Promocion de la autonomia del estudiante en el aprendizaje del ingles

DEVELOPING LEARNER AUTONOMY IN LARGE AND MIXED ABILITY GROUPS IN STATE HIGH-SCHOOLS.

ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT

STUDENT: BLADIMIR CUESTA MORENO TUTOR: JESÚS J. RISUEÑO MARTÍNEZ

CODE: COFPMLAEILE653069

MASTER EDITION: 2010 - 2011

AUGUST 18TH-2011

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Page(s) 1. 2. 2.1. 2.2. 2.3. 2.4. 2.5. 2.6. 2.7. 3. 4. 4.1. 4.2. 4.2.1.INTRODUCTION THEORETICAL BACKGROUND Learner Autonomy. Three Dominant Philosophies of Learning. Motivation. Teacher-Centered / Student-Centered Approach. Language Learning Strategies. Learning Styles Strategy Instruction STATEMENT OF PURPOSE METHODOLOGY The Research Paradigm. The Research Tools. Diagnostic Questionnaires 3 4 4 6 7 9 11 18 19 27 28 29 30 30 30 30 31 32 33 34 35 37 39 39 40 40 41 42 43 474.2.2. Results Questionnaire 4.3. Analysis and Interpretation of the Data.

4.3.1. Questionnaire # 1. Mi proceso de aprendizaje de idioma inglés 4.3.2. Questionnaire # 2. What is your learning style? 4.3.3. Questionnaire # 3. Use and frequency of learning strategies 5. 6. 7. 8. 8.1. 8.2. STUDY RESULTS CONCLUSIONS ACTION PLAN Strategy Instruction Offering Opportunities To Develop Learner Autonomy8.2.1. Changing the classroom routines 8.2.2. Opportunities to learn outside the classroom (individually) 8.2.3. Opportunities to learn outside the classroom (in groups) REFERENCES LIST OF APPENDICES

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1. INTRODUCTION

One of the most important concepts in English language teaching nowadays is the concept of learner autonomy. All the communicativeapproaches are demanding a more active role of the learner in his teaching and learning process and mainly when he/she is part of a large and mixed ability class with not many opportunities to be assessed individually. Furthermore, it is broadly known that every student has different physical and psychological learning conditions, and this makes us think twice before devising any pedagogical strategyfor the whole class. Then, how can we, as teachers, promote learning autonomy under these conditions? This research project aims to identify the main learning characteristics, conditions, styles and previous experiences of a particular large group of mixed ability students in Colombia in order to propose some effective ways to develop learner autonomy. It is based on an action research approach,carried out through observation, data collection and reflection by contrasting the current applied linguistics theories on the topic with the real context in which the students are involved. All state high schools in Colombia are currently paying special attention to the study of English as a foreign language. Though, English has been a regular subject for a long time, the Colombian government isnow encouraging the whole educational system to reach some worldwide recognized English proficiency standards. This process implies a lot of changes in terms of methodologies, resources, number of students in a class and, undoubtedly, the number of sessions allotted to the study of this language inside and outside the classroom. These changes have not come and can take longer than we think. In thiscontext, the concept of learner autonomy comes to play a very

important role as a necessary ability to develop students´ strategies to be autonomous and responsible for their own learning process and a way to reach higher standards of English language proficiency.

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2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

2.1. Learner Autonomy. There is a wide literature on learnerautonomy. This term has been broadly defined in language learning and currently has a lot of synonyms. As Bocanegra and Haidl (1997: 7) say:
“Other terms are frequently used to make reference to the autonomy of the language learner: self-management, self-learning, auto-didaxy, self-directed learning, learning on an autonomous basis, individualization, participation or syllabus negotiation,...