A Case Study On College Students' Learner Autonomy In English Learning At Quanzhou Normal University

In recent years, learner autonomy has become a prominent topic in the educational circles and it also becomes a new trend of foreign language teaching. The term learner autonomy was first put forward in 1981 by Henri Holec in his book Autonomy and Foreign Language Learning. According to Holec, learner autonomy is "the ability to take charge of one's own learning". A learner is considered when he or she is able to set the learning objectives; select the contents, the materials and methods to be used; determine the time, place and progressions and evaluate what has been acquired. Ever since the birth of the concept, many linguists and researchers have paid great attention to it and substantial researches and exploration on it have been carried out. Many language teachers are trying to put this idea into their teaching practice. More and more people have begun to realize the importance of learner autonomy as the ultimate goal of education.In China, with the teaching of language being more and more communication-oriented, the teacher-centered pattern, in which knowledge of the language and skills are imparted by the teacher in class only, is gradually replaced by the student-centered one, in which the ability to use the language and the ability to learn independently are cultivated in addition to language knowledge and skills. Learner autonomy is generally considered to be a prerequisite in language learning process. The development of individualized study methods and the autonomous learning ability on part of the students is regarded as an important indicator of the successful reform of the teaching model. As a result, many educators and researchers begin to write a great many scholarly works on learner autonomy.In recent years, the relevant studies of LA to date in China either stay on pure theoretical framework, or belong to empirical research that compares results between the control group and the experimental group. So far there are few studies aiming to investigate the students' autonomous English learning situation and to evaluate the level of their autonomous English learning competence. This study sets out to examine the level of non-English majors' autonomous English learning competence, to identify students' autonomous problems, and to find out possible strategies to improve autonomous English learning competence in the current Chinese context.90 second-year non-English majors in Quanzhou Normal College participated in this study. All of them were required to complete the questionnaire. The questionnaire is composed of 45 items, which covers six areas: students' attitudes towards autonomy of English learning (AEL); identifying what has been taught; formulating the learning objectives; selecting and implementing appropriate learning strategies; monitoring the use of learning strategies; monitoring and evaluating the learning. The choices they made were transformed into means and all the results were presented in tables. In order to get more in-depth information about students' autonomous problems, informal interviews were conducted among 25 students after the questionnaire.Results from the study show that the overall degree of non-English majors' autonomous English learning stays at a low level. They are in lack of ability to set practical learning goals, to carry out the plan, to create opportunities to practice English, to apply appropriate learning strategies and to measure learning outcomes. The formation of such a situation is a complex matter. Among the factors affecting learner autonomy (LA), students' attitudes towards and motivation for LA, the role of teachers and students in traditional teacher-center teaching and learners' use of language learning strategies were found to be important. Just because of the influence of the above factors, most non-English majors turn out to be passive, dependent and less autonomous in English learning. Based on all the investigation and analyses, some tentative suggestions are provided, which ought to be beneficial for the promotion of LA among Chinese students.The thesis consists of seven chapters. Chapter One briefly introduces the research background, and the significance of the present study. Chapter Two is a literature review of the concepts. The concepts related to learner autonomy are discussed such as its definitions, different terms concerning learner autonomy, a working definition is formulated, and theoretical supports for autonomy. Chapter Three provides needed knowledge associated with the development of autonomy and the key factors affecting learner autonomy, which is necessary in practice with the intention of inspiring researchers and practitioners for new discoveries in the field. Chapter Four introduces the methodological issues employed by the present study, such as participants, source of data, and data analyses. Chapter Five is the results and discussion. It presents the results of the study, both from the questionnaire study and the structured interviews, and at the same time these results are interpreted and discussed. Chapter Six draws some implications, provides some suggestions for future teaching and also ends the study with the research limitations and expectations. Chapter Seven draws the conclusion of the thesis.