1 It adds flexibility

Reflection

If language learning which takes place outside the formal environment of the classroom is to be successful, there also needs to be some form of learner support and training and sufficient provision of independent learning materials and learning opportunities.

Learning can be maximised in a well-provided Language Centre or Open Learning Centre often with a focus on the use of new technologies. However, it is important to consider the type of independent learning activities which are carried out in the Centre and their relationship with the language curriculum:

It is important to distinguish between setting independent learning tasks and activities which encourage reflection and encourage the learner to plan or manage their learning in some way and those which do not. There needs to be balance in provision. Directed learning, in the form of routine exercises (often set and marked by an already overloaded teacher), will provide learning opportunities but it is not really any different to 'homework' in concept.

In the experience of the CIEL project, independent language learning is most successful when it is integrated firmly into the language curriculum and is not just a bolt-on addition to classroom work. This is because learner independence has to be acquired over time .

At a time when pressures of decreasing classroom contact hours, large classes, worries about falling standards and catering for non-traditional learners concern every language practitioner, independent learning has a lot to offer. There are at least four distinct benefits:

1 It adds flexibility

It fits in with moves to open and distance learning:- learning anything; any how, at any time, from any place and increasingly at any age;

Learners can work at their own pace, according to individual needs, interests and learning styles - it can be very motivating;

Access to appropriate supporting resources is especially important for learners with disabilities or specific learning needs.

2 It leads to learner autonomy

Learners learn to learn;

They focus on the process of learning as well as the product;

Learners develop appropriate learning strategies.

3 It extends and enhances classroom learning

It reinforces what is learnt in the classroom;

It provides a good practice environment;

It provides life-like or authentic communication activities, through group work, simulations and use of authentic materials.

4 It encourages and develops key transferable skills

It promotes life skills including self-management and time management;

Learner autonomy is a key concept in this area. It is seen variously as 'the ability to take charge of one's own learning' (Holec, 1981:3), a situation in which the learner is solely responsible for all decisions (Dickinson, 1987: 11) and the learner's 'psychological relation to the process and content of learning' (Little, 1990:7). For others, learner autonomy is seen in more political terms as the freedom to control 'the content and processes of one's own learning' (Benson, 1997: 25). Benson (ibid.) usefully summarises the various definitions as:

1. situations in which learners study entirely on their own

2. a set of skills which can be learned and applied in self-directed learning

3. an inborn capacity which is suppressed by institutional education

4. the exercise of learners' responsibility for their own learning

5. the right of learners to determine the direction of their own learning

The CIEL project takes the terms learner autonomy and learner independence to be virtually synonymous, both indicating a number of dimensions in which learners move away from dependence on the teacher and:

take responsibility for their own learning and learn to learn;

develop key transferable skills (e.g. study, time-management, IT, interpersonal skills etc.);

actively manage their learning; seeking out learning opportunities and using appropriate learning strategies;

involve themselves in an iterative process in which they set short and long term learning objectives, reflect on and evaluate progress.

Learner autonomy and learner independence are terms describing both the educational objective and the process by which it is achieved, although, the degree of independence may fluctuate over time and between skills (Gardner and Miller, 1999:7). Learners may become fairly independent of the teacher in some areas (e.g. listening) most of the time, but not in others (e.g. writing).

In line with Little (1995: 4), we see learner autonomy as a 'capacity' for independent action which is not confined to any one learning context. It is as likely to be seen in the classroom where the learner actively participates in activities, as in the self-access centre or in a street market in Lima using the target language.

1.3 Approaches to learning

"... it is usually well into a course before learners are in a position to make informed choices about what they want to learn and how they want to learn and it is not uncommon that learners are in such a position only at the end of the course".

(Nunan, 1996: 15)

Autonomy is clearly not something which learners achieve without having the opportunities to learn or be taught, neither is it an all or nothing concept. It is something which is achieved over time with practice, experience (see note 3) and support, and, possibly with some degree of maturity.

If we accept that autonomy is a major educational objective in language learning, the majority of terms associated with learner autonomy and learner independence can be seen as approaches to learning and teaching which encourage their development (see figure 1, page 4). They vary in focus (between terms and between writers) but have more similarities in common than not.

Some of them (self-directed learning, self-instruction, self-paced learning, directed study, supported self-study, distance learning,) see learning as mainly taking place outside the formal classroom. Others stress the need to consider the individual needs of the learner (individualisation, flexible learning) or the need to provide a learning environment with which the learner can engage (resource-based learning, self-access learning(see note 4)). Some terms, such as open learning (see note 5) and independent learning are not absolutes and can be seen as a continuum going - in the case of the former - from open to closed or - in the case of the latter - from teacher independent to teacher dependent