teachers’ beliefs in the necessity and feasibility of fostering learner autonomy in efl learning writing at phuoc kien high school

HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY __________________________________ NGUYEN THI PHUC TRINH TEACHERS’ BELIEFS IN THE NECESSITY AND FEASIBILITY OF FOSTERING LEARNER AUTONOMY IN EFL LEARNIN

HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

NGUYEN THI PHUC TRINH

TEACHERS’ BELIEFS IN THE NECESSITY AND FEASIBILITY

OF FOSTERING LEARNER AUTONOMY IN EFL LEARNING

WRITING AT PHUOC KIEN HIGH SCHOOL

MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL

HO CHI MINH CITY, 2019

HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

NGUYEN THI PHUC TRINH

TEACHERS’ BELIEFS IN THE NECESSITY AND FEASIBILITY OF FOSTERING LEARNER AUTONOMY IN EFL LEARNING

WRITING AT PHUOC KIEN HIGH SCHOOL

Major: Teaching English to speakers of other language

I certify that this thesis entitled “Teachers’ Beliefs in the Necessity and Feasibility of Fostering Learner Autonomy in EFL Writing Learning at Phuoc Kien High School” is my own work

Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis does not contain material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma

No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main text of the thesis This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution

Ho Chi Minh City, 2019

NGUYEN THI PHUC TRINH

This Master of Arts in TESOL thesis is the result of a fruitful collaboration of all the people who have kindly contributed with enormous commitment and enthusiasm in

my research Without the help of those who supported me at all times and in all possible ways, it would not have been feasible for me to complete my M.A thesis

First of all, I am deeply indebted to my supervisor, Le Thi Thanh Thu Ed.D., whose compassion; encouragement and guidance throughout the research have helped in the completion of this thesis I have truly learned from the excellence of her skills and from her wide experience in research; no words are adequate to describe the extent of my gratitude

I am also sincerely grateful to all lecturers of the Open University in Ho Chi Minh City for providing me with invaluable sources of intellectual knowledge during my study there This knowledge was very useful when I conducted this research

I would like to thank my TESOL friend, namely M.A Truong Minh Hoa, who shared his constructive opinions and comments on my thesis

I owe a great debt of gratitude to the anonymous participants who contributed data

to this thesis Without them the data collection for this study could not properly been carried out

Last but not least, I would like to express my particular gratitude to my beloved family for their understanding, encouragement, and spiritual support over time and distance

As proven by research, high school students usually rely on their teachers in their writing learning; consequently, this passive involvement hinders their writing performance Thus, it is necessary to develop learner autonomy in writing learning In another line, language students’ low writing performance could be partly due to the effect

of the teachers’ beliefs about writing and its teaching

The study was conducted to explore the teachers’ beliefs about the necessity and feasibility of developing learner autonomy in writing learning among Phuoc Kien high school students

Six EFL teachers at Phuoc Kien high school reflected their beliefs via the structured interview with nine questions

semi-Firstly, the results showed that all the teachers fully recognized the necessity of building up learner autonomy in writing learning highly appreciated potential values of fostering learner autonomy in writing learning Secondly, the findings also pointed out that only a half of the teachers positively viewed that fostering learner autonomy in writing skill at Phuoc Kien high school was feasible to some extent, while the other half was skeptical about its feasibility In specific, the teachers elucidated the advantages and barriers in fostering learner autonomy in EFL writing learning based on three aspects of teachers’ roles, learners’ responsibilities and schooling environment

Based on the findings, some implications were made for the teachers and the further study in the realm of fostering learner autonomy in writing development

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STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP……… i

