An attempt to explore the possibility of fostering autonomous learners in college English language classrooms through the process of allowing individual students to make a presentation of an English newspaper article of their own choice

Abstract

This report is intended as an attempt to explore the possibility of fostering autonomous learners in college English language classrooms through the process of allowing individual students to make a presentation of an English newspaper article of their own choice. The online newspaper database, LexisNexis, was introduced as a means of helping learners search for an article which was interesting and relevant to them as well as appropriate for their presentations. A questionnaire was distributed to all participants to elicit such information as to how long they had spent preparing for their own presentations and to what extent they agreed with the statements about the implementation of a student-centered approach in the language classroom. Drawing on the model of Autonomy in Language Learning proposed by Benson (2001), pedagogical implications were also discussed from both learners' and a teacher's perspectives to pave the way for EFL learners to develop autonomy effectively.