| Since the 1980's, learner autonomy has been a heated research topic in the field of applied linguistics. A number of researchers have published many books and articles on concepts, background and rationales, developments in theory of autonomy and the practice in promoting autonomy in a variety of contexts. Different researchers have defined the term"learner autonomy"differently, but they all recognize the importance of placing responsibility for learning onto the learner. According to the descriptions of the characteristics of autonomous learners by different researchers, the autonomous learners should take an active role in the learning process. They should have both the motivation and the confidence to take responsibility for their own learning, take initiatives in goal setting and planning and executing learning activities, choose learning materials, use appropriate learning strategies, and regularly monitor their learning and evaluate its effectiveness.The theory of learner autonomy has been mainly influenced by contemporary schools of thought in educational psychology, especially humanism, cognitive theory and constructivism. Learner autonomy has been viewed as a desirable goal of education as well as a concept of teaching and learning. Developing learner autonomy as the most prominent goal in English teaching and learning in senior high schools is stated in the general curriculum goals for different levels in the new English Curriculum Standards for Middle Schools issued by the Ministry of Education in 2003. The goal for Level Six is to instill a strong awareness of learner autonomy, Level Seven, explicit and continuous motivation for learning and strong awareness of learner autonomy, and Level Eight, stronger confidence and the ability of autonomous learning. It is true that developing learner autonomy is one of the most important goals of English teaching and learning in high schools in China.A lot of researches concerning learner autonomy have been focused on the classroom study and out-of-class learning is a relatively new area of research. This study focuses on fostering learner autonomy in students'extra-curricular reading. In the detailed description of the curriculum goals listed in the new English Curriculum Standards, specific reading amounts ranging from 180,000 words to 300,000 words for students'extra-curricular accumulative reading at different levels are clearly set. Without the ability of autonomous learning this is certainly a demanding task for the students as they have already had a very heavy working load. Therefore, encouraging students to do autonomous extra-curricular reading may help them to accomplish the task of reaching the extra-curricular reading amount; and doing extra-curricular reading may provide opportunities for students to exercise and develop learner autonomy. This study aims to investigate the present situation of learner autonomy in senior high school students'extra-curricular reading, to examine the effect of the extra-curricular reading program so as to find out effective ways to promote learner autonomy in extra-curricular reading.The participants in this study were 111 senior grade 2 students at Weifang Foreign Languages School. This study on promoting autonomy in extra-curricular reading was done by means of questionnaires, individual interviews and experiment. Data collected from questionnaires, pre and posttests was analyzed by using the statistical treatment software Social Sciences Statistical Package- S.P.S.S.11.0.Results of the study indicate that generally speaking, the ability of students'autonomous learning in extra-curricular reading is still at a low level; the students are in need of intrinsic motivation to extra-curricular reading and they need assistance in choosing appropriate reading materials and explicit instructions on reading strategies in class; they also need guidance in goal setting and planning and constant encouragement to do self-monitoring and self-evaluation. The study also reveals that the students in the experimental group have made greater progress in reading comprehension achievement than those in the control group and the students'overall ability of taking charge of their own extra-curricular reading has been enhanced. However, the report of students'less progress in their ability of choosing appropriate materials, self-monitoring and self-evaluation indicates that more effort and long-term commitment of both the teachers and students should be made to develop student autonomy in extra-curricular reading.The findings of the present study have some implications for English teaching and learning in senior high schools: teachers should encourage and guide students to do autonomous extra-curricular reading to develop learner autonomy; in promoting autonomy in extra-curricular reading, teachers need to adopt different roles and improve their own professional development. Suggestions on ways to promote autonomy in extra-curricular reading including building motivation towards extra-curricular reading, helping students to set up attainable goals and plans, recommending appropriate reading materials, stressing reading strategy training and encouraging self-monitoring and self-evaluation are also put forward.It is hoped that this study can be conducive to English teaching and learning in senior high schools and will shed light on future research in learner autonomy and extra-curricular reading.
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