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS……… ii

ABSTRACT ……… iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ……… iv

LIST OF FIGURES ……… viii

LIST OF TABLES ……… ix

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ……… x

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION ……… 1

1.1 Background to the study ……… 1

1.2 Problem statement ……… 3

1.3 Research questions ……… 4

1.4 Significance of the study ……… 5

1.5 Thesis outline ……… 6

Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ……… 7

2.1 Teachers’ beliefs ……… 7

2.1.1 Definition of teachers’ beliefs ……… 7

2.1.2 Categories of teachers’ beliefs ……… 7

2.1.2.1 Beliefs in learners……… 8

2.1.2.2 Beliefs in self ……… 8

2.1.2.3 Beliefs in teaching and learning ……… 9

2.1.3 Sources of teachers’ beliefs ……… 9

2.2 The definition of learner autonomy ……… 10

2.3 Characteristics of an autonomous learner ……… 12

2.4 Necessity of fostering learner autonomy ……… 13

2.5 Feasibility of fostering learner autonomy ……… 14

2.5.1 Teachers’ roles ……… 14

2.5.3 Schooling environment ……… 17

2.5.4 Approaches to fostering learner autonomy ……… 18

2.5.4.1 Curriculum-based approach ……… 18

2.5.4.2 Technology-based approach ……… 19

2.5.4.3 Learner-based approach ……… 19

2.6 Teaching and learning writing within learner autonomy development … 20

2.6.1 Natures and levels of writing ……… 20

2.6.1.1 Natures of writing ……… 20

2.6.1.2 Levels of writing ……… 20

2.6.2 Approaches to teaching writing ……… 21

2.6.2.1 Product approach ……… 21

2.6.2.2 Process approach ……… 21

2.6.2.3 Genre-based approach ……… 22

2.6.3 Peer feedback in writing ……… 22

2.6.4 Portfolio ……… 23

2.6.5 Self-regulated learning ……… 23

2.7 Previous studies ……… 25

2.8 Research gaps ……… 27

2.9 Chapter summary ……… 28

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ……… 29

3.1 Overall research approach ……… 29

3.1.1 Research design ……… 29

3.1.2 Research procedures ……… 29

3.1.3 The sample ……… 30

3.2 Research setting and participants ……… 30

3.2.1 Research setting ……… 30

3.2.1.1 Context ……… 30

3.2.1.3 Writing section ……… 32

3.2.2 Research participants ……… 33

3.3 Description of the interview ……… 35

3.3.1 Rationale to interview ……… 35

3.3.2 Description of the interview ……… 35

3.4 Interviewing procedure ……… 37

3.5 Data analysis ……… 38

3.6 Validity and reliability ……… 39

3.7 Summary ……… 40

CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSIONS ……… 41

4.1 Research question 1 ……… 41

4.1.1 The teachers’ overall understandings of learner autonomy ……… 41

4.1.2 The teachers’ perceptions of an ideal autonomous learner ……… 44

4.1.3 The teachers’ beliefs on the necessity of fostering learner autonomy in writing learning ……… 49

4.1.4 The teachers’ beliefs on benefits of promoting learner autonomy in writing learning ……… 52

4.2 Research question 2 ……… 54

4.2.1 The teachers’ beliefs on the feasibility extent of fostering learner autonomy in EFL writing learning ……… 55

4.2.2 The teachers’ beliefs on the advantages in fostering learner autonomy in writing learning ……… 58

4.2.3 The teachers’ perceptions of the barriers in fostering learner autonomy in EFL writing learning ……… 62

4.2.4 Teachers’ perspectives on the teacher roles adapted to foster learner autonomy in writing learning ……… 68 4.2.5 Teachers’ perspectives on the activities implemented to foster learner

4.3 Chapter summary ……… 76

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ……… 77

5.1 Conclusions ……… 77

5.2 Recommendations ……… 79

5.3 Limitations ……… 81

5.4 Suggestions for further study ……… 81

REFERENCES ……… 82

APPENDICES……… 92

APPENDIX A.1: INTERVIEW PROTOCOLS (ENGLISH VERSION) …… 93

APPENDIX A.2: INTERVIEW PROTOCOLS (VIETNAMESE VERSION)… 94 APPENDIX B.1: TRANSCRIPT 1 (Interviewer-F1) ……… 95

APPENDIX B.2: TRANSCRIPT 2 (Interviewer-F2) ……… 98

APPENDIX B.3: TRANSCRIPT 3 (Interviewer-F3) ……… 101

APPENDIX B.4: TRANSCRIPT 4 (Interviewer-F4) ……… 104

APPENDIX B.5: TRANSCRIPT 5 (Interviewer-M5) ……… 108

APPENDIX B.6: TRANSCRIPT 6 (Interviewer-F6) ……… 112

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Figure 3.1: The research procedures ……… 29

LIST OF TABLES

Page

Table 2.1: Teachers’ roles in fostering learner autonomy (Synthesized works)……. 15

Table 2.2: Text types of writing sections ……… 33

Table 3.1: Demographical information of participants ……… 34

Table 4.1: The teachers’ overall understanding of learner autonomy ……… 42

Table 4.2: The teachers’ overall perceptions of an ideal autonomous learner …… 45

Table 4.3: The teachers’ beliefs on the necessity of fostering learner autonomy in

Table 4.5: The teachers’ beliefs in the feasibility extent of fostering learner

autonomy in EFL writing learning ………

Table 4.8: Teachers’ perspectives on the teacher roles adapted to foster learner

autonomy in writing learning ………

68

Table 4.9: Teachers’ perspectives on the activities implemented to foster learner

autonomy in writing learning ………

72

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

EFL : English as a Foreign Language

ELT : English Language Teaching

GCSE : General Certificate for Secondary Education ICT : Information and Communication Technologies

