Learner autonomy: Practices used and challenges encountered by EFL teachers in fostering learner autonomy at tertiary level

• Main Authors: Le, Van Tuyen, Huynh, Thi An
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: H. : ĐHQGHN 2019
• Subjects: Teacher autonomy; Learner autonomy; Practices; Vietnamese tertiary level; Challenges
• Online Access: http://repository.vnu.edu.vn/handle/VNU_123/67214; https://doi.org/10.25073/2525-2445/vnufs.4402
• Institution: Vietnam National University, Hanoi

It is undoubted that teacher autonomy (TA) and learner autonomy (LA) are among the factors that affect the effectiveness of English teaching and learning in non-native English speaking contexts like Vietnam. Investigating how teachers and students perceive TA and LA may be considered a valuable addition to the literature. This study, therefore, aimed to explore students’ perceptions of teachers’ practices used to foster LA and teachers’ perceptions of challenges they may encounter in fostering LA in EFL classes at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HUTECH)-Vietnam. Two instruments were employed to collect both qualitative and quantitative data, namely the questionnaire and interview with the participation of 12 EFL teachers and 160 frst-year English majored students. The fndings of the study revealed that most of the EFL teachers who taught the frst-year students used practices through responsibility-informing and in-class activities to foster LA. However, the fndings also indicated that the teachers encountered several challenges related to students, teachers and the context. It is expected that the fndings of the study would partly contribute to the enhancement of TA and LA in English language education at HUTECH in particular and at the Vietnamese tertiary level in general.