Luận văn students’ perceptions and practices of learner autonomy in learning english reading comprehension an exploratory study at a private university in bac ninh province

Promoting learner autonomy involves responsibility change between teachers and learners, and researchers stale that prior to Lhis responsibility change, we should investigate leamers’ r

STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICES OF LEARNER

AUTONOMY LN LEARNING ENGLISH READLNG COMPREIIENSION — AN EXPLORATORY STUDY AT A PRIVATE

UNIVERSITY IN BAC NINH PROVINCE

hận thúc về tính tự chủ và thực tế thực hiện của sinh viên trong học tập

kỹ năng dọc hiểu tiếng Anh — Nghiên cứu tại một trưởng dại học dân lập

tỉnh Bắc Ninh

M.A MAJOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Major: English Teaching Methodulogy Cude: 60140111

HANOI — 2017

STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICES OF LEARNER

AUTONOMY LN LEARNING ENGLISH READLNG COMPREIIENSION — AN EXPLORATORY STUDY AT A PRIVATE

UNIVERSITY IN BAC NINH PROVINCE

hận thúc về tính tự chủ và thực tế thực hiện của sinh viên trong học tập

kỹ năng dọc hiểu tiếng Anh — Nghiên cứu tại một trưởng dại học dân lập

tỉnh Bắc Ninh

M.A MAJOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Major: English Teaching Methodulogy

Cude: 60140111 Supervisor: Dr Duong Thi Nu

HANOI — 2017

DECLARATION

I, the candidate, hereby certify that the thesis submitted for the Master of Art

degree al the Usiversity of Languages and Intermalional Studies is a presentation of

any own rescarch and has not been previously submitted at any other universities for any degrees Wherever contributions of other researches are involved, every effort

ig mads to indicale this clearly, with duc reference to the literalurs, and

acknowledgement of collaborative research and discussion The work was done

under the guidance of Doctor Duong Thi Nu, at University of Languages and

Taternational Studies

Hanoi, 2017

Nguyén Thi Nga

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my gratitude to those who have contributed to the

completion of this dissertation

Furst of all, 1 would like to send special thanks to my supervisor, Dr Duong ‘thi

Nu, for the guidance and support that I have received from her in this research

T am also deeply grateful for the support of the Universily, of which T was a member of the teaching staff, and the enthusiastic participation of its students and teachers in this research project This study would not have been possible without the valuable data they provided

Last but not least, 1 owe my family wholehearted thanks for the everlasting

support and encouragement I received I might not have gone that far on my

academic path without them

ABSTRACT

Leamer autonomy has been considered as a desirable goal of leaming and

teaching practice, especially in the field of language leaming for it benefits leamers

in muuerous ways and enhances leamers’ chance for success in learning a language

In Viemmam, a considerable amount of research projects has been devoted to

investigate differen aspects of learner aulonomy; however, few of thenr involve the

learner’s perceptions of the concept ‘This study, therefore, is an attempt to explore

the extent to which the students in a provincial private university understand the

concept of learner autonomy and the extent to which their beliefs about the

construct are manifested in their learning of English reading comprehension

With the nature of an exploratory research, the current study employed

questionnaire survey, loarners’ learning diaries, and focus group as the main data collection methods ‘The findings from the study has revealed that the major

perception of learmer autonomy in this context relales to ‘laking the milialive’ inn

leaming, especially in self-study and the students are highly dependent on their teachers in learning Linglish reading comprehension In addition, there is an alignment between the students’ understanding of the concept and the realization of

Jearner autononty in their actual practice of English reading comprehension with

few autonomous activities performed

ii

2, Objectives and significance of the SbHy cuc oieneirieoiioieeorev2

1.1.1 Definitions of reading and reading comprehension - 5

1.1.3 Reading comprehension strategies .cscsssssiesnestevenseneeeasoneenstnn see 1.1.4 Sludies on improving reading comprehension in FFT contexts 9

1.3.1 DeBnitions of Leanner AuUtoDonhY ceeeereroeereeoTO)

iv

1.2.3 Characteristics of autonomous loarner 15

1.2.4 Fostering LA in EFL/ESL contexts 17

1.2.5 Obstacles to fostering LA in EFL contexts in Vietnam 22 1.3 Learner Autonemy and Reading Comprchonsion — -

CHATTER 1 - METHODOLOGY

2.1 Research Objectives and Research Questions 25

2.2 Rcscarch DcsigTn chia 2 3.2.1 Exploratory sludy using mixed methods - - 25

2.2.2 Rationale for using mixed methods research ín the study 33

2.2.3 Dala collection methads - - 34

2.3 Description of the context - - 38

2.4 Pardicipants ¬ TT BD 3.4.1 Students 39

3.4.2 Teachers 39

2.5 Procedures ¬ `

2.6 Dala analysis - - - 40

CHATTER 1H - DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDING DISCUSSION 3.1 Quantitative data " & si 3.1.1 Dala inanagement and coding - - - 43

3.1.2 Quantitative data analysis - - 44

3.2 Qualitative daÌa s cc St nHnren re " 3.2.1 Dala managemenl and cođăng, - 3 3.2.2 Qualitative đata analysis - 54 3.3 Discussion of the findings .0.:csssssssssscsseerenicneeesnee ¬- OF

3 Significanee of the stuđy coi — TZ

3, Linnitalions of he sEudy óc ccehiiereirrerireirreriederreeooÐT

5, Suggestions for further research projecls coi REFERENCES

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS LA: Leamer Autonomy

FRC: Fnglish Reading Comprehension

ESL: English as a Sccond Language

EFL: English as a Foreign Language

PPLAQ: Pereaplions and Praclive of Icarner Aulonomy Questionnaire

SPLAQ, Students’ Practice of Learner Autonomy Questionnaire

vii

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Coding table for the questionnaire

‘Table 2: Students perceptions oÊ LA sec sec

Table 3: Responsibilities of leachers and students for ERC learmng and teaching issues

Table 4 Students’ practice of LA in English reading comprehension

Table 5: Emerging themes from qualitative data

LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: A Ieuristic for Thinking about Reading Comprehension

