Fostering Learner Autonomy in ESL Teaching

As we all know, changes in the field of language teaching have never stopped. Among the changes that took place in recent years, the main one has been a shift o f focus from teachers onto the language learners. Learner autonomy is the new ‘buzz-word’ in the field of applied linguistics. How to cultivate LA becomes a key concern for educators and researchers. In order to know whether the LA could be cultivated and the cultivation of LA could benefit the students or not, the author carried out an experiment in Grade One in the Mathematics and Information School in Shandong University of Technology. The experiment was carried out in one year in two classes. The instruments used in the experiment were a questionnaire and three examination papers. The questionnaire which was adapted from Nunan (1996) and modified by the writer included 27 items concerning autonomous learning. The results of the questionnaire and the grades of the three examinations were collected and analyzed to find out whether LA could be cultivated and whether the cultivation of autonomous learning would benefit the students’ English learning. Analysis of the quantitative data was performed on the computer using SPSS . Our conclusion is that LA could be cultivated and the cultivation of LA benefited the students’ English learning. The thesis included the methodology used in the experiment, the procedure, data analysis and pedagogical implications we could get from the study. Keywords— learner autonomy, autonomous learning,


INTRODUCTION
All language teachers have been seeking the most effective way to help their students be more proficient in language learning, and have tried one method after another.
It was realized that they had long been pursuing a perfect teaching method, wh ich attached much importance to only one side of learningthe teacher, while the other side, the subject of learningthe large number of learners, was neglected.Being aware of this, many language teachers gradually began to develop their interest in considering the task fro m the learner's point of view and shift their focus of classroom fro m a teacher-centered one to a learner-centered one.Learner autonomy, which is the central point o f my thesis, refers to the ability to take full responsibility for the decisions with one's own learning and the accomplishment of those decisions (Dickinson 1987:11).In the classroom, instead of being passively guided by the teacher, the student tries to get the best out of classroom teaching according to both the teacher's and his own objectives.Outside the classroom, he makes reasonable plans concerning his learning and implements these plans.

II.
A RESEARCH ON FOSTERING LEARNER AUTONOMY 2.1 Research Questions and Hypothesis

Research Questions
The study reported here adopted a case study approach to investigate current ELT in Ch ina fo r both inside and outside English classroom fro m the perspective of learner autonomy.The study is intended to find answers to the following research questions: 1. Can LA be cultivated?
2. Will the cultivation of LA benefit the students' English Learning?

.6.55 ISSN: 2456-7620
This study attempted to test the hypothesis.The hypothesis is put forward on the basis of field research.

A. Alternative hypothesis (H1):
LA can be cultivated and the cultivation of LA will benefit the students' English Learning.

B. Null hypothesis (H0):
LA cannot be cultivated and the cu ltivation of LA will not benefit the students' English Learning.

Questionnaire
Adapted from Nunan (1996) wh ich gives an example of the type of activities that could take place in class to sensitize learners to their learning styles, the questionnaire includes 27 items (Appendix).The author of this thesis made some necessary changes combining the questionnaire on learning strategies.All these 27 items tested the students on their motivation, the style of classroom organizat ion, cognitive strategies, metacognitive strategies; communicat ive strategies and resource strategies (see Table 1).Each of these items is followed by five alternatives on a 5-point Likert scale scoring fro m 1(strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree).In order to have the content validity of the measure, it was given to three other experienced English teachers who all wo rk on applied linguistics for their co mments.They suggested some modifications.And upon their recommendation, some items were revised.
Table .1:Questionnaire Items within Each Category

Tests
The students took part in three examinations.The three test papers used for the examinations were all made in groups by the experienced teachers in Shandong University of Technology.The students could be tested in listening, reading, and writing.The students could be tested on integrating skills in using English.In the author's opin ion, there are three reasons to prove that the papers are valid.
First, they were made in groups by the experienced teachers.
They were asked to reflect the co mmon level o f the students.Second, they had the same style as CET-4, wh ich is considered to be the most widely acceptable way to test students' level.Although some people argued that it could not reflect the learners' real English level, CET is still a very important part in the college examination.Third, all the students in Grade one used the same test papers and the papers were read over and given marks by the teachers in groups.
classes were chosen.The same English teacher, the author of the thesis, taught both of the t wo classes.In the Experimental Class (EC), the teacher tried to arouse the students' interest in learning English, get them to know the importance and aim o f English learning, ask them to make plans for their learning and monitor the carry ing out of the learning p lans (details in 2.4.2).The teacher also kept abreast of the students learning styles and trained the students for learning strategies while giving them lessons.
Then at last, the students together with the teacher assessed the results of their learning.While the Control class (CC) just had the regular classes.
The questionnaires were handed out to the students three times to find out whether LA could be cult ivated .The Pre-test and the Mid-test questionnaires were handed out before the mid-term and the end-term examination in the first term.The post-test questionnaires were handed out before the end-term examination in the second term.Each time after the questionnaires were g iven to the students, the students had an examination and the marks were collected.
The three examinations were the mid -term (Test 1), the final-term (Test 2) examinat ions in the first term and the final-term examination (Test 3) in the second term.
After collecting all the data needed, analysis was made accord ing to the test papers marks and the questionnaire results.

