Khảo sát về tính tự chủ của sinh viên chuyên ngữ trường Đại học Lạc Hồng

Khảo sát về tính tự chủ của sinh viên chuyên ngữ trường Đại học Lạc Hồng

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE RESEARCH

Sinclair (2001) states that learner autonomy is also known as independent

learning Those terms are interchangeable in educational dimension Holec

(1981:3) defined learner autonomy as the “ability to take charge of one’s own

learning” and noted that this ability “is not inborn but must be acquired either by

natural means or by formal learning” According to Fenner & Newby (2000),

autonomy in language learning is about people taking more control over the

purposes for which they learn languages and the ways in which they learn them

These contentions are also right to the context of LHU Students need to have

the ability of taking full responsibility for their own learning because most

English majors (over 52%) study for their future career, so they have to use their

language competence to work In other words, to work well they need to have

real capability of English Moreover, in order to study well at LHU, they need to

have good habits of self-study because of its syllabus that each subject has about

15 periods for self-study and know how to monitor their learning process and

progress

1.2 RESEARCH PROBLEM

It is true that all of the students at twelve faculties of LHU are required to

learn English as a must for graduation At almost faculties, students are

supposed to learn TOEIC 1, TOEIC 2 and TOEIC 3 as preparation for taking the

real TOEIC test of at least 450 scores as a must For English majors, they have

their own syllabuses that focus on all of aspects concerning English such as

reading, speaking, writing, listening, pronunciation etc and they are required to

get at least 750 scores of TOEIC test as one of the graduation requirements

Underlying these view points, the research was conducted on those students who

have diverse settings primarily rural backgrounds where English is not much

popular and students have to study in teacher-centered environments which are

different from university Those students were like ‘baby birds’ which stayed in

their nests and ate only what the ‘mother birds’ fed This means that they were

mostly dependent on teachers and sat at their feet passively receiving what were

conveyed For example, when teaching English, teachers often focused only on

grammar rules They therefore had no chance to improve other skills such as

listening, speaking and writing Those skills are very important because they are

needed for real communications and are also tested in any examination Being

accustomed to learning attitudes and habits in the past, those students continued

their learning at university Particularly, they learn by rote what the lecturers say

and stick to the textbooks only In the survey the researcher found that most of

the English majors of autonomy is much lower than that the university expects

them to be of They confessed that they expected much from teachers and

learned what the teachers told them to learn At present, this method is no longer

suitable in university Moreover, after four years studying English at Lac Hong

University (LHU), the researcher realized the reality that the number of English

majors that could really use their English was comparatively limited Actually,

students who study independently are able not only to take more responsibility

for their own learning but also to evaluate and monitor their learning process

and progress (Holec, 1981) In addition, they have the capability to make

better-informed decisions on what and how they learn best and to select methods and

techniques to be used (Fenner & Newby, 2000) The above reasons have

prodded the researcher to carry out this study in order to get insight into the

issue with the hope of helping English majors realize the importance of

independent learning and take advantages of it

1.3 JUSTIFICATION OF THE RESEARCH

Learner autonomy is the current educational trend in most universities in

the world, especially in Western countries (Hideo KOJIMA, 2006) Many

researches were done on independent learning as well as on how to promote it,

which considerably affects students’ study and their lives when they expose to

the real life As most aspects of our daily lives are likely to undergo profound

changes, independent learning will enable individuals to respond to the changing

demands of work, family and society Like guardians of the future, today’s

youth require the independent learning abilities that will empower them to act in

accordance with the principle of social justice and for the survival of our planet

To some extent, the success of learning activity is contingent upon learners’

stance towards the World and the learning activity in particular, their sense of

self, and their desire to learn (Benson & Voller, 1997: 134-136) As a result, the

research was done with the hope of raising English majors’ awareness of

independent learning in order for them to become independent and lifelong

learners as well as responsible students so that one more time they can firmly

decide on exactly what they intend to achieve at the university and strive for it