Figure 2: Levels of processing in reading

Figure 3: Mixed methods dosign matkc

Figure 4: Sequential mixed methods design

30

31

PART A- INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale for the study

Tn the context of Vietnam, while the development of science, technology,

ecomomy and other fields lags behind that of developed countries, the goverment has

been encouraging citizens to leam from other countries (hrough science and technology

transfer In that case, the ability of reading and comprehending materials written in Tnglish is a key to knowledge acquisition for the fact that most knowledge today is

transfened im wrilten form and available m English In addition, reading has been

claimed as to be able to enhance the process of language acquisition and indirectly

improve other language skills (Funnel & Morgan, 1995, Rivers, 1988) Consequently,

amore omphasis should be pul on reading comprehension as a primary target of English language leaning among leamers of English in Vietnam

Tn recent years, the shift from teacher - centered to learner - centered approach in

Victnam’s cducational system has put more emphasis on the role of Ieamers in every aspects of education including teaching methods and methodology, materiat development and Jeaners’ proficiency assessment Tt can be said that understandings off

learner”s characteristics 1s one of the keys to the success of our educational cause

Within the credit-based educational system, which has been adopted recently, the time alloted to classes is reduccd and students are given more independence as well a responsibility to their own learning As a result, students with better autonomy will be more likely to be successful in their learning This is even much truer to English language learning First defined by Holec as the “ability to take chaige of one’s own learning” in 1981, learmer autonomy (LA) has gained much of interest of linguistic researchers and practitioners as a promising field yielding positive Cmdings lo improve the cfticacy of English language leaming among leamers for nearly four decades to date ‘here have been numerous research projects on LA exploring different aspects of

the cor opt such as language teachers’ and leamers’ perceptions, (cavhers’ beliels,

teachers’ practices, and ways and strategies to foster LA for language learners carried

out in different contexts

Since the perception of autonomy changes according to differont cultural and

educational conditions, before making any attempt to promote leamer autonomy, we

should investigate students’ readiness for autonomous learning That is, we should shed

light on how ready students seem to take on the autonomous leaming conditions and opportunities (Chan, 2003) Promoting learner autonomy involves responsibility

change between teachers and learners, and researchers stale that prior to Lhis

responsibility change, we should investigate leamers’ readiness for this changc by investigating their perceptions of responsibility in the language learning process, and their actual autonomous language learning practices (Cotterall 1995; Spratt, Humpreys,

& Chan, 2002; Chan, 2003) However, most studies of LA in Vietnamese context focused on the perceptions of language teachers of the concept, their beliefs of LA as

well as methods to improve LA in classes (Hue, 2008, Le, 2009, Van, 2011; Thao,

2012; Tan, 2012; Nga, 2014) To the best knowledge of the researcher, there has been

no official work on the perceptions of the learners themselves of LA in ERC learning,

‘whereas the demand for better understanding of LA to improve the proficiency of English language leamers has never been low, both in general and specific contexts

Therefore, the researcher is convinced that Lhere is a need [or an exploration ino Lhis

field, Le it is necessary to carry out a study on the leamers’ perceptions of LA in ERC

learning at the University

2 Objectives and significance of the study

‘This study is carried out with the expectation of giving the Linglish teaching staff better underslanding of students’ pereaptions and practices of LA in FRC loarting Therefore, two major objectives have been set, which aim at exploring (i) the extent to

which the students at the University perceive the concept of LA in leaming IRC, and

(ii) the extent to which they practice LA in their HRC leaming process Accordingly,

two research questions have been formulated as follows

RQI To what extent do students at the University perceive LA in English reading comprehension Jeaming?

RQ2 Ta what exient do the students practice LA in their English reading comprehension learning process?

The findings from the study are expected to provide the University’s Lnglish

teaching slaff with better understanding of the studenls and their learning process so

that they might find and apply suitable and effective teaching methods and stratcgics to improve the quality of teaching and leaming English there as well as foster autonomy among students of the University

study investigates the perceptions of the students of LA in the abovementioned aspects

and the learners’ realization of their perceptions in learning and practicing ERC

The study involved both students and teachers of the University In particular, 120

students of three cohorts participated im the questionnaire survey; ten of Ihem were

asked to keep their learning diaries in 8 weeks and six of them were invited to talk ina

focus group In addition, five teachers of English working at the University were also

invited to answer the questionnaire survey for teachers

4 Rescarch methods

Tn order to answer proposed research questions, a sequential mixed methods approach is employed in the study According to Creswell and Garrett (2008), a mixed methods design is capable of providing an in-depth understanding of research problems

‘by combining, quantitative and qualitative data, and explaining ihe quantilalive results

in mere detail with qualitative data The data collection instruments to be used are

questionnaire, focus group and students’ learning diaries in order to collect rich data to comprehensively answer the rescarch questions

‘There are two phases in the process of data collection of this study In the first phase, 120 students participated in a questionnaire survey, which aims ai finding out their understanding of the L.A concept and the manifestation of their understandings in ERC leaming process In the second phase, ten students were asked to keep their

learning diaries for their own ERC practice Afler thal, six of hem were invited to

share their ERC learning expericness in a focus group

5 Structure of the report

Tn addition fo the Introduction and Conclusion, the thesis is developed into three

focal sections preceded and followed by an introduction and a chapter summary

respectively

Chapter I - Literature Review provides a theoretical background on the concepts

of leamer autonomy, reading comprehension and relating issues

Chapter II - Methodology describes the methodological approach for the research

Jt details the research design with the choice of mixed methods approach and the instruments for data collection process

Chapter TIT - Data Analysis and Finding Discussion presents Iho analysis of collected data and important results yielded from the two-phase research paradigm

Finally, the Appendixes part provides samples of data collected with different apparatuses and other important data which arc not reported in the main part of the

thesis.

