1

My 10 ideas to promote Learner Autonomy: Hot Notes 1

(from Wednesday 2017.6.14 session)
st
Level: 1 Year University Students, non-English majors (Design) Class size: 25
Time: 90 minutes, once weekly (Wednesday 1320-1450) Nationalities: 25 Japanese (25 young ladies)
Levels: 3 beginners, 18 upper beginners, 4 advanced Ages: 18-20
Textbook: Day, R., Shaules, J., Yamanaka, J. (2009). Impact Issues 2 Pearson Longman Asia ELT; Hong Kong (Unit 1, First Impressions)

Class Objectives: To discuss the topic Blackboard

First Impressions using adjectives of description.
MENU Order 2017.6.14
To use Wh questions to complete short pair interviews.
To promote learner autonomy. Interview 2
Main Text 3 Group 1 (8 Ss) Leader A
Class Conditions: By minute 3, 1 student was asleep Answer ?s 4 Group 2 (8 Ss) Leader R
and 3 more were drifting. This can sometimes happen after lunch Draw Portrait 1 Group 3 (9 Ss) Leader M
Go Home 5
Learner Autonomy Ideas:

1. Have students formulate the order of class activities. (To allow students to control part of their learning experience)

2. Have students set an individual class goal before each session, then evaluate their individual class performance at the end of class on
their self-evaluation card. (To have students set their own achievable goal)

5. Allow students to decide how to arrange the desks so as to feel more comfortable. (To empower students to contribute to the classroom
environment)

8. Tell students the purpose of a given activity before doing it. (To raise student awareness of the reasons for doing a particular exercise)

10. Describe a task to group leaders outside of the classroom who are given the responsibility of explaining it to their group. (To allow students
to engage in the teaching process)
 2

Timing/
Stage name Interaction Result
Stage Action Learner Autonomy Idea/
(LA Idea Aim) pattern (What happened? How did it
Teacher, Student Reaction
(When? happen?)
Who?)
Pre Lead-In The teacher (T.) split students (S.) 8 mins. Group 1 (8 Ss Leader A), Preparation for LA Idea 10.
into 3 groups by seating group and Group 2 (8 Ss Leader R),
Group Leader asked them to select group leaders. T!S, S!S Group 3 (9 Ss Leader M)
Selection Each group selected its leader by S!T T. wrote the selected group leaders
consensus. names on the board. All votes were
taken through group leaders.
Lead-In T. gave a mini-lecture, describing 10 mins T. described a friends e-mail from the LA Idea 8: Tell students the purpose of
the days class experiment. UK implying that Japanese students a given activity before doing it.
8: (Raise T!S had many shared characteristics and Most Ss followed the introductory mini-
student S!S had difficulty making decisions. T. said
lecture, surprised at the content, some
awareness) S!T he disagreed and wanted to prove his
friend wrong. T. said he wanted to test blank stares.
1: (Give Ss this in the days class. Introducing the LA Idea 1: Have students formulate the
control of first challenge, T. described the class order of class activities.
learning menu and asked each group to I felt that this step was a way to ease Ss
experience) formulate their preferred order of towards the more independent roles and
activities. (See MENU page 1) complex tasks involved in later LA ideas.
Classroom T. asked students to rearrange the 8 mins T. took Group Leaders A,R and M LA Idea 10: Describe a task to group
Layout desks as they wished. outside of the classroom and explained leaders outside of the classroom who
T!S, that they might need to rearrange their are given the responsibility of
10: (Ss engage T gave the mini-reaction papers to SS group desks for the first activity: Draw explaining it to their group.
in teaching the group leaders to distribute. Portrait I felt that the burden of explanation was
process) Group 1 arranged their desks in passed to the S. leaders. Further, the 3
clusters, Group 2 in a circle and Group group leaders listened attentively. Tasks
5: (Empower Ss 3 in a runway configuration. The group were easy to set and reset from here on.
to create leaders explained to their group the LA Idea 5: Allow students to decide
classroom following activity Draw Portrait in how to arrange the desks so as to feel
environment) English and the desk movements were more comfortable. S. volume/tempo up.
negotiated in English. The class took the feel of a sleepover with
laughter and relaxed body language.

