By Patricia Irma Varela Piñon
Divina Margarita Gómez Alvarenga
Denizia Cecilia Rocha Pinto
INTRODUCTION
Traditional language teaching has faced new challenges in order to develop more flexible learning approaches. At present, the learner-centered approach in English teaching has replaced the traditional teacher-centered one. As a result, the approach of leaner autonomy in learning EFL has gained more attention.
As with the seminal studies on self-access some articles emphasize the importance of the integration of self-study into any language program, while repeating again that it has often been argued that the classroom setting poses various obstacles to the development of learner autonomy and that these obstacles are closely related to the lack of opportunities allowing the learner to make decisions regarding the learning process Levy’s (2000) thorough investigation suggests that CALL (computer-assisted language learning) research has often focused on the effectiveness of technological resources, such as CALL tasks. Levy and Stockwell (2006) include CALL tasks under the umbrella of CALL materials, which they define as “the wide range of CALL artifacts or products that language teachers and designers create using technological resources” (Levy and Stockwell, 2006, p. 3).
Nevertheless, CALL artifacts can focus more on providing an abundance of learning material and technological support for the user rather than on actually providing guidance for learners to manage and direct their learning process so that they might eventually reach a certain or full degree of autonomy.
Learning to learn material
For most individuals certain knowledge about learning strategies would be required in order for them to understand how they can learn a language on their own. Barnett and Jordan (1991: 307) make a distinction between cognitive strategies and metacognitive strategies that is quite relevant to our concerns here. The former provide learners with the skills necessary to work with learning material and thus enable learning to take place, and the latter aid learners in planning, monitoring and evaluating their learning process.
Learner autonomy and the Use of Tic´s
Learner Autonomy is a need we want to cover, it is a knowledge we want to achieve, and it is the best way to have success in the learning process. Successful Students get autonomy in a long term by discovering for themselves. The autonomous student learns reading, listening and sharing experiences with other students or professors.
As teachers, we are guides and models in English classroom so we must introduce the idea of autonomy in our classroom in all levels we teach; we can provide students the tools to express themselves in an individual way. Otherwise, we have to create a learner-centered environment in order to have students responsible in their learning encourage them to have initiative in any task we could give them. Teachers must look for the approach that could have success in learner training.
Teachers can give students on-line resources with the proper feedback and plan for their learning so we are implementing autonomy and to provide them useful tools for facing the language.
According to Marc Prensky, “our students have changed radically. Today´s students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach”. So we have to adapt our way of teaching, to their way of learning. But, how can we do that? Taking in consideration several factors, such as:
* the students’ background: Our students today are all “native speakers” of the digital language of computers, video games and the Internet. (Prensky, 2001).
* According to Healey & Johnson (1998), the following aspects:
a) Who are the users you are targeting?
b) What are the goals of the students you are targeting?
c) What setting will the software be used in: independent study lab with no teacher available, lab associated with a class, a teacher-led class with one or a few computers?
d) How much do the teachers/lab assistants who will work with the students know?
e) What do you have now in the way of hardware and technical assistance?
So, having in consideration the aspects mentioned above, some of the tools, that I can suggest, based on my teaching experience at university level, are:
* blogger.com (the use of blogs in education)
* quizstar (to create online exams, free tool)
* animoto
* youtube.com
* google circles
* the use of platforms such as moodle, e-ducativa, blackboard, etc.
* mp3 audios
* different applications in cellular phones, such as dictionaries, etc.
* voki
* twitter, facebook, etc.
* virtual portfolios of evidences
* etc.
Teachers and students roles in developing autonomy in the classroom
When talking about developing autonomy in the classroom we cannot forget to mention the teacher and students roles.
Both the teacher and the students have an important role in teaching and learning process. They have to be aware of their responsibilities in order to raise the motivation for what they are doing in the classroom and to promote best results and be more autonomous.
