autonomy an anatomy and a framework 1996 system

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Pergamon

Sysr m. Vol. 24 No. 4 pp. 427435 1996

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AUTONOMY: AN ANATOMY AND A FRAMEW ORK

WILLI M LITTLEWOOD

D epu r tm en t o f Engl i s h H ong K ong Po l y t e chn i c U n i v er s i t y H ung H o rn K ow l o on .

Hong Kong

This article examines the components that make up autonomy in language

learning. At the core of the notion of autonomy are the learners ability and

willingn ess to make choices independently. In foreign language learning con-

texts, we are concerned mainly w ith helping learners to mak e and carry ou t

choices in three dom ains: com mun ication, learning and by processes of transfer)

their personal life. In this article, these com ponents and dom ains of autonomy

serve as the basis of a conceptual framew ork for coordinating our strategies

for helping lea rners to develop autonomy . Since the goal of language teaching

and indeed all education) is to develop independent capacities in relevant

dom ains, this framework can also be seen as underlying our overall teaching

methodology. Copyright 0 199 6 Elsevier Science Ltd

INTRODUCTION

For man y years now , autonom y has been a popular focus for discussion in foreign

language teaching e.g. Brookes and Grundy, 1988; Dam , 1988; Dickinson, 1987; Holec,

1981; Little, 1991; Dickinson and Wenden, 1995). This popularity is not surprising, since

the concept accords w ell with several of our central ped agogical preoccupations, notably

our view that lang uage learning requires the active involvement of learners; ou r attemp ts

to introduce learner-centred metho ds; and our goal of helping learners to become

independ ent from their teachers in their learning and use of language. It is also sup-

ported from outside langu age teaching by a general educa tional concern to help students

become m ore independent in how they think, learn and behave cf. Boud, 1988;

Hamm ond and Collins, 1991).

The concept has served a valuable function in focusing our attention on these issues and

encourag ing us to explore them w ith greater rigour. It has also served a valuable purpose

in linking discussions about language teaching with discussions in the wider educational

context. It may be , however, that the use of the term h as now reached the stage which

communicative and authentic had reached by the end of the 1980s and which has

recently been reached by task-b ased and learner-centred: as central articles of lan-

guage -teaching faith, few people wou ld wish or dare) to disagree w ith them, but they

allow so many differences of interpretation that their value in discussion has diminish ed.

421


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WILLIAM LITTLEWOOD

These remarks are not intended to dimin ish the impo rtant role that the concept of

autonomy has played in bringing these issues more sha rply into focus and moving the

langua ge teaching debate forwards. As with the other terms mentioned, however, it is

important to stand back from time to time and consider what we mean by it. This is

wha t the first part of the present article w ill attemp t to do. It will then look at the

different dom ains of activity in which w e, as language teachers, can seek to develop

different aspec ts of autonomy . The overall conclusion will be that, since the over-arching

goal of all teaching is to help learners act more independently within a chosen range of

dom ains, an appropriate methodology in langua ge teaching is also, by definition, a

methodology for furthering autonom y.

Here a note about terminology is necessary. In many discu ssions ab out autonomy in

language learning, the term autonomy is understood to refer to one particular kind of

autonomy , namely, learner autonomy .

This is the case, for example, in the introduc-

tion to Dickinson and Wenden 1995) and several papers in the same collection. The pre-

sent paper does not follow this restricted usage . Here the term may refer to a capacity

for thinking and acting independently that may occur in any kind of situation including,

of course, a situation where the focus is on learning).

COMPONENTS OF AUTONOMY

We can define an autonomous person as one who has an independent capacity to make

and carry o ut the choices w hich govern his or her actions. This capacity depen ds on two

main components: ability and willingness Thus, a person may have the ability to make

independ ent choices b ut feel no willingne ss to do so e.g. because such behaviour is not

perceived as appropriate to his or her role in a particular situation). Conversely, a person

may be willing to exercise independen t choices bu t not have the necessary ability to do so.

Ability and willingness can themselves each be divided into two com ponents. Ability

depends on possessing both knowledge about the alternatives from which choices have to

be made and the necessary skills for carrying out whatever choices seem most appropri-

ate. Willingness depends on having both the motivation and the confidence to take

responsibility for the choices required. If a person is to be successful in acting auto-

nomo usly, all of these four components need to be present together. For example, a per-

son may feel highly motivated to learn outside class but lack the necessary know ledge or

skills to organise his or her time effectively; a person may have am ple oppo rtunities to

develop know ledge and skills for organising learning, but not wish to do so because he

or she sees this as the teachers role as for exam ple in the case described in Riley, 1988 );

a student who is accustom ed to a high degree of teacher control and suppo rt may lack

the confidence to carry out whateve r skills he or she is taught.

