In-service teacher development for facilitating learner autonomy in curriculum-based Self-Access Language Learning (SALL)

Abstract

This paper aims to identify the challenges in-service language teachers are facing when they are asked to teach on a course with a self-access language learning (SALL) component, and the support and training that they perceive necessary to help learners to maximize their SALL experience. There is a large body of literature discussing ways to build, reinforce and measure learner autonomy, and attempts have been made to integrate SALL into the curriculum with various levels of success. The success and failure of those curriculum-based SALL programmes were often attributed to learner motivation, learner training, learner strategies, peer influence and availability and quality of resources in self-access centres. Teachers’ roles in curriculum-based SALL have not received as much attention as they deserve. Very often practising teachers with very little or even no experience or knowledge about SALL are asked to promote autonomous learning in their classes but training about SALL for those teachers is insufficient. This paper reports the findings of interviews with EAP instructors teaching on a course with a major SALL component in a university in Hong Kong. Recommendations on appropriate teacher development regarding the facilitation of SALL within the curriculum are offered.