Abstract
The fact that there are more online resources available targeting learners with a higher language proficiency may imply that learners with lower proficiency levels, such as beginners and elementary learners, prefer face-to-face tuition and classroom contact, whereas intermediate and advanced learners are more willing to explore autonomous learning scenarios; a fact that seems only natural considering that learners who have an intermediate or advanced level of proficiency can, to a larger extent, become independent learners due to an existing knowledge base and subsequent understanding of the target language, conferring more autonomy on them. This also suggests that the Internet is slowly becoming an integral part of our English language teaching practice – especially at levels targeting higher intermediate to advanced learners – that there is an audience for these courses and also that learners are increasingly in need of materials and learning scenarios outside the boundaries of more traditional teaching. Learner autonomy is undoubtedly one of the assets brought about with the integration of computer-assisted language learning into the language curriculum. Strictly speaking, efficient learner autonomy should imply that learners take greater control over their learning, although this does not necessarily mean that their autonomy should be stripped of instructional guidance. For autonomy to be efficient, on the one hand, learners have to develop the capacity to be independent learners and, on the other, the institutional context in which they are studying must provide the appropriate backing and support for this to occur. This paper will reflect on a number of ICT-related initiatives that have been implemented at the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia in order to foster learner autonomy in a technology-enhanced setting for learners of English for specific purpose. The author will refer to the pedagogical implications deriving from her experience in designing online language learning courseware and to different means of increasing learner autonomy.
Parts of this paper have been previously published in Gimeno Sanz (2009a, b), Seiz Ortiz et al. (2010), and Gimeno Sanz et al. (2011).
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Notes
- 1.
Retrieved October 22nd, 2010, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rm5G6oZp7Ew
- 2.
González-Pueyo, Isabel; Foz Gil, Carmen; Jaime Siso, Mercedes; Luzón Marco, María José (Eds.) (2009). Teaching Academic and Professional English Online. Bern: Peter Lang.
- 3.
- 4.
Unlike other platforms such as Moodle or Blackboard/WebCT, InGenio is not a Content Management System (CMS).
- 5.
See Council of Europe (2001). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- 6.
Diseño de titulaciones. Documento marco UPV. Approved by the University’s Governing Council in February 2008. Retrieved September 18th, 2010, from http://www.upv.es/entidades/VECE/menu_urlc.html?/entidades/VECE/infoweb/vece/info/U0399286.pdf
- 7.
The Bologna Declaration can be retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/education/higher-education/doc1290_en.htm. Last accessed 18/09/2010.
- 8.
“Promoting Language Learning and Language Diversity: An Action Plan 2004-06” (2003), EU policy document available from http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2003:0449:FIN:EN:PDF. Retrieved 14/11/2009.
- 9.
The Spanish Ministry of Education and Science is currently in a process of adapting all of the official university degrees into graduate and postgraduate courses. Further information may be found in Royal Decree 1393/2007 published on 30th October 2007 in the Official State Gazette. Available online from http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2007/10/30/pdfs/A44037-44048.pdf. Retrieved 15/11/2009.
- 10.
This is an elective subject worth 4.5 credits (45 h of student workload) open to all UPV students. For further information on this subject, see the Course Study Guide on the UPV website at http://www.upv.es/pls/oalu/sic_asi.Busca_Asi?P_VISTA=%26P_IDIOMA=c%26p_codi=3235%26p_caca=act
- 11.
For further reference see Gimeno Sanz et al. (2011).
- 12.
For further information go to http://eec.lboro.ac.uk/learningtech/jtor.htm
- 13.
For further reference go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screencast
- 14.
For further information go to http://www.ocwconsortium.org/component/ocwc/memberprofile/123
- 15.
For further information go to http://sakaiproject.org/
- 16.
Edu Tools http://www.edutools.info/item_list.jsp?pj=8 features comparative reviews of current Learning Management Systems.
- 17.
For further reference go to http://loro.open.ac.uk/
- 18.
Vygotsky, L. (1934/1986). Thought and Language, trans. A. Kozulin. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
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Sanz, A.M.G. (2014). Fostering Learner Autonomy in Technology-Enhanced ESP Courses. In: Bárcena, E., Read, T., Arús, J. (eds) Languages for Specific Purposes in the Digital Era. Educational Linguistics, vol 19. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02222-2_2
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