Learner Autonomy is a thriving topic in the teaching/learning literature and what I have learned this week has unavoidably changed my view and my teaching practices. I have read and gathered many resources about the topic through the contributions of Winter 15 Participants in Padlet. Besides, I noted that technology can serve as a useful tool for enhancing learner autonomy.
Autonomy is a state of mind towards which teachers constantly have to drive their students. It is a process that is everlasting, a sort of continuum that encompasses many aspects of learning or teaching or even education as a whole.
Raising awareness appears to be at the basis of learner autonomy, which can be sustained by critical thinking. To try these with my students, I thought about a self-evaluation test with this link:
http://edl.ecml.at/LanguageFun/Selfevaluateyourlanguageskills/tabid/2194/language/en-GB/Default.aspx ( a good suggestion from Linda, a participant).
After that I would submit a questionnaire with precise questions to have my students assess their current English proficiency. So doing, I hope to raise their awareness and trigger their critical thinking about their learning. From this stage students should be able to make the decision about their willingness "to take charge of their own learning" (Holec 1981).
Once the decision is made, students gain much self-confidence and are eager to learn. From that moment, they welcome and engage in classroom or outside class activities. The change of roles between the teacher and the learners can then easily take place.
PROMOTING AUTONOMY THROUGH MOBILES
Using the mobile phone to promote students' engagement is very challenging. It makes them excited and requires the teacher to get tight control of the class. For this aspect of the course, I thought about off-line activities. I asked my students to write a report of 10 sentences about their last holiday and send it to me by SMS (without abbreviation) or by e-mail to my mail box according to their financial possibilities and availability of the services.
http://edl.ecml.at/LanguageFun/Selfevaluateyourlanguageskills/tabid/2194/language/en-GB/Default.aspx ( a good suggestion from Linda, a participant).
After that I would submit a questionnaire with precise questions to have my students assess their current English proficiency. So doing, I hope to raise their awareness and trigger their critical thinking about their learning. From this stage students should be able to make the decision about their willingness "to take charge of their own learning" (Holec 1981).
Once the decision is made, students gain much self-confidence and are eager to learn. From that moment, they welcome and engage in classroom or outside class activities. The change of roles between the teacher and the learners can then easily take place.
Using the mobile phone to promote students' engagement is very challenging. It makes them excited and requires the teacher to get tight control of the class. For this aspect of the course, I thought about off-line activities. I asked my students to write a report of 10 sentences about their last holiday and send it to me by SMS (without abbreviation) or by e-mail to my mail box according to their financial possibilities and availability of the services.
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