Week 7: Learner Autonomy.

In this world there are millions of people like sand on the shore of sea. Each of us looks at things from different angles. Everyone is right in their own way. Individually, people differ in their ideology but similar type of experience can remove such difference. Further, what troubled me were the unfounded remarks made by different participants in this course. I loved working with kind of people.
Learner Autonomy
Creating Learners autonomy and implementing it in our school curriculum wouldn’t be difficult; it depends on teachers and the curriculum makers. Our school system is guided by curriculum, where fixed time and period is mandatory, if we want to go beyond that, syllabus coverage is a questionable. Teachers have less/little freedom to change the designed activities. It may be because primary kids need instruction and proper guidance, but, it is high time that our curriculum makers give extra thought on developing activities demanding Autonomous Learning for higher class.
What do learners need to become autonomous?
• The belief that they can learn independently of the teacher and the classroom setup. Some cultures have authoritarian learning systems that produce very dependant learners.
• A willingness to undertake independent learning i.e. to take on the responsibility in terms of goal setting, time management, selecting materials and conducting self/peer assessment.
• A realistic and positive attitude to language learning (sometimes this may be undermined by previous learning experiences, requiring coaching from the teacher).
• Strategies – this is where the teacher becomes invaluable as a resource to the aspiring learners. There is a need for learner training, as autonomy does not happen overnight. Remember, autonomy does not equate with working in isolation. The teacher, the class and the school are still part of the learner’s environment.

Thanks

Jigme Norbu