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Workshop 4: Developing a Strategy for Promoting LearnerAutonomyObjectivesThrough this workshop participants will:■■■■■■■■identify (perceived) challenges which exist in the Language Centre to thedevelopment of learner autonomyconsider feasible ways of responding to these challengesreview definitions of learner autonomy developed in Workshop 1 in the light ofissues covered in subsequent workshopsdiscuss ways of sustaining the development of a strategy for the promotion oflearner autonomy in the Language Centre.Task 1: Challenges in Promoting Learner AutonomyIn the study, Language Centre teachers highlighted a number of challenges topromoting learner autonomy. These can be grouped into three broad categories:Institutional FactorsLearner FactorsTeacher FactorsChallenges to LAHere are some examples of what teachers said. Discuss your reactions.“I teach second and third year students who are already in college but their levelof autonomy is really low. They don’t like to do things on their own. They “expect” tocover everything in class and most of them indeed struggle with tasks to be carriedout in small groups, let alone homework assignments, self-study components orcourse work which is assigned by the teacher to be carried out by individualstudent! It’s the learning culture the students “here” are used to”.“Although I take them to the lab to introduce them to the language learningpossibilities available there and actively encourage weekly discussion in the Moodlediscussion forum, it is not enough. I choose their graded readers for them (toprevent cheating), I assign tasks to complete outside the class room (to consolidatecourse material), I decide the lesson plan (to cover the pacing schedule) etc. Toencourage more autonomy, teachers need less pressure from pacing schedules andfrom testing”.“Students who wish to take charge of their own learning are able to do so, but thereis little effort to promote this”.264 | Teacher Beliefs Autonomy