Suggestions On How to CultivateLearner Autonomy in FLT

【Abstract】Learner autonomy plays a vital role in foreign language learning. The author puts forward several suggestions on how to cultivate learner autonomy in FLT.

【Key words】learner； autonomy

【作者簡介】贾敏，副教授，山东工艺美术学院公共课教学部。

【基金项目】山东省本科高校教学改革研究项目名称：基于能力培养的高校艺术生英语学习动态（面上）自筹项目，项目编号：C2016M043。

Learner autonomy plays a vital role in foreign language learning. The author puts forward several suggestions on how to cultivate learner autonomy in FLT.

I. We should try to improve learners social environment.

In China， almost every thing about study is syllabus-based. Foreign language teaching has no exception. The teaching syllabus of foreign language includes strict restrictions on learners skills. Those who are not able to reach the levels on the syllabus will fail or even worse to be dropped out of school. This drives a majority of students to learn English merely to pass the exam and get the certificate. Those who want to learn autonomously sometimes are bored by the syllabus. However， that is not to say we need not a syllabus. Indeed we need one， a new one which endows learners with more rights to choose to learn or not， what to learn， to learn to what degree according to their own needs.

Curriculum design should be revised to meet all kinds of learners needs. One unified teaching material is not preferred. Teacher should be encouraged to decide what to teach after careful observations of their students concrete learning objectives and tasks. When we design a set of curriculum， we should give students enough time during which they can think over their own learning.

Evaluation is also of vital importance. Only when students are evaluated properly by teachers or by themselves， can they have a good control of their own study. Teachers always praise those who win high marks in exams and neglect or look down upon those who get low marks. This evaluation method is too simplistic. Furthermore， the fact has already been proven that these marks sometimes cant show the learners actual learning abilities. A perfect democratic evaluative system is what we are longing for.

To divide students into several classes according to their language abilities is a good suggestion. Usually after they have entered university， students are often taught in the class divided according to their majors. In fact， the students of the same major may have different English abilities. By putting them in the same class， the students with a higher start will lose interest in English because they might think teaching materials are too easy. However， for those with a lower start， they are always busy dealing with English lessons. So to divide students into several classes， according to their abilities， will be a wise choice. Then we can choose different materials and apply different methods to teach different classes.

We should also stimulate teacher autonomy. If a teacher has little or even no autonomy， a suitable environment for cultivating learner autonomy will be impossible. So foreign language teaching organizers or supervisors should give teachers enough rights to give full play to their initiative and creativity and to offer a free space both for teaching and for learning.

II. We should also try to awake learners awareness of autonomous learning

In the whole teaching process， all the things should be focused on this point. In China， due to our traditions， learners， always want to depend on teachers. They often follow a teachers advice passively. They seldom question their teachers. In fact they are always too lazy to think by themselves. Teachers must try their best to help students to get rid of this habit and make them realize the importance of their autonomy.

The following measures may be useful： to keep a journal， to use a questionnaire， to have an interview， to sign a learner contract. To keep a journal is to ask a learner write down details about his learning per day or per week. This will remind him of his own learning and also help him think and analyze. This can be regarded as a good tool for one learner to increase his ability of self-awaring， self-analyzing and self-evaluating. After careful observation of a learner， a teacher can make a suitable questionnaire and offer it to learners. All the questions will enlighten learners awareness of their own learning. Interview is a good technique. In an interview， a teacher can talk with one particular learner face to face. Thus the teacher can give special guide to this learner. To sign a learner contract means that learner makes a contract with his teacher or himself. This contract explains in detail almost every thing of the learners foreign language learning. It helps a learner organize his own learning， provide him with a feasible learning plan as well as some related factors for example learning objectives and learning contents.