Draw Portrait T. met with group leaders, gave
them a mini-reflection sheet for
each student and explained the
activity.
T. asked group leaders to choose a
time limit for the activity.
Interview T. addressed the whole class,
pointing out that too much
2: (S set their Japanese was being used. Teacher
own achievable used this juncture to introduce class
goal) goals with 3 model goals on the
board (e.g., I want to speak more
Japanese than English in class). Ss
were asked to write class goals on
the back of the portrait they had just
drawn.
T. met with group leaders,
explained Interview task, gave
interview sheets to leaders for
distribution.
ICQs for Interview: Do you need a
new partner? (Yes). Do you ask
wh questions? (Yes).
Main Text T. called the group leaders
together, explained the Main Text
stage. Leaders organized how to
set up this stage.
17 mins Group leaders listened attentively, then
selected a ten-minute time limit for the
T!S, Draw Portrait activity.
S!S, Leaders distributed papers and Ss
SS quietly but happily drew their partners
portrait. There was some excited talk.
Group leaders later asked for a 7-
minute extension that was granted.
12 mins. Group leaders seemed eager to
instruct this next task and listened
T!S, attentively. They also asked some
S!S, questions for clarification and T.
SS answered and praised them.
They selected 12 minutes for the
interview.
T modeled an embarrassing true story:
One night, I was in a dark bar and a
round lady from the US was there. I
asked her when the baby was due but
she replied that she wasnt expecting.
Yikes.
Ss interviewed a new partner in pairs
using mostly English. They negotiated
for meaning in writing their partners
embarrassing story down.
12 mins. Group leaders selected the time limit
and gave the instructions in English.
T!S, They paraphrased the instructions,
S!S, remediating the message. They also
SS answered group questions.
Group 1 chose to read the text in two
groups of 4 Ss. Group 2 read in pairs.
Group 3 had some Ss standing, some
sitting whilst reading the text.
3
LA 10
I felt I had a great more time and energy
for monitoring as group leaders were
responsible for their group and group
members to their leader. Class surface
tension broken.
LA 5
Class atmosphere became very convivial.
LA Idea 2: Have students set an
individual class goal before each
session, then evaluate their individual
class performance at the end of class
on their self-evaluation card.
Ss were asked to select/write down a goal
for the class. Model goals were marked on
the blackboard but most students
formulated their own, even though it was
their first time to do this exercise.
(I nearly forgot this idea ;-).
Later Ss marked their level of success in
accomplishing their goal on their mini self-
evaluation sheet.
LA 10 Under group leaders, Ss would also
anticipate the next micro-stage together
without prompting and ask questions to or
through their leader if unsure.
LA 10
The group leaders interface was task
effective and time efficient. This saved
time for later class stages. All group
members remained awake, lively and on
task. They felt valorized in their group and
necessary for successful task completion.
When Japanese was used, I reminded Ss
of class goals. I was free to monitor Ss.
 4

