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Research
Propose Title:
Investigating the Role of Secondary Language Teachers in promoting
autonomy in the English Language Classroom
In fact, the decision to include autonomy in language learning is typically made by the
instructor, so supporting autonomy largely depends on the teachers' redefining their position
(Hill, 1994). Crabbe (1999) suggests that to assist pupils in becoming more autonomous, the
teacher's role needs to be reevaluated.
As students begin to take more responsibility of their learning, teachers need to play
the role of facilitator or counselor (Riley, 1997; Scharle & Szabo, 2000; Wend en, 2002)
(cited in Yang, 2005). Gardner and Miller (1999) indicate that teachers should learn new
strategies in order to take on new roles such as counselor, organizer, material developer,
evaluator, and manager, etc. Dam (2008) describes teacher role in an autonomous learning
environment as a consultant and facilitator. According to Voller (1997), the teacher’s roles in
promoting autonomous language learning are: facilitator, counselor and resource.
The term "teacher as facilitator" is frequently used in texts on communicative
language learning, autonomous language learning, and self-instruction language learning,
according to Voller (1997). Dornyei (2001) suggests that if teachers desire to encourage their
learners’ autonomy, they need to change their role into the role of a facilitator. Also, Chiu
(2005) explains that a facilitator of learning is usually considered as a helper who makes
learning easier to happen. By serving as a facilitator, teachers make the development more
flexible and successful (Yan, 2012). Voller (1997) categorizes the support that a facilitator
provides into technical support and psycho-social support.
Teacher Role as Counselor:
There are several theories that support the idea that teachers play a crucial role in
promoting learner autonomy. Lev Vygotsky, a Russian psychologist, founded the social
constructivism hypothesis, which holds that people actively participate in the development of
their own knowledge (Schreiber & Valle, 2013). Moreover, according to Vygotsky, learning
happens more in social and cultural contexts than only on an individual level (Schreiber &
Valle, 2013). Small groups and dyads are heavily stressed in the social constructivism
philosophy (Johnson & Bradbury, 2015For instance, while teachers encourage and assist
dialogue by utilizing the natural flow of discourse in the classroom, students learn largely via
interactions with their peers, teachers, and parents (Powell & Kalina, 2009). Social
constructivism holds that education is a social activity that involves interacting with others.
By giving pupils the chance to work with others, ask questions, and contribute, teachers can
promote learning.
Social cognitive theory suggests that learners acquire knowledge and skills through
observation, imitation, and feedback. Teachers can promote learner autonomy by modeling
self-directed learning, providing feedback that supports learner autonomy, and creating a
supportive learning environment. The four main components of observational learning are
motivation, reproduction, retention, and attention. People use the process of attention to
selectively watch and gather data from the ongoing modeling actions (Wood & Bandura,
1989). "Transforming and reorganizing information in the form of rules and structures" is a
process that is involved in retention. The act of replicating the observed behavior is known as
reproduction. The learner's motivation, which drives their focus, practice, and recall, is the
fourth factor.
Malcolm (1973) Knowles’s theory of andragogy is concerned with the teaching and
learning styles of adult learners. Andragogy is based on a self-directed, independent learning
method for adults and defines the best practices for teaching adults. Andragogy is a theory of
adult learning that emphasizes the importance of self-directed learning. Teachers can promote
learner autonomy by recognizing and respecting the experiences and knowledge of their
students, providing opportunities for self-directed learning, and facilitating the development
of critical thinking skills.
Overall, these theories suggest that teachers play a crucial role in promoting learner
autonomy by providing opportunities for self-directed learning, fostering a supportive
learning environment, and facilitating the development of critical thinking and problem-
solving skills.
Methodology
Research Design For this study, the researcher used a descriptive survey approach.
According to Babbie (2019, p. 45), explains descriptive research focuses on documenting the
traits, actions, attitudes, or viewpoints of a certain population, group, or phenomena.
Moreover, the descriptive technique is suited for addressing the research questions and
determining the research outcomes since this study focuses on the real roles that English
language teachers perform in encouraging learner autonomy.
