4.5 Discussion

Learner confidence

It was shown that while some students reported on their progress positively and others negatively, ability did not seem to play a role in their answers. Therefore, it is assumed that in a further study of learner confidence, we would need to construe a different item that addresses both progress and confidence in one's ability. A few options are presented below:

'I trust my abilities in learning a language.'

'I think I am good at languages.'

Attribution theory

If interpreted in a certain way, the results concerning this issue seem to be terrifying. Most successful students ascribe their success to external factors, and they undoubtedly see the teacher as extremely dominant in determining their progress. However, these inferences are ambiguous – for the students may simply regard the teacher as a skilled facilitator who gives ample opportunities for practice and personal growth.

Another problem connected with attribution theory lies in the fact that learners often attribute their success or failure to two or more factors. This would make quantitative research into the issue problematic or unreliable.

Although this part of the research provided a deep insight into the different factors students see as important in their progress, any further research into the problem would need to take a very different route. We would either need to offer a forced-choice item, strictly determining the range of possibilities, or undertake a more in-depth exploration of the topic. A few options for questionnaire items are presented below:

'If I am not successful in learning, it is mainly because I do not try hard enough.'

'If I am successful in learning, it is…

a) mainly because I work hard on my language outside the classroom'

b) mainly because I am active in the lesson'

c) mainly because of the group of people in the class'

d) mainly because of the teacher'

e) mainly because of the textbook'

Teacher/learner roles

Without any prompt, the students addressed teacher/learner roles that were almost exclusively related to measures of control in learning, providing a number of valuable contributions to the issue. This gives great support to our theory (addressed in Chapter 4.3.4) that learner autonomy – at least in relation to teacher/learner roles – is truly relevant to the learners' perceptions of their learning.

In addressing teacher roles, the students were divided into those who preferred the teacher as being in full control of their learning, and those who perceived him as a facilitator. In their perceptions of learner roles, however, they gave solid support to the learner as an active participant in the learning process.

However, in any further research, we need to consider the fact that not all learners are able to reflect on learner/teacher roles. Neither Cinderella nor Hansel, for instance, were able to characterize a good teacher.

A questionnaire enquiry into the issue of roles might take inspiration in the beliefs about roles that we have collected and categorized. Surprisingly enough, most of the beliefs collected are reminiscent of the beliefs presented in Chapter 3.3. A few ideas for questionnaire items follow:

'I believe it is the teacher's / the learner's responsibility to…

set work outside the classroom'

tell the students what they need to learn'

being interesting and stimulating'

give opportunities for learning'

explain grammar points'

organize the lesson'

maintain discipline'

give feedback on learning'

discover new ways to practice'

be active in the lesson'

reduce stress'

be internally motivated'

create a pleasant atmosphere in the classroom'

(items assessed on a 5-point Likert scale with 'the teacher' and 'the learner' at opposite ends)

Lesson/curriculum planning – active involvement in the learning process

The research has shown that a majority of the students demonstrated a willingness to participate in lesson/curriculum changes. In this way, they also showed their ability to reflect on their personal needs for improvement in the language. Three students believed that the locus of any lesson/curriculum change lay exclusively with the teacher, and another three demanded changes that we assumed ran counter to the idea of learner autonomy.

As was observed with Hansel, however, Item 6 in itself is not reliable in assessing the students' ability to shape the lessons to their needs. In any further research, we would therefore suggest using a cluster of items that investigate beliefs about self-awareness and active participation in lesson/curriculum planning. A few ideas follow:

'I know what my weaknesses in the language are.'

'I know how to change my English course to suit me better.'

'I would be happy to participate in planning our lessons.'

Managing anxiety

The analysis showed that the sources of learner anxiety are not restricted to the categories presented in the relevant literature. It naturally follows that more research into learner anxiety needs to be undertaken, or that tools such as Oxford's SILL (1989) should be taken with a grain of salt.

In any further research, this problem may be remedied by presenting respondents with a cluster of items that investigate anxiety and overcoming it in very general terms. A number of ideas follow:

'Sometimes I feel stressed or uncomfortable in lessons.'

'I have found ways to overcome my feelings of stress in lessons.'

'I am ready to confront my feelings of stress in lessons.'

