This contribution attempts to introduce a systemic view of autonomy. The author argues that systemic autonomy depends on structures, procedures and regulations that are in force at organisations and that can either hinder or promote autonomy. The article reviews traces of systemic autonomy in the literature and develops a descriptive framework of the concept. It presents a scale containing nine indicators for measuring an institution’s degree of systemic autonomy, which teachers may easily apply to their own context. The article also includes recommendations for encouraging autonomy in restrictive environments. The author further compares his experiences from two different higher-education institutions: as a teacher at a university of applied sciences and as a learner at a university. The observations gained from this comparison lead to the conclusion that the influence of organisational systems cannot be ignored when expecting autonomy to unfold.
{"title":"Systemic Autonomy as an Educational Factor for Learners and Teachers","authors":"\tDietmar Tatzl","doi":"10.47908/9/4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47908/9/4","url":null,"abstract":"This contribution attempts to introduce a systemic view of autonomy. The author argues that systemic autonomy depends on structures, procedures and regulations that are in force at organisations and that can either hinder or promote autonomy. The article reviews traces of systemic autonomy in the literature and develops a descriptive framework of the concept. It presents a scale containing nine indicators for measuring an institution’s degree of systemic autonomy, which teachers may easily apply to their own context. The article also includes recommendations for encouraging autonomy in restrictive environments. The author further compares his experiences from two different higher-education institutions: as a teacher at a university of applied sciences and as a learner at a university. The observations gained from this comparison lead to the conclusion that the influence of organisational systems cannot be ignored when expecting autonomy to unfold.","PeriodicalId":23709,"journal":{"name":"Volume 5 - 2020, Issue 9 - September","volume":"46 1","pages":"The Answer is Learner Autonomy: Issues in Language Teaching and Learning."},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74223111","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
‘But how can they say anything in the foreign language if they are not given the words beforehand?’ Language teachers often ask this question when I present examples of target language use in an autonomy classroom. This article explains how from the very beginning it is possible to engage pupils in authentic target language use, including communication that does not involve the teacher. The oral and written examples that I use to support my argument were produced by learners aged between 10 and 16 and ranging in proficiency from beginners to intermediate level. When I introduce each activity I also describe the pre-requisites for its success. In the last section of the article I summarise the positive results achieved in the autonomy classroom, which I illustrate using two sets of peer-to-peer talks collected by the LAALE project (Language Acquisition in an Autonomous Learning Environment), one from a ‘traditional’, communicative classroom in a German school, the other from a Danish autonomy classroom. I conclude by listing the essential features of an autonomous classroom supporting authentic language use.
{"title":"How to Engage Learners in Authentic Target Language Use - Examples from an Autonomy Classroom","authors":"\t","doi":"10.47908/9/5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47908/9/5","url":null,"abstract":"‘But how can they say anything in the foreign language if they are not given the words beforehand?’ Language teachers often ask this question when I present examples of target language use in an autonomy classroom. This article explains how from the very beginning it is possible to engage pupils in authentic target language use, including communication that does not involve the teacher. The oral and written examples that I use to support my argument were produced by learners aged between 10 and 16 and ranging in proficiency from beginners to intermediate level. When I introduce each activity I also describe the pre-requisites for its success. In the last section of the article I summarise the positive results achieved in the autonomy classroom, which I illustrate using two sets of peer-to-peer talks collected by the LAALE project (Language Acquisition in an Autonomous Learning Environment), one from a ‘traditional’, communicative classroom in a German school, the other from a Danish autonomy classroom. I conclude by listing the essential features of an autonomous classroom supporting authentic language use.","PeriodicalId":23709,"journal":{"name":"Volume 5 - 2020, Issue 9 - September","volume":"51 1","pages":"The Answer is Learner Autonomy: Issues in Language Teaching and Learning."},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91494819","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}