Tertiary EFL Students’ Learner Autonomy: The Roles of Teachers in the Classroom

Abstract

Learner autonomy has been considered the central aim of education because of its significant role in enabling students to develop into successful lifelong learners. In modern times, students have many opportunities to learn outside the classroom, the ideal context for learner autonomy development. Therefore, research about the development of learner autonomy in the out-of-class learning context needs to receive more focus, especially in Vietnam. Based on sociocultural theory as the theoretical framework, the current research aims to explore the potential of promoting EFL tertiary students’ learner autonomy in the out-of-class learning context through teachers’ roles in the classroom. Data collected from answers to a questionnaire on learner autonomy and teachers’ roles (N=709) suggested significant correlations between factors of the situational, behavioral, and psychological dimensions of learner autonomy and the roles of teachers as a resource, an evaluator, a controller, an instructor, a facilitator, and a co-learner in the classroom. The follow-up semi-structured in-depth group interviews (N=35) revealed that the factors that mediated the relationship between learner autonomy and teachers’ roles were the students’ motivation, teacher autonomy, trust, and care. These results help to bridge in-class and out-of-class learning and provide pedagogical implications to foster learner autonomy development in the out-of-class learning context.