Motivation

Our analysis served to prove the fact that determining a learner's motivation is a very complex task. This is not surprising, for, as was shown in Chapter 3.1.4, the concept of motivation is vast and might be, from certain points of view, made synonymous with learner autonomy. It seems that with most of the learners (Shrek, Rapunzel, Lord Farquard, Fairy Godmother, Gretel), there is an interplay of intrinsic and extrinsic factors. However, the students who did display a strong intrinsic motivation (Snow White, Pinocchio, Donkey, Fiona, Hansel) show a great urge and persistence in learning, while those who reported on short-term goals and external stimulation often report on lacking the necessary drive to continue in their study. This gives support to the theories of motivation presented in Chapter 3.1.1.

Reports on the relation between motivation and success give slight support to the idea that success (or failure) produce motivation (or lack of thereof) – most students believed that it was success (or failure) that motivated (or demotivated) them. However, given the findings presented in the section on attribution theory (i.e. no students attributing success to internal factors), this conclusion does not seem to be very reliable.

Provided the complex and unreliable nature of our attempts to determine the nature of the learners' motivation, we envision great problems in any further questionnaire research into the issue. Therefore, the research might aim in a different direction – one which seems to be closer to the idea of autonomous learning – and attempt to determine to what extent learners are able to take control of their motivation. Some responses in our research (e.g. Rapunzel, Item 14) are already resonant with Benson's (2001) survey of research into controlling motivational factors. Quoting Ushioda's study, Benson concludes that "learners who know how to limit the motivational damage and take self-motivational initiatives will be at a considerable advantage" (2001: 70). Our study has already shown that learners who are able to nurture their intrinsic motivation or find strong stimulation elsewhere perceive their learning more positively and may take steps towards an independent pursuit of their goals (e.g. Snow White, Item 14).

A further study into the issue might therefore attempt to gauge learners' readiness to control their motivation, in a very general way. A few ideas for questionnaire items follow:

'I easily lose interest in learning the language.'

'I enjoy learning the language.'

'I need someone to motivate me to learn.'

'If I do not make progress fast enough, I lose motivation.'

'My progress in the language motivates me.'

'I do not get discouraged easily.'

Finding opportunities to learn independently

In comparing responses to Items 3 and 15, it seems that most of the students do not perceive their independent work outside the classroom as contributing greatly to their progress in the language. However, most of them did report on a variety of independent learning activities. This suggests that however active they are in pursuing their learning goals independently, they still regard formal instruction as a major determinant of their success.

Our findings also show that receptive activities (reading, listening) are much more prevalent than productive activities (writing, speaking) in the students' independent work. This may suggest that the learners are unaware of the range of possibilities in independent work that may help them become fluent language users, or that they are not willing to use these opportunities.

The range of strategies the students displayed – actively and without being prompted – also offers interesting conclusions. It may be argued that certain strategies (e.g. the translation of a relatively large piece of text) may fall into the 'not recommended' category, as shown in Chapter 3.4. However, one could retort by saying that every independent act of learning is the act of an autonomous mind that tries to make the learning "self-appropriated", in Carl Rogers's (1969: 153) terms. This goes hand in hand with Rees-Miller's argument against strategy training, quoted in Chapter 3.4. However, our findings are positive in suggesting that some students take an active approach to independent work.

In any further research, it does not seem wise to present learners with a choice of preferred strategies, as was the case in Cotterall's (1999: 504) study (not to mention the fact that her strategic items are restricted to the metacognitive domain). In doing so, one would easily run into the problem of assessing the students according to one's criteria, rather than according to theirs. Moreover, our study gave sufficient evidence to show that the range of strategies learners employ is vast and largely unpredictable.

In any further study of the problem, we would probably limit our research to a cluster of learners' beliefs about the effectiveness of independent, out-of-class work, and their willingness to venture into this kind of learning. A few ideas for questionnaire items follow:

'Learning on my own really helps me in my progress in the language.'

'I think I won't learn the language if I only study it in the course.'

'I am ready to work a lot on my own.'

'I seek out opportunities to practice the language outside the classroom.'

'I believe I should try to use my language actively outside the classroom – in spoken or written communication.'

Reflecting on one's progress – the issue of external feedback

Six out of the fourteen students commented positively on the issue of testing. On the whole, students regarded tests as sources of feedback, motivation, anxiety and practice.

Although we have found support for both of the theories cited in our analysis, even the small sample of students provided for a surprising variety of opinions on the relevance of tests, as was shown in the previous paragraph. Therefore, it seems erroneous to assume that an affirmative attitude to tests necessarily means a relatively low level of learner autonomy, as was preconceived in Cotterall (1999: 500). An autonomous learner would probably not perceive a test as a necessary means to get feedback on his progress, or as something that provides him with motivation. However, only three of the students connected tests with the issue of control over learning, and another three perceived them as a source of motivation.