They may be more motivated, thus, take more responsibility for their own

learning and adjust as well as change their learning attitudes how to be

appropriate to the syllabus so as to meet their own learning needs

Moreover, independent learning cannot be achieved in isolation

Independent learning is an interactive process among students and between

students and teachers Interaction between peers may include describing,

explaining, questioning, discussing, defending, encouraging, supporting and

assessing each other’s work (Ralph, 1998, p 145) This contention shows that

they, students and teachers, students and students, are interdependent For

students, they need to have teachers’ help to improve on learning skills and

knowledge For teachers, they need the actively participation of students and

their own ideas to improve on the teaching methods Supporting this view,

Cathy Dantec & Judy Jowers (2007, p.2) say that “Independent learning does

not mean working on your own.” In a sense, when students and teachers admit

that they are interdependent, they are more willing to cooperate with one

another Also, once they recognize the importance of independent learning and

understand well what it is and how to accomplish it, they easily acquire it And

once they possess the independent learning skill, they may become excellent

students and teachers As a result, the research purpose is to help students realize

that it is necessary for them to actively participate in the classroom activities if

they want to be good students at university

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

With the best effort the researcher is in hope of answering the three

following questions:

1 How much can the English majors of Lac Hong University be aware of

the importance of independent learning?

2 What are the possible causes of their lack of autonomy and suggested

solutions to the problems?

3 What does the lack of autonomy affect students’ learning?

1.5 DEFINITION OF THE KEY TERMS

The term of learner autonomy is a fairly complicated notion to

explain exactly what it is Most explanations of autonomy are subjective

depending on the different purposes of researchers in various fields The ideas of

autonomy originally result from the radically student-centered educational

thought of writers such as Dewey (1916), Freire (1970), Illich (1971), and

Rogers (1969); In work on adult self-directed learning by writers such as

autonomy is also known by a number of other terms such as lifelong learning,

learning to learn, thinking skills and independent learning (Sinclair, 2001)

According to Benson & Voller (1997: 2), on general note, the term of autonomy

has been used in at least five ways:

• for situations in which learners study entirely on their own;

• for a set of skills which can be learned and applied in self-directed

learning;

• for an inborn capacity which is suppressed by institutional education;

• for the exercise of learners’ responsibility for their own learning;

• for the right of learners to determine the direction of their own learning

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 The reasons that students should achieve independent learning skills

Autonomous learners have capability to control their learning much better

than the students that are heavily dependent on teachers Those who study

independently are able to make better informed-decisions and take full

responsibility for their study This may help them easily adapt to the real

demands of work, family and society in which high responsibility is required

Independent learners also have competence for co-operating well with partners

in work to perform the tasks Generally, independent learning skill is

prerequisite that language learners need to achieve

In other words, independent learning is a cyclical process, whereby

students learn a skill at one level, then use the skill to learn other skills or

content, repeating the cycle many times over This process is related to the

developmental level of the student, the requirements of the material and the

effective transition from learning a skill to using the skill to learn According to

Saida Hida, Souad Laîdi and Mariam Alamrani (December, 14th, 2005), students

who are not familiar with independent learning may be confused when they have

to take the full responsibility for their own learning Autonomous learning skills

are as transferable key skills e.g planning, monitoring, evaluating, reflecting,

decision-making, accessing and organizing information-way of coping with

explosion of knowledge as present

Moreover, students need to achieve independent learning skill for many

reasons First of all, in class the teacher usually decides what to teach, based on

the average level of the students But this may not be the right level for most of

the students For advanced students it will be too easy For lower level students

it will be too hard To independent language learners, they can decide what level

to work at In addition, the topic of the lesson is also usually based on the needs

of the average students in the class, but other students may know the material

already if they are higher level, or not have the basic knowledge needed to

understand the lesson if they are lower level But it is simple that independent

learners can choose what they want to study, and can change it any time they

like Last but not least, independent learning at university is preparation for

learning after university, when learners may not have teachers or courses to help

them For instance, if someone wants to invest in shares, they will need to find

out what they need to learn (Needs Analysis), plan what to learn (Planning),

study the stock market and the causes of rises and falls in share prices

(Studying), then practice by buying and selling shares, then review their

performance and their profit or loss, and finally decide what to learn next to

improve their performance (Further Planning) (Study Advice Service)

2.2 Review of the previous studies on learner autonomy

In his study, Candy (1991, p1) states that “there is a pedagogical gap in the

transition from school to university” Students from the learning environments

in which teachers play central roles need an explicit explanation about the new

learning method, thus, they can acquire self-confidence and the awareness of

their duty towards their own learning process According to Hubbal (2003),

student cannot achieve independent learning skill unless they are familiar with

subjects and methods and enlarge their understanding of it

Independent learning is defined as a process in which individuals take

initiative, with or without the help of others to diagnose their learning needs,

formulate the learning goals, identify the resources for learning, select and

implement learning strategies, and evaluate learning outcomes Knowles (1975,

p.11) From the idea, independent learning skill is an initial skill that students

need to obtain in order to learn other skills coming next With broad definition

of independent learning or autonomy in learning, Holec states that it is “the

ability to take charge of one’s learning” Students who are independent in study

have the capability of taking responsibility for their own learning, setting

what materials to work on and what strategies to employ They also know how

to collaborate with their peers well because “learning independent does not

mean working on your own” (Cathy Dantec & Judy Jowers, 2007, p.2)

