Autonomous Learner Behavior in Learning English as a Second Language

Abstract

As a result of conventional English language pedagogy practised over the years in Sri Lanka, students express less autonomous learning behaviours and are primarily teacher-dependent. Moreover, the learners are novel to autonomous learning practices; they express an unfamiliar attitude towards taking responsibility for their learning. Identifying the poor language performances by the learners, this study aims to find the learners’ understanding of learning English and their familiarity with autonomous behaviours in language learning and identify whether there is an impact on poor language performance due to unfamiliarity with autonomous learning practices. The data was gathered via an online structured questionnaire distributed among 138 second-year undergraduates of an Allied Health Science Faculty of a State University in Sri Lanka. The collected data were quantitatively analysed using descriptive statistics. The survey data was also thematically analysed under three main themes: the perspective of learning English language, perception of responsibilities towards learning English, and understanding learner autonomy. Thus, learner autonomy is a two-way process where learners cannot manage everything independently; the teachers must prepare the students to take charge of their learning. The results show minimal awareness of autonomous teaching and learning strategies among teachers and learners. The teachers' primary concern was preparing students for term end-examinations and completing the prescribed textbook. From the students’ perspective, even though the learners need and understand the importance of gaining competency in English, they lack the confidence and experience to become autonomous learners. Finally, it is understood that the existing English language pedagogy needs further improvements to enhance autonomous behaviour among learners. Heavy dependency on textbooks and lesson notes given by the teachers and the learner’s expectation of constant guidance must be minimized. Thus, autonomy-biased activities on textbooks and novel teaching methods with teacher training programs must be encouraged.

KEYWORDS: Autonomous Behaviours,English Language Pedagogy, Learner Autonomy, Teachers and Learners