In any further research, the function of a test would need to be specified in order to obtain reliable results from learners. This aspect was greatly underestimated in both of the studies conceived by Cotterall (1995; 1999). A number of possible questionnaire items follows:

'I need regular tests to see my progress.'

'Regular tests motivate me to work harder.'

'I do not need tests to see how I am progressing.'

Beliefs about the learning process – the issue of translation

The analysis demonstrated that the students held complex views about translation. This may or may not have been a consequence of the language course; however, the learners gave us little evidence to assume that their beliefs about translation are a residuum of the grammar-translation approach. Rather than that, they displayed the ability to see its potential, or their preference of other forms of practice.

In any further research, we would therefore advise caution in relation to the issue of translation. 'Preference of translation in language learning', a belief used in Horwitz (1999) and Perclová (2003), might be given multiple meaning by learners; and although there is apparently nothing wrong with researching it, we are forced to conclude that in this general form, it says virtually nothing about the true beliefs learners hold about language learning.

The issue of age

Beliefs about age have been investigated thoroughly in Horwitz's (1999) study and have been given a detailed treatment in the relevant literature (Skehan 1989; Ellis 1985). The most frequent belief is that age influences language learning aptitude; more precisely, some adults believe that they learn more slowly than children. The great number of studies cited in the literature brings conflicting results, but most of them agree that age is not a decisive factor in learning a language. However, a much more important belief links age with attribution theory. It may be assumed that people who believe that their age is a decisive factor in their failure to learn a language attribute their lack of success to a factor which is internal, but over which they have no control. Thus, their beliefs run counter to the idea of learner autonomy (as we have shown in Chapter 3.1.2).

Our research did show us that some students do attribute their lack of progress to age. However, the issue proved to be much more complex. Some students reported that at their age, people are not ready to submit themselves to games and roleplays, work in an unorthodox seating arrangement (thus making the employment of certain patterns of interaction rather difficult) and they are worried about making mistakes. Sadly enough, these are a few of the attitudes that work towards autonomous learning, as was shown in Chapter 3.3.

It is clear that age does not only play a role in learners' perceptions of their aptitude, but that it is also vital to their self-concept as learners. Middle-aged learners might find certain situations in the classroom stressful and certain activities childish, even though these situations and activities are created for the sole purpose of making the lessons more lively and supplying the learners with a range of roles that are available to them in normal human discourse.

Further research into the topic seems unclear. One thing is certain, however; learners who hold the aforementioned beliefs might perceive their path towards greater autonomy as a trail of many trials and tribulations.

Reactions to a more autonomous learning environment

In our analysis, we have described, categorized and interpreted the students' reactions to the language course. In our research, no attempts were made to study previous learning experience; also, no reliable evidence was given for the reader to believe that the learning environment the students were exposed to was truly 'autonomous'. To tell the truth, the language course did not reach the degree of autonomy as described in Rogers (1969) or Brandes and Ginnis (1986). Therefore, we were worried that this research aim would produce no results. However, the opposite was true.

The issues the students addressed were almost exclusively related to the concept of autonomy. In their reactions, they gave positive assessment to the relevance of cooperative, interdependent learning, intrinsic motivation, adopting new strategies, being given opportunities for practice and learner responsibility in the classroom. In a few negative reactions, some other students problematized the relevance of cooperative learning and group activities.

The previous sections focused on the students' beliefs about some general issues concerning language learning and autonomy. However, these were not connected to any particular learning experience, and there was no way of assessing how their views have changed over the two years in the Internationalization Program. It was only this section that addressed the question. Our findings are promising in suggesting that a lot of the students did change their views towards becoming more autonomous; especially those who, in our analysis, commented on previous learning experience (Fiona, Shrek, Pinocchio, Hansel, Puss In Boots), adopting new strategies (Snow White, Fairy Godmother, Pinocchio) and opportunities provided in the course (Prince Charming, Hansel, Shrek, Snow White). This, perhaps, runs counter to the pessimistic view of Czech learners as presented in Smíšková (2005: 231), as being 'shy, lacking confidence, unable to have and present ideas of their own, terrified of making themselves too conspicuous and waiting for the teacher to tell them exactly when and what to do'. Our research has been successful in supporting the view that given a prolonged exposure to a cooperative learning environment where a more or less independent approach to one's learning is required, a great number of learners are willing and able to change towards becoming more autonomous.