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A General Review of Learner Autonomy

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A General Review of Learner Autonomy
Chapter 2 Literature Review
2.1 A General Review on Leaner Autonomy 2.1.1.Definitions of Leaner Autonomy 2.1.2 Theoretical Background of Autonomous Learning 2.1.2.1Constructivism 2.1.2.2 Humanism 2.1.3 Teachers’ Role in Autonomous Learning
2.2 Input Theory 2.2.1 Krashen’s theory of language acquisition 2.2.2 Input hypothesis in second language aquisition 2.2.3 The language input in autonomous learning
2.3 Web-Based Language Teaching and Learning 2.3.1The development of web-based language teaching 2.3.2 web-based language learning and input thoery
2.4 Assessment in autonomous learning

2.1 A General Review on Learner Autonomy
Two classic definitions of autonomy influenced my study a lot when I set up my research programme.The first was put forward by Henri Holec in 1981, and the second by David Little in 1991.
2.1.1 Definitions of Autonomy “Learner autonomy is when the learner is willing and capable of taking charge of his/her own learning. The learner should be capable of determining the objectives;defining the contents and the progressions; selecting methods and techniques to be used; monitoring the procedure of acquisition, evaluating what has been acquired.”(Henri Holec,1981). “Autonomy is a capacity for detachment, critical reflection, decision making and independent action. It presupposes, but also entails, that the learner will develop a particular kind of psychological relation to the process and content of his learning”.(Little,1991). It is clear from this that autonomy is not a method of language learning – it is a capacity: the capacity to take control one’s own learning.(Benson, 2001:2)This seems to distinguish it from some other types of learning with which it is sometimes associated, such as: “self-study”, “distance learning” and “independent learning”. The main point here is that most of these can be seen as ways of organizing learning, as methods. They may be more or less

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