Volume 4 : Issues 3 & 4, July - December (2017)

ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING THROUGH LEARNER AUTONOMY

Since the beginning of the 21st century, education in India is slowly moving towards learner- centered education rather than teacher-centered. However there are innumerable hurdles, challenges and issues existing across the subjects, disciplines and levels of education to transform the whole education system from teacher-centered into learner-centered. This paper is an effort in the direction of leaner-centered language education by discussing the concept of ‘learner autonomy’ in general as well as in the context of English language learning. The paper describes the characteristics of an autonomous learner from the language learning point of view. The paper further unfolds the process of developing learner autonomy by discussing the stages or steps, strategies, techniques and activities with appropriate illustrations. The major aim of the paper is to make the teachers and teacher educators of English become aware of and prepared for the upcoming shifts in the language pedagogy i.e. leading the learners to learner autonomy rather than making them dependent on teachers and classroom teaching.

learner autonomy, English Language Learning, English Language Teaching, self-learning, development of learner autonomy

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