Participants
The study was carried out among secondary English language teachers at Dangcagan
National High School. Five (5) junior high school and four (4) senior high school teachers
make up the research sample. In this study, the gender is not considered a variable. The
present study is conducted during the academic year 2022-2023. The participants' educational
backgrounds and teaching experiences vary.
Instrument
A questionnaire is the primary tool employed for the gathering of data and given to
the English language Teachers in DNHS. There are 3 three parts of questionnaire. The first
part consists of 20 items that are related to the roles teachers play in order to encourage
autonomy in their educational context. Based on the conducted literature review, the items
are decided and organized according to four variables of teachers’ roles: facilitator,
counselor, resource and classroom manager. This section needs the teachers to rate the
frequency of their implementation of the included items in their classrooms. Participants are
required to answer each item on a five-point Likert scale (1 = always, 2 = often, 3 =
occasionally, 4 = seldom, 5 = never).
The second section includes five items on a five-point scale of agreement to identify
the constraints on developing learner autonomy. The third section is designed to find out the
best ways that teachers find more helpful in promoting learner autonomy in their educational
context. It consists of four items arranged in the format of a 5-point Likert scale ranging from
strongly agree to strongly disagree.
Results
Q 1: What types of roles that secondary school teachers play to promote learner
autonomy?
Table 1. The sample responses about their teaching practices for the role “facilitator”
four items in the Table are connected to how English teachers serve as learning facilitators in
the classroom. The respondents always act as a facilitator to support autonomous learning,
according to the overall mean score of 4.25. The statements no. 3 and 4 that scored the
highest means, "Helping students to evaluate their own learning and progress" and
"Encouraging students to reflect on their learning process" are the items that their means
represent (always). Items 2 and 1, which state, "Assisting students in choosing their own
educational resources" and "Assisting students in developing their own learning objectives"
are the items that their methods often depict. Overall, the secondary teachers of Dangcagan
National High school always act as facilitator which is also the best teaching practice. The
standard deviations indicated that the choice of the teachers is almost the same or they agreed
Table 2. The sample responses about their teaching practices for the role “counselor”
five items in the Table are connected to how English teachers serve as learning counselors in
the classroom. The respondents always act as a counselor to support autonomous learning,
according to the overall mean score of 4.50. The statements in numbers 8, 9 and 5 scored the
top three highest means which state, "Encouraging students to make study plans ", “Being
positive and supportive especially when giving feedback” and " Making students aware of the
skills and strategies needed to learn by their own " are the items that their means represent
(always). Only one item is rated often that states “Identifying psychological problems that
inhibit students’ progress ". Overall, the secondary teachers of Dangcagan National High
school always act as counselor which is also the best teaching practice. The standard
deviations indicated that the choice of the teachers is almost the same or they agreed to a
The sample comments about their resource techniques are shown in Table 3. The six
items in the Table are connected to how English teachers serve as learning resource in the
according to the overall mean score of 4.42. The statements in numbers 15, 10 and 12 scored
the top three highest means which state, " Encouraging students to study with their peers",
“Suggesting tools and techniques for self-assessment” and " Selecting and evaluating
resources according to students’ needs and levels" are the items that their means represent
(always). Only one item is rated often that states “Using computer- based learning materials
". Overall, the secondary teachers of Dangcagan National High school always act as resource
which is also another best teaching practice. The standard deviations indicated that the choice
of the teachers is almost the same or they agreed to a certain attribute which is always.
Table 4. The sample responses about their teaching practices for the role “manager”
No. Item Mean SD Verbal Ranking
Description
16 Organizing different kinds of 4.30 0.82 Always 5
games and activities in the
classroom.
17 Providing clear instructions of the 4.60 0.70 Always 2
tasks assigned to students.
18 Explaining the purposes and the 4.60 0.52 Always 2
significance of the tasks assigned
to students.
19 Giving learners opportunities to 4.50 0.53 Always 4
tell their opinions in the classroom
management.
20 Giving learners opportunities to 4.60 0.52 Always 2
tell their opinions in their learning
activities.
