Introduction to Autonomous Learning

Terminology 


"Independent study is a process, a method and a philosophy of education whereby a learner acquires knowledge by his or her own efforts and develops the ability for enquiry and critical evaluation” (Candy, 1991). 

Independent learning “describes a wide range of practices. It has become a rallying cry for those who believe that students need, or can cope with, much less support from teachers than they often receive, and that such independence is beneficial to students. ... Independent learning nearly always involves extensive independent use of the library and other information sources rather than formal teaching. Lecturers’ time is concerned more with identifying clear learning goals, providing support and feedback during learning, and assisting in the collation, presentation and assessment of learning outcomes than with conventional teaching” (Gibbs, 1992a, pp. 41-42). 

Someone qualifies as an autonomous learner when he independently chooses aims and purposes and sets goals; chooses materials, methods and tasks; exercises choice and purpose in organising and carrying out the chosen tasks; and chooses criteria for evaluation (Based on Holec, 1982, cited by Thansoulas, nd, p.1)

AUTONOMOUS LANGUAGE LEARNING: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 

1 – What is autonomous learning?

What does autonomous learning mean?

I must always learn on my own and no one else can do that for me. Often, though, others – teachers, authorities, supervisors, or parents - tell me what I should learn. With autonomous learning, however, I decide by myself what, how, when, where, and with what material I want to learn and whether I want to learn by myself or with others.

What does self-guided learning mean?

The term self-guided learning focuses on the fact that I as a learner plan, implement, and evaluate my learning. Most of us are used to our experience in school, where the teacher assumed the greatest part of the responsibility for learning and we learners simply followed their instructions. In contrast, if I want to guide my own learning, then I must also assume full responsibility for it. As a counterweight, I take back the freedom to choose how to learn and may pursue my learning objectives in a way that suits me best.

2 – Why should I learn in an autonomous and self-guided way?

Isn’t it much easier to learn in a language course in which I can concentrate on the material to be learned rather than on organising my learning?

Certainly, if the content and organisation of the course correspond to my needs. But if this isn’t the case, learning guided by others can turn out to be a waste of time and resources, especially if my learning objectives aren’t met. Then the extra effort that I must make for self-guided learning pays off. Besides, while learning autonomously, I can improve not only my language skills and knowledge but also my ability to organise myself, which will serve me well in other areas of both learning and life.

Is it recommended to combine a language course and self-guided learning?

Supplementing a language course by adding self-guided learning makes a great deal of sense because then I can also learn on my own what is missing in the language course. This way, I can also invest more time in the target language. On the other hand, whether I should add a language course to self-guided study strongly depends on the learning objectives I have determined for myself and whether the course conforms to those objectives.

3 – How do I learn autonomously?

a) Who can learn autonomously? 

Anyone who’s hungry for knowledge can learn autonomously: Hunger for knowledge is the best motivation – and without motivation, autonomous learning is impossible. Any motivation is suitable as a prerequisite for learning a new language; a good example is curiosity about the people who speak the target language and their culture. It’s best, right at the beginning, to think about and note what motivates me. To learn autonomously, no specific talent is necessary; all that’s necessary is learning conditions that correspond to my needs. Because each learner has his or her individual needs and preferences, it is up to me as a learner to discover how I learn best.

b) How should I go about autonomous learning? 

To ensure that my autonomous learning ends in success, first I must plan and then continually reflect, evaluate, and adapt. Without these elements, I risk wasting my time and resources through unnecessary detours.

What is the first step?

At the beginning, I must set learning objectives for myself.  I must also become clear about what I already know to provide a basis on which I can plan the first and following steps toward my learning objectives. I can check the state of my current knowledge with, for example, Checklists of the European Language Portfolio or a placement test. Both should give me an approximate level of my knowledge of the various language skills – listening comprehension, reading comprehension, speaking, writing, and perhaps also the learning tools vocabulary and grammar. Since these levels are rather broad, I can, if necessary, first brush up on and consolidate my current level of knowledge or simply go to the next level of the selected skill as the learning objective.

What information do the language levels give? 

There are two different types of information, and they should be distinguished. Self-evaluation (the checklists) or evaluation by others (a placement test), gives me the current state of my knowledge, in other words, the starting level for my next learning steps, while textbooks and language courses give the target level that corresponds to the learning objective. If I place myself at the starting level B1 in listening comprehension, for example, then I should focus my learning efforts in listening comprehension at the next higher target level, B2.

How can I plan my autonomous learning?

