The Effect of Strategy-based Instruction on Iranian EFL Learners’ Learner Autonomy: Learners’ Perceptions

Abstract

The current study was an effort to investigate the impact of strategy-based instruction (SBI) on Iranian tertiary learners’ perception of autonomy. To this purpose, forty-eight English Translation students in a reading comprehension course at Islamic Azan University, Islamshahr, Iran, were selected and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Then, a package of nine 90-minute strategy-based instruction sessions was integrated into the experimental group, and the conventional method of reading was applied for the control group. After the intervention, a semi-structured interview was conducted with 12 learners of the experimental group. The results obtained from statistical data analysis revealed that SBI had a significant impact on Iranian learners’ perception of autonomy. However, this impact was only observed in the Activities component of Learner Autonomy. The results of the interview indicated that the non-significant values of the other two components of Learner Autonomy could be explained by the culture-bound and context-dependent nature of Learner Autonomy. The results also showed that integrating SBI in English language classes raises learners’ awareness and fosters their autonomy. The findings of this study highly recommend the development of more strategy-based courses in universities and the integration of SBI in various ELT classes in order to raise learners’ awareness and foster Learner Autonomy.