Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 2004. Vol. 4. Eger Journal of English Studies. (Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 30)

KARIN MACDONALD Promoting a Particular View of Learner Autonomy Through an English Language Syllabus

130 Karin Macdonald an alternative syllabus. In order for the proposals for change to be both potentially beneficial and feasible in the environment under consideration, the wider social context of the educational setting, the norms of the institution in question, the teachers and the students involved were taken into account in deciding the type of learner autonomy to be promoted and in creating the proposed syllabus. As well as feedback data collected from teachers in the department in question, analysis was based on my own observations as teacher of the syllabus under examination. This paper will thus focus on the discussion surrounding the type of learner autonomy to be promoted in the specific higher education institution under examination and the syllabus designed to support that view of learner autonomy. 2 The Definition of Autonomy in Language Learning Appropriate for the Specific Context Autonomy in language learning has become an increasingly accepted pedagogic goal in recent years and a variety of definitions regarding the notion exist, representing a number of perspectives on the matter. As Benson and Voller point out, "monolithic definitions of autonomy and independence have proved elusive, and it is perhaps more productive to speak of different versions of the concepts which correspond to different perspectives and circumstances" (1997b: 13). The definition of autonomy proposed for the context under examination in this paper is: the promotion of the learner as an active participant in the language learning process within an instructed environment, where his/her active participation is to be encouraged through the development of the learner's ability to make decisions, think critically, work collaboratively and on an individual basis in a way which will help his/her studies in the educational setting in question. The fundamental principle behind the definition of autonomy offered here is the importance of the context within which autonomy is to be incorporated. Little's discussion of autonomy makes use of the term freedom' but he nevertheless recognises that these freedoms are conditional and constrained as, "our essential condition is one of interdependence" (1991: 5). In addition, Nunan highlights the important role that contextual factors play in defining autonomy by pointing out the following: There are different degrees of autonomy, and the extent to which it is feasible or desirable for learners to embrace autonomy will depend on a