4.3.4 The structure of the interview

The theoretical part of our thesis addressed some key problems in the study of autonomy and demonstrated, in a number of ways, the complexity of the issue. Also, it was understood that it is virtually impossible to include each and every factor that relates to autonomy in our research, especially given its limits. In constructing the interview, we addressed a number of key factors, such as theories of motivation, learner/teacher roles, active involvement or finding opportunities to learn, and provided a sufficient number of open questions to ensure that the students will address other issues themselves, provided they find them relevant. Following is the structure of the interview, with a brief explanation of the relevance of each question and the issues studied:

Item 1: Have you been successful in your learning of English in the past year?

Translated as follows:

Myslíte si, že jste byl(a) v posledním roce ve studiu angličtiny úspěšný(á)?

In this item, the students are asked to reflect on their progress. However, given the general nature of the question, it might be difficult to find out to what extent they are able to do this. What this question does elicit, however, is the measure of their learner confidence (see Chapters 2.3 and 3.5).

Item 2: Why / why not?

Translated as follows:

Čemu přičítáte svůj úspěch/neúspěch?

This question attempts to find out what factors the learners consider decisive in determining their success or failure. The answers will be assessed in relation to attribution theory (see Chapter 3.1.2).

Item 3: How much have your teachers contributed to your progress / lack of progress in the language?

Translated as follows:

Do jaké míry se vaši učitelé podíleli na vašem úspěchu / neúspěchu ve studiu?

Again, this question addresses attribution theory, in a more specific context. At the same time, the answers are going to yield data on the dominance of the teacher/learner in the learning process, thus giving us some basic guidelines to the learner's perceptions of teacher/learner roles.

Item 4: What in particular did you like about the course?

Translated as follows:

Co se vám na tomto kurzu líbilo?

This is a very general open question which attempts to yield some positive responses to a more autonomous learning environment.

Item 5 Setkala jste se v kurzu s nějakými učebními metodami, aktivitami či situacemi, které byly nezvyklé, ale líbily se vám?

Translated as follows:

Were there any methods, activities or situations in the course that were unusual but that you liked?

This is a more specific question which follows from Item 4. Both these items (as well as the following four) work on the assumption that the students had possibly experienced a more traditional approach to teaching prior to entering the Internationalization project, and had acquired beliefs and preferences regarding learning and its facilitation that were challenged in the program. This notion is explored in detail in Smíšková (2005), in relation to the same program.

Item 6: What would you change about the course?

Translated as follows:

Co byste na kurzu změnil(a)?

In this general item, the students are asked to voice their criticisms of the language course. It seems to complement Item 4 in eliciting general feedback on their learning experience; however, the wording of the question suggests that the students take an active part in shaping the course, which – as we have observed in Chapter 2.5 – is a vital part of the concept of learner autonomy. Thus, this item will – most importantly – yield data on the students' readiness to take part in lesson and curriculum planning.

Item 7: Was there anything in the course you felt stressed or uncomfortable about?

Translated as follows:

Bylo něco, co vás v kurzu stresovalo, nebo díky čemu jste se cítil(a) nepohodlně?

This is a more specific question which complements Item 6. However, rather than inspecting another dimension of learner criticism, we are interested in the issue of anxiety – whether it plays a vital part in the respondents' learning. Also, the question may provide some data on their ability to understand and cope with their feelings. We have touched upon the issue in Chapters 2.3 and 3.3; it also constitutes a vital part of Oxford's (1989) research.

Item 8: Was there anything in the course that seemed unnatural?

Translated as follows:

Bylo v kurzu něco, co vám připadalo nepřirozené?

This is another specific question which follows from Item 6. However, the word 'unnatural' does not necessarily have negative connotations; the students may simply report on situations that were unexpected or that ran counter to their idea what 'natural' or 'normal' learning looks like. Here, we need to remember that learners do not necessarily supply words with the same meanings as does the literature on language acquisition; therefore, this item bears no relation to the idea of 'naturalistic language learning' (Benson 2001: 62) or any similar concepts.

Item 9: Were there any teaching methods, activities or situations in the course that you really didn't like?

Translated as follows:

Setkal(a) jste se v kurzu s nějakými učebními metodami, aktivitami či situacemi, které se vám opravdu nelíbily?

This specific item again follows from Item 6; in here, the students are directly asked to voice their criticisms of particular methods, activities or situations. The aim of this question (as well as the preceding two) is to elicit more data on the mismatches between learner and teacher agendas.

