Fostering Learner Autonomy in Educational Settings

Abstract

There is an old proverb which says “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime”, the connotation of the proverb is to help somebody do something on his or her own; this can be a perfect basis for teaching a language. Autonomy is a concept which transcends beyond learning and is not only limited to educational settings. When people exert independence in their work, new horizons will be opened to them and they will be more susceptible to succeed in their lives. Teachers are not available throughout students’ lives; therefore, students must learn how to learn and how to be independent from their teachers. In today’s world with Corona pandemic in most countries, though many students receive off-line contents from their teachers, if they do not accept responsibility for their own learning, no fruitful upshots will be gained in their studies. Thus, it is mandatory for students to know what to learn and how to learn; in other words, they should practice autonomy in learning. The role of teacher in guiding learners toward gaining learners autonomy stands out. In a successful education system, there are many non-stop researches conducted to enhance the quality and efficiency of education. The present research tried to make some contribution and move in line with this purpose and to provide a compendium of information about ways to foster learner autonomy in educational settings.