M.A : Master of Arts

MOET : Ministry of Education and Training

TESOL : Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study

New approaches have been always emerging in English teaching realm, there is

a trend to attribute learners to passive receivers of new information Traditionally, the teacher plays the authority as a source of knowledge However, it is imperative that the roles of the teachers and learners be urgently modified In specific, a teacher should provide the students with appropriate strategies and opportunities for their active practice in the language classrooms Supposed that the teachers are willing to change and shift classroom atmosphere from teacher-centered to learner-centered pedagogy, a teacher‟s responsibility is to facilitate the change At that time, the students become more autonomous (Holec, 1981, p 3)

Indeed, learner autonomy in English education has received great concern from numerous researchers around the world (e.g Benson, 2007; Benson, 2011; Little, 2007; Littlewood, 1996) The development of learner autonomy is seen as one of the most important educational goals and as “one of the key competences for lifelong learning” (European Commission, 2006, as cited in Vázquez, 2014, p 59) Inferentially, so as to

be good residents in the knowledge-based community of the existing 21st century, students need to heavily rely on their own inquiries

In spite of the immerse unity on the importance and positive results of learner autonomy, it still appears scant to many foreign language classrooms, especially in Asian contexts By typical reason, Little (1991) assumes some arguments that the teachers have against fostering autonomy and difficulties they have to face during trying to foster autonomy among learners like the curriculum, exams and subject content as well Regardless of these false fears, fostering learner autonomy in the

foreign language classroom requires a process of change whereby we shift from a teacher-centered approach to a more learner-centered approach Under learner autonomy pedagogy, according to Raya and Fernández (2002), learners should be allowed to take control of their own linguistic and learner development in a transition from teacher-control to learner-control Little (1991) enumerates two key benefits of approaching learner autonomy in language classrooms Firstly, the students have chances of participating in decision-making process Secondly, once the students become more autonomous and active for their learning, it is reckoned that they will be

an effective unit of the society

Pertaining to the teacher role, Tudor (1993, as cited in Al-Asmari, 2013) suggests that teachers who provoke learner autonomy perform their role differently such as a facilitator and support in order that they help students to take the own responsibility As teachers play such a critical role in fostering learner autonomy, their beliefs have also become a key concern in education (Le Van Canh, 2011, p 64) This may originate from the view that “teachers‟ beliefs influence their goals, procedures, materials, classroom interaction patterns, their roles, their students” (Kuzborska, 2011,

p 122) Therefore, Richards, Gallo and Renandya (2001) confirm that to understand how teachers approach their work, the beliefs and principles they operate from should

be understood Indeed, teachers‟ beliefs in language education have been receiving an increased concern from educational researchers and extensively discussed in literature since the 1970s, significantly contributing to the exploration of teachers‟ beliefs, and the relationship between teachers‟ beliefs and practices (Zheng, 2009; Shinde & Karekatti, 2012) To put it different, exploration of teachers‟ pedagogical beliefs is vitally conducive to our understanding of their planning, instructional decisions, and classroom practices

1.2 Problem statement

Profoundly influenced by Confucian perspective, teaching and learning English

in Vietnamese context is traditionally generated by the core mission of the teachers is

to transmit the knowledge to their students rather than orienting students to become independent in their learning (Nguyen Thanh Nga, 2014) In the same vein, Tran Thi

Ly (2007) problematized that in Vietnamese high school context, students are automatically attributed to passive receivers of language knowledge rather than language construction while the teachers tend to be powerful centers of the English classrooms Inferentially, Vietnamese schools are framed in a solid skeleton of which the authority is not diffused; at the same time, interdependence and activeness are less noticed Consequently, the students seem not to be fostered their learner autonomy during this educational system

In fact, in these days, Asian students are no longer passive listeners but expect

to be more active and autonomous, which was ultimately found from the study of Littlewood (2000) However, Pham Thi Hong Thanh (2008) reveals a dilemma that in many Vietnamese educational settings, “Vietnamese teachers are not happy to transfer their roles as a knowledge transmitter to a learning facilitator” (p 3) In particular, for students to be effective members of today‟s knowledge-based community, it is recommended that the high school teachers should stimulate students to identify the objectives, to seek the contents and progressions, to opt learning strategies, to monitor the path of language acquisition and to evaluate what has been acquired so far (Holec, 1981) On the other hand, students need to be more sensitively responsible for their learning with the help and orientation from their teachers

Specific to learning and teaching English writing skill at the Vietnamese high school context, according to what Vietnamnet (2016) has reported, many candidates of the 2016 National GCSE (General Certificate for Secondary Education) examination in

Ho Chi Minh City either did not complete their writing section in time or skipped it Some students revealed that they found writing section really difficult In addition, others admitted that because of learning some sample texts which were provided by their teachers by rote, when the topic in the writing section had a little change, they could not manage it It is interpreted that most high school students do not know how

to do free writing, and they do not handle the strategies for composing texts independently but actually practice writing in a controlled and passive way In another point, as prescribed by Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, high school teachers are granted rights and commissions to get high school students more active and autonomous in their language acquisition, including writing skill in particular Therefore, it is necessary to develop learner autonomy in writing learning