In order to develop a strategy for developing autonomy, it is useful to distingu ish these

comp onents. In practice, however, they are closely linked. Thus, the more know ledge

and s kills the students posses s, the more confident they are likely to feel when aske d to

perform independen tly; the more confident they feel, the more they are likely to be able

to mob ilise their knowledge and skills in order to perform effectively; and so on.


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AUTONOMY IN LANGUAGE LEARNlNG

429

GENERAL AND TASK-SPECIFIC ASPECTS OF AUTONOM Y

In studying the influence of self-esteem and anxiety on language learning, researchers

som etimes distinguish between learners general level of self-esteem or anxiety) and their

self-esteem or anxiety) with regard to specific tasks cf. Allw right an d Bailey, 1991;

Skehan, 1989). A similar distinction is useful in discussing the nature of autonomy. We

may look at a persons g eneral capacity for independen ce across the range of situations

which he or she encounters. Alternatively, we may look at an individuals capacity to act

autonom ously in performing specific tasks, e.g. a profession or learning activity. With

regard to education, Candy 1988) captures this distinction through the terms autonomous

individuals and autonomous students.

He argues that one of the superordinate goals

of education is to produce autonom ous individuals ; it is by producing autono mou s

students within its own specific dom ain that each subject contributes to this overall

goal.

In foreign languag e teach ing, the central dom ain of task-specific autonomy that concerns

us is comm unication through language, i.e. autonomy as a comm unicator. This was

highlighted by Rivers 1975) in her use of the term autonomous comm unication to

describe the goal of foreign langu age teaching. A further dom ain, which has received

increasing attention in recent years e.g. Ellis and Sinclair, 1989 ; Cotterall, 1995 ;

Dickinson and Wen den, 1995), is the process of

l e r n in g

how to use langua ge for com-

mu nication, i.e. autonomy as a learner. Since the abilities to com mun icate and learn

independently are major factors in enabling a person to make choices in life, they also

contribute to each learners autonomy as an individual.

LEVELS OF AUTONOMY

To comp lete this analysis of wh at we mean by autonom y, we need to consider one

further factor, namely, the level of behaviour at which a person makes indepen dent

choices.

The choices wh ich govern a persons behaviour operate within a hierarchy of different

levels. This corresponds to the sam e hierarchy that governs all aspects of skilled

behaviour cf. Levelt, 19 78; Littlewood, 1992 ). At the bottom of the hierarchy are low-

level choices w hich control the specific operations through which the activity is carried

out. At the top are high-level choices which control the overall activity - whethe r to

perform it at all, its overall direction, and so on. In between , we can distinguish any

num ber of levels, depend ing on how detailed we want our description to be. For exam -

ple, increasing autonomy in using and learning language could involve a progression

such as the following:

learners are able to make their own choices in gram mar and vocabulary e.g. in

controlled role-plays and simp le tasks involving informa tion exchange ). This is the

initial step towards autonomous comm unication;

.

learners choose the meanings they want to express and the comm unication strate-

gies they will use in order to achieve their comm unicative goals;


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WILLIAM LITTLEWOOD

learners are able to make m ore far-reaching decisions about goals, meanings and

strategies e.g. in creative role-playing, problem-solving and discussion);

.

learners begin to choose and sh ape their own learning contexts, e.g. in self-directed

learning and project work;

. learners become able to make decisions in domains which have traditionally

belonged to the teacher, e .g. about ma terials and learning task s;

.

learners pa rticipate in determining the nature and progression of their own syllabus

cf. Budd and W right, 1992);

.

learners are able to use language for com mun ication and learning) independ ently

in situations of their choice outside the classroom .

W e can manipulate this progression systematically so that learners gradually increase the

scope of their independ ent choices.

SUMM ARY: COMPONENTS, DOMA INS A ND LEVELS OF AUTONOM Y

The main components and domains of autonomy with which we are concerned in foreign

language learning can now be summ arised in the diagram in Fig. 1.

At the centre of the diagram are the basic com ponents of autonomy ability and willing-

ness to make choices) and the two broad types of autonomy task-specific and general).

