Integrating Learner Autonomy With College English Language Teaching

Autonomous language learning has greatly developed both on theory and practice in recent 20 years. In literature, a lot of researchers just pay their attention to the aspects of autonomous language learning, such as the definition of autonomy, its theoretical basis, the cultural compatibility of autonomous language learning, etc. However, many researchers gradually began to focus on the different ways this concept has been implemented in actual language teaching and learning. Various teaching approaches and learner training programs were experimented and self-access centers were established to help facilitate learners to be more autonomous and ensure effective learning results.Learner autonomy is by no means a new concept in Chinese foreign language teaching and learning context, but its promotion through systematic learner development is a relatively recent phenomenon, the one proposed by Scharle and Szabo (2000). After some modification, the program intends to make the students be aware of the importance of responsible attitude and independent learning ability through two stages, i. e. the preliminary stage and the preliminary stage and the action stage, the latter of which focuses on the implementation of various classroom activities. Then, an experiment was made to demonstrate the feasibility of this program in classroom setting. The purpose is to develop the students'learning performance, give guidance on their learning strategies, develop their interest in language learning.79 non-English majors of two of the classes in Shandong University of Science and Technology participated in the experiment. Both the two classes used the same textbook under the guidance of the same teacher and followed the same syllabus. The only difference was that one class was under the traditional teacher-centered teaching approach (the control class), and the other was under the modified learner development program (the experimental class). Based on their pre-test scores, the two classes are of the same level in terms of their language performance. The learner development program lasted for 12 weeks (late Nov. 2004—early Jan. 2005).During the course, the SILL questionnaire and language proficiency test were used and both the methods of interview and classroom observation were employed. Besides, students were asked to write regular journals to keep track of their learning experience. Comparisons were made in the following three aspects: the language performance in the test; a change of learning strateies; stimulation of interest.The results show that using the content of regular school classroom teaching as a meaningful context for the development of responsibility can not only enhance the learning effect, but also save time for the optional strategy training. As far as the score in the post-test are concerned, the experimental class had a high mean score than the control class. The two sets of questionnaire results show that the experimental class benefited from the program by using more learning strategies. Besides, most of the students in the experimental class reported a higher interest in language learning after the experiment. However, the control class showed no great difference in all these aspects.The paper argued that in way of encouragement of all-round education, the integration program described here may serve as enlightenment for further innovation in more effective modes of teaching in foreign language teaching.