Autonomy in Language Learning and Teaching

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xi

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Alice Chik, Naoko Aoki, Richard Smith

   Pages 1-5

3. Learner Autonomy in Developing Countries

   • Richard Smith, Kuchah Kuchah, Martin Lamb

   Pages 7-27Open Access

4. Language Teacher Autonomy and Social Censure

   • Xuesong Gao

   Pages 29-49

5. Learner Autonomy and Groups

   • David M. Palfreyman

   Pages 51-72

6. Learner Autonomy and Digital Practices

   • Alice Chik

   Pages 73-92

7. Researching the Spatial Dimension of Learner Autonomy

   • Garold Murray

   Pages 93-113

8. Back Matter

   Pages 115-116

   PDF

This book seeks to expand the research agendas on autonomy in language learning and teaching in diverse contexts, by examining the present landscape of established studies, identifying research gaps and providing practical future research directions. Based on empirical studies, it explores research agendas in five emerging domains: language learning and teaching in developing countries; social censure and teacher autonomy; learner autonomy and groups; learner autonomy and digital practice; and finally, learner autonomy and space. In doing so, it sheds new light on the impact of digital media, group dynamics and the application of ecological perspectives on learner autonomy. The contributors present a novel reconsideration of new learning affordances, and their discussion of spatial dimensions provides much needed expansion in the field. This book will have international appeal and provide an invaluable resource for students and scholars of second language learning and higher education, as well as teacher educators.



Chapter 2 of this book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license via https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1057%2F978-1-137-52998-5_2.pdf. 

• autonomy
• education
• language
• Language Learning
• linguistics
• language teaching
• developing countries
• social censure
• learner autonomy
• group learning
• digital practices
• digital literacy
• applied linguistics
• Spaces for learning
• learning environments
• virtual learning
• research agendas
• East Asia
• Open Access

“For anyone with an interest in learner autonomy, this book provides a concise summary of recent research, with several specific suggestions for future research directions.” (Peter Beech, IATEFL Voices, Issue 266, January – February, 2019)

“Chik, Aoki, and Smith’s Autonomy in Language Learning is indeed an enriching read for anyone seeking to update and diversify their understanding of the concept of autonomy in the field of language and culture learning.” (Cercles, cercles.com, October, 2018)

​ “This book will inspire new research interest in autonomy in language learning and teaching. It illustrates and articulates a diverse set of empirical agendas across different domains and contexts. These will shape new and exciting strands of research that will contribute to enriching this important field of inquiry.” (Ema Ushioda, University of Warwick, UK)

“This book performs two very useful functions, exploring the concept of learner autonomy across a variety of learning contexts and sketching a possible research agenda for each. It is an invaluable resource for novice and experienced researchers alike. Postgraduate students with an interest in learner autonomy and a dissertation to write will find that it offers essential orientation and a wealth of possible topics.” (David Little, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland)

• Educational Studies, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, Australia

  Alice Chik

• Graduate School of Letters, Osaka University, Kobe, Japan

  Naoko Aoki

• Centre for Applied Linguistics, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom

  Richard Smith

Alice Chik is Senior Lecturer in Educational Studies and a leader of the Macquarie Multilingualism Research Group at Macquarie University, Australia. Alice’s primary area of research examines language learning and multilingual literacies in digital environments. Her particular interest in multilingualism is public discourse, representation, and narratives of everyday multilingual experience. She is the lead co-editor of ‘The multilingual city: Sydney case studies’ (2018).  


Naoko Aoki is Professor of the Graduate School of Letters, Osaka University, Japan, where she teaches Japanese as a second language pedagogy. She is a founding co-coordinator of JALT’s Learner Development SIG and was a co-convenor of AILA’s Learner Autonomy Research Network from 2011 to 2014. Her publications include Mapping the terrain of learner autonomy (2009), co-edited with Felicity Kjisik, Peter Voller and Yoshiyuki Nakata.


Richard Smith is a Reader and Associate Professor at the University of Warwick, UK. He co-founded the JALT Learner Development SIGin 1994. His publications include Learner Autonomy across Cultures (co-edited with David Palfreyman, 2003), as well as chapters and articles on teacher-learner autonomy, pedagogy of autonomy as appropriate methodology, and the relationship of teacher-research and teacher autonomy. Recently he has been focusing on work with teachers in developing countries in this latter area as academic coordinator for teacher-research mentoring schemes in Latin America and India.