PART B- DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1 - LITERATURE REVIEW

Tn this chapter, the definitions of basic concepts including reading and reading comprehension, reading strategies, and LA as well as relevant issues will be reviewed

†o form a sound theoretical background for the study

1.1, Reading and Reading comprehension

LLL Definitions of reading end reading comprehension

Undoubtedly, reading has been of inuch interest of linguistic researchers with the presence of numerous research projects on reading comprehension as well as strategies

to improve learners’ reading comprehension ability in different contexts Nevertheless,

it is still worthy reviewing what have been leamed about reading and reading comprehension

Discussing reading and reading comprehension, Alderson and Bachman (2000) mark a contrast between the process of reading and the result of that process (as cited

in Tabataba’ian & Zabihi, 2011) While the former refers to the interaction of the

reader anc] the text, the latfer is the ineaning of a text that the reader gets as the product

of the reading, process In their views, reading is not a static but a dynamic process In other words, reading can be seen as an interactive process where readers and writers

depend on one another to transi, messages Ihrough lexis

As Brown (2001) puts it, a text does not carry meaning by itself, Instead, while

yeading a text, the readers bring their own information, knowledge, cimolions and

experiences to the printed words to make it meaningful He adds that there are two

categories of schemata: content schema and forma! schema Content schema refers to

our knowledge of people, the world, culture and the universe, whereas formal schema

is ow knowledge of the structure of texts In reading process, each schema exerts a

certain influence on the readers’ comprehension of given texts

Grellet (1981: 3) views reading comprehension as the process of extracting the

required information from a written text as efficient as possible, while Kirby (2007: 1)

has a more general definition of reading comprehension, which is understood as “the

process by which we understand the texts we read” According to Kirby (2007),

reading occurs at different levels ranging from words to themes He also adds that

reading comprehension needs intentional instructions and is more challenging than

listening comprehension, which develops naturally with minimal deliberate

intervention

In more detail, Snow (2002: 11) defines reading comprehension as “the process of simultaneously extracting and constructmg meaning through interaction and involvement with written language” She believes that the process of comprehension changes over time as the readers mature and develop cognitively, gain increasing

experience with more challenging texts, and

benefit from instructions (2002: 13)

Futhermore, she claims that reading

comprehension process involves _ three

elements including the reader, who is doing

the comprehending, the text to be

comprehended, and the activity whose part is

comprehension All three elements interact

SRS under the impact of socialcultural context

Regardless of certain differences, all

Figure 1: A Heuristic for Thinking

about Reading Comprehension (Adapted

Srom Snow, 2002)

definitions of reading comprehension

mentioned above share the core idea that

reading comprehension involves the processes

of extracting, analyzing and understanding the information transmitted through written

words Nevertheless, the definition given by Snow (2002), which defines reading

comprehension as “the process of simultaneously extracting and constructing meaning

through interaction and involvement with written language” seems to be the most

comprehensive for not only clarifying the nature of reading comprehension but also

detailing the components of the reading process Therefore, the current study will adopt

Snow’s (2002) definition as one of the main contruets

1.1.2, Models of reading comprehension

Basically, there are three models of reading comprehension including bottom-up,

top-down, and interactive (Brown, 2001, Ghonsooly, 1997, McCormick , 1988)

Bottom-up reading model is the process starting from the text It assumes that by

working on a combination of different

aspects of the written text, the learner can

increase their ability to comprehend it The | Themes 3 =

Ideas/Details

and then to sentences The meaning will be

derived in a linear manner Bottom-up Phrases

process where readers rely too much on igure 2: Levels of processing in reading

specific elements of the text to get its

meaning (Celce-Murcia & Olshtain, 2000; Van Dijk & Kintsch, 1983)

Top-down reading model is the reverse of the bottom-up one, which starts from

the reader It assumes that the learner brings to the text certain knowledge of the world,

of the text’s structure, and of the language to get its meaning, This knowledge is likely

to be useful in understanding a text, but it often needs to be activated with such

activities as discussions, questionnaires, quizzes, brainstorms, and vocabulary-

anticipation.

However, in practical reading activities, most people would be likely to find themselves using a combmation of the two approaches, switching from one to another depending on the text and the information required This is the third model of reading,

interactive reading model (Alderson & Lachman, 2000, Brown, 2001) ‘the medel

combines both bottom-up and top-down aspects of reading to build the meaning Readers use both knowledge of word structure and background knowledge to interpret the texts they are reading The most evident benefit of this model is the opportunity for

the differentiation that il provides students Students are nol required to fil into a preset

approach or have identical skill scts to decode and interpret texts Instead, they are encouraged to use their own strengths to understand the text and get new information This model allows the reader to bring his own background knowledge Lo reading and Lo interact with others to build meaning from the text, Interactive reading model is also cumently accepled as the most comprehensive description of the reading process

(Anderson, 1999)

1.1.3 Reading comprehension strategies

In reading process, in order to comprehend the meaning of the text, every reader

‘would employ certain strategies to process the written words Reading strategies are defined as mental operations relating to how readers perceive a task, what textual cues they pay allention to, how they make sense of what they read, and what they do when they do not understand (Block, 1986) Reading strategies help students to process the

text actively, to monitor their comprehension and to relate what they are reading to

their own Knowledge and to other parts of the text Strategies, therefore, are important

in reading, and particularly useful when the text is long and/or complex, and the reader has many options of where and whal lo allond There are various strategies suggested to improve reading comprehension of readers proven with research evidence Following are the most common mentioned by many researchers (NRP, 2000; McNamara, 2004, 2007)

1 Comprehension monitoring in which the reader learns how to be aware or conscious of his or her understanding during reading and leams procedures

to cffectively deal with problems arising in understanding the toxt

t2 Previewing identifies the topic and the level of readers’ familiarity with the

topic

3 Identifying paragraph structure to see the pattern of the paragraph, whether

it is deductive or not In other words, this strategy suggests that the readers

should locate the position of the topic sentence first lo get the main idea of

the whole paragraph

4 Using background knowledge to relate new idea presented and what is already known about il by asking questions about the topic

Predicting what types of information could be provided in the text,

aw Guessing the meaning of new words [rom the context

` Inferring information from what is written

8 Question answering in which the reader answers questions posed by the teacher and is given feedback on the correctness

9 Summarizing in which the reader attempts to identify and write the main or most important ideas that integrate or unite the other ideas or meanings of

the Lext in a coherent way

1.1.4, Studies on improving reading comprehension in EFL contexts

The essential position of reading comprehension in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts has tuned improving rcading comprehension ability of EFL learners to one of the most common researched topics among linguists and language practitioners Various research projects have bean done (o introduce methods to enhanee the FFT leamers’ ability of reading comprehension as well as to verity or falsify effects of introduced methods in certain EDL settings such as visualization (Erfani & Iranmebr,

