Learner autonomy and digital practices

Abstract

This chapter calls for new interest in exploring learner autonomy and digital practices. With the wider availability and acceptability of digital media in our daily lives, we are also seeing new affordances for informal language learning. How do learners appropriate digital tools and spaces for language learning? What does learner autonomy contribute to language learning in the digital era? What are the impacts on researching learner autonomy in digital environments? In this chapter, I use a theoretical model of language learning beyond the classroom to evaluate affordances and constraints of learning. Based on auto/ethnographic data, this chapter suggests future research agendas in digital practices and autonomous language learning beyond the classroom.