, and in companies. Most of her experience is from teaching at tertiary level, namely EAP and ESP courses at MUNI and MENDELU. She is finishing her doctoral studies with a dissertation on the impact of learner autonomy support on university students' learning. She believes in personalisation and in her students.