After
I have read the articles about SLA and the way learners could achieve great
goals, I can say that learners' autonomy is the first important factor that
determines the students' success in SLA.
For
me, the best way to encourage the students to be autonomous learners is through
motivating them, especially intrinsically. Intrinsic motivation that arises
from the learners' own desire to learn is the best way to make them autonomous.
This can be achieved through giving the students information about the
importance of learning the language. Teachers can provide examples for their
own success in learning languages because of their own desire to do so, and
encourage students to develop their own skills in learning. Teachers and instructors, also, have to make
a close relationship with learners so as to be aware about the reasons they are
learning the language and their questions and concerns.
Another
way through which we can make autonomous learners is through acceptance of
their own opinions. We have to give students full chances to discuss and share
their views about learning, and give them a wide space for accepting their
understanding for everything. This can be done through open discussions that
comprehend sharing their own interests and concerns. Paying attention to the students’
different learning styles and strategies can help a lot in this issue. Whenever the teacher is aware about his/her
students learning styles, the materials he/she will provide have to be suitable
for all the needs and requirements of the learners. In addition, I think that
using the ABCD model is a very successful way in building learners autonomy for
it gives them full details about what they are learning and the way for
assessment.
Furthermore,
using technology can also play a facilitative role in building autonomous
learners. In my opinion, the best way in this situation is using blogs in which
students can reflect freely on what they are learning, and if they are
satisfied with what they have learnt. It is also important as students can
share them together and help each other collaboratively. Rubrics as well are very
effective in developing learning autonomy, because it gives the students enough
details about what to do and justifies the grades for each assessment. However,
giving the students hand in fixing and constructing the rubrics and grades for
themselves is a brilliant idea that enables them figure out what was important
to be assessed in their courses and how much grades should be assigned for each
part.
Khadija Muhammad Abdussalam
U of K
Khartoum, Sudan
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