2011), summarization siralegy (Zafarani & Kabgam, 2014), comprehension stralegy

instruction (an, 2010) Generally, the findings of those research projects show

positive effects of the intraduced methods Ilowever, certain modifications are

suggested to suit specific contexts and generate the most efficient outcomes

In addition to the studies of methods and strategies to enhance reading comprehension of EFL leamers, there are numerous research projects exploring the selationship between reading comprehension and other components of reading, process such as materials, learners and teachers Studies on the relationship between reading comprehension and phonological, morphological awareness (Abdul Gafoor & Remia, 2013), reading comprehension performance and strategy usc (Dabaght & Akvan, 2014), influences of stimulating tasks on reading comprehension (Guthrie, Wigfield,

Humenick, Perencevich, Taboada, & Barbosa, 2006) have given insightful

understanding of reading comprehension and affective factors that need to be considered in leaching and learning reading comprehension in FFT contexts

Reading materials is another focused topic for researchers and practitioners who want to improve LIL leamers’ reading comprehension ability through materials Various types of reading materials have been suggested such as culture-based (Utami,

Nitiashi, & Artimi, 2014), genre-based, authentic materials, and Intemet-based and

Science Research Assosiates reading materials, etc Each type has its own strengths as

well as woaknosses im practical use, lherefore, in specific contexts, Whey all need to be

modified suitably

Tt can be seen that language researchers and practitioners have been making great

efforts to contribute to the improvement of language Icanors’s reading ability,

especially in LiL contexts

1.2 Learner Autonomy

1.2.1 Definitions of Learner Autonomy

As Learner Autonomy (LA) has become part of the mainstream of research and

yatice within the field of language education, much has been talked about the concept

10

in mumerous research projects on LA as a consequence At the first time of its

appearance, LA was defined as the “ability to take charge of one’s own leaming”

(Holcc, 1981: 3) He then elaborates on his definition as the responsibility of a leamer

for all the decisions concerning every aspect of the management and organization at different stages of one’s own leaming including:

- determining, the objectives;

- defining the contents and progressions:

- selecting the methods and Lechmiques Lo be used;

- monitoring the procedure of acquisition properly speaking (rhythm, time, place, etc.)

- evaluating what has been acquired

‘This definition is partly agreed among various other researchers after Holec in latter

research projects on L.A (Dickinson, 1995, Collerall, 1995; Litllewood, 1999; Berson,

2001, Little, 2007) However, some modifications have been made with “capacity”

replacing “ability” and “take responsibility for” or “take control of” replacing “take

charge of” by Holec himself and some other researchers (Benson, 2001, Dickinson, 1987) Benson (2001: 49), nevertheless, comments that though Holec’s definition of

autonomy “adequately cavers the main areas of the leaming process in which one

wight expect the autonomous leamer to exercise control”, i “describes the decision-

making abilities involved in autonomous learning in largely technical terms” and does

not explicitly discuss cognitive factors involved in the development of autonomy He,

then adds the argument of Little (1991) that “autonomy is a capacity — for detachment, critical reflection, decision making, and independent action” and “the leamer will develop particular kind of psychological relation to the process and content af his leaming” The capacity for autonomy will be displayed both in the way the learner

learns and in the way he or she transfers what has been learned to wider contexts”

(Little, 1991, ciled in Benson, 2001:49) Moreover, he argues that both Holec’s and

11

Little’s definitions did not give enough attention to “the third vital element in autonomous leaming: that the content of leaming should be freely determined by the

lcamers”, which has “a situational aspect” and “a social aspect” He asserts that control

[over leaming process] is a question of collective decision-making rather than

individual choice” (Benson, 1996; 33, cited in Benson (2001:49) For that reason, it is necessary for autonomous leamers to possess particular interaction capacities to work

with others in the leaming process (Benson, 2001: 49)

Benson (2001-47) defines the concepL of LA in language leaning as the capacily of people “taking more control over the purposes for which they learn languages and that ways in which they leam them” Autonomy, therefore, involves both leaners’ abilities

and attitudes which can develop lo various degrees As Bensor (2001: 47) views it, LA

is a “multidimensional capacity”, which may “take different forms for different

individuals, and even for the same individual in different contexis or al different times” In other words, LA can be manifested in different ways and to different degrees

depending on the language leamers themselves in specific contexts and at certain

times With a belief that efforts to cover every potential aspect of control over leaming

may result in a lengthy definition of LA in practical use, Benson (2001) suggests that it

is acceptable ta employ the simple definition of LA as “the capacity to take control of one’s learning as one thal establishes a space in which differences of omphasis ean co- exist” (Benson, 2001:50) However, he emphasises that it is necessary for an adequate

description of autonomy in language learning to recognise three important levels of control that autonomous learners may cxercisc: learning management, cognitive

processes and learning content

Specifically, the contral aver learning manegement mvolves the managment of the leamers’s behaviows in plaming, organizmg and evaluating their own leanne, Benson (2001) believes that this level is most directly observable among levels of

autonomy The control over cognitive processes in learning is concerned with the

12

leamers’ attention, reflection, and metacognitive knowledge Little (1991) observes that the autonomous leamer will “develop a particular kind of psychological relation to the process and contrent of his learning” (cited in Benson, 2001: 98), This will help to distinguish @ real autonomous leamer and the leam with “the mask of autonomy” (Breen and Mann, 1997, cited in Benson, 2001: 98) The control over learning content involves the social domain of learning when it requires the leamer to interact with other learners to determine and implement their own leaming goals and tasks or with

teachers and possible higher aulhoritiss to negotiate the curriculum As a consequence,

it requires learners to develop their own capacity to participate in social interactions

conceming their learning It also requires that teachers and education authorities create favourable situational contexts (o support and encourage the independence of learning

