Relationship between teacher stories and encouragement of learner autonomy

Abstract

This study aims to find whether there is a relationship between the stories of English language teachers as learners, and their attempts to encourage learner autonomy. A qualitative design was chosen in order to reveal any relationships, with data collected through semi-structured interviews with five teachers of English language, two experienced and three novice teachers, in 2014-2015 spring term. Interview questions were directed towards language learning histories, including learning experiences prior to and during their pre-service teacher education. Furthermore, a checklist form was employed to understand the role of teachers in promoting learner autonomy. The researchers analysed the data by rereading and identifying recurring codes, using interpretative data analysis. The findings show a relationship between English language teacher stories as learners and their attempts to encourage learner autonomy. They mostly relate their attempts to their previous learning experiences as language learners. Despite their willingness to foster autonomy, they mention hindrances such as personalities of the teachers, institutional factors, the academic level of the students, readiness for autonomy, and lack of motivation. Their attempts to encourage learner autonomy seem restricted, as English language teachers in this study claim that they were not given sufficient opportunities to experience autonomy in their own language learning. On the basis of the findings, one could suggest that future language teachers should be given opportunities to experience learner autonomy during their teacher education and language learning process so that they can more readily encourage learner autonomy in their classes.