Moreover, Little suggests that the growth of learner independence is supported

by learner interdependence Kesten (1987, p.3) also claims that independent

learning is that learning in which the learner, in conjunction with relevant others,

can make the decisions necessary to meet the learner’s own learning needs

Actually, they know how to learn best and meet their learning needs

The literature indicates that teachers play the roles of guides to initiate

students in the autonomous learning by encouraging them and providing them

with feedback Teachers can therefore create opportunities that stimulate

students to show their motivation and self-management Les Brown says that life

is meaningful for those who have motivation, reasons and aims for their own

actions Likewise, students need to have incentives and rationales to study and

set learning goals to strive for them This makes them more active and helps

them easily overcome any difficulties or momentary obstacles they encounter

during their learning process even at risks of making mistakes In support this

idea, the Teaching and Learning in 2020 Review Group (DfES, 2006 p4) proves

that learners are active and curious: they create their own hypotheses, ask their

own questions, coach one another, set goals for themselves, monitor their

progress and experiment with ideas for taking risks, knowing that mistakes and

being stuck are part of learning

Actually, students who are better want to be more successful with their

studies and their lives need to acquire cognitive skills, metacognitive skills and

affective skills required for independent learning (Bill Meyer, Naomi Haywood,

Darshan Sachdev and Sally Faraday, 2008) In short, autonomy is not seen as a

steady state (an autonomous learner has the freedom to choose teacher-direction

(Pemberton et al 1996, p.3)), according to Andrew Finch, and involves taking

responsibility for decisions concerning all aspects of learning: 1) determining

objectives; 2) defining contents and progressions; 3) selecting methods and

techniques to be used; 4) monitoring the procedure of acquisition (rhythm, time,

place, etc.); and 5) evaluating what has been acquired (Holec 1980, p.4)

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND

3.1 PARTICIPANTS

The research was done with the participation of 164 English majors of

LHU from six daytime classes of batch 2006 (73 students), 2007 (68 students)

and 2008 (23 students) The choice of the participants was done for some

reasons First of all, it is due to the hope for objective results It is believed that

choosing students who are different from one another about their ages,

backgrounds and even perception, as the respondent to the questionnaires and

the interviews would bring about generalized and reliable data Moreover, the

diversity of the participants could reflect the reality of English majors’ learning

attitudes It is well known that there are as many different learning styles as

many students are Each student, thus, would reflect each aspect of learning

Beside students, the researcher also asked for the help of some teachers

of English department The researcher interviewed them for strong confirmation

on what he had got from students’ responses as well as for deeper insights into

the issue to be studied

3.2 Data collection instruments

3.2.1 Questionnaires

A large number of researchers have used the questionnaire as a great means

to gather information in light of its adaptability to qualification, cheapness and

easiness for respondents to understand and answer (Cohen & Manion, 1989;

Weir & Robert, 1994) Therefore, the researcher also decided to use the

questionnaire as his main tool to collect data The questionnaire was written in

English with precise and understandable 12 questions that were developed in

question and response (see appendix 2) Those were designed in 3 question

groups and mixed up, which serve the 3 research questions Moreover, the

researcher invited enthusiastic and honest replies from the contributors And in

order to get the explicit answers, the jargon was also avoided The above reasons

were to serve the final, objective results of the study

3.2.2 Interviews

In order to reach the better final result and to exploit a large amount of

necessary information for the study from the participants, the interviews for both

