LEARNER AUTONOMY : TEACHERS’ PERSPECTIVES AND IMPLICATIONS
Keywords:
teachers’ perspectives, learner autonomy, English learning, teacher roleAbstract
In the area of learner autonomy, the emphasis has been put on learners and teaching them how to learn; therefore, teachers have a vital role to play in developing learner autonomy. The objective of this study was to investigate the teachers’ perspectives of learner autonomy. Their perspectives could shed light on their readiness for learner autonomy development. This study took the form of survey research using a questionnaire and interviews to collect data from 155 teachers teaching English in five private universities in the Bangkok Metropolis. The questionnaire consisted of 4 domains which are of importance to learner autonomy, teacher’s responsibilities, self-confidence of Thai students, and capacity of Thai students. Scores of the 5-point Likert Scale questionnaires were computed to find mean score and standard deviation (SD). The findings revealed that on average, teachers highly hold positive perspectives of learner autonomy (M = 3.53, SD = 0.33). Further analysis of each domain showed that the mean of the importance of learner autonomy was very high (M = 4.46, SD = 0.45). The mean of the teacher’s responsibilities domain was high (M = 3.78, SD = 0.45). The mean of the self-confidence of Thai students domain was moderate (M = 2.83, SD = 0.81) and the capacity domain was moderate (M = 3.14, SD = 0.56). Discussions were done along with implications of both theoretical and pedagogical dimensions.
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