The Possibility Of Applying YouTube To Motivate Learning Autonomy

Abstract

The notion of collaborative learning and teaching in foreign language education has been popular for decades. This concept focuses on learners and encourages them to learn a language by experiential and shared learning. The learners are believed to learn best if they learn through the conscious or unconscious internalization of their own or observed experiences which build upon our past experiences or knowledge. There is an assumption that the learning that can result from the experience, if the activities are manifested 'properly', is a commodity called 'knowledge'. This tends to be the view of the training and development literature (Moon, 2001). Within this concept, the role of teachers as collaborators in the teaching and learning process represents a change to traditional educational patterns. Moreover,increasing numbers of instructors are realizing the importance of motivating learning autonomy among students in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) classrooms. In this paper, I will consider to what extent the concept of a teacher as a collaborator can be applied to the university EFL classes in Taiwan, and how to motivate EFL learners' autonomy via YouTube. Attention is first paid to the theoretical grounding of the concept and the characteristics of a teacher as a collaborator. Following this, the English education contexts in Taiwan is highlighted in order to consider how far this concept can be achieved. Finally, conclusions will be drawn from this small-scale exploration. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]