Item 10: How would you characterize a good teacher?

Translated as follows:

Jak byste popsal(a) dobrého učitele?

Unlike the six items that preceded it, this open question aims to elicit the learners' perceptions of a particular issue within the context of learner autonomy – the issue of teacher roles. Due to the general nature of the item, we expect a wide range of responses.

Item 11: How would you characterize a good learner?

Translated as follows:

Jak byste popsal(a) dobrého studenta?

To build a complex picture of the students' perceptions of role relationships, this item was constructed to complement the preceding question, in focusing on learner roles. Again, this question is very general and may not necessarily yield data that are related to learner autonomy; however, in this way, we will again find out whether autonomy (or, in this context, measures of control) is a relevant issue in the students' attitudes to learner/teacher roles.

Item 12: Why are you studying English?

Translated as follows:

Proč se učíte anglicky?

This item aims to explore the types of motivation the students might have. It will be assessed against the intrinsic/extrinsic theory of motivation; however, we hope the learners' answers will problematize the issue of motivation, providing useful insights into the complexity of the issue.

Item 13: Do you feel you are motivated to study English?

Translated as follows:

Nacházíte ke studiu angličtiny chuť?

Unlike the previous item, this question aims to assess the dimensions of the students' motivation. In our view, this is a necessary complement of the preceding question, as it is easy to imagine a student who knows exactly why he is studying the language (more career opportunities, high test scores, job requirements) but finds no internal drive to pursue his goals.

Item 14: Why / why not?

Translated as follows:

Proč?

This item attempts to elicit reasons why the students are or are not motivated to study. This question will only be relevant if we get a negative answer in the preceding item (otherwise, the answers might be similar to those elicited in Item 12); therefore, this question will not necessarily yield any important data.

Item 15: Do you find opportunities to get in contact with English outside the classroom?

Translated as follows:

Vyhledáváte příležitosti se zabývat angličtinou mimo kurz?

This question attempts to find out the dimensions of the students' active, independent involvement in the learning process outside the language classroom (an issue studied in Chapters 2.3, 2.5 and 3.5). Even though this is a yes/no question, we expect the students to provide us with a bulk of data concerning the nature of their independent learning, as well as the different strategies they may use.

Additional A: Would you like to be given more tests?

Translated as follows:

Dostával(a) byste rád(a) více testů?

This question explores Cotterall's (1995) notion of the importance some students give to external feedback in the form of tests, as opposed to internal feedback, or self-monitoring. In other words, is it wise to assume that students who want to be given regular tests rely exclusively on external forms of feedback and therefore are largely unable to monitor their progress themselves? Cotterall agrees that the issue is complicated but concludes that an understanding between the teacher and autonomous learners "would allocate the learner responsibility for seeking and using feedback from various sources" (1995: 199). Answers to this question might shed some light on the issue; provided that the students expand on the problem. Also, we might get valuable insights into the degrees to which they can reflect on their progress.

Additional B: Would you like to do more translation in class?

Translated as follows:

Dělal(a) byste rád(a) v hodinách víc překladů?

Following from the slightly far-fetched interpretation of Horwitz's (1999) questionnaire item in Chapter 3.5, this question attempts to assess the relevance the students ascribe to translation as a learning technique. As we attempted to do without translation in the language course, it was assumed that some students might find this as a drawback. However, most importantly, this question might possibly reveal a wide range of attitudes towards translation. As well as that, it may tell us whether the students' perceptions of translation are a residuum of the grammar-translation approach that they might have been subjected to in the past.

Additional C: Do you need to be forced to study?

Translated as follows:

Potřebujete, aby vás někdo k učení nutil?

The last of the additional questions assesses the importance of any type of external motivation (an issue we problematized at the end of Chapter 3.1.1) and is thus related to Items 12, 13 and 14.

To conclude our description of the research, a concise list of issues that are directly explored by means of the above questionnaire follows:

• learner confidence (1, 2)

• attribution theory (2, 3)

• learner/teacher roles (3, 10, 11)

• lesson/curriculum planning – active involvement in the learning process (6)

• managing anxiety (7)

• motivation (12, 13, 14, C)

• finding opportunities (15)

• reflecting on one's progress – the issue of external feedback (A)

• beliefs about the learning process – the issue of translation (B)