‘Though the definitions given by different researchers might vary slightly, they seem

to share the focal points featuring T.A thal LA requires leamers themselves to take the

responsibility for their own leaming both during and after the period of formal education and “the responsibility” of leamer involves their participation in decision- making processes of leaming objectives, learning methods, leaming content, and progress assessment, which are traditionally believed to be the responsibility of

teachers

Considering all the abovementioned poinis of view, LA, in this current siudy, is

understood as the capacity of language learners themselves to control their own leaming over different dimensions of the learning process including objectives, methods, content, and assessment These are also used as a basis to develop questions

in the questionnaire survey intended to explore the respondents’ perceptions of LA

1.2.2 Types and Levels of autonomy

Littlewood (1999) proposes two types of autonomy namely “proactive autonomy”

and “reactive autonomy” The former is the form of autonomy in which leamers are

able to “lake charge of their own leaming” and “establish a personal agenda” by

13

determining learning objectives, selecting learning methods and techniques and evaluating, learning progress The latter one can be considered to be a “premilinary step towards the former or a goal on its own right” In Littlewood's explanation, this form of

autonomy “does not create its own directions but, once a direction has been initiated,

enables learners to organize their resources autonomously in order to reach their goal” (Littlewood, 1999: 76) He also believes that although many researchers recognize only what he called “proactive autonomy”, “reactive autonomy” is worthy being attended in

talking about education The distinction Littkewood makes between the lwo forms of

autonomy and what he talks about “reactive autonomy” imply that in order to obtain

LA in language learning, and teaching, it is not necessary for learners to count on their own only Instead, support and guidance [rom teachors or supervisors are promisingly useful resources of which they can take advantage In other words, in education, if leachers would like lo foster A amon their leamers, they can make changes by giving support and guidance to set a suitable direction for their learners

LA can be manifested in different forms and to different levels According to

man (1997: 195), there are five levels of autonomy realized in “leamer action” including “awareness”, “involvement”, “intervention”, “creation”, and “transcedence”

These levels involve dimensions of “content” and “process” and could inform the

sequencing of learner development materials; however, they are crilicized for

“overlaps” and the possibility that “leamers will move back and forth among levels”

(su, 2005: 99)

Another model introduced by Littlewood (1997: 81) with three stages involving dimensions of language acquisition, learning approach, and personal development

These dimensions relleet an individual’s autonomy as a communicator, 4 learner and a

person in corresponding contexts of language acquisition, classroom organization, and

a broader one Respectively, autonomy involves “an ability to operate independently

wilh the language and use il to communicate personal mearnmgs im real, unpredictable

14

situations”, “leamers’ ability to take responsibility for their own learning and to apply active, personally relevant strategies”, and “a higher-level goal of greater generalized autonomy as individuals” (Benson, 2007) This model is somewhat similar to that proposed by Macaro (1997:

-172) also with three stages of “autonomy of language competence”, “autonomy of learning language competence”, and “autonomy of choice

and action” (as cited in Benson, 2007)

Lach of these models implies a possible progression from lower to higher levels of

autonomy To some extent, this implication is consislenl with Litile’s (1991: 3)

asscrtion that autonomy is “not a steady state achicved by learners once and for all”

In other words, LA fluctuates considerably during the learning process in different

contexts and under different condilions As a result, suitable sialegics are needed Lo

deal with this fluctuation

1.2.3 Characteristics of autonomous learners

Several researchers have attempted to portrait the autonomous leamers with lists of characteristics associated with autonomy in the literature For example, Candy (1991) has introduced a list of more than 100 competencies grouped under 13 headings to profile a successful autonomoous learners including such characteristics as being

“methodical and disciplined”, “reflective and self — aware”, “interdependent and

interpersonally competent”, able lo “develop and use criteria or evaluating” (cited in

Benson, 2001: 85)

Tn the context of language learning, Breen and Mann (1997:134-6) suggest that

autonomous leamers are those who:

- see their relationship to what is to be learned, to how they will learn and to the

resources available ax one in which they arc in charge or in control;

- are in an authentic relationship to the language they are leaming and have a

gennine desire to learn that particular language;

15

- have a capacity to leam that is independent of the educational processes in which they are engaged:

- are able to make use of the environment they find themselves in strategically

- are able to negotiate between the strategic meeting of their own needs and responding to the needs and desires of other group members

(cited in Benson, 2001:84-85)

It can be observed that rather than leaming management capacities the

characteristics descrihed are more concemed with the learners’ personality and altilude

toward lcammg As Benson (2001: 86) remarks, thesc lists tend to describe the

autonomous learner asa particular kind of person rather than a person who possesses particular cognilive skills or abililics thal can be acquired Moreover, the longer the

list, the less clear it is that we are dealing with a finite number of characteristics

associaled wilh autonomy and the closer we come to a description of the “ideal

leamer”,

Dickinson (1993) suggests that autonomous leamers are characteristically able to (i) identify what has been taught; (ii) formulate their own leaming objectives; (iii) select and implement appropriate learning strategies and do so, (iv) identify strategies that are not working for them; and (v) monitor their own Ieaming In the same vein, Omaggio (1978, cited in Wenden, 1998, p 41-42) proposes a list of seven main attributes of autonomous language leamers, which describes autonomous language learners as ones who’

a) Have insights into their leaming styles and stratogics

b) ‘Take an active approach to the learning task at hand

g

đ

Are willing to lake risks

Are good guessers

8 Attend to form as well as to content, that is, place importance on accuracy as well as appropriacy

16

£} Develop the target language into a separate reference system and are willing

to revise and reject hypotheses and mules that do not apply g) Have a tolorant and outgoing approach to the target language

While Dickinson’s list can be used as an umbrella that covers and desribes generic

attributes of the autonomous leamer, the list suggested by Omaggio provides a more specific description of the autonomous leamer with observable and particular learning

‘behaviours The two lists are complementary to provide a more practical description of

the aulonomous leamer with a finite number of characteristics of both leamer’s

Icarning, behaviours and attitudes towards learning process

1.24, Fostering LA in EFL/ESL contexts

Cohen & Démyci (2002) claim that sucaess in leaming a (oreign or second language depends on various factors, and the characteristics of the language leamer are

especially important (p.170) Those characteristics may vary, according Lo researchers,

however, motivation is an invariable factor among them, and autonomy is thought to be associated with intrinsic motivation According to Littlewood (1996), a person may be willing to practice independence but does not have the ability to be independent On the other hand, an individual may possess the ability to be independent but reluctant to

be 30 Leamers’ willingness and ability to be responsible for their own learning is the key lo LA (van Esch & St Jolm, 2003 cited m Benson, 2001, Little, 1995) Lite (1995) has analyzed these two components and concludes that willingness comprises motivation and confidence while ability consists of knowledge and skills

