Developing Autonomous Language Learners in HE: A Social Constructivist Perspective

Abstract

Developing learners who are able to take responsibility for their own learning, both independently and in collaboration with others, is regarded as a key feature of UK Higher Education in the 21st century (Dearing 1997). A fast moving global environment means graduates will need to learn to learn in order to adapt and be employable (Baume 1994; Dearing 1997). This change in the public and government expectations has prompted a shift towards more student-centred approaches to teaching and learning over the past decade, in British and North American Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in particular (Silver 1999). In addition, there is a growing recognition within current educational literature that student engagement and motivation are essential to successful learning (for example, Fielding 2004; Bryson and Hand 2007; Lambert 2009). Cognitive and more particularly constructivist views of student learning suggest that learners’ active and independent/interdependent involvement in their own learning increases motivation to learn (Dickinson 1995; Ushioda 1996; Raya and Lamb 2008). Furthermore, the ability to influence one’s own learning has been associated with improved academic performance (Bandura 1977, 1986; Findley and Cooper 1993; Feuerstein, Klein, and Tannenbaum 1991).