Planning my learning depends in the first place on the time available to reach my learning objectives; in other words, within what time frame and how intensively can or will I learn? In the course of my learning process, I may also have to adapt my learning objectives to the time I have available (which may have changed or been incorrectly calculated). What is important is that I plan and adapt realistically and not let myself be distracted from my dreams or wishes. If I am not (yet) able to do this, learning autonomously is a good opportunity to learn how.
It’s best if I write my plan at the beginning so that I can later compare my learning process with it. In that way, I can check how realistically I have planned my learning in order for me to draw conclusions for further plans. When I formulate my plan, I should answer the following questions as concretely as possible.
- What do I want to learn? (skills, content)
- With what do I want to learn? (learning materials)
- Where do I want to learn? (learning locations)
- When do I want to learn? (learning times)
- How often do I want to learn? (learning frequency)
- How do I want to learn? (methods, strategies, learning tools)
- How do I want to practice the individual skills?
- With whom do I want to learn? (social learning)

c) How should I carry out my autonomous learning?

What should I learn autonomously? (skills, content)

The decision about the content is guided entirely by my individual interests. Depending on whether I’m learning the target language for daily use or for specific purposes, e.g., for study or professional purposes, I will select the corresponding content. Which skills I give priority to depends on what I already know. As a beginner in a target language, it makes sense for me to learn the receptive skills of listening and reading comprehension and vocabulary at the start. This would allow me to immerse myself in the language and develop a sense of the new sounds, words, and sentences before I try the more challenging tasks of speaking and writing, which also require grammar knowledge. As an advanced learner, I should give priority instead to improving the skills of speaking and writing and, depending on my needs, to acquiring specific vocabulary.
This information is of course general – as an autonomous learner, I can and should always define my own priorities. The more specifically I define my learning objectives, the less I will get lost among the wide variety of possibilities.

What materials should I use to learn autonomously? (learning material)

Materials that do not suit my learning objectives can undermine my motivation, so it’s worthwhile to invest some time in the selection of learning material: It should closely match my previously defined learning objectives, starting level, and target level; it should also train the skills that I’ve made my priority and use contents that sustain my interest.
To find suitable material, I can first select material using the online search form and then try it out in the self-access centre or, for example, browse in a specialised bookstore or the language section of other libraries (the cantonal and university library BCU/KUB; or the intercultural library LivrEchange, both in Fribourg); browse for appropriate websites on the Internet with targeted key words; or ask teachers of the target language to advise me.
It’s essential for autonomous learning that the answers to the exercises are included. It’s often also advisable to try out various learning materials. As a lower-level learner, I can, for instance, combine a compact textbook for autonomous learning that contains a relatively steep learning progression with additional material that is as authentic as possible. As an upper-level learner, I can look for suitable, authentic listening and reading material in the continuously growing number of audio and print texts on the Internet and can also access today’s technical possibilities for communicating interactively in both oral and written forms and thus help myself or allow myself to be corrected.

Where should I learn autonomously? (learning locations)

Choosing my place of learning is dependent on the learning material selected; for example, to use books or a computer or to practice pronunciation, I’d look more for a quiet and comfortable place, where I can also write down important information or record myself, whereas I can work on listening with an mp3 device or on vocabulary with word cards in the train or bus.
On the other hand, the place of learning depends on my preferences as to where and how I can most effectively learn. I may have to try different situations first: Do I need background music and stimulating tea with sweets to encourage and sustain my motivation to learn? Or on the contrary, do I learn with greater concentration in complete silence without the distraction of appealing food and drink nearby? Or at times, one and at other times, the other, depending on the learning objective?

When should I do autonomous learning? (learning times)

Time for learning is dependent on how I organise my time, which is determined by other activities that are priorities, like my studies, work, and social life, and that leave the necessary time slots open. To develop self-discipline, it is helpful to plan my learning so that I can do it at a rhythm as regular as possible and at set times. This way, I can simulate the external obligations of a course, which some learners need as stimulation to learn when their motivation and stamina weaken. Which specific moments for learning I choose depends on my daily rhythms, habits, and preferences: At what time of day can I concentrate the best? When do I feel energized?  When do I prefer doing other activities?

How often should I learn autonomously? (learning frequency)

The more frequently I work with the target language, the more effectively I train my vocabulary memory and language skills. This is also why immersion in the language in its context - for example, by a stay in the target language’s culture – is the most effective way to learn. If I learn outside the culture of the target language, then I should take the following into consideration. A short and intensive period of learning, for instance, an hour a day for three months, uses the potential of both short- and long-term memory and gets me faster to the desired result. For this reason, it’s more satisfying than extensive learning over a longer period of time. Even so, after an intensive period of learning, I must continue to spend time on the target language once or twice a week so that what I’ve learned will stay in my long-term memory; otherwise, I’ll forget all too quickly. In addition, for both memory and skill training, a frequent, short review - for instance, twice a day for half an hour – is much more effective than an extended period of learning once a week or even less frequently. So it’s important that I also arrange for shorter moments for learning as often as possible given my individual daily and weekly schedule – and do this in every imaginable way.

