SELF REGULATION

Self-regulation as a core theory, derived from educational psychology in the 1970s, is defined
as ‘self-generated thoughts, feelings, and actions that are planned and cyclically adapted to
the attainment of personal goals’ .
It is highly relevant to the science of the mind and human behavior.
Focusing on academic functions of self-regulation, self-regulated learning emerged as a new
term. This construct refers to ‘the ways that learners systematically activate and sustain their
cognitions, motivations, behaviors, and affects, toward the attainment of their goals’
The initial introduction of self-regulation to SLA is attributed to Dornyei, who proposed
replacing the concept of ‘learning strategy’ with that of ‘self-regulation’ in response to
research quandaries of language learning strategies.

Such a claim reveals a shifting focus of SLA from what is learned to how a new language is
acquired. Recent developments suggest that language learning strategies remain a vibrant and
fertile area and are compatible with self regulation.
Metacognition, self-regulation, and self-regulated learning are the key terms often used
interchangeably in educational and L2 studies.

Unlike metacognition and self-regulation, self-regulated learning as an integrated construct of

learning addresses the interactions of cognitive, motivational, emotional, and contextual
factors rather than their isolated contributions to learning (Zimmerman and Schunk 2011).
Dinsmore (2008: 394) explained that self-regulated learning has different developmental
trajectories from metacognition and self-regulation, both of which ‘developed in parallel with
little observable cross-fertilization’. In comparison, most self-regulated learning models
include ‘metacognition and self-regulation to shape its lens on monitoring’.

The primary focus of self-regulated learning is not a capacity or a skill but a goal-directed
process through which learners transform their mental abilities into academic skills
(Zimmerman 2000). Andrade and Evans (2012) argued that learner autonomy emphasizes
learners’ freedom to make choices in what, where, and how to learn; such a choice-making
feature distinguishes it from self-regulated learning, which emphasizes how to learn and how
to teach effectively. Thus, self-regulated learning can be a guiding framework for classroom
instruction. It is said that self-regulated learning has much operational and conceptual
contribution to the field of SLA, applied linguistics, or foreign language education.