AUTONOMY IN LEARNING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Abstract

As a consequence of the Turkish educational system’s shift from a teacher-centred to student-centred approach in the academic year of 2005-2006, school curricula of all subject areas have moved towards the development of learner autonomy. In response to this institutionally-directed reform, this ‘conceptual framework study’ intends to both inform researchers about the development of learner autonomy in learning English as a foreign language, and teacher autonomy considering the pivotal role that teachers have in the development of learner autonomy. That European Language Portfolios (ELPs) increase in use worldwide as a means to promote autonomy also merits attention. For this reason, the study also tries to inform researchers about ELP use and assessment in the Turkish context, and to provide the wider research community with important local messages of issues surrounding ELP implementation in schools. It further debates the issue of assessment since it requires reconsidering with the advent of ELPs.

Keywords: learner autonomy, European language portfolio, ELP, foreign language learning, EFL

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