Integrating Portfolios Into Autonomy-Based Instruction For EFL College Students

There is a continuing interest in the notion of learner autonomy in China because of some special contexts (e.g., increases in student numbers and broadening of classes in recent years). In the field of higher education teaching, enhancing learner autonomy has become a key concern for curriculum planners and classroom teachers. What teachers can do to facilitate their students' learning and develop autonomy has been one of the hot issues in foreign language instruction.This paper explores the use of portfolios as a tool to facilitate student learning and develop learner autonomy. Just as artists use portfolios to show people their achievements, learners of second language acquisition can also use portfolios to keep track of their learning progressions. A study with a large class of 112 college students was conducted in the year of 2003. The 112 students constituted the experimental group with another 113 students as the control group. Portfolios were integrated into the framework and procedures — i.e., preparation, instruction and evaluation — for autonomy training in the English course. Information about students' beliefs and attitudes towards autonomous learning and portfolio using was collected by means of questionnaires. Students' English proficiency (of both groups) was tested via the final examination at the end of the study. Interviews about students' attitudes towards autonomy and the English portfolio were also conducted.The study found that portfolios raised students' awareness of learning strategies, facilitated their learning process contributed to their achievement and, most importantly, enhanced their learning autonomy.