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

Eger Journal of English Studies IV (2004) 129-148 Promoting a Particular View of Learner Autonomy Through an English Language Syllabus Kar in Macdonald A particular view of learner autonomy for language learning and a syllabus to promote that view of autonomy are presented and discussed in this paper. The discussion is the result of an in-depth analysis of an existing* English language syllabus at Eszterházy Károly College in Eger, Hungary (Macdonald 2003). The intention of the analysis was to address the problem areas of the existing syllabus relating to the lack of opportunities currently available on the syllabus for student-centred negotiation and decision-making and to propose an alternative syllabus designed to support the promotion of learner autonomy in the context in question. Discussion here will show that the syllabus presented does support the view of autonomy put forward in this paper, and that the type of learner autonomy to be promoted and the syllabus created to incorporate that view of autonomy are justifiable as contextually appropriate proposals for the educational environment in question. However, further data collection and discussion are necessary within the specific department before implementation of the proposed syllabus to ensure the feasibility of the proposals. In addition, continued data collection and discussion are necessary during implementation in order to measure the viability of the proposals in practice, to measure how far learners actually increase their level of autonomy for language learning purposes and how far learners improve their English language ability as a result. 1 Introduction This paper is an examination of the conclusions drawn from an in-depth analysis of an existing English language syllabus at Eszterházy Károly College in Eger, Hungary (Macdonald 2003). The analysis of the syllabus in question highlighted a number of problem areas, in particular those relating to the lack of opportunities currently available on the syllabus for studentcentred negotiation and decision-making, and the analysis concluded that learner autonomy should be promoted in the setting in question through * References in this paper to the existing and current syllabus apply to the programme in the context in question at the time the research was conducted, namely 2002. In addition, the initial proposals presented here have recently been used as the basis for a new programme in the department. Data collection regarding outcomes is continuing.