Answer ?s T called the group leaders together,
set the textbook questions task.
Group leaders explained the
comprehension questions on the
main text to Ss.
Communicative Ss had now created an unnamed
Follow-up portrait and had made an unnamed
interview.
T huddled with the group leaders
and asked them to exchange
papers. Group 1!2, 2!3, 3!1
Their group now needed to match
each portrait with the correct
interview sheet for the other group
Ss.
Wrap-Up/ Final group leader huddle.
Comments Group leaders recuperated their
Sheet group papers and redistributed
2: (S set their them. They asked Ss to comment
own achievable on their class goals, rating their
goal) success and write the names on
the portraits and interview sheets.
10 mins. Ss worked diligently in pairs and small LA 10
T!S, groups to answer the questions. This stage was completed in English in a
S!S, Peer check, then Open Class timely manner involving all class members
S!T Feedback. Group leaders selected 10 willingly. All was smooth.
minutes for the task.
8 mins. Ss tried to match each portrait with an LA 10
interview sheet. After the first attempt, Once more, I felt unburdened and able to
T!S members of the other group were actively monitor and reset the task as
SS allowed to check and say how many necessary. Instructions were easily
were incorrect without further transferred, understood and followed.
comment. Monitoring advice was readily accepted in
<VIDEO> the more relaxed atmosphere. Class
pacing was also very good. Students
laughed and spoke more English than
usual.
7 mins Group leaders listened attentively, LA 10/ LA 2
even at the end of the class, passing I was free to check for
T!S, on correct information. Both the portrait unnamed/incorrectly named sheets but
S!S, and the interview sheets were correctly there were relatively few.
SS named. Next time, I will charge group leaders with
this task, also.
This class ran 2 minutes over time and Class atmosphere was very convivial and
no-one complained. time had flown. No sleep was had

Final comments and ranking: T. would rank the LA ideas in this order of importance for this class and for these reasons.

10. Describe a task to group leaders outside of the classroom who are given the responsibility of explaining it to their group. (To
allow students to engage in the teaching process)
The communication burden was passed from myself to 3 students in this class. I only needed to explain successfully to and hold the
attention of 3 students who listened attentively. Responsibility for their own learning and that of others had been transferred to the group
leaders in a role they had been chosen for by their peers. I felt light and relaxed in the room and the class ran very smoothly throughout with
almost no derails. The teacher felt as if 3 butterflies had chosen to sit on his hand as opposed to running around with a net after 25 birds in
flight. Monitoring comments were also followed in this new relaxed mood. Students began to enthusiastically anticipate future class stages.
 5

5. Allow students to decide how to arrange the desks so as to feel more comfortable. (To empower students to contribute to the
classroom environment)
This idea had the greatest overall effect on classroom atmosphere. The movement of the desks (albeit manually troublesome)
represented a physical statement and an acceptance by students that something new and different was happening and expected in this class.
The student group even got some physical exercise and later stood for some activities. Students didnt hesitate to complete this and other tasks
efficiently and afterwards the class atmosphere became that of a convivial sleepover without the sleep. Quiet students contributed more in this
new set up and spoke with more confidence. Ss felt empowered and responsible for their contribution in class and to the classroom.

2. Have students set an individual class goal before each session, then evaluate their individual class performance at the end of
class on their self-evaluation card. (To have students set their own achievable goal)
This idea made all of the students accountable and afforded me quick, reasonable classroom resets. Ss readily created their own goal
rather than copying a model goal from the board. Ss recalled their goals and responded responsibly to task resets.

1. Have students formulate the order of class activities. (To allow students to control part of their learning experience)
This idea was an excellent ice-breaker. The class surface tension was immediately broken and the efficient way in which this was done
set the tone for all lesson stages. The student choice was quickly taken and communicated.

8. Tell students the purpose of a given activity before doing it. (To raise student awareness of the reasons for doing a particular
exercise)
This idea took place very early in class and students seemed overwhelmed by the long explanation. I could sense that some Ss could
follow it and would share their understanding with students around them. However, Ss did seem to get the sense that something different was
happening and that they might like to contribute to and take responsibility for its success. There were a few nodding heads.

