Res Militaris (resmilitaris net), vol. 12, n°3, November Issue 2022 Developing Learner Autonomy in efl academic Classes By

Res Militaris, vol.12, n°3, November Issue 2022
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Introduction 
Empowering learners to be autonomous is a widespread pedagogical concept which 
should be attained in higher education. 
T
he role of universities is to generate diverse 
opportunities for critical thinking, personal responsibility, independent learning and to allow 
students to become aware of their attitude toward learning. Universities should provide an 
opportunity for the academics to take on a more supportive tutorial role in the assessment 
process, a facilitator as opposed to teacher and to provide guidance where necessary. This is 
necessary because the ‘conventional chalk and talk’ approach offers a limited learning 
experience in which students become bored and their level of learning is seriously impaired.
These approaches also generate the feeling of being receptors of information and being led by 
the other and the academic among the learners.
There are a number of studies which have reflected that allowing students to take 
responsibility for their learning and for course design fosters high student motivation and 
excellent attendance. It encourages them to be actively in charge of their learning and control 
over it (
Little, Dam & Legenhausen, 2017; Livi, Kruglanski, Pierro, Mannett, & Kenny, 2015;
Ryan & Deci, 2020; Wang & Littlewood, 2021; Yumuk, 2002)
. It is, therefore, important that 
universities allocate opportunities for fostering learner autonomy to empower students, give 
them a sense of being in charge of their learning, define what they want to learn and perceive 
appropriate syllabi for the courses they attend 
(Little 2022; Raghunath, Anker, & Nortcliffe 
(2018)
. 
Nevertheless, it seems that in EFL academic classes, what is achieved in reality is far 
from the principles of learner autonomy. Stated otherwise, the concepts are limited to the 
theoretical domain and are not actually put into practice. In view of these concerns, the present 
study was an attempt to investigate the course of actions in academic EFL courses in terms of 
learner autonomy among a group of Iranian EFL undergraduates. It was also an attempt to 
identify the facilitating and impeding factors to learner autonomy which could be illuminating 
in fostering a rich learning environment in the Iranian educational context; resulting practice 
of more autonomy. The study was an investigation to strengthen, improve or modify the course 
design and educational programming in an EFL context. Results would hopefully help to 
reinforce or reform programming courses in line with new trends favoring learner autonomy 
as an important pedagogical goal and an unavoidable methodological option. Findings of the 
study would inform teachers, students, and curriculum developers to expand responsibilities in 
learners in our context to become self-regulated and self-awarded in expressing their needs and 
maintaining motivation and excitement about learning. Therefore, by the importance of learner 
autonomy particularly in graduate studies, this research intended to investigate to what extent 
BA programs at the Department of Foreign Languages of Shiraz University of Applied 
Sciences promoted this issue. So, the general purpose of this study was to investigate BA 
students’ views on learner autonomy in BA courses.