A Study Of Learner Autonomy And Approaches To Fostering Autonomy In Foreign Language Learning

The development of research in second language acquisition makes us draw a conclusion: foreign language teaching is an interactive process of teaching and learning involving many integrated factors. The research focus of the foreign language teaching is diverted from "how to teach" to "how to learn". From 1980s, with language educators showing much concern on learners' subjective development, autonomous learning or learner autonomy is gradually becoming a hot issue in the language teaching field.A growing number of academic research and behavior research and the establishment of some special research institutes push the research to a high tide. And people more and more realized "learner autonomy is the educational ultimate objective". That learner autonomy should be the aim of every learner and every teacher is accepted by the educational circle. Along with the development of humanism and cognitive psychology and sociolinguistics, learner autonomy, learning strategies, and strategy training are becoming more attractive to the second language teaching and the researchers.Learner autonomy as the ultimate educational goal is supported in the thesis. Students' different needs in different situations are also mentioned. Meanwhile this thesis points out that learner autonomy is not eternal, it may be strengthened or weakened with the change of time, subjects, conditions et cetera. Therefore, in the application of learner autonomy to English teaching and learning, the key point is to make the learner be aware of learner autonomy, take the responsibility in learning and learn how to learn, which will benefit him or her through the whole life as well as during their schooldays.In order to give quantitative support to the research on autonomy in learning English, a questionnaire has been designed according to theories of humanism and cognitive psychology. Copies of it were handed to 90 freshmen of Computer Department in Dezhou University, and the completed copies have been duly collected. Research questions to be addressed in the study are the following:1. What is the general situation of autonomous English learning of the freshmen of Computer Department of Dezhou University?2. What are the approaches to fostering learner autonomy for the non-English-major freshmen?Through data analysis and results and discussions, the present situation of autonomous learning of the freshmen are clear to the readers. Generally speaking, the students have the willingness to learn English well; they have a very strong desire and motivation of autonomous learning. However, their learning management is not very satisfying. Based on issues defining and describing learner autonomy and the factors concerning learner autonomy in foreign language learning, constructive ideas and suggestions for fostering autonomy in foreign language learning are put forward: inspiring learners' awareness and motivation of autonomous language learning, strategy training, classroom-based approach to fostering autonomy, making full use of computer-assisted language learning and network resources, reconstructing teachers' role in autonomous language learning, encouraging cooperative learning and establishing self-access center to foster autonomy in foreign language learning etc. The approaches to fostering autonomy in foreign language learning can shed some light on foreign language teaching and can also be used as reference to later teaching education. If they are combined with language learning, compiling of the teaching material, designing of exercise and teaching methods, and become one of the teaching contents, it surely will be helpful to the practice of foreign language teaching reform.