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The small percentage of teachers who did not feel they promote learner autonomyin their teaching generally explained their position with regret and with referenceto the constraints they felt that were imposed by the structured system theyworked in. A typical comment here was the following:Sadly, at the moment I feel I do not do this enough. Although I take them to thelab to introduce them to the language learning possibilities available there andactively encourage weekly discussion in the Moodle discussion forum, it is notenough. I choose their graded readers for them … I assign tasks to completeoutside the class room … I decide the lesson plan … To encourage moreautonomy, teachers need less pressure from pacing schedules and from testing.RQ6: What challenges do teachers face in helping their learners becomemore autonomous?To counterbalance the above analysis of the ways in which the teachers said theypromote autonomy, we also invited them to comment on the challenges they feltthey faced in seeking to do so; unsurprisingly, they identified several adversefactors, some of which have already been signalled above:■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■Limited space within the curriculumLearners’ lack of previous experience of autonomous learningLack of incentive among learnersLearner reliance on the teacherLimited learner contact with English outside the classroomLearners’ focus on passing testsLack of relevant resources for teachers and learnersLack of learner ability to exploit resourcesLimited learner proficiency in EnglishPrescribed curricula and materialsLack of teacher autonomyTeachers’ limited expectations of what learners can achieve.Such factors reflect three sets of concerns related to learners, the institution, andteachers. Although the teachers felt strongly that institutional factors (e.g. thecurriculum) did hinder the extent to which they could promote learner autonomy,most of the limiting factors they identified pointed (as also indicated in thediscussion of RQ4 above) to what they saw as problems with learners’ attitudes,abilities, knowledge and motivation. Additional examples of such teacher views are:I can’t say that current system at the LC gives students chances of self-regulatedor self-directed learning nor that students have necessary skills for this.Teacher Beliefs Autonomy | 235