In another line, as what Khanalizadeh and Allami (2012) said, students‟ low writing performance and that writing is the least developed language skill could be partly due

to the effect of the teachers‟ beliefs about writing and its teaching Thus far, it was necessarily important for the researcher to explore high school teachers‟ beliefs on fostering their high school students‟ autonomous learning of writing skill at Phuoc Kien high school, Nha Be district

1.3 Research questions

Carried out at Phuoc Kien High School (Nha Be District, Ho Chi Minh City), the purpose of the current study was to explore the teachers‟ beliefs about the necessity and possibility of developing learner autonomy in writing learning among high school students In particular, the current research explored two aspects:

Firstly, the researcher would like to explore how the participating teachers perceive the necessity of developing learner autonomy for writing learning in terms of the extent of the importance and the reasons

Secondly, the researcher also wanted to probe how these teachers believe in the feasibilities of fostering learner autonomy for writing learning based on different causal factors such as teacher‟s roles and students‟ responsibilities, and schooling environment

To achieve the aforementioned objectives, the two research questions were addressed:

R-Q.1: How do the high school teachers at Phuoc Kien High School perceive

the necessity of fostering learner autonomy in EFL writing learning?

R-Q.2: How do the high school teachers at Phuoc Kien High School believe in

the feasibility of fostering learner autonomy in EFL writing learning?

1.4 Significance of the study

In spite of the fact that the notion of learner autonomy is of great importance especially in language pedagogy, research on the teachers‟ beliefs about the necessity and feasibility of fostering learner autonomy in Vietnamese educational context seems quite scarce, especially in sub-urban high schools as Phuoc Kien high school Wherein, the current study was done to supplement the perspectives of teachers‟ beliefs about learner autonomy in high schools, as well as provide the teachers and students with an opportunity to gain thorough insight into this phenomenon In particular, the teachers and students can be aware of the essence of learner autonomy in response to the today‟s learning society Besides, some challenges or difficulties of the enactment of learner autonomy in the language classrooms can be extensively found, helping the teachers and students seek new approaches or ways for adjustment

1.5 Thesis outline

Chapter 1, Introduction, presents the general background of the study, the

problem statement, research questions and significance of the study as well

In Chapter 2, Literature review, the theoretical background to this research is

provided Foremost, it looks at the overarching picture related to the notion of learner autonomy Following that, teacher beliefs in the realm of language education will be discussed Most importantly, the chapter moves on to summarize some related empirical studies, leading to research gaps

In Chapter 3, Methodology, the researcher presents the context and population,

data collection methods and analytical framework

Chapter 4, Data analysis and discussions, provides a presentation and

discussion of the results of the study obtained from the analyses of interviews

In Chapter 5, Conclusions and recommendations, the main findings of the

study will be summarized Recommendations of this work are then presented for teachers and for further studies

Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Teachers’ beliefs

2.1.1 Definition of teachers‟ beliefs

Teacher belief can be defined as “a reflective, socially defined interpretation of experience that serves as a basis for subsequence action” (Pajares, 1992, p 314) This British educational theorist concludes that “belief is based on evaluations and judgments” (p 313) and interpretation of “what people say, intend, and do” (p 314) That is to say, teachers‟ beliefs are central to determining their behavior on students

Borg (2001) defines that “a belief is a proposition which may be consciously or unconsciously held, is evaluative in that it is accepted as true by the individual” (p 176) To put it simply, whether a belief is held consciously or unconsciously, it guides thought and behavior (Khader, 2012)

The beliefs of their teachers should also be as important as learners‟ beliefs (Shinde & Karekatti, 2012) Understanding beliefs is vital as they provide some indication of how teachers behave in their practice (Zheng, 2009; Li, 2012) Thus, understanding teachers‟ beliefs about autonomy is an important element in promoting learner autonomy

2.1.2 Categories of teachers‟ beliefs

Teachers‟ beliefs have been categorized into a variety of different types by numerous researchers (e.g William & Burden, 1997; Zheng, 2009; Fives & Buehl, 2012) To begin with, William and Burden (1997) categorize three kinds including language learning, learners, and themselves as language teachers, while Zheng (2009)

proposes five types such as learners and learning, language teaching, subject matter, self, and professional development More specifically, Fives and Buehl (2012) enumerate six types, i.e., self, context and content, curriculum, students, learning and teaching and knowledge.

