Psychological Principles of Learner’s Autonomy

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to define the learner’s autonomy as a multilayered concept which is possible to see from numerous perspectives; to describe three main directions of learner’s autonomy; to explain the context of reactive and proactive autonomy; to propose the psychological principles of forming learners’ autonomy.

Methods of the research. The following theoretical methods of the research were used to solve the tasks formulated in the article: the categorical method, the structural and functional methods, the methods of the analysis, systematization, modeling, generalization.

The results of the research. In this article there were suggested the main aspects of learner’s autonomy which appeared to have been recognized and broadly accepted by the language teaching profession. They are: autonomy is a construct of capacity; autonomy involves a willingness on the part of the learners to take responsibility for their own learning; the capacity and willingness of learners to take such responsibility is not necessarily innate; complete autonomy is an idealistic goal; there are some degrees of autonomy; the degrees of autonomy are unstable and variable; autonomy is not simply a matter of placing learners into the situations where they have to be independent; developing autonomy requires conscious awareness of the learning process – e. g. conscious reflection and decision-making; promoting autonomy is not simply a matter of teaching strategies; autonomy can take place both inside and outside the classroom; autonomy has a social purpose as well as the individual actuality; the promotion of autonomy has a pedagogical as well as psychological impact; autonomy is interpreted differently by people of different cultures.

The main problems being very important for learner’s autonomy are distinguished. The first great problem is control over learning management. The next problem which is very important for learner’s autonomy is control over language content. It was shown that reactive autonomy was the kind which did not create its own directions but, once a direction has been initiated, enabled learners to organize their resources autonomously in order to reach their goal. Proactive autonomy does not only determine objectives, selects methods and evaluates what has been learned, but also sets directions.

A key to motivating students helps them to recognize and understand that they can take responsibility by their own learning: tie learning to students’ personal interests; let students to work together to meet learning goals; give students a voice in their own learning.

Conclusions. So, we can propose some psychological principles of forming learners’ autonomy. 1. Set clear performance standards from the start. Students need to know exactly what is expected of them, how they will be graded, and what supports will be available to them if they need help learning the information or growing their own skills. When teachers formulate some main performance expectations, they have to consider the diverse backgrounds and experiences of each student. 2. Help students to develop a sense of ownership over the learning process. As a part of the process of offering students meaningful choices, teachers must be clear about how the choices relate to the learning objectives or standards. When students have the opportunity to be involved in making these choices, they take more responsibility for their own learning. 3. Provide feedback to students that will give them precise information about the particular skills they have acquired and/or need to improve in order to be successful in their class. 4. Encourage students to assess their own learning progress by using charts or keeping journals, so they can evaluate the progress they are making as they acquire relevant knowledge and skills.