HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF ENGLISH

Subject essay:
International communication
Name of topic: Independent learning

HANOI-2020
1.Introduction
-Intercultural communication is communication between members of
different cultural. It seeks to understand the differences in how people from
a variety of cultures act, communicate, and perceive the world around them.
Culture has a large impact on how people conduct business; therefore,
cultural implications are critical for succeeding in an international context.
-Independent learning and the way of developing independent learning
skills.

2. Development
- Independent learning is a method or learning process where
learners have ownership and control of their learning – they learn by their
own actions and direct, regulate, and assess their own learning. The
independent learner is able to set goals, make choices, and decisions about
how to meet his learning needs, take responsibility for constructing and
carrying out his own learning, monitor his progress toward achieving his
learning goals, and self-assess the learning outcomes.

- Independent learning is the holy grail of education. It is considered to

be the key to effective learning as students transform the way they take in
and apply what they are taught. Many students may find this daunting as
they are used to relying on teacher help, and the transition can prove
difficult. However, with the correct guidance and nurturing, students will
learn to take their learning into their own hands and advance on the path to
success.

-An independent learner is one who can take responsibility for their
own learning. These are students who can take initiative and make good
decisions without needing help from teachers.Deverloping independent
learners is important to help students advance in their academic
performance and stay motivated.When students shift to independent
learning, they often have more control over their time. They can decide
when and where to spend their time and, with the right nurturing, they will
decide on their own to spend it efficiently. Becoming an independent learner
comes alongside an increased feeling of responsibility and accountability for
personal success and failure. This can be especially motivating as students
may feel a strong sense of pride when they see positive progress in their
academics.
 - The ways of helping your student

+Encourage of sense of purpose:When students care about what they

are learning, they are more likely to apply themselves. This sense of
purpose can be encouraged in many ways and a great place to start is by
simply helping students realise what they will gain. Evidence shows that
manipulation of the teaching environment could increase students interest in
their learning. When students are told why and how the learning material
would be useful to them in achieving their goals, they are more likely to put
in more effort during their learning. When it comes to motivation, creating a
sense of purpose may be an even better approach than either the carrot vs
stick approach.

+ Encourage collaboration:Giving students the opportunity to work with

their peers can be very useful as they can learn from each other and get
feedback on their ideas from other students at their learning levels. This will
show them to work with other people when necessary, and to not always
look to the teacher for answers.Research suggests that when students are
asked to work together, they engage in more exploratory behaviour and are
able to accept positive and negative feedback easier. Although this is not
completely independent, it is a good starting point that can urge students to
take the initiative to develop their own ideas. The only caveat here is that
there will need to be a good degree of guidance to start with, to ensure they
aren’t getting distracted and/or learning misconceptions from each other.

+Encourage reflective thinking:When working on a task, it is important

for students to continuously reflect and keep track of their learning. This will
allow them to pinpoint areas of strength or weakness, and they can use this
to monitor their progress without needing feedback from their teacher. Self-
monitoring falls under the realm of reflection with students focusing on
establishing goals they want to meet and being able to assess themselves
as they reach each milestone. The best questions student can ask
themselves include “How can I get better?” and “Where do I do my best
work?”. These psychologically rich questions contribute to enhancing self-
reflection.

+Encourage goal setting:A good way to keep students on the track to

becoming independent learners is by introducing them to effective goal
setting. This must include flexibility, both short and long-term goals, and
enough challenge to maintain motivation. Goal setting allows students to
create targets that they would like to work on independently and achieve in a
given time frame. This promotes success as students will feel a stronger
sense of enthusiasm towards accomplishing their personal goals as they
know the gains will benefit them.Research has found  that when people
wrote down their goals, they were 33% more likely to achieve them than
those who kept them in their minds. Encourage students to make a to-do list
so that their goals feel more concrete.

+As a teacher, you hope that one day your students will be able to apply
what they have learnt without needing your guidance. Encourage them to
self-reflect and set challenging yet realistic goals. Once students reach this
stage of independency, they will have developed key skills necessary to
succeed in their academics, and beyond.
  -Independent learning has many benefits for learner
+One of the key responsibilities of any good school is to
provide the context in which young people learn how to study on
their own. “Learning to learn” is a complex process that entails
pupils taking responsibility and playing their part within the
educational process. You can see the shift in mindset when a boy
or girl moves from saying “Here’s your homework, Sir” to “Here is
my work.” After all, schooling is not about teachers teaching great
lessons – it is about young people learning and understanding
things. 
+Independent Learning is important because it develops
creativity and intellectual curiosity. Independent learning is about
pupils being active rather than passive. It is about them working
out the answers rather than being told them. It is about them
wanting to study because they want to understand more, rather
than taking a Utilitarian stance that I am doing this because I want
to pass the examination. Independent Learning is not the easy
option – it is tough. 
-Educators shound encourage independent learning
+Learn how to learn:there is a difference between regurgitating
materials on an exam vs. understanding the process of learning. Students
who aren’t given the opportunity for independent learning don’t acquire the
skill of how to learn and how to examine a principle from multiple angles.
The teacher stands in the way of the student’s natural curiosity.
+Independent learning focuses on the process and not simply the
goad:the process of learning is an exciting adventure that can be interrupted
when the primary focus of the classroom is on the goal. We can learn from
famous inventors whose failure in the process became the seed for amazing
success down the road.
+Flexibility for different levels of intelligence:not every student is
going to work at the same pace. A facilitator in the classroom can oversee
the environment so that each student can work at their own pace and timing.
 +Independent learning includes time management and other life
skills: traditional classroom environments can hamper a child’s ability to
function in the real world where deadlines, distractions, and other obstacles
are in the way. Bosses on the job don’t act like teachers.
Office areas are not like pristine classrooms where everything is methodical
and routine. Independent learning requires the student to develop other
secondary skills like planning and making priority lists and deadlines to
achieve their goals. They must also learn how to deal with distraction
effectively.