Among aforementioned various types of teacher beliefs, the researcher recognizes the three most common ones of teacher beliefs, respectively (1) beliefs in learners, and (2) beliefs in oneself and (3) beliefs in teaching and learning process Below is the precise description about these types of beliefs:

2.1.2.1 Beliefs in learners

Teachers may capture any one or a multiple of beliefs about those whom they teach Meighan and Meighan (1990, as cited in Li, 2012) categorize two types of learners under teachers‟ beliefs The first group is heavily teacher-dominated, and the second group involves increasingly active learner participation To the first group, teachers will force learners to master a language by the teacher‟s orientation To the second group, the teachers will have the language learning activities from learners‟ needs In short, teacher beliefs about learners are of importance (Rosenfeld & Rosenfeld, 2008)

2.1.2.2 Beliefs in self

After having studied teachers‟ beliefs about learners, it is important to think about the teacher belief of teachers themselves The psychologist Bandura (1994) defined this type of belief in relation to a teacher‟s perspective on capabilities to produce targeted levels of performance that exercise influence over events Such a belief determines how people feel, think, motivate themselves and behave According

to Li (2012), an effective teacher creates meaningful and motivating learning atmospheres

2.1.2.3 Beliefs in teaching and learning

It is impossible to separate teaching in isolation from learning Teachers‟ beliefs

of teaching and learning will govern everything that they do in the classroom (Yin, 2006) Nuthall (2004) proclaims that for teachers to understand the relation between teaching and learning, they must understand (a) how instruction influences student experience and behavior; (b) how the sociocultural context influences teaching and learning; and (c) how individual students make sense of their classroom experiences

In short, the current made an attempt to investigate the teachers‟ beliefs in the feasibility of fostering learner autonomy in writing classes from the three domains including their learners‟ responsibilities and capacities, on their own roles, as well as

on the learning-teaching conditions of curriculum, materials and approaches

2.1.3 Sources of teachers‟ beliefs

In the realm of teacher belief, numerous theorists and educators have identified

a variety of the sources of teachers‟ pedagogical proposition Richardson (1996) seeks three main sources of teacher beliefs which are personal experience, experience with instruction, and experience with formal knowledge In the same fashion, Li (2012) emphasizes that beliefs originate from teachers‟ experiences which are shaped during their teaching process Whereas, teachers‟ beliefs can originate from four sources such

as content knowledge, educational materials, formal teacher education, and experience (Shulman, 1987) According to Richards and Lockhart (1994), apart from previous experience in learning and teaching, some other important sources include established practice, teachers‟ personality factors, educational principles, research-based evidence, and principles emerged from a teaching approach In a more detailed way, Abdi and Asadi (2015) clarify these sources of teachers‟ beliefs as follows: [1] Teachers‟

experience as language learners, [2] Teachers‟ experience from teaching, [3] Teachers‟ distinguished personality, [4] Teachers‟ research-based principles

2.2 The definition of learner autonomy

As mentioned in Chapter 1, learner autonomy in the area of English education has received great consideration from numerous researchers around the world To its advocates, since the early dates of clarifying this term to seeking more practical actions

in school context, it has constantly continued to raise interest, and is now, in the 21stcentury-the milestone of global knowledge-based society, more active than ever before.According to Benson (2011), by the late 1980‟s the term of learner autonomy was confronting some identity crisis, as it was often associated with independent learning

A number of definitions of learner autonomy exist in education However, according to Han (2014), any answer to the question “how learner autonomy is defined” is likely to be subjective In other words, it is not simple to give a precise definition of learner autonomy due to different perspectives from numerous authors in various contexts As a pioneer in this field, Holec (1981) defines the term of learner autonomy by the four traits First of all, learner autonomy literally pertains to the learner rather learning process Secondly, learner autonomy is accumulated through a systematic and deliberate learning process but not innate capacity Thirdly, learner autonomy refers to both psychology and actions of students in a learning progress Finally, it is related to students‟ responsibility for making decisions of strategies in their learning process

Little (1991) reveals the five misconceptions of learner autonomy First of all, autonomy is not “deciding to learn without a teacher” (p 3), as teachers have an important role in an autonomous classroom The second misconception is that “learner autonomy somehow requires the teacher to relinquish all initiative and control” (p 3);

yet, this opinion is wrong, as these skills would be unlikely to develop on their own The third misleading belief about learner autonomy is “something teachers do to their learner; in other words, that it is a new methodology” (p 3) Autonomy is not a simple mediation that will upgrade learning outcomes simply by ordering the learners to work

in a certain manner For the last misconception of learner autonomy, this author opposes with the belief that “autonomy is a steady state achieved by certain learners” (p 4) by conceding that autonomy can be achieved by all learners, and autonomy is not

a steady state, but rather can distinguish even within same individual

In short, learner autonomy indicated to “a capacity and willingness to act independently” (Dam, Eriksson, Little, Miliander & Trebbi, 1990, p 102) To supplement for this indication, according to Littlewood (1999), capacity depends on knowledge, while willingness depends on the motivation and confidence Besides,learner autonomy refers to how students reflect on their learning (Wenden, 1991)

Above all, Sinclair (2000) depicts some most commonly approved characteristics of learner autonomy amongst the above-mentioned authors, which are applied in this study First, learner autonomy is a gradual construction of capacity but not inborn traits (Holec, 1981) Second, learner autonomy also overarches learners‟ willingness to be responsible for their own learning (Dam, Eriksson, Little, Miliander

