Attaining Motivation and Learner Autonomy to Encourage Independent Study.

This paper aims to investigate the student-teachers' beliefs about learner autonomy where English tends to be a target language. The idea of learner autonomy is not new. Yet it has been widely referred to in the field of English Language Teaching (ELT) only over the last decade. Previously, the term referred more directly to practical interventions or situations of learning which were more favoured within ELT: 'individualization', and 'learner independence'. The overall study in this article indicates that student-teachers should have a positive approach towards the adoption of learner autonomy principles. Most student-teachers, however, do not want their future students to take part in the decision making process concerning the time and place of the course and the textbooks to be followed. In the light of the previous research done by the researches, teacher-educators are recommended to encourage their students to engage in out-of-class tasks, to involve them in decision-making on the learning or teaching processes and to employ portfolios and teacher logs for the development of practical knowledge and thinking operations. There is an important role for teachers in this process since the ability to behave autonomously for students is dependent upon their teacher creating a classroom culture where autonomy is accepted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]