Additionally, the world is becoming more and more competitive and to follow it’s pace and the development of the new technologies we need to become more autonomous and independent. The most autonomous and independent we become the better results will get. We need to pay attention in ourselves and try to figure out which is the best way for us to learn, be creative and up to date. In this world where people have a greater access to computers and Internet we need to develop strategies to fulfill our goals.
What role does a teacher play on developing autonomy in the classroom?
-The teachers have to be a guide and a facilitator and encourage the students to take charge of their learning by giving them the opportunity to evaluate the learning process.
Besides that as facilitators, teachers have to work with the students to get to know their preferences and ask them for suggestions, so that they raise the motivation in the classroom. Furthermore the activities made in the classroom have to promote critical thinking and decision making in the students.
What role does a student play on developing autonomy in the classroom?
Having in account the so called “learner centered learning”, the students play a very important role in the classroom. They have a greater responsibility in their learning, especially if the goal is to develop lifelong learning skills.
In this sense, the students have to learn how to learn and together with the teacher find the learning strategy that works best with their learning styles.
There are a lot more that teachers and students can do to develop autonomy in the classroom. For that to happen it’s needed a positive relationship between both teacher and student based on communication, collaboration, confidence and responsibility.
Factors that influence on learners development of autonomous learning abilities trhough CALL activities
1.- Opportunities for the development of metacognition.
Students need to analyze the world by the interpretation of the accessed information according to their knowledge. Those CALL activities are useful in the development and improvement of different skills by an increased of the students’ metacognitive awareness such as being more self aware, planning and goal setting, being able to reflect and self-acces.
2.- Opportunities to become self-reliant.
In this sense, the teacher’s role is minimized (Sullivan and Pratt, 1996). The ability of making decisions about learning is promoted.
3.- The learning context is extended.
It incorporates activities that include the outside world into the learning environment.
TABLE 1: Dependent and autonomous learners adapted from Mynard ans Sorflaten (2003)
| Dependent learners | Autonomous learners |
|
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CONCLUSIONS
There are important factors that promote learner autonomy with the use of CALL. Students are provided with opportunities to develop important abilities focused on taking control of their own learning such decision making planning and self-regulation. With the use and application of CALL activities “individual learners are given the opportunity to move out of their individual comfort zones in order to participate productively and effectively in the learning process” (Hoven, 1999, p.157)
REFERENCES
Barnett, L. and Jordan, G. 1991. “Self-access facilities: what are they for?”.
ELT Journal, 45 (4): 305-12
Healey, D. & Johnson, N. (1998): “A place to start in selecting software”. CAELL Journal, 8/1, Winter.
Levy, M. (2000). Scope, goals and methods in CALL research: questions of coherence and autonomy. ReCALL 12(2), 170-195.
Levy, M., & Stockwell, G. (2006). CALL dimensions: Options and issues in computer assisted language learning. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Mynaed, J & Sorflaten R. (2003) Learner independence in your classroom. Teachers a, Learners and Curriculum 1(1) 34-38
Prensky, Marc. (2001): “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants”. On the Horizon, MCB University Press, Vol. 9 No. 5, October 2001.
Sullivan, N. & PrattE. (1996) Acomparative study of two ESL weiting environments: A computer-assisted classroom and a traditional oral classroom. System 29(4) 491-501
BIBLIOGRAFIA
Education and Culture.Key Competences for Lifelong Learning. Official Journal of the European Union on 30 December 2006. from http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/publ/pdf/ll-learning/keycomp_en.pdf
Funiber study material. Autonomy
Montoro, C., & Hampel, R., (2011). Investigating language learning activity using a CALL task in the self-access centre. Studies in Self-Access Learning Journal, 2(3), 119-135. SiSAL Journal. Studies in Self-Access Learning from http://sisaljournal.org/archives/sep11/montoro_hampel/
Tesol Technology. CALL and Autonomy. from https://sites.google.com/site/technologyintesol/ma-in-tesol-reflections/call-and-autonomy