&Trebbi, 1990; Littlewood, 1999) Third, learner autonomy can happen both inside and outside the classroom (Little, 1991) Last, promotion of autonomy requires conscious awareness of the learning process (Wenden, 1991)

2.3 Characteristics of an autonomous learner

Different scholars have described typical traits of autonomous learners such as Wenden (1991), Nunan (1997), Littlewood (2000), and Benson (2001), Riihimäki (2013)

By definition, an autonomous learner refers to “someone who is able to reflect

on his or her own learning, takes initiative towards their own learning, sets goals and evaluates their own progress” (Riihimäki, 2013, p 21) In order to do this, Wenden (1991) says that the learners must handle metacognitive strategies (e.g planning, monitoring, and evaluating) which enable learners to self-monitor their learning process Furthermore, Benson (2001) supplements the idea of Wenden (1991) that an autonomous learner not only performs the actions in connection with self-management and cognitive capacities, but also gets involved in making choice of learning content

In the same fashion, Littlewood (1996) states that to become a fully autonomous learner, the students need to take several responsibilities such as deciding on learning objectives, selecting learning methods, and evaluating process, etc Interestingly, Nunan (1997) admits that features of an autonomous learner have genuinely existed in the language classrooms especially with really good learners, but these features need to fostered and catered more among students

Littlewood (2000) clarifies two responsibilities of the students in developing their own learner autonomy First, students should take responsibility for their own learning Second, learners should take authority of many processes traditionally belonging to the teacher, such as deciding on learning objectives and selecting learning methods

In sum, to clarify the characteristics of an autonomous learner under the teachers‟ beliefs, some synthesized traits from the aforementioned authors are listed here: [1] handling metacognitive strategies to self-monitor learning process (Wenden, 1991); [2] deciding on learning objectives, selecting learning methods (Littlewood, 2000); [3] getting involved in making choice of learning content (Benson, 2001); [4] getting goals and evaluating learning progress (Riihimäki, 2013)

2.4 Necessity of fostering learner autonomy

Learner autonomy is believed to be necessary for the language teachers to foster

in their classrooms (Alonazi, 2017) due to its benefits on learning achievements as follows:

First, William and Burden (1997) say that “one of our main aims in education is helping individuals acquire the skills of self-directed learning” (p 147) As a result, fostering learner autonomy is conducive to developing learners‟ self-directed learning skills

Second, fostering learner autonomy can help these learners plan and control their learning process via using different learning strategies To clarify, Harmer (2007) suggests that learners should be encouraged to develop their own learning strategies so that they can become autonomous learners

self-Third, autonomous learners are able to learn from their own successes and failures (Crabbe, 1999) It means that, as a consequence of developing learner autonomy, they become more active and independent in self-evaluating their learning progress

Fourth, promoting learner autonomy is beneficial to make learners study more purposely and strategically Learner autonomy encourages learners to increase their self-awareness about what their needs and goals are in the classroom (Thanasoulas, 2000)

2.5 Feasibility of fostering learner autonomy

Apart from the acknowledged necessity of fostering learner autonomy, its feasibility depends on different factors Learner autonomy in foreign language learning depends on the ability and willingness of the learner (Littlewood, 1996) Little (2007) argues that learner autonomy also depends on language proficiency in the language. Yasmin and Sohail (2018) list a plethora of factors impacting the feasibility of promoting learner autonomy including teachers‟ little trust on learner abilities, examination system, university entrance exams, lack of teacher autonomy, traditional teaching practices, lack of relevant resources for teachers and learners, fixed curriculum, and lack of time It means that feasibility of developing learner autonomy relies on three main sources including teachers‟ roles, students‟ responsibilities and schooling environment And, they are three factors that this study relies on when investigating into the feasibility of fostering learner autonomy

2.5.1 Teachers‟ roles

It is generally accepted that the teacher‟s role in fostering learner autonomy must be well considered The following table is made to illustrate the teachers‟ roles in developing learner autonomy in the realm of language teaching.