Conclusion: Overall I would say that the class atmosphere was far more lively and convivial than in classes held without the LA ideas in place.
There was less of a keeper and the kept feel to the class and more of a motivated enthusiastic energy base that flowed around each group
circle and channeled from each group leader. This exercise has had a profound effect on my approach to both classroom praxis and student.
I am grateful. Student comments to come
 6

My second 10 ideas to promote Learner Autonomy: Hot Notes 2

(from Wednesday 2017.6.21 session)
st
Level: 1 Year University Students, non-English majors (Design) Class size: 25
Time: 90 minutes, once weekly (Wednesday 1320-1450) Nationalities: 25 Japanese (25 young ladies)
Levels: 3 beginners, 18 upper beginners, 4 advanced Ages: 18-20
Textbook: Day, R., Shaules, J., Yamanaka, J. (2009). Impact Issues 2 Pearson Longman Asia ELT; Hong Kong (Unit 1, First Impressions)
Blackboard
Class Objectives: To discuss the topic
An International Relationship using new vocabulary. MENU Order 2017.6.21
To complete short pair interviews on the topic.
Interview 5
To promote learner autonomy. Main Text 2 Group 1 (8 Ss) Leader Re
Note 10 words 3 Group 2 (8 Ss) Leader A
Class Conditions: It had been a stormy morning. However, Ss Draw Ideal Partner 1 Group 3 (9 Ss) Leader Ri
were generally expectant of a varied class Story Time 4
New Learner Autonomy Ideas:
(Ideas 1,2,5,10 from the previous weeks class were also recycled and used to help structure this class)
3. Have early finishing students coach other students to complete a class activity. (To help students build awareness of the learning process)

6. Have students design their own study schedule for class vocabulary. (To have students take responsibility for managing their own time)

6. Have students check their understanding of the class agenda for the day. (To make students aware of their learning process)

7. Have students create a chain story in groups from a short elicited anecdote. (To let students create the content of a story)

9. Praise students when a mistake is made and show appreciation for giving a teaching point to the class. (To help students to perceive their
mistakes as opportunities rather than a source of embarrassment)

Stage name
Stage Action
(LA Idea Aim)
Pre Lead-In The teacher (T.) split students (S.)
into 3 groups by seating group and
(Group Leader asked them to select group leaders
Selection) (GLs). This time, group 1 selected
its leader by consensus while
(Classroom groups 2,3 used roshambo
Layout) (janken).
Lead-In T. gave a mini-lecture, introducing
the lesson topic. T. showed a Ppt.
6: (Students are presentation of family photos from
aware of the Minami Chita Beach Land. T.
teaching explained that he was in an
process) international relationship.
9: (Help Ss to T gave the mini-reaction papers to
perceive the group leaders to distribute. T.
mistakes as asked GLs to ask Ss to note 1 or 2
opportunities) class goals.(T. later forgot to ask
Ss. to complete these papers: not
intentional !)
Draw Ideal T. met with group leaders,
Partner explained the activity.
T. asked group leaders to choose a
time limit for the activity.
7
Timing/
Interaction Result
Learner Autonomy Idea/
pattern (What happened? How did it
Teacher, Student Reaction
(When? happen?)
Who?)
8 mins. Group 1 (8 Ss Leader Re), (LA Idea 5)
Group 2 (8 Ss Leader A), The process was familiar to students this
T!S, Group 3 (9 Ss Leader Ri) time and therefore desks moved much
S!S, All votes were taken through group quicker.
S!T leaders. Ss rearranged their desks,
this time in runway, regular (later
circle) and runway formation.
9 mins T. explained to the peer selected group (LA Idea 10) (LA Idea 1)
leaders outside the classroom the LA Idea 6: Have students check their
T!S, lesson activities and checked for understanding of the class agenda for
T!S, understanding. The leaders relayed
the day. I felt that students were a little
S!S, the information to their group
S!Ss, members. Ss. then selected a group surprised by this at first so I used
S!T member to explain the lesson stage to Information Checking Questions. Most
the class group. groups selected pair check for the agenda,
Having confirmed the content, students then a group member to explain to the
then selected the order of lesson class group. A bonus benefit was the
stages as before. group analysed/ brainstormed the task.
9 mins T. wrote the group leader and lesson (LA Idea 2)
stage order selection stages to LA Idea 9: Praise students when a
T!S, misspell S. names and get the mistake is made and show appreciation
S!T, numbers wrong. T. then thanked Ss. for giving a teaching point to the class.
T!S, for the corrections explaining that he Ss. laughed, relaxed and were more open
S!T had learned from it. with questions from this point on.
12 mins Group leaders listened attentively, then (LA 10)
selected an eight minute time limit for The students sketched their ideal partner
T!S, the Draw Ideal Partner activity. and named him. This in a preparation for
S!S, Leaders distributed papers and Ss the International Relationship interview
SS chatted in Japanese and laughed. lesson stage.

