Realizing Learner Autonomy in Pakistan: EFL Teachers’ Beliefs about Their Practices

Abstract

Learner autonomy (LA) has been a key area of interest in foreign language learning and teaching for more than three decades, but a limited space has been awarded to the investigation of teachers’ practices in fostering LA. Following an interpretive paradigm and a qualitative approach, present study intended to unearth the strategies teachers of English use to make their learners autonomous. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with sixteen English teachers from four public universities of province Punjab. Findings revealed that, in general, teachers use teacher-centered approach while participants’ practices and use of various strategies showed their preference for the role of facilitator more than of counselor or resource. Results of this research imply that the goal of LA can be achieved through offering teachers training to make them aware of the significance of making their learners autonomous and incentives for the promotion of LA in their classroom.