Abstract
This paper focuses on the development of learner autonomy and foreign language oral production through peer collaboration in a Brazilian teacher education program. Brazilian students seldom have the opportunity to speak English beyond the classroom. In pre-service English teacher development, few students are proficient in the language, and to become teachers, they all need to make the most of opportunities to improve their competence in the language and to familiarize themselves with all the aspects of teaching and learning. This situation and the fact the university had an underused ICT laboratory for teacher development, led to the organization of a social learning space to stimulate autonomous work and collaboration among students beyond the classroom. A few students participated as volunteer collaborators, and their engagement in the activities was analyzed to find out whether they had opportunities to develop autonomy and oral skills. The aim of the paper is twofold: first, to describe the course of action designed for this context, drawing from literature on learner autonomy (Benson, 2000, 2011; Dam, 2000; Kohonen, 1992; Little, 1996; 1997; Murray, 2014) and social learning spaces (Allhouse, 2015; Heigham, 2011; Murray, 2014); and second, to discuss the development and preliminary results of this process.
Highlights
The purpose of this paper is to present an ongoing research project that has been conducted in a teacher education program in Brazil and its preliminary results
The project investigates how learner autonomy and oral production are promoted through peer collaboration in a social learning space (Allhouse, 2015; Heigham, 2011; Murray, 2014)
Since all the students in foreign language (FL) teacher education programs seek to become FL teachers, they need to be competent in English and engage themselves in the teaching and learning process
Summary
The purpose of this paper is to present an ongoing research project that has been conducted in a teacher education program in Brazil and its preliminary results. Since all the students in FL teacher education programs seek to become FL teachers, they need to be competent in English and engage themselves in the teaching and learning process. With this context in mind, we sought to encourage collaboration and foster autonomy. As part of the teaching staff of this program, we decided to design a project to help students use the ICT laboratory as a social learning space and to foster the development of autonomy and oral production through peer collaboration. Classes vary widely concerning students’ profiles and levels of competence in the English language
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