FOSTERING LANGUAGE LEARNER AUTONOMY: INDONESIAN EFL LECTURERS’ VOICES

ENGLISH REVIEW: Journal of English Education Volume 7, Issue 1, December 2018 p-ISSN 2301-7554, e-ISSN 2541-3643 https://journal.uniku.ac.id/index.php/ERJEE FOSTERING LANGUAGE LEARNER AUTONOMY: INDONESIAN EFL LECTURERS’ VOICES Endang Darsih Department of English Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Universitas Kuningan, Indonesia Email: APA Citation: Darsih, E. (2018). Fostering language learner autonomy: Indonesian EFL lecturers’ voices. English Review: Journal of English Education, 7(1), 51-60. doi: 10.25134/erjee.v7i1.1495. Received: 21-08-2018 Accepted: 30-10-2018 Published: 01-12-2018 Abstract: Studies reported that education in Indonesia has not been promoting learner autonomy as the main goal of the learning process. In fact, it could be one of the solutions to improve the quality of Indonesian students and a key goal for tertiary English learning. This explorative study was conducted to find out lecturer’s beliefs about learner autonomy and the activities done by the lecturers to foster learner autonomy. Seventeen lecturers from English Education Study Program were voluntarily investigated and interviewed. Questionnaires about Teachers' Beliefs about Learner Autonomy compiled by Borg and Al-Busaidi (2012) were also employed in this study. The study revealed that majority of students were assessed to be not autonomous yet and there were various efforts and activities done by the lecturers to improve learner autonomy, such as providing a project based assignment, recommending a specific web and English mobile applications to assist their learning, keep motivating the students, fostering reading habit, involving students to select materials, and applying various teaching methodology. Keywords: learner autonomy; teacher’s beliefs; fostering learner autonomy; EFL; tertiary education. before the exam or when the lecturer asks them to do so. Besides, there were always excuses from university students to postpone the assignments. The absence of strong awareness from within the students about the importance of learner autonomy becomes the common problem here so it is necessary once there is a paradigm shift that learning is not only a transfer of knowledge to the students, but also to provide space for students to explore the information and knowledge needed by themselves. Besides, low motivation of the students is also the serious problem that needs to be solved. Students tend to participate and involve passively in the classroom activities, only some students participating actively in the classroom activities, and some are not enthusiastic in interacting with the lecturer and other students. Learner autonomy has become a trend for researchers in the last 10 years, but in INTRODUCTION Autonomous learning is considered the pedestal of individuals’ self-study, whereby, the individuals are largely responsible for their learning (Holec, 1981) as cited in Halil (2018) and learner autonomy has become a central ability to develop for a fruitful language learning/teaching process in EFL classes. However, based on researcher’s observation in the teaching and learning process, it can be said that the context of higher education in Indonesia has not been too promoting learner autonomy as the main goal of the learning process. Moreover, some education practitioners have not been too familiar with the term “learner autonomy”. In fact, as Lengkanawati (2014) said that learner autonomy is a vital factor in creating effective learning. Practice in the field shows that students have not shown high level of learning autonomy. This can be seen from students who tend to learn just 51 Endang Darsih Fostering language learner autonomy: Indonesian EFL lecturers’ voices Indonesia, the concept has yet to be thoroughly researched. There are several definitions of learner autonomy. Holec (1981) in Barilaro (2011) states that learner autonomy focuses on student involvement in their own learning process; namely in the determining of learning objectives, the content or materials, choosing the methods and techniques of learning, monitoring procedures of understanding and evaluating learning outcomes. In other words, learners are responsible in the learning process. Learner autonomy has been the focus of teachers, educators, and researchers in various contexts (Balcikanli, 2010; Benson, 2012; Borg & Al-Busaidi, 2012; Lengkanawati, 2014). It has an important role in improving student self-reliance so that it will give positive implications to the students in everyday life. If today the students still need help, he or she will become independent later on. As stated by Vygotsky (1934) in Barnard (2015) that “What the learner can do with help today, will be able to do independently tomorrow.” This concept also assumes that the independence of students in learning will affect the independence in life. It is in line with what Barnard (Benson, 2012) proposed that “Learner Autonomy means being independent in learning and life.” In the same vein, Barnard (2015) said “the ultimate goal of learner autonomy is independence.” Moreover, Lengkanawati's study (2014) indicates that autonomy in learning has not been a common occurrence in the context of education in Indonesia, in contrast to the educational context in Australia that has applied learner autonomy in learning. Since learner-centered approach is crucial in language learning, the endeavors to increase the learners’ involvement in designing their language learning process should be prioritized (Yigit & Yildirim, 2018). In this case, teacher or lecturer is the one who has substantial and important role in developing and fostering learner autonomy. A study conducted by Alonazi (2017) revealed that English language teachers often encouraged autonomous learners in their classrooms. They usually implemented different teaching strategies, which demonstrated the four roles: facilitator, counselor, resource and manager. With reference to the importance of learner autonomy in creating successful English learning and the role of teacher in fostering learner autonomy, a few researchers focused on teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding language learner autonomy in Asian context, such as in Vietman (Loi, in Barnard & Li, 2016), in Philippines (Ranosa, in Barnard & Li, 2016), in Thailand (Tapinta, in Barnard & Li, 2016), in Brunei Darussalam (Haji, et al., in Barnard & Li, 2016) and in Indonesia (Lengkanawati, in Barnard & Li, 2016). However, there have been limited studies concerned on the efforts done by University teachers in developing language learner autonomy. Therefore, this research intends not only to find out lecturers’ beliefs about learner autonomy, but also efforts done to foster learner autonomy. METHOD This study was conducted by using a qualitative method, namely explorative research design. 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