Teaching Methods and Activities
In the procedure of developing the learners into independent learners, the author used the teaching methods and activities stated in the fo llo wing 12 items in everyday English teaching.Emphasis was put on the shift of responsibilit ies, active learn ing, cooperative learning and the extended reading materials the learners should refer to l. Making a proper plan at the beginning of a new term.
Supervising its implement both by the teachers and the learners themselves.The supervising process would raise the learners' awareness that responsibility for learning rests with them.
2. Picking out some passages from the textbook and ask the students to act as teachers and teach the passages to the other students.Before teaching, the students must make good preparations including the content of the passages and explanations for so me language points in the text.So me students were really knowledgeable in some subjects and the others would be aroused by their excellent performance.
3. Giv ing so me questions to the students to think about before performing a certain task.For example, asking the students to guess what would be talked about in the listening material before p laying the tape.In this way, the students could learn mo re effectively because of this thinking while learning.

Motivating and activating their interest in learning.
To do this, the teachers should try to understand the students and get to know what their interest is.
Having an informal d iscussion and personal communicat ion with the students are easy to know more about the students.
5. Short perfo rmances before every class, including dialogues, short plays, introducing some good poems and essays are all co lorfu l and interesting ways of starting class.These activities would ensure that every student took part in the activity in English in class.
6.So metimes when a question was raised in class, the students could be asked to give correct answers, not the teachers.In this way, the teachers would find out how well the students had learned.At the same time, the other students could also be activated by the students who were able to answer the questions.
7. Asking the students to retell the text they have learned.
They could also act out some of the passages.Or maybe the students could choose some other topics they were interested in, such as things happened in everyday life and some fairy tales.11.Encouraging the students, especially some top students to adjust the process and degree of difficu lty of their learning materials according to their own needs.
12. Making it clear to the students that reading is a good way in English learn ing.Encouraging them to do some extra reading.Novels, magazines and newspapers can all help them to meet the requirement on reading.
By doing this, both the teacher and the students would change their attitudes towards the roles they played.
The teacher was no longer the center of the classroom teaching.Instead, the teacher was the mediator, facilitator, organizer, counselor, source of in formation and evaluator.
The teacher also gave feedbacks to the students' learning  This test was used to find out whether there was an y difference between the two classes at the beginning of the experiment.The findings were the following:

Findings
Fro m the above analysis, we can see that after being trained for learn ing strategies to get the ability to learn autonomously, the students in the EC made some progress in their English learning.The students could be trained to learn autonomously and the cultivation of LA benefited the students' English learning.So our alternative hypothesis is correct but the null hypothesis is wrong.
Fro m the above analysis, we can also say that at the end of the experiment, the students in the EC made some progress in their English learn ing.We can see this from their scores in the examinations.help learners to participate in commun ication and to build up their language system.This study has in some degree reached the goal of helping the learners to learn to learn, but has not been successful in motivating the learners to participating in communication.

III. CONCLUSION
My thesis is only a preliminary study of learner autonomy, wh ich is a comparatively new field of interest in applied linguistics.It attempts to promote autonomy in Chinese university students in the study of a foreign language.Fro m above experiment, we can see that after being trained for learn ing strategies to get the ability to learn autonomously, the students in the EC made some progress in their English learn ing.The students could be trained to learn autonomously and the cultivation of LA benefited the students' English learning.With the maturing of learner train ing program in China, students will take more responsibility for their learning and enter into learning more purposely and effectively.
In a word, we should have a full understanding of the superiority of learner autonomy, exp lore its potential as much as possible and make it serve as the catalyst in foreign language teaching and learning.

Questionnaire on Learner Autonomy
Dear students, I am doing some research on learner autonomy in modern languages learning and teaching.I would appreciate your cooperation with this questionnaire.The informat ion given here will not be disclosed to any third party.The follo wing questions are to know the students' related situations.Each of these items is followed by five alternatives on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1(strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree).Please answer them as honestly as possible.
Thank you for your cooperation.
strongly agree no view strongly disagree agree disagree 1.I would like to learn by small group discussions.