MOTIVATION,

CONFIDENCE

>

I/

WILLINGNESS

TO

KNOWLEDGE,

\L

ABILITY

MAKE AND CARRY OUT CHOICES

IN

SPECIFIC TASKS

LIFE IN GENERAL

AUT ONOMY AUT ONOMY AUT ONOMY

AS

AS

AS

COMMUNICATORS

LEARNERS

PERSONS

Fig. 1. Compon ents and domains of autonomy in foreign language learning.


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AUTONOMY IN LANGUAGE LEARNING

43

The boxes at the top of the diagram show the more specific elements that m ake u p will-

ingness = motivation and confidence) and ability = knowledge and skills). The boxes

at the bottom show the three dom ains in which we aim to develop autonomy in and

through foreign language learn ing, with varying emp hasis dep ending on our situation:

com mun ication, learning and by transfer) other dom ains of life. The arrows linking the boxes

indicate the high degree of interdependence between the dom ains. For exam ple, as a student

develops m ore autonomy as a comm unicator, so he or she can make better use of learning

opportunities which arise inside and outside the classroom ; a students general autonomy

as a person will affect the specific dom ains of com mun ication and learning; and so on.

The feature of autonomy that the diagram does not illustrate is that the choices that con-

stitute it can be mad e at different levels and that, consequently, there are different leve ls

of autonomy within each domain. One of our tasks as language educators is to develop

strategies for helping learners to make choices at ever higher levels in the dom ains of

com mun ication, learning and personal life. Taken together, these strategies will consti-

tute our methodology for developing autonomy in and through foreign language learn-

ing. It is to this aspect of the topic that we now turn.

A FRAMEW ORK FOR DEVELOPING AUTONOM Y IN AND THROUGH

FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING

As a basis for developing practical strategies, the three broad d om ains of autonomy can

usefully be broken dow n further into more specific areas:

au t o nom y a s a comm un i c a t o r

depen ds on a) the ability to use the langua ge cre-

atively; and b) the ability to use appropriate strategies for com mu nicating mean-

ings in specific situations;

.

au t onom y as a lea rne r

depen ds on a) the ability to engage in independ ent work

e.g. self-directed learning); and b) the ability to use appropriate learning strate-

gies, both inside and outside the classroom;

.

au t onom y as a person

depen ds in the foreign language lea rning context) on a) the

ability to express personal meanings ; and b) the ability to create personal learning

contexts, e.g through interacting outside the classroom .

In Fig. 2, I have represented the three ma in domains of autonomy com mun ication,

learning and personal life) as linked areas around a circle. I have included the more

specific areas w ithin the sam e circle by placing each one next to the dom ain with which it

is mo st closely associated. At the centre of the circle I have p laced the four m ain com po-

nents of autonomy: motivation, confidence, k nowled ge an d skills.

The circular layout of Fig. 2 illustrates how the dom ains and areas of autonomy overlap.

For example:

linguistic creativity is mo st obviously associated with a persons autonom y as a

com mun icator. However, since it facilitates the expression of personal meaning s, it

also contributes directly to his or her autonomy as a person;


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WILLIAM LITTLEWOOD

Communication

n Learning

strategies

/

strategies

1.

Autonomy

Autonomy

as a

as a

Communicator

Learner

/ 1

\

Motivation

Confidence

Linguistic Knowledge

Independent

creativity Skills

work

Expression of

personal meanings

Creation of personal

learning contexts

Person

I

Fig. 2. A framework for developing autonomy in foreign language learning

com mun ication strategies, too, are most obviously associated with a persons auto-

nomy as a comm unicator. However, since they enable a student to deal more

independently with texts and social situations, they also contribute to his or her

autonomy as a learner;

. learning strategies are most obviously associated with a persons autonomy as a

learner. H owever, since they enable learners to extend their com municative reper-

toire, they also contribute to their autonomy as com mu nicators;

independ ent work includes the creation of personal learning contexts, e.g. obtain-

ing foreign new spape rs or joining groups of native-speak ers, and thus contributes

to a students autonomy as a person.

A COORDINATED STRATEGY FOR DEVELOPING AUTONOM Y

We can now take the six areas of autonomy which are placed around the circle in Fig. 2

and consider teaching metho ds for helping learners to develop autonom y within each of

them. Any particular method may focus on one of these areas bu t, because they are all

linked in the ways just described, will also have a spill-over effect on the other areas.