teachers and students were used The questions are all in Vietnamese (see

appendix 2) so that the interviewees could feel comfortable and enthusiastic to

express their opinion as much as they could As a result, the researcher could

have the informative answers

• For students, the researcher designed 5 interviewing questions (see

appendix 2), which are opinion questions For the objective results, the

researcher accidentally chose 30 students of six daytime classes to

interview them Each interview lasted in 5 minutes

• For teachers, the researchers designed 5 interviewing questions (see

appendix 2), which are also opinion questions And the purposes of the 5

questions were to confirm what he had got from the students’ responses

and get more information needed for the study Contingently, the

researcher asked for the help of some teachers of English department who

were willing to help him answer the 5 interviewing questions Each

interview also lasted in 5 minutes

3.2.3 The classroom observations

Classroom observations were done because the researcher wanted to

confront what he had got from the questionnaires and the interviews with the

reality in order to deeply perceive the issue he has been studying in the hope of

coming to the final results better and more objective In September, the

researcher himself took turn observing six daytime classes and wrote down what

he could see necessary for the research, which was then analyzed and described

in the findings

3.3 PROCEDURES OF THE STUDY

The study was carried out in four main steps

3.3.1 Piloting study

After four years studying at LHU, the researcher found that there are a

comparatively-limited number of English majors who can use their English

effectively in real communications This urged him to carry out the research on

this issue In early August, the researcher began to design try-out questionnaires

which were then delivered to his classmates and interviewing questions which

were also applied to his classmates After that the researcher collected the data

and asked them to let him know if there were any unclear points in both

questionnaires and interviewing questions Therefore, the researcher had the

proper changes in order to make more perfect questionnaires and interviewing

questions which are to serve the study

3.3.2 Administering the questionnaires and interviewing

2 weeks after the pilot study, the researcher finally had the proper

questionnaires and interviewing questions Therefore, from August 24th to

September 3rd, the questionnaires were administered to six daytime classes of

batch 2006, 2007 and 2008 As soon as the researcher had got the data from the

questionnaires, he contingently chose 30 students and some teachers to

interview

3.3.3 Collecting data

The researcher delivered the questionnaires to 164 English majors, waited

and gathered them right away when they were completely fulfilled so that the

number of missing questionnaire was ultimately reduced In order to collect

information from the interviews, the researcher used a camera to record

However, he could not record all of the interviews because of his limitation of

condition

3.3.4 Analyzing and writing the report

Since having got sufficient necessary information and data about the

concerned issue, the researcher classified the data into each group that serves

each research question The data was synthesized, analyzed and finally

described in the report

FINDINGS

AND DISCUSSION

4.1 The reality of English majors’ learning attitudes

4.1.1 Students’ motivation status

Chart 1: Students’ incentive

Question 2: How much are you motivated to learn

during the course?

Chart 2: The reasons for students’ learning English

Question 1: The reasons for students' learning English

a: You love the English language b: You like to enjoy English songs

or English-speaking films.

c: You want to find a good job.

d: It is your relatives' wish.

e: Others

N = 321 According to Cathy Dantec and Judy Jowers (2007), by the time students

get to university, they probably already are independent learners This indicates

that all of the students at LHU, in general, are independent in their learning to at

least some degree However, the level of the autonomy in learning depends on

each of the students, on their own motivation and their cognition The

researcher’s survey revealed that students have different reasons for learning, so

it results in the distinct level of incentive among them The questionnaires

indicated that 6.09% of students study English because of their interest in

enjoying English songs or English-speaking films The number of students who

learn English for their relative’s wish is 6.7% A large number of students

(25.6%) love English language There still exist 9.14% of students that learn

English for other purposes The most common desire (52.4%) to study is to get a

good job after graduation The above reasons implied that they are much

motivated and have strong reasons to study, which are important to students and

can bring them success with their own learning

4.1.2 Students’ attitudes toward self-study

Chart 3: Students’ attitudes toward self-study

Question 7: Do students consider self-study an important thing besides

tesachers' instruction in order to learn a lesson effectively?

b: No, 5.4%

a:Yes, 94.5%

N = 321

The researcher’s survey showed that almost students (47.56%) have much

motivation to study They have set clear learning goals from the beginning of the

course The majority of the students (35.97%) agree and (31.7%) strongly agree

that self-study has a great influence on students’ success at university and they

also spend time learning on their own In addition, it was likely that all of the

students (94.5%) consider self-study an important thing besides teachers’

instruction in order to learn a lesson efficiently In a sense, it seemed that they

are well aware of self-learning However, even though they perceive the

importance of self-study, they do not spend time on self-learning His interviews

indicated that they study by rote and expect much from teachers and assimilate

what the teacher conveyed them in the classroom This means that they have no

habits of self-study And it is obvious that self-learning is not important to

students of LHU or they have limited awareness of significance and positive

effects of self-study