Learner autonomy has been a key area in foreign language teaching for more than 30 years. Researchers agree that learner autonomy could make learning more effective and that teachers play very significant role in improving learner autonomy. In many cases teachers’ beliefs concerning learner autonomy would influence their teaching practices. Many existing studies regarding learner autonomy are conducted from the perspective of students. However, fewer researches have been carried out from the perspective of teachers’ beliefs, especially in China. In order to address the gap, the present study tried to explore the EFL (English as Foreign Language) teachers’ beliefs and practices concerning learner autonomy. Four English teachers from two universities were purposefully selected to participate in semi-structured interviews. Qualitative data were analyzed by a narrative inquiry. Findings suggested that participants held positive attitude towards developing learner autonomy. Teachers’ roles as a facilitator, a counselor and a resource got general approbation. Yet their teaching practices showed different degrees of intervention in promoting learner autonomy. In addition, due to some difficulties they had encountered there were some mismatches between teachers’ beliefs and their teaching practices. Even though their practice provided some support of learner autonomy, they adopted traditional teaching more frequently and seldom provided learners with opportunities for decision making. It is hoped that this study can provide some inspirations for the future research.
| Published in | International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 6, Issue 6) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ijll.20180606.12 |
| Page(s) | 196-201 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2018. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Learner Autonomy, Teachers’ Belief, Teaching Practice, Teacher’s Role
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APA Style
Liu Juan, Chen Yajie. (2018). EFL Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices Concerning Learner Autonomy: A Narrative Inquiry. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 6(6), 196-201. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20180606.12
ACS Style
Liu Juan; Chen Yajie. EFL Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices Concerning Learner Autonomy: A Narrative Inquiry. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2018, 6(6), 196-201. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20180606.12
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ijll.20180606.12,
author = {Liu Juan and Chen Yajie},
title = {EFL Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices Concerning Learner Autonomy: A Narrative Inquiry},
journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
volume = {6},
number = {6},
pages = {196-201},
doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20180606.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20180606.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20180606.12},
abstract = {Learner autonomy has been a key area in foreign language teaching for more than 30 years. Researchers agree that learner autonomy could make learning more effective and that teachers play very significant role in improving learner autonomy. In many cases teachers’ beliefs concerning learner autonomy would influence their teaching practices. Many existing studies regarding learner autonomy are conducted from the perspective of students. However, fewer researches have been carried out from the perspective of teachers’ beliefs, especially in China. In order to address the gap, the present study tried to explore the EFL (English as Foreign Language) teachers’ beliefs and practices concerning learner autonomy. Four English teachers from two universities were purposefully selected to participate in semi-structured interviews. Qualitative data were analyzed by a narrative inquiry. Findings suggested that participants held positive attitude towards developing learner autonomy. Teachers’ roles as a facilitator, a counselor and a resource got general approbation. Yet their teaching practices showed different degrees of intervention in promoting learner autonomy. In addition, due to some difficulties they had encountered there were some mismatches between teachers’ beliefs and their teaching practices. Even though their practice provided some support of learner autonomy, they adopted traditional teaching more frequently and seldom provided learners with opportunities for decision making. It is hoped that this study can provide some inspirations for the future research.},
year = {2018}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - EFL Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices Concerning Learner Autonomy: A Narrative Inquiry AU - Liu Juan AU - Chen Yajie Y1 - 2018/11/10 PY - 2018 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20180606.12 DO - 10.11648/j.ijll.20180606.12 T2 - International Journal of Language and Linguistics JF - International Journal of Language and Linguistics JO - International Journal of Language and Linguistics SP - 196 EP - 201 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2330-0221 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20180606.12 AB - Learner autonomy has been a key area in foreign language teaching for more than 30 years. Researchers agree that learner autonomy could make learning more effective and that teachers play very significant role in improving learner autonomy. In many cases teachers’ beliefs concerning learner autonomy would influence their teaching practices. Many existing studies regarding learner autonomy are conducted from the perspective of students. However, fewer researches have been carried out from the perspective of teachers’ beliefs, especially in China. In order to address the gap, the present study tried to explore the EFL (English as Foreign Language) teachers’ beliefs and practices concerning learner autonomy. Four English teachers from two universities were purposefully selected to participate in semi-structured interviews. Qualitative data were analyzed by a narrative inquiry. Findings suggested that participants held positive attitude towards developing learner autonomy. Teachers’ roles as a facilitator, a counselor and a resource got general approbation. Yet their teaching practices showed different degrees of intervention in promoting learner autonomy. In addition, due to some difficulties they had encountered there were some mismatches between teachers’ beliefs and their teaching practices. Even though their practice provided some support of learner autonomy, they adopted traditional teaching more frequently and seldom provided learners with opportunities for decision making. It is hoped that this study can provide some inspirations for the future research. VL - 6 IS - 6 ER -
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