How should I go about learning autonomously? (methods, strategies, and resources)

Not all methods for learning are equally effective for all learners. As an autonomous learner, I must often first discover for myself what strategies and resources suit me, in that I try out different ones and observe how successful they are for me. If memories of my previous learning are mostly about ineffective and de-motivating learning, then I may get new ideas from books and websites with instructions on how to learn autonomously (see the bibliographic references under Point 5) or other autonomous learners. Resources I create myself can also help me to memorize or train if I adapt them to my learning needs.

How should I practice the individual skills? 

For listening and reading comprehension, it’s very effective to listen several times to interesting and authentic audio texts with their transcripts such as radio programs on the Internet that I can also listen to when I’m on the road. I can download them (e.g., mp3) and print out their transcripts to take with me to work on.
To learn vocabulary, I need easily accessible means like flashcards or an Internet vocabulary trainer that I can download onto my portable device or small learning cards that I can take with me everywhere. Instead of learning words by themselves, it’s important to learn them in context, for example, by writing a short context so that the word’s meaning and an example of its use are combined right from the beginning.
For my pronunciation, I need to imitate recordings of native speakers and record myself as well so that I can listen again to compare and notice the specific differences. In this way, I can repeatedly practice bringing my own pronunciation closer to the phonetic model.
I can practice speaking and writing best with a partner who can correct me. This can be in person or, with today’s Internet technology, also through virtual exchanges like emails, written chats, voice chats, skype, and learning communities.

Who should I do autonomous learning with? (social learning)

In no way does autonomous learning mean learning alone. I must and will test what I’ve learned with native speakers of the target language to see if it’s understandable and accurate. But I may confidently and patiently wait until I feel sure enough. In case I still have inhibitions because I’m afraid of making mistakes, it’s best to speak with my speaking or writing partner about how to handle my mistakes. Would I like to be corrected? If so, at what point and in what way? By choosing a suitable partner, I make a kind of ‘safe’ learning environment possible in which my errors are handled with patience and understanding and I don’t need to fear being humiliated. I also receive feedback that exactly fits my individual mistakes so that I can draw conclusions useful for me to continue learning. If I can’t find someone to be a partner in my circle of acquaintances, I can try the various tandem-learning sites or learning communities on the Internet, such as UniTandem in this self-access centre, where there is a detailed description of how to learn in a tandem.

d) How should I reflect on my autonomous learning?

To observe myself when I’m learning autonomously, it’s very helpful to keep a learning log so that I can reflect on my learning strategies and evaluate my learning progress. When I write, I must make my thoughts conscious and clarify them. This learning record will allow me to track my own learning path from one occasion to the next as well as in hindsight over a longer period and also enable me to understand how I learn better. The beginning of a learning log might roughly look like this example.

e) How should I evaluate my autonomous learning? 

If I have a learning partner, I can of course occasionally ask for feedback, correction, or explanation. But the responsibility for a critical evaluation of my learning progress, strategies, and resources lies with me while I’m learning autonomously. By comparing each completed exercise with its answers, I see immediately whether I need to repeat the exercise or can either continue to the next or change to another learning topic. It’s best if I can try out my skills in authentic communication situations. My communication partner’s responses will quickly show me what was understood and what not.
After finishing a learning period, I can also measure my knowledge and skills with a test. Such tests are on the Internet or in books and software to prepare for tests and diplomas that are subject to a charge. However, these are often substantially different than authentic communication situations.
To reflect on my learning, it is informative for me and others to assess it with regard to  others’ and my evaluations each time in the learning log. Based on this, at the end of each learning period, I can deepen the various aspects of my learning experience and judge them with a bit of distance in a summary report that then can serve as the starting point for further steps in my autonomous learning.

f) How should I adapt my autonomous learning? (consequences) 

Success when learning autonomously depends substantially on how effectively I can convert the consequences of my errors and failures into successful autonomous learning. This requires careful observation, critical reflection, and honest evaluation as well as the will to convert the consequences in an optimal way. This will is affected by autonomous learning’s guiding principles, which I need to appropriate during this learning process if I haven’t already done so:
- Because I’m not afraid to make mistakes and am ready to learn from them, I also give myself the chance to improve step by step.
- Because I’m open to other ways of learning and to making up and then improving my own learning resources, I give myself the opportunity to learn something new and then test out its effectiveness.
- Because I remain realistic about my learning objectives and patiently work towards achieving them, I gain self-confidence and satisfaction from my learning success, which is the basis for my continuing motivation.
To apply my considerations and conclusions to m next learning steps, it’s essential to keep and nurture my pleasure in and desire to learn. If I set learning objectives I cannot reach or become discouraged when I have learning problems, I’ll lose motivation and out of frustration, I’ll break off the learning process.