Table 2.1

Teachers’ roles in fostering learner autonomy (Synthesized works)

Author Year Roles Activities

Little 1991 Facilitator Involving their students in their own learning;

Getting their students to reflect about learning and about the target language;

Engaging their students in appropriate target language use

Being able to accompany individuals‟ learning process and respond to learning difficulties

Orienting students to make practical plans

Zhuang 2010 Consultant-facilitator Providing psychological, social and technical

support for their students

Al-Asmari

2013 Organizer-facilitator Helping learners to take responsibility by setting

their own goals, planning practice opportunities and assessing their progress

As can be seen from Table 2.1, teachers‟ roles in fostering learner autonomy are various but it is mainly common that teachers should be facilitators It is clear-cut that teachers who want to foster autonomy of the language learners should not see themselves as authority of classroom learning or as transmitter of knowledge to be poured into the heads of the learners That is to say, the teachers need to adjust their roles to help language learners to develop their autonomy In brief, these all papers have shown that teachers play an important role in the learning process of students in

an autonomous learning environment, and in developing their own responsibility That

is to say, learner autonomy does not mean that the teacher becomes redundant in their students‟ learning process Instead of that, teachers change their role from the only source of information to counselor, manager and active participants of learning resources

In sum, Littlewood (2000) clarifies two responsibilities of the students in developing their own learner autonomy as follows First, students should take responsibility for their own learning inside and outside class Second, students take authorship of many processes traditionally belonging to the teacher, such as deciding

on learning objectives, and selecting learning methods

In short, as learner autonomy involves such a movement of the control over learning decisions from the teacher to the students, Huang (2006) perceives learner autonomy as a process in which learners must become more active and independent agents of language classrooms and even outside classrooms in different arenas such as selecting extra materials, self-evaluating their learning outcomes, etc

2.5.3 Schooling environment

Schooling environment can influence the students to learn independently and effectively (Higgs, 1988) The schooling environment is the place where learner contributes himself as an individual to the interactive process If the schooling environment is comfortable, they are more likely to experiment with different learning strategies (Najeeb, 2012) According to this author, the schooling environment includes different aspects such as curriculum, technology availability, and teaching materials, etc Harlow (2007) implies that a rigidly structured curriculum a low-quality textbook, which are a barrier against flexibility and negotiation, prevent learner self-autonomy, which requires one‟s problem-solving, information collecting for himself and self-evaluation as well as collaborative learning This study then focuses on curriculum and materials in investigating the schooling environment factor

2.5.4 Approaches to fostering learner autonomy

In the field of autonomous language learning, the term fostering autonomy is used, rather than teaching autonomy, as autonomy is something that should happen inside the learner, rather than it being instructed from the outside (Benson, 2003) According to Riihimäki (2013), fostering autonomy in language learning need to be highly context sensitive which requires different approaches than a specific one Therefore, this section is used to discuss some approaches to fostering learner autonomy (e.g curriculum-based approach, technology-based approach, and learner-based approach), with the strengths and weaknesses of each approach

2.5.4.1 Curriculum-based approach

The curriculum-based approach embodies the negotiation between teacher and learners in relation to the learning course content (Nguyen Thanh Nga, 2014) For this, Cotterall (1999) enumerated the five core principles for constructing language courses

in order to enhance learner autonomy in language classrooms, which is made up of (1) learner goals, (2) the language learning process, (3) language tasks, (4) learner strategies, and (5) their reflection on learning Inferentially, so as to foster learner autonomy successfully, the instructional practitioners must be sure that it can accelerate learners consciously aware of defining their learning outcomes, choices of learning strategies as well, in response to the curriculum content

One of the addressed issues of building up learner autonomy in language classrooms relating to this approach is that whether the textbooks, which are inevitably important to teaching-learning process, can stimulate students to become autonomous

In the same fashion, Cohen (2003) points out the textbooks reinforce strategy use across both tasks and skills.By the words of Nguyen Thanh Nga (2014), the teachers should be aware of the textbooks they are using and not to be totally reliant on them

2.5.4.2 Technology-based approach

In a specific discussion, the technology-based approach stresses the impact of technological devices (e.g computers, Internet) on fostering learner autonomy Dang Tan Tin and Robertson (2010) emphasized a strong correlation between computer-mediated-communication or online technology and learner autonomy that teachers need to rely on their students‟ nowadays social e-habits for language educational aims, and this study went to an end that this emerging approach will be a smart choice for Vietnamese students to be instructed to utilize in order to become autonomous learners

in these days That is to say, with modern technology, teachers may transit into new roles as facilitators or supporters to get their students to more autonomously take control of their own learning Students then could rely on computer-mediated-communication or online technology to develop their learning autonomy

2.5.4.3 Learner-based approach

Learner-based approach in the realm of learner autonomy rotates a momentum

on (1) training students to develop learning strategies and (2) stimulating their intrinsic motivation The strong relation between autonomy and motivation is based on the presumption that the more autonomous a learner is, the more motivated they are (Dickinson, 1995; Spratt, Humphreys & Chan, 2002) Hence, it is supposed that learner autonomy is a basic means to increase motivation As to teachers, they could make use

of that by guiding their high school students to develop their metacognitive strategies, and fostering them to be independent and autonomous learners

2.6 Teaching and learning writing within learner autonomy development

2.6.1 Natures and levels of writing

2.6.1.1 Natures of writing

From linguistic-oriented view, Harmer (2004) believes that writing encourages students to focus on accurate language use In other words, linguistic accuracy (e.g., vocabulary or grammar, linkers) is the main concern of writing act