Since autonomy is proved to be beneficial to learning, and thon considered as a goal

of language education, teachers and educational institutions have been making an

alernpt lo foster auloniomy of language learners through praclives wilh the adoption of

appropriate modes of learning that allow leamers to develop the capacity Benson (2001) has suggested that there are three major areas in the field of learner autonomy

research inchuling the nature of the LA concept arid ils componeris, the possibility of

developing LA among, language learners, and the effectiveness of the efforts to foster

LA in language learning Among numerous studies in the three distinct LA research arcas, those on approaches and strategies to foster LA in different language learning contexts are prevalent in the literature Benson (2001) classifies six groups of approaches to promoting LA in language leaming including resource-based approaches, technology-based approaches, curriculum-based approaches, classroom-

‘based approaches, teacher-based approaches, and leamer-based approaches

Resource-based approaches emphasise the development of the leamer’s independent interaction with learning resources by offering oppotunitics for learners to direct their own learning individually in such aspects as planning the learning process,

seleoting Jearning materials aud evaluating the progress The tain instruments (or Lhe

operation of resource-based approaches are materials and counselling (Benson, 2013,

Te, 2009, Van, 2011) However, it is claimed thal independent intsrachion with

learning, resources is not sufficient in itself for the development of autonomy The evidence from studies suggested that the approaches are most effective in offering leamers appotunities to develop greater control over their awn individual leaming but far less effective in offering learners oppotunities to make decisions concerned with the collective process of teaching and learning

Teclmology-based approaches assume the helpfulness of diverse forms of technology, especially computers and the Internet in providing the leamers with

oppotunities to learn hy themselves as well as to collaborate with other learners (I.e,

2009) The emergence of new technologies has facilitate interactions that would be

difficult or impossible in traditional classrooms ‘these approaches focus on the

technologies used to access learting resources The approaches, however, require that

leamers must have a certain degree of autonomy in advance in order to use new technologies effectively Moreover, the support provided by new technologies in

developing cerlain skills associaled wilh auwonomy is just a polential and need to be

18

evaluated against empirical evidence for the realization of this potential in practice In addition, the effectiveness of new technologies is also a great deal dependent on their accessibility to Icamers as well as the contexts in which they arc to be applied In recent years, a number of interesting technology-based projects have been reported and the interaction with the technologies has been proved ta be supportive of autonomy Some examples of these technologies are computer enhanced interactive video

(Gardner & Blasco Garcia, 1995; Little, 1994), electronic writing environments

(Millon, 1997), informational CD-ROMs (Guillot, 1996), email language advising

(Makm, 1994), and computer sinvulations (Mak, 1994), learner — ercated blogs (Lec,

2011, Dickinson, 2013), ete

Ctsticulumn-based approaches focus on the negoliation between lcachors and leamers in the learning content ‘the principle of leamer contrel over the curriculum is

thal learners are expecled la make the major decisions concerning the content and

procedures of learning in collaboration with their teachers In particular, learners will participate in making decision on learning content, activities, and evaluating leaming with teachers’ support (Nga, 2014) The effectiveness of curriculum-based approaches

to autonomy is often judged according to their ability to survive Ln other words, it can

be said that a curriculum-based approach to autonomy can be seen as effective if it is

applied and recognived by users in developitys Iearners’ capacity for control over learning process Since the extent of learners’ involvement in making decision

conceming curriculum varies according to educational institurions, which regulate

leaming, contexts, curiculum-based approaches need to consider specific contexts in practice to have appropriate modifications to have the most effectiveness

Classroom-based approaches base on the belie! that A can be [ostered through

cooperation between learners and their peers or teachers in classroom contexts (Benson, 2001) These approaches emphasise on changes to the relationships

commonly found within conventional classrooms Accordingly, teachers should lel

19

leamers take control and responsibility in setting leaming goals, learning process and learning autcomes assessments (Le, 2009) Empirical experiments in which lcamers are cncowaged to get involved in the planning and assossment of classroom learning suggest positive results and tend to show learners’ ability to exercise control over these aspects of their leaming given the oppotunity ta do so and appropriate

support of teachers (Thao, 2012; Yahong, 2009)

Teacher-based approaches emphasise teacher autonomy, teacher education and

teacher’s role as a facilitator to change their beliefs about, build thetr committment and

encourage their practices of LA in classes (Benson, 2001, Le, 2009; Little, 2004) The

effectiveness of the approaches is highly dependent on the teacher's commitment to the idea of autonomy, their professional skills and their practice in reality Literature on teacher autonomy has become increasingly important in order to make the best of the

approaches ti application As a resull, a number of projecis on different aspects of

teacher autonomy have been caitied out and reported For example, there are studies that investigate: the concepts of teacher autonomy (Lamb & Reinders, 2008; Thao,

2012), the dependence of LA on teacher autonomy (Little, 1995), the relationship

between teacher autonomy and stress, work satisfaction, empowerment, and professionalism (Pearson & Moomaw, 2005), the common effects on wellbeing and academic motivalion of parent and teacher autonomy support in adolescents (Chitkov

& Ryan, 2001), the education of teacher for teacher-leamer autonomy (Smith, 2003),

etc In general, the effort made to study teacher autonomy and relevant issues has lead

to the better understanding of the concept as well as helped in the developement and application of models to enhance LA in teacher-based approaches

While resource-based and lechnology- based approaches put their focus on Uke provision of opptutities for learners to control over their learning, leamer-based approaches aim to directly provide leamers with skills required to take advantage of the

oppolunities to lake preater coutrol over their learning Learner-based approaches place

emphasis on changing learners’ learning behaviors as well as beliefs by traimmg them learning skills and strategies such as metacognitive skills to develop their LA (Benson,

2001, 2013; Dislen, 2011; ¥u, 2006; Huc, 2008) Through learning strategies training,

LA would be promoted by offering learners oppotunities to choose their own strategies and apply the chosen strategies spontaneously without teachers’ continued prompting

(Cohen, 1998) Research evidence suggests that explicit instruction in strategy use does

not necessarily enable learners to develop autonomy in terms of control over cognitive

and conlenL aspects of their learning With explicit instruction, learners will only

develop a sct of techniques for learning management, however, it is noted that learning performance is considerably improved Reflective training models apprear to be more effective in fostering autonomy thanks to the integration of these three aspects of control and the proved development of Jearners’ awareness in terms of the

appropriateness of stralegies to the overall seli-direction of their learning

Nevertheless, there is relatively little empirical evidence to prove the effectiveness of such models in enhancing learners’ learning performance Therefore, it is suggested to combine explicit instruction and learner reflection in order to achieve both autonomy and learning performance

Each of these approaches focuses on different aspects of control in the learning

best outcomes

In BFL contexts, it is important to understand how teachers and learners perceive

the concept before applying whalever method to foster A among language learners.