Main Text T. called the group leaders
together, explained the Main Text
Answer task.
Comprehension T. called the group leaders together
Questions to set the textbook questions task.
T. asked GLs to have Ss. underline
Note 10 new new lexemes. T. later gave GLs an
words/phrases. extra reaction paper to note down
new words for their group.
3: (Help Ss to GLs were informed that a vocab.
build awareness quiz will follow, based on these
of the learning papers. GLs discussed good ways
process) to study lexemes.
4: (Have T. called the group leaders
Ss take together, explained that there would
responsibility for be a vocabulary test in the following
time class.
management) T. also asked GLs to explain to
their group members that they
should choose their vocabulary
learning method.
Story Time T. called the group leaders
together, explained that T. would
dictate the opening of a story for
their group to complete.
On completion of the dictation, T.
had GLs check their dictation
against T. paper before checking
their groups papers. A S. took a
phone picture of GLs dictation.
15 mins. Group leaders selected the time limit
and gave the instructions in English.
T!S, This time, all three groups chose to
S!S, read the text together underlining new
S!Ss, words. VIDEO 1 They then used peer
SS, check to see if their group could solve
T!S, their vocabulary questions. Group 2
S!Ss had no vocabulary questions so I
asked them to help others. Half of G2
received the new words paper for G1
and helped them. The remaining half
helped G2 using the new words paper.
8 mins. Group leaders explained to their group
members that there would be a word
T!S, quiz on the selected new words. Ss.
S!S, seemed unhappy and unsure of how to
SS proceed.
In retrospect, T. could have asked
them to write a preliminary vocabulary
learning plan on their reflection sheet.
15 mins. Group leaders explained to their group
members the task and most groups
T!S, discussed their story content in
T!S, Japanese before passing the group
S!T, story paper around. On completion of
T!S the activity, GLs read their stories
aloud before T. gave them the real
ending.
8
(LA 10)
The group leader interface was both
information and time efficient.
All Ss. were attentive during the reading
and attempted to answer each others
questions.
LA Idea 3: Have early finishing
students coach other students to
complete a class activity.
Ss. seemed comfortable checking the
meaning of new words with peers.
LA 9
One of the Ss made a mistake with a
Comprehension Question. I took the
opportunity to praise them for showing the
whole class this teaching point. The S.
seemed relaxed and understood the error.
LA Idea 4: Have students design their
own study schedule for class
vocabulary.
To be honest, the students seemed
unprepared for this stage. My feeling is
that they didnt expect to receive a word
quiz on these words and phrases. In their
surprise, they seemed unwilling to
understand the explanation. I dont know.
LA Idea 7: Have students create a chain
story in groups from a short elicited
anecdote. Again I made a mistake here in
that I didn't elicit the opening part of the
story, opting instead for a dictation. The
students seemed to focus on the dictation,
though and enjoyed producing interesting
chain stories. A positive was the peer
learning from the dictation peer check.
 9