2. 2 ogy 2 . 2 . 1
Methodol The Subjects and the Design of the Experiment 161 students of mathemat ics school fro m Shandong University of Technology in two classes took part in the experiment .The experiment was carried out in one year in two classes.One is Experimental Class (EC) and another is Control Class (CC).A questionnaire including 27 items concerning autonomous leaning was handed out to the students for three times.The students had examinations each time after the questionnaire was handed out.The students in the EC was trained on learning strategies and motivated to be interested in English learning.So me related informat ion about autonomous learning was also introduced to the students, such as the necessity of making a plan and supervising the carrying out of the plan, the impo rtance of self-monitoring and self-assessment.The CC will just have regular classes.The results of the questionnaire and the marks of the three examinations will be collected and analyzed to find out whether the null hypothesis (H0) is correct or the alternative hypothesis (H1) is correct.

8 .
Asking the students to finish their homework by International Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences (IJELS) Vol-3, Issue-6, Nov -Dec, 2018 https://dx.doi.org/10.22161/ijels.3.6.55ISSN: 2456-7620 themselves.First, correct the possible mistakes in pairs or in small group, then check the mistakes by themselves again and hand in the homework to the teacher.By Learn ing fro m mistakes, it 's much quicker, much more convenient and more effective for the students to get the correct knowledge.

9 .
In order to lead the students to love English and be more interested in English, d ifferent kinds of co mpetitions could be held.Such as, reading competit ion, oral English competition, co mprehensive competition and so on.These were d ifferent fro m tests and the students would feel less anxious and more interested.10.Helping the students monitor and assess their progress and retrogress.Help ing them to find out their advantages and disadvantages.And most important, helping them to fully bring out their latent potentialit ies and affirm their achievements.
methods, strategies and achievements.The students were not passive receivers.They began to accept the idea of being the masters of their own learn ing and gradually took the responsibility of learn ing by themselves.They knew what they wanted to learn, what they didn't know.They made plans for their own learn ing, mon itored the carrying out of the plans, assessed and evaluated their learn ing.The learners used learning strategies taught by the teacher first purposely as a way to facilitate their learn ing and gradually the strategies became their potential ability in language learning.The learners changed from individual learners to co-operatives.
would like the students to participate in the class more.would like to voice my opinions actively in class.think it is necessary to make a study plan each term.like to work hard according to the study plan.like to preview the lesson before each class.like to review the lesson after each class.

Table . 2
: Descriptive Statistics of the Original Test for the EC and CC In the original test, the observed t-value is 1.90, which was significant because the observed significance level was 0.965 (p >0.05), and the observed t -value 1.90< the given t.This result shows that there was no significant difference between the two classes in the original test.This t-test was carried out to find out how well the two International Journal

of English Literature and Social Sciences (IJELS) Vol-3, Issue-6, Nov -Dec, 2018 https://dx.doi.org/10.22161/ijels.3.6.55 ISSN: 2456-7620 groups
did in the tests and whether there was any significant difference between the means of the two classes after treatment.The following are the results:Table.3:Descriptive Statistics of the Tests for the EC (Notes: The 100-point grading system in the three tests was changed into 150 -point for the convenience of statistical analysis )Table.4:DescriptiveStatistics of the Tests for the CCIndependent-Sample Test was used to find out after one-year-training on LA whether the students in EC had got International

Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences (IJELS) Vol-3, Issue-6, Nov -Dec, 2018 https://dx.doi.org/10.22161/ijels.3.6.55 ISSN: 2456-7620 the
ability to learn autonomously and could do better in their English learn ing.Fo r this reason, the author intended to compare the examination marks between EC and CC.Test 1, Test 2 and Test 3 marks were all collected.The results are shown in Table5, Table6 and Table 7. Fro m Deviation's distance is 7.19.Fro m the statistics we can see the students in EC did better.The Std. Deviations show that most of the students in EC got marks near to the means.But in Test 1, the Std.Deviation is 17.12, which is much larger than 11.75 in Test 2 and 11.14 in Test 3. When we look at the Std.Deviation in the CC, we can see they are all larger than those of the EC.So we can draw the conclusion that most of the students in EC have make progress in their English learning after the training LA.

International Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences (IJELS) Vol-3, Issue-6, Nov -Dec, 2018 https://dx.doi.org/10.22161/ijels.3.6.55 ISSN: 2456-7620
Table 6, when co mparing the EC with the CC, the author found that for most of the categories, the means are smaller in the EC than in the CC (The smaller the statistics are, the better the students employ the training strategies).But the means fo r Co mmun icative Strategies 1, 2 and 3 in the EC are all larger than those in the CC and the Std.Deviation are all smaller.Fro m this we can draw the conclusion that the students in the EC didn't do well in