Overall 4.52 0.52 Always
Legend: 1.0-1.80- Never, 1.81-2.60- Seldom, 2.61-3.40- Occasionally, 3.41-4.20- Often, 4.21-5.0- Always
The sample comments about their managerial techniques are shown in Table 4. The
five items in the Table are connected to how English teachers serve as learning manager in
the classroom. The respondents always act as a resource to support autonomous learning,
according to the overall mean score of 4.52. All items were rated always. However, the
statements in numbers 17, 18 and 20 scored the top three highest means which state, "
Providing clear instructions of the tasks assigned to students", “Explaining the purposes and
the significance of the tasks assigned to students” and " Giving learners opportunities to tell
their opinions in their learning activities ". The secondary teachers of Dangcagan National
High school always act as manager which is also another best teaching practice. The standard
deviations indicated that the choice of the teachers is almost the same or they agreed to a
The types of roles that secondary school teachers play to promote learner autonomy is
shown in table 5. Based on the table, teacher always show important roles that promote
autonomy in learning. The best role that they practice is being a manager in a teaching-
learning process. They believe that all of these roles play an important function in order that
Table 6. The sample responses about the challenges that the English teachers meet in
promoting learner autonomy
No. Item Mean SD Verbal Ranking
Description
21 Students lack the skills for 4.10 0.57 Agree 1
autonomous learning.
22 Teachers lack the essential 3.70 0.95 Agree 3
strategies to promote learner
autonomy.
23 Teachers themselves are not 3.20 1.40 Neutral 5
autonomous.
24 Technology is not effectively 3.90 0.74 Agree 2
implemented in language learning.
25 Rules and regulations of the 3.40 1.17 Neutral 4
schools restrict the teachers’
freedom in making choices on
their teachings.
Overall 3.66 0.79 Agree
Legend: 1.0-1.80- Strongly disagree, 1.81-2.60- Disagree, 2.61-3.40- Neutral, 3.41-4.20- Agree, 4.21-5.0- Strongly agree
The constraints to fostering learner autonomy were examined in the second section of
the questionnaire. The overall mean of the five items is (3.66), which indicates that they
about the constraints that hinder the promotion of learner autonomy. The five items in the
Table are connected to how English teachers responded on the challenges that promotes
autonomy in learning. The statements in numbers 21, 24 and 22 scored the top three highest
means which state, " Students lack the skills for autonomous learning ", “Technology is not
effectively implemented in language learning” and " Teachers lack the essential strategies to
promote learner autonomy " are the items rated agree by the teachers. The two remaining
items were rated neutral that state, “Rules and regulations of the schools restrict the teachers’
freedom in making choices on their teachings” and “Teachers themselves are not
autonomous”. The secondary teachers of Dangcagan National High school agreed that they
there are challenges in promoting autonomy in learning. The standard deviations indicated
that the choice of the teachers is almost the same or they agreed to a certain attribute which is
always.
Q 3: What solutions do secondary school teachers think more helpful in the promotion of
learner autonomy?
Table 7. The sample responses about the approaches that help English teachers to promote
learner autonomy.
No. Item Mean SD Verbal Ranking
Description
26 Introducing learner autonomy to 4.30 0.48 Strongly Agree 4
teachers
27 Offering teachers with 4.30 0.48 Strongly Agree 3
professional development
programs on learner autonomy
28 Reducing the institutional rules 4.20 0.63 Agree 1.5
that restrict teacher autonomy.
29 Teachers’ continuous reflection 4.40 0.52 Strongly Agree 1.5
and analysis of their own teaching
process.
