92-pages-GUIDELINES-FOR-SECONDARY-SCHOOLS-All-Streams-and-Sections

LEARNER AUTONOMY AND LEARNER TRAINING
Autonomous learning has been attracting interest and attention in the Moroccan EFL context since the beginning
of the 90s. With the standards-based approach to teaching English as a foreign language in Morocco, many
professionals (policy-makers, textbook designers, teachers, etc) started to think it is time to provide opportunities
for learners to learn how to learn. In the same vein, the various EFL official guidelines (1994, 2005, 2006)
devoted a lot of space to learner training urging teachers to help learners develop the necessary skills to become
more successful and independent learners. In this section, we will
outline the theoretical assumptions behind autonomous learning,
shed some light on the relationship between autonomous learning and learner training,
describe roles both learners and teachers are required to play within the framework of learner
training, and finally
suggest practical ways for implementing learner training.
Autonomous learning defined
Defining abstract concepts such as autonomy has very often resulted in confusing and sometimes problematic
conclusions. However, in these guidelines, the term autonomous learning is used when learners are handed over
responsibility and ownership - total or partial-of many processes. Learner autonomy involves …
• learning in which a learner or group of learners study entirely on their own, possibly during a
part or parts of a course, without direct( or too much) intervention from a tutor;
• learning in which all or some of the objectives are either determined by learners, or initiated by
the teacher;
• learning which involves learners in taking decisions about what they learn(content), how they
learn(method), and when they learn;
• learning which leads learners to become more reflective and more concerned with their own selfassessment;
• learning whose capacity and motivation is not necessarily inborn;
• different socio-cultural contexts which dictate different or at times idiosyncratic ways for dealing
with the promotion of learner autonomy.
As stated above, part and parcel of the learner’s role in autonomous learning is self-assessment. In fact, the
ability to take charge of one’s own learning includes the ability to assess that learning, both to evaluate its
effectiveness and trigger further learning.
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التوجيهات التربوية وبرامج تدريس مادة اللغة الإنجليزية س ت ث ت 2007