Interview T. met with group leaders,
explained the Interview task, gave
interview sheets to leaders for
distribution.
ICQs for Interview: Do you need a
new partner? (Yes). Do you note
the answers? (Yes).
Wrap-Up/ Final group leader huddle.
Goodbye
12 mins. T. had noted interview questions
relating to An International
T!S, Relationship. The idea was to
S!S, complete with a communicative activity
SS to match these interviews to the ideal
partner pictures drawn earlier in class.
There was no time for the
communicative follow-up in this class.
2 mins GLs collected and gave their groups
papers to T. Ss put their desks straight
T!S, and left. T. reminded Ss of vocab quiz
S!T to come.
The students interviewed their partner
using the short questions but were fairly
low key. There was not so much energy in
this lesson stage but we were very short of
time. I need to work to save more time
during early lesson stages in order to
make the communicative follow-up stage
possible. The answers noted were also
fairly short.
We were a bit short of time in the latter
stages of this session. It affected the
classroom atmosphere and S. efficacy.

Final comments and ranking: I would rank this weeks LA ideas in this order of importance and for these reasons.

9. Praise students when a mistake is made and show appreciation for giving a teaching point to the class. (To help students to
perceive their mistakes as opportunities rather than a source of embarrassment)
In this class, I felt that the students really appreciated the burden of perfect performance pressure being lifted from their shoulders. I feel
that with continued reiteration and encouragement of this, students could gain confidence and make a lasting change to their approach to class.
I felt that my approach of modeling and somewhat overstating the idea that mistakes are more than acceptable was effective as many students
laughed and understood my intention. This understanding could lead to overall acceptance of mistakes in general within a relaxed atmosphere.

7. Have students create a chain story in groups from a short elicited anecdote. (To let students create the content of a story)
Again, I didnt get this one right as I failed to elicit the short anecdote and go from there to begin with. I really like this activity, though as
it is highly adaptable to so many lesson stages and classroom scenarios. It really develops the students creative thinking and the stories
produced are extremely varied and interesting. Dictation is also highly adaptable and requires only some sheets of paper, an elicited anecdote
(!) and 15 minutes of class time. I would question its effectiveness at the lowest levels, all the same.
 10

6. Have students check their understanding of the class agenda for the day. (To make students aware of their learning process)
I found this idea to be extremely useful for two main reasons. Firstly, the students really needed a thorough understanding of the lesson
stages in order to feel confident enough to present it to their classmates. They identified and answered any outstanding questions about the
task straight away. Secondly, they began formulating strategies for task completion as they discussed each lesson stage. It planted seeds for
effective and enjoyable lesson stage completion later in class as they revisited and tried out their strategies.

3. Have early finishing students coach other students to complete a class activity. (To help students build awareness of the learning
process)
This idea was most effective for time saving and for student interaction. Commonly students in my teaching contexts tend to stay in their
own groups and dont interact with other members across the room. In this case, they could happily make new contacts and get the precise
answer to their query. The coached students were very open and asked many questions of their coaches.

4. Have students design their own study schedule for class vocabulary. (To have students take responsibility for managing their own
time)
Students seemed least comfortable with this one. It was I believe a combination of classroom factors but generally they didnt seem
ready to undertake this action. They seemed unsure of what they needed to do and seemed concerned about the implications of the word test.
Also, they seemed unclear as to the words that needed to be learned as the list wasnt clearly defined. I should like advice on how to turn this
idea around both for practicality and in the interests of fostering learner autonomy.

Conclusion: In this class, I was able to incorporate nine of my overall ten ideas for learner autonomy. I feel that the exercise has been highly
successful in changing the energy flow within the class and wish to continue using and developing my knowledge of mood-making tweaks and
how to introduce them. Its exciting to see the effect on the student group and pleasant to share in their enjoyment of class time within the new
classroom atmosphere. As a teacher, I am beginning to understand how to manage the presentation of class stages better and will in future
seek to squeeze elements in both earlier in the year and into more classes.
The fostering of learner autonomy is both achievable and beneficial for teacher and student alike.
It is a delicate process (like smoke) requiring consistent encouragement and prompting.
My interim results lead me to consider this process very worthwhile.