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AUTONOMY IN LANGUAGE LEARNING

433

The crucial com ponents of autonomy in each domain are placed a t the centre of the cir-

cle. W e may some times focus on just one or two of the components placed in the centre

of the circle, as when we concentrate on the knowledge and s kills involved in carrying

out a particular learning strategy. At other times we may focus globally on all four ele-

ments, as when a sequence of role-plays aims to maintain and enhance learners

confidence and motivation by starting w ith familiar controlled work and mov ing by

gradu al steps towards the skills involved in more creative expression. Here are further

exam ples from the six areas placed a round the circle in Fig. 2:

In the area of

i n d ependen t w o r k w e

may wish to increase students ability and

willingn ess to engage in self-directed work. A mo ngst other thin gs, we need to

consider:

a) students m otivation for such work, e.g. by clarifying its relationship to their

own needs and objectives;

b) their confidence, e.g. by beginn ing w ith limited, structured tasks and gradu-

ally raising the level at which studen ts need to make ch oices;

c)

a systematic approach to familiarising students with the knowledge and skills

involved in controlling their own learning cf. Dickinso n, 1987 ).

In the area of

comm un ica t i on s t ra t eg ies w e

may wish to develop students willing-

ness and ability to focus on com mun ication rather than accuracy. We need to

explore:

a)

ways of encourag ing learners to be ready to take risks and mak e errors in

com mun ication, e.g. by creating a non-threatening atmosp here and involving

them in sma ll-group interactions;

b)

ways of increasing students confidence in their ability to com mun icate suc-

cessfully even with their present linguistic know ledge, e.g. by giving positive

feedback which makes them aware of their successes rather than their fail-

ures;

c)

ways of making studen ts aware of specific strategies for com pensating for

gap s in their linguistic knowledge ; techniques for creating situations e.g. infor-

mation exchange) in which students can practise using these strategies.

The gradual and planned developm ent of students ability to use their individual

l ea rn ing s t ra teg ies

has formed the basis for detailed practical handb ooks such as

those of Ellis and Sinclair 1989) or Oxford 1990).

The students willingness and ability to create

pe rsona l l ea rn ing con tex t s

may be

fostered in class through the use of various forms of experiential learning, notably

project work cf. Legutke and Thomas, 1991; Ribe and Vidal, 1993) or, outside

class, through the systematic use of the wider comm unity as a context for learning.

In helping stud ents to

express persona l m ean i ngs w e

are well served by the tech-

niques that have been developed for person alising controlled langua ge practice

by relating it to studen ts ow n concerns e.g. Harm er, 1983) and gradually creating

contexts in which studen ts c an engage their own personalities and express their

own meanings e.g. Cam pbell and Kryszewska, 1992).


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434 WILLIAM LITTLEWOOD

6. Finally, techniques for furthering learners ability to

use la nguage crea t i v el y

for the

comm unication of meanings have been a prominent component in most of the

approaches to language teaching which have been recommended to teachers in

recent decades cf. Harm er, 1983 ; Littlewood, 1981).

In this way the framewo rk presented in Fig. 2 can form the basis of a coordinated strat-

egy for providing students with opportunities to develop the motivation, confidence,

knowledge and skills for autonomy in relevant domains and thus helping them to become

increasingly independent as com mun icators, learners and individua ls.

CONCLUSION

At the beginn ing of the article I referred to terms such as communicative and ta sk-

based , w hich have all served useful focusing and integrating functions but, largely

through the multiplicity of their usage, have lost much of the clarity of their mean ing.

One could say, indeed, that the very process of analysis w hich they have encouraged has

revealed their complexity and ambiguity.

The notion of autonomy has served similarly impo rtant functions. It has focused atten-

tion on a key dimension which pe rmeates all aspects of our work. By doing this, it can

also help us to link and integ rate these aspects a nd thus increase the coherence of pur-

pose with which we approach our work.

Since the goal of all education is to help people to think, act and learn independently in

relevant a reas of their lives, our methodology for developing autonomy in its various

aspects) is indistinguish able, in the last resort, from o ur general teaching methodology.

The framewo rk presented in Fig. 2 could therefore be viewed not only as a framework

for developing autonomy but also as a framework for langua ge teaching. In this respect,

a strategy for developing autonomy serves the ma in aim s of all aspects of our lan-

guage teaching, nam ely, to increase studen ts compe tence as com mu nicators, learners

and individuals.

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