+Passion and curiosity cement learning:can you imagine the difference

in motivation if you allowed a student to research a topic that truly piqued his
or her interest? Motivation to climb over obstacles is far easier to muster
when the student is allowed to choose what educational mountain to tackle
first.
+Internal satisfaction:the world isn’t going to cheer us all on always.
When things get tough, those who don’t quit are the ones who are
determined to rely on their own sense of satisfaction and not someone
patting them on the back. Students who have a facilitator rather than a
teacher will come to depend on themselves for a job well done.
+Independent learners are more aware of their own strengths and
weaknesses: a weakness is only as dangerous as the level of ignorance the
person has about it. Independent learning forces students to grapple with
both their strengths and weaknesses through the educational process.
+Students learn how to educate others :if a facilitator invites the
student to plan the lesson, then he or she is also learning about how to
teach someone else. What good is genius locked up inside of someone who
has no idea how to communicate to others?
+Students can self –critique more effectively: when the process is part
of the goal, failure isn’t quite so scary. When the fear of failure disappears, it
is much easier to learn the art of self-critique. Traditional teachers and
classrooms make little room for failure as everything is based on grades and
exams.
+Resourcefullness:learning is not always a straight path. Oftentimes it
is a messy walk in the woods with a lot of detours. Independent learners are
ready and capable of navigating the process whereas pupils that are fed
information from the teacher will get discouraged when they venture out on
their own.

-At university ,there is a shift responsibility for learning from the teacher
to the student:at school you will be reminded about due dates and you may
be granted leniency if you miss them. At university you are given your due
dates and expected to stick to them.In school, your teachers will notice if
you’re falling behind or if you’re making the same mistakes. They will
probably step in and try to help you. But at university, your tutors are
assigned many more students and they deem your learning your own
responsibility. If you want help you need to ask. You have to manage your
time effectively and know the difference between spare time and time where
you should be studying independently. You can fall behind if you spend too
much time socialising and relaxing and not enough time studying. But you
also need to allow for proper sleep and ‘me time’ so you don’t burnout by
studying in every spare moment. You can’t just use the same study methods
as your friends and hope for the best. Everyone studies in different ways
and each subject or module may suit better techniques. You need to test
various study strategies to find what works for you.

- An independent learner knows the value in solving problems by

themselves. Sometimes looking at a problem differently or taking a break
and coming back to it will help you see a glimmer of a solution.But if you’ve
tried to work out a problem and you’re still struggling – ask for help. An
independent learner understands that seeking support is a strength not a
weakness. So contact your tutor if you’re struggling to grasp a concept or
you can’t work out how to tackle your next essay.

-It can be hard to find a balance between making time for studying, but also
having a life. An independent learner knows they need to build studying into an
everyday habit.Look closely at how you’re spending your time for a week. Then
decide if you’re committing enough time to studying. When you’ve got a big
deadline coming up, adjust your schedule to make studying more of a
priority.But if you do fall behind, check out this post for ways to catch up.

- It can be easy to always take notes or revise in the same way. But an
independent learner understands that different subjects and modules may suit
different techniques. They regularly re-evaluate what they’re doing for
effectiveness and aren’t afraid to change.When I started university I took notes
by hand. Then I started a new module full of theories and concepts that would
repeat throughout the material. So I re-evaluated and decided typed notes
might be better so I could search them easily for specific terms. But then a few
modules later I realised I wasn’t absorbing enough information so I switched
back to handwritten notes which improved what I could recall.Similarly, some
exams require you to learn lots of definitions and small pieces of information so
flashcards are vital during revision. But other exams have more of a focus on
essay-type questions so practicing past papers becomes key.Don’t get stuck in
a studying rut with the same methods for your whole degree. Check out these
posts for different note talking formats and methods and this post for info on
different revision techniques.
 3.Conclusion
-To become an independent learner you need to know which your
preferred learning style is and be prepared to try different approaches.
Many students have trouble making the transition to the more independent
learning required at university  an independent learner must be able to apply
his learning in different contexts. When you are able to do that, your
learning has become real and meaningful. It would reflect a deeper
understanding of what you have learnt because he would have to adapt
what you have to learnt how you have learn to fit with different
environments and its challenges. Adaptation such as this can only take place
with deep understanding as opposed to superficial learning that often takes
place in schools.