Overall 4.30 0.42 Strongly Agree
Legend: 1.0-1.80- Strongly disagree, 1.81-2.60- Disagree, 2.61-3.40- Neutral, 3.41-4.20- Agree, 4.21-5.0- Strongly agree
The third section of the questionnaire is related to the approaches that help secondary
school English teachers in developing autonomous learners. It includes (4) items, their overall
mean is (4.30). It indicates that there is a strong agreement among respondents about the
The results indicate that most participants support the statement that “teachers’
continuous reflection and analysis of their own teaching process” can help in developing
autonomous learners with the highest mean. Although the statement, “Reducing the
institutional rules that restrict teacher autonomy” got the lowest mean, but still the
participants agreed that it can help develop autonomy in learning. In general, all the
statements are necessary that the English teachers may consider in their English classes to
Discussions
Regarding the study's first goal, the findings revealed that secondary school language
to support learner autonomy. These jobs are classroom manager, counselor, resource, and
facilitator, ranked from highest to lowest. The other three jobs scored higher than (4.21) and
still belong to always, despite the fact that teachers' function as classroom managers received
the highest mean (4.52), there is no discernible difference in the extent to which these roles
are actually carried out by teachers. According to Voller's (1997) study, which was
mentioned by Alonazi (2017), instructors are resources who make their knowledge and
experience available to students. They also operate as "a facilitator who promotes decision-
making processes, a counselor who responds to the constant needs of students, and a
resource.". According to each job, the data showed how frequently teachers used various
teaching techniques in their classrooms. Female English teachers were discovered to play the
function of facilitator by inspiring students to reflect on their learning process and assisting
them in assessing their learning progress. According to Nguyen (2014), in order for students
to have learning autonomy, teachers must let them choose and alter both the subject matter
and the method of instruction. The results of the current study showed that teachers typically
take on the role of "classroom manager," giving students clear instructions for the tasks they
are assigned, explaining the goals and significance of those tasks, and allowing students the
chance to voice their opinions during learning activities. According to the study Al Asmari
(2013), teachers serve as counselors by giving students advise on how to deal with their
learning issues. This is the second job of the teacher in fostering autonomy in learning.
The study's sample teachers emphasized the barriers to learner autonomy growth.
According to the teachers' consensus, three items received the top three highest scores, and
they are as follows: "Students lack the skills for autonomous learning," "Technology is not
effectively implemented in language learning," and "Teachers lack the essential strategies to
promote learner autonomy." These results are in line with those of Borg and Al-Busaidi
(2012), who found that teachers cited variables relating to students, institutions, and teachers
as barriers to the promotion of learner autonomy. Not all educators concurred that their
learners are independent learners. Similar findings from studies by Tanyeli & Kuter (2013)
and Nguyen (2014) showed that teachers did not view their students as independent learners.
This is unmatched given the current study's findings on the first question, which show that
teachers are unaware of the different roles they are playing or because they don't fully grasp
the idea of learner autonomy. (Yunus & Arshad, 2015; Borg & Busaidi, 2012; Al Asmari,
2013).
3. Approaches for Helping Teachers in Fostering Learner Autonomy
Conclusions
The current study examined how English teachers at Dangcagan National High
School can promote learner autonomy in secondary school. This was accomplished by
looking into the actual roles secondary school instructors perform to encourage independent
language acquisition in their respective educational contexts. The findings point to a bright
future for learner autonomy. There has been a notable shift toward a more learner-centered
pedagogy, which is reflected in the practices of contemporary teachers. Therefore, the current
circumstance could be seen as a period of transmission from traditional approaches to
student-centered approaches. According to the research's findings, English teachers play
different roles in autonomous learning depending on the situations in which they are active.
In reality, a teacher in such a learning environment serves as a manager, resource, counselor,
and facilitator in addition to imparting knowledge. As a result, learners will be able to
manage their language learning in a variety of ways, including by reflecting on their own
learning process, assessing their performance, and formulating significant learning-related
decisions. The crucial role that teachers play in fostering independent language learning
should never be discounted.
Recommendations
Based on the results obtained from this study, the following points are recommended
for learner autonomy development in Dangcagan National High School:
1) That the school may provide their teachers with autonomy-oriented education in term of
theories and practices, which guarantee that teachers apply them in their schools.
3) That the Department of Education may provide a comprehensive and practical framework
of how the concept of learner autonomy should be manifested in language classrooms.
4) That the development of autonomous learning needs collaborative work and great efforts
from all the parties involved in the educational context including administrations, schools, ,
supervisors, teachers and learners.