Supporting Learner Autonomy in the University Classroom: A Personal Account

Abstract

In this practice-oriented paper I will report on how I personally try to develop and promote the autonomy of my students in my English language classes at Graz University. I will begin by pointing out a number of constraints with which I am faced in my particular teaching and learning context, and which, at first sight, seem to rule out the establishment of a learner-centred classroom environment involving students actively in relevant decision-making processes. I will then discuss, in some detail, those aspects of a pedagogy for autonomy which I have been introducing over the years to encourage my students to take on a more active role in their learning: learner diaries, peer-reviewing sessions, a seating arrangement in groups of four, and self-evaluation tasks/progress checks before exams. I will also reproduce in my paper short extracts from learner diaries and peer-reviewed texts produced by my students, and an example of a self-evaluation task/progress check. I will conclude by stressing that for me personally the discovery of the concept of learner autonomy was an invaluable experience, influencing my whole approach to teaching and learning.