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

136 Karin Macdonald over which they have 110 control and through a process in which they have virtually no negotiating rights" (Breen and Mann 1997: 138). On the other hand, the incorporation of project work, most associated with a 'weak' version of the process syllabus (Benson 2001: 165), could help to promote the form of autonomy presented in section 2 of this paper. The definition of autonomy already established includes the promotion of collaborative learning in an atmosphere of positive interdependence, and as Johnson and Johnson state, "positive interdependence exists when one perceives that one is linked with others in a way so that one cannot succeed unless they do ... and/or that one must coordinate one's efforts with the efforts of others to complete a task" (1990: 27). Indeed, project work by its nature "requires learning groups, whose members collaboratively seek outcomes that are beneficial to all those with whom they are cooperatively connected" (Legutke and Thomas 1991: 219-220). Dam (1995) carried out project work in a formal educational institution in Denmark and devised a planning model to prioritise such work. She claims that her procedures have led her school-aged learners to develop both an overall awareness of language learning processes and an awareness of personal possibilities and responsibilities within these processes (1995: 80). However, a completely project-based process syllabus is not predetermined but develops in character during the course and the burden on teachers is therefore heavy in terms of effecting programme continuity (Legutke and Thomas 1991: 240). The burden of organisation and the lack of prespecified syllabus content of both the 'weak' and 'strong' versions of the process syllabus types discussed so far would seriously hinder their effective implementation in the institutional department in question. The implementation of a syllabus is "closely bound up with particular social and cultural settings" (Brumfit 1984a: 77) and the definition of autonomy established in section 2 is shaped by contextual factors as "the extent to which autonomy can be developed is constrained by a broad range of personal, interpersonal, institutional and cultural factors" (Nunan 1997: 203). A solution such as that offered by Clarke (1991) with regards to syllabus design would therefore seem more appropriate than a process syllabus. He suggests a mixed syllabus solution where features of process syllabuses are incorporated into a predetermined framework, where learners are involved in some decision-making processes such as evaluating particular materials and tasks or negotiating ways that they may prefer to work or methods of assessment (1991: 24-25). A "conventional syllabus-as-inventory" (McCarthy and Carter 2001: 61) type of syllabus in line with the college requirements will therefore be proposed for the language programme in question but it is through the syllabus