From cognitive-oriented view, Grami (2010) explains writing as complex cognitive act because it “demands careful thought, discipline, and concentration, and it

is not just a simple direct production of what the brain knows or can do at a particular moment”

From social-oriented view, Hyland (2003) emphasizes writing as a social activity which “expressing a culturally recognized purpose, reflecting particular kind of relationship and acknowledging an engagement in a given community” and “through using language called genres” In this circumstance, teacher and peer feedback is mentioned as an important role in students‟ writing development

2.6.1.2 Levels of writing

According to Harmer (2004), writing consists of two levels: sentential level

(between one to two sentences) and textual level (paragraphs or text genres)

Harmer (2004) states that the kind of writing at sentential level is often used for

“grammar reinforcement”; later, he exemplifies that “students are given one or two model sentences and then have to write similar sentences based on information they are given” In more academic fashion, Dikilitaş (2012) describes the sentential level as

“grammatical features of syntax at surface level representing semantics at deep structure”

On the textual level of writing, Dikilitaş (2012) reveals it is „functional features

of cohesion at surface level leading to coherence at deep structure‟ In other words, beyond the sentence, the writers will have to organize their ideas into cohesive and

coherent paragraphs and texts

2.6.2 Approaches to teaching writing

2.6.2.1 Product approach

This approach encourages students to produce a final product similar to a model text which is normally provided by teachers More specific, “in an ordinary product approach, learners are given an ordinary example of writing, which they are then required to follow and adapt in order to re-create a section of original text” (Al–Hammadi & Sidek, 2015) It is indicated that the role of teacher in this approach is a provider of model language and guided exercises and corrector of errors when the final error–free product is created

In closing, grammar, vocabulary and mechanics are highly emphasized instead of content, process, audience and purpose of writing (Bae, 2011)

2.6.2.2 Process approach

Matsuda (2003) reckons “process approach emphasized the view of writing as a process of developing organization as well as meaning” To the role of teacher, Badger and White (2000) concede that “the teacher primarily facilitates the learners‟ writing” instead of “providing input or stimulus”; while students are given considerable freedom within the task Generally speaking, the process approach is learner-centered

2.6.2.3 Genre-based approach

In definition, genre or text type refers to “abstract, socially recognized ways of using language” (Hyland, 2007) In other words, genre-based approach emphasizes the importance of exploring the social and cultural context of language use on a piece of writing (Hammond & Derewianka, 2001, in Luu Trong Tuan, 2011) Put simply, writing is used as a vehicle of achieving particular communicative goals in accordance

to specific social situations

2.6.3 Peer feedback in writing

Peer feedback is considered as a dominant tool in enhancing the process of learning English writing Foremost, feedback can promote deep learning (Hattie & Timperely, 2007) Second, peer feedback must be designed to help students to look beyond the assignment just submitted to future work (Walker, 2009)

Specific to writing learning, peer feedback has a pivotal role in improving student writing skills and motivational achievement Zhao (2010), Hyland (2003), Wakabayashi (2013) proved that students increase their confidence and critical thinking skills as a result of reading text written by peers on similar tasks Moreover, offering and receiving feedback from peers enable learners to promote the level of their writing as it offers them opportunities to share ideas and give constructive comments Especially, it has the potential to build confidence, promote critical thinking and maximize motivation

In sum, learners can learn more about writing and revision via peer feedback, and learners eventually become more autonomous writers (Maarof, Yamat, & Lili, 2011)

as collections of work that are organized or structured for the representation of one‟s learning, skills, and accomplishments (Jones & Shelton, 2011) According to Duong

My Tham (2015), a portfolio is not simply an assessment tool of learner work conducted by a teacher, but rather a self-assessment tool whereby learners can monitor their own progress and take responsibility for their learning to achieve their pre-determined goals

In brief, a portfolio which is seen as an organized collection of samples of a learner‟s work showing learning progress over time is developed and predominantly assessed by learners themselves through clearly pre-determined criteria with the help of the teacher Thus, the teachers should clarify certain criteria for their students to monitor and evaluate their writing development by themselves

2.6.5 Self-regulated learning

According to Zimmerman (1989), what characterizes self-regulated learners mentioned in Zimmerman‟s (1986) papers is “their active participation in their own learning process in terms of metacognition, motivation, and behavior” (p 329) Montalvo and Torres (2004) summarized the following as some characteristics of self-regulated learners that are synthesized by many researchers:

First, they are aware of the importance of and know how to apply such cognitive strategies as rehearsal, elaboration, and organization (Zimmerman, 1989);

Second, they show high level of metacognition in that they know how to plan, control, and direct their mental processes to achieve their personal goals (Corno, 2001);

Third, they show high level of motivation beliefs and adaptive emotions towards the learning tasks and their capability to control and modify them to suit the requirements of the pre-set task and specