A Relationship Study Of Foreign Language Learner Autonomy And Learner Individual Differences

The Higher Education Department of The Ministry of Education has set'developing the student's autonomous English learning'as the main goal of English teaching and learning in the latest version of College English Curriculum Pedagogical Requirements. However, fostering the learner's ability to take charge of one's own learning may encounter some difficulties from learners themselves as researches have already suggested that individual factors have great influence on learner autonomy. With the aim of fostering learner autonomy among non-English-major college students, this paper probes into the potential relationships between learner autonomy and individual variables as motivation, learning styles and learning strategies as well as the underlying correlations among these three variables in foreign language learning.A survey is carried out among 65 non-English majors through a questionnaire to investigate learners'autonomous foreign language learning abilities and their motivation, learning strategies and learning styles. The data obtained have been analysed with the help of SPSS (10.0) software. The results of the study have revealed that close correlations between learner autonomy and these three individual variables do exist, and the three individual factors correlate with each other and function together to affect second language learning process.Based on the findings obtained from the present study, the writer puts forward some suggestions to help promote learner autonomy for more effective learning through raising awareness of autonomous second language learning, enhancing intrinsic motivation, developing strategies training, and encouraging collaborative learning. Suggestions for the teacher's role in the context of autonomous learning are provided at the same time.