Numerous studies have been carried out to explore the teachers’ and leamers’

perceptions of and beliefs about LA (Borg & Al-Busaidi, 2012; Balcikanli, 2010;

Camullicri, 1999, Kostina, 2011 Salimi & Ansari, 2015; , Sakai, Takagi, & Chu, 2010,

Nga, 2014, Al-Busaidi & Al-Maamari, 2014; Loi et al., 2014, Van, 2011; Liu, 2014)

Generally, the findings from the studies show that LA is believed to be an essential

capacity of leamers, especially at higher level of education by both teachers and learners and has a meaningful association with leamers’ language proficiency There is empirical evidence for the supportive effect of LA on learners’ language leaminyg TL is also cvident that autonomous learners tend to achicve better language proficicncy (Dafei, 2007) However, the findings from studies also suggest that learners seems to

be ready bul nol capable cnough of taking the responsibility of their ow learning; therefore, they still need help and guidance from teachers, especially ¡na HEL/BSL

contexts in Asia (Yildirim, 2008, 2012; Mingisli, 2010, Wang, 2010: Van, 2011,

Disglen, 2011; Joshi, 2011 & Hozayen, 2011) Possible explanation for thus situation is

the influence of certain typical factors such as cultural backgrounds (Littlewood, 1999;

Chan, 2001; Palfreyman & Smith, 2003: Trinh, 2005, Sakai et al, 2008) and exam- oriented educational systems (Le, 2013; Nakata, 2011, Ủstũnliošlu, 2009) on the

fostering of LA The current study is an effort to investigate the nature of LA and its componenis as perceived by the participants in order to undestand thoroughly the

situation so that sound theoretical background can be formed for any further

intervention

41.2.3 Obstacles to fostering LA in EFL contexts in Vietnam

‘Though the importance of LA among Vietnamese UL leamers has been recognized and great offers have been made to conlribule to the fostering of LA, especially in tertiary education contexts, there remams certain obstacles hindering the

effectiveness of the efforts First of all is the cultural traits of Vietmamese learners

(Quynh, 2013) Like EFT learners imi other Hast Asian conttries, Vielnamese learners

are often described as obedient and reliant on teachers in their learning There is a

traditional acceptance of an “exclusive power” of teachers over leamers which rooted from Confucian ideology Accordingly, teachers ofton have been assumed to have absolute authority and responsibility also to make decisions concerning different aspects of teaching and leaming process like selecting materials, content, assessing leamers’ progress, etc Other difficulties include the exam-oriented educational system that results in time constraints and stringent syllabus (Quyzth, 2013), lack of resources, educatimal policies, curriculum, technology, and teacher taining (Nga, 2014) Although it is not casy to foster LA among language Icamers in the context of Viemam, there is a possibility that teachers would be successfull in this cause given

appropriate considerations (Quynh, 2013; Tan, 2010, Nga, 2014)

1.3 Learner Autonomy and Reading Comprehension

Tn line with the recognized importance of reading comprehension ability and autonomy of language learners, various reseaichers have conducted a number of research projects on different aspects of reading comprehension and LA, and hence

made a considerable contribution to the literature on the relationship between the two

concepis For instance, Mede, incegay, & incegay (2013) studied the possibility of

fostering LA through extensive reading: Poorahmadi (n.d.) investigated the effects of instructional support in training autonomous teadsrs, or Zarei & Gahremani (2010) explored the relationship between LA and reading comprehension ability of MA

students in Tehran and Karaj and Bayat (2011) studied the relationship between

autonomy perception and the reading comprehension achicvement of English language learners, etc It is believed that in order to promote autonomy in leaming language skills, the leamers should extend their strategies of Tearning beyond teacher-guided to

self-guided and independent learning (Little, 2007a, Thanasolus, 2000, & Dafei, 2007)

In case of reading comprehension, this means that students need to manifest self-

confidence in their ability to tackle lexls and monilor their comprehension,

Chapter Summary

With the aim of exploring students’ perceptions and practices of LA in leaming linglish reading comprehension, relevant concepts and issues of reading comprehension and LA in language leaming and teaching, particularly in EFL

contexts, have been reviewed to establish a sound theoretical background for the study

in this part The literature serves as a framework for the researcher to compile

questions im the questiotmaire and the trierview Furthermore, whal have been

seviewed will also be used in comparing and analyzing, findings from the questionnaire

and the focus group interview.

CHAPTER II - METHODOLOGY

This chapter discusses the research methodology adopted in the current study In particular, the chapter covers discussions about the research design, the dala collection methods, the data collection procedures as well as the analytical fame of the study

2.1, Research Objectives and Research Questions

As stated in previous parts, the curent study was carried out with the purposes of exploring: (i) the extent to which students at the University perceive the concept of LA

in learning FRC, and (ii) the oxlonl to which the sludenis practice TA 1 their learning process of HRC rom the purposes of the study, two research questions have been

formulated:

ROL To what extent do siudenis at the Universily perceive LA in English reading comprehension leaming?

RQ2 To what extent do the students practice LA in their English reading

comprchension learning process?

In order ta answer the abovementioned questions, the mixed methods approach wilh questiommire, learners’ learning diaries and focus group discussion as (he major

data collection instruments was used in the current study The later sections will discuss in more detail these data collection methods, reasons for such selection as well

as the procedures for data collection and the analysis framework of the collected data

2.2 Research Design

221 Exploratory study using mixed methods

2.2.1.1 Exploratory study

Exploratory study is conducted when there are few or no earlier studies ta refer to

or rely upon fo predict an outcome of a research problem Tis applied to discover and

describe patterns and’ or relationships which have not previously identified lixploratory studies are often employed to get insights into following possible research problems

— Familiarity with basic details, settings and concems

— Well grounded picture of the situation being developed

— Generation of new ideas and assumptions

Development of tentative theories or hypotheses

— Determination about whether # study is [easible in the future

— Issues get refined for more s

slemalic investigation and formulation af new

research questions

— Direction [or future research and lochniques gol developed

University of Southem California (n.d.) Exploralory rescarch design is a uscful approach for gaining background information on a particular topic It is flexible and can address research questions of all

types (what, why, how) Nevertheless, due to the fact that the research process of

exploratory research is often unstructed, it is almost impossible to make definitive conclusions about the findings (larvard University, nd) l'or that reason, exploratory research is often used to generate formal hypotheses and develop more precise research problems

Exploratory research generally utilizes small sample sizes, thus inhibiting the

typical generalization Lo the large population of findings In addition, iLis important for

researchers to notice the lack of rigorous standards applied to methods of data

gathering and analysis One of the areas for exploration could determine what method

or methedologics would be best to solve the research problem, therefore, careful

consideration need to be taken during the processes of data collecting and analyzing

2.2.1.2 Mixed methods approach

2.2.1.2.1, Qualitative and Quantitative research

‘Traditionally, there are two basic research approaches that can be utilized to

conduct research projects namely qualitative and quantitative approach/research

HayHar et al (1996) define qualitative research as a method to collect non-numeric

26

data, Le the information that has nothing to do with numbers By placing primary importance on studying small samples of purposely chosen participants, those sescarchers who use qualitative approach attempt to find the data that help them to thoroughly study and understand the investigated phenomena (Mackey & Abbuhl, 2015) On the contrary, quantitative research focuses on numerical data, or numbers

from which the conclusions are drawn and/or the hypotheses are verified Based on

realistic, obvious statistics and facts, quantitative approach helps researchers generate objective and generalizable outputs While quanlilalive approach provides realistic, conerete statistics, which allow casicr analysis and presentation of collected data, qualitative research provides an in-depth investigation into the subject in its yelationships with [he corlain context of the research and other faclors by analyzing

amore detailed and rich data collected in the form of comprehensive written descriptions

or visual eviderice

On the one hand, qualitative and quantitative approaches are basically helpful in dealing with research problems with the sufficient provision of input data collection

apparatuses as well as various appropriate analysis paradigms, but on the other, the two

approaches also have some certain limitations Kor quantitative approach, the main disadvantage is that the context of the study or experiment is ignored, Quantitative research dovs not study things in a natural setting or discuss (he meaning things have for different people as qualitative research does Another disadvantage is that a large sample of the population must be studied because only a large sample of participants sescarched can assure the statistical accuracy of the results, which may be very expensive and time consuming l'or qualitative approach, the researcher is heavily involved in the process, giving the researcher a subjective view of the study and its participants In the data analysis stage, the interpretation of the findings from the

collected data may be influenced by the researcher’s view, which is unavoidably biased

kờ 3

to some extent As a result, the findings and conclusions may be subjective to a certain degree

With these strengths and wealnesses, quantitative approach is more popular in the statistics based research projects while qualitative is more likely to be employed in social sciences However, there are some cases where both quantitative and qualitative data are necessary to completely solve the proposed research questions Under such circumstances, mixed methods research comes as a promising solution

2.2.1.2.2 Mixed methods research

a Definition and purposes of mixed methods research

As the name suggests, mixcd methods rescarch is the mixture of both qualitative and quantitative research approaches Johnson and Onwuegbuzie (2004: 17) define the

mixed methods research as “the class of research where researcher mixes or combines

quantitative and qualitative research techniques, methods, approaches, concepts or language in a single study” Mixed methods strategies are often guided by more than

one purpose and researchers using mixed methods strategies tend to have the intention

of Iriangulation, complementarity, devclopuienl, initiation, or expansion (Greene, ct al.,

1989)

Riaz & Candin (2014) bave made an effort to elaborate the five purposes of using

mixed methods conceptualized by Greene, et al (1989) in language leaming and

teaching research In their article, they assert that mixed methads research designs are

often used when researchers want to seck convergence and corroboration between the

results obtained from different methods, thereby eliminating the possible bias when using a single method (triangulation), to examine different levels or layers of a

phenomenon by using quantitative and qualitative results to interpret different aspects

of the phenomenon (complementarity), to use the results from one method or phase of

the sludy io develop or inform another (development), to uncover contradiction or

paradox, with consequent recasting of questions or results from one method in the light

28

of those obtained from another (initiation), and to extend the breadth and depth of

inquiry by using different methods to study different components of an object of study (expansion)

b Mixed methods research designs

Cresswell (2013) supposes thai the integration of twa types of data, ie quantitative and qualitative data, might be done at several stages of the research process such as the data collection, the data analysis, and the data interpretation Tor example, when using

questionaire survey lo collecl data, vesearchers can combine pre-coded and open-

ended questions to collect information In other words, when undertaking a mixed methods research study, a researcher can use qualitative research methods for one phase and qualitative Tescarch methods for the other phases Thus, qualitative and quantitative phases can be conducted either concurrently or sequentially and the two

can be parlially or fully integrated Leech & Onwuegbuzie (2009) assert that partially

mixed methods involve the mixing, of the data collected at the interpretation stage after quantitative and qualitative data have been collected either concurrently or sequentially

in their entirety, whereas fully mixed methods involve the mixing of quantitative and qualitative techniques within or across one or more stages of the research provess ‘The two authors also provide a classification of mixed methods design according to: (i) level of mixing (partially versus fully mixed), lime orientation (concurrent versus sequential), and emphasis of approaches (equal status versus dominant status) Earlier, Tohnson and Onwuegbuzie (2004) propose a classification with time order decision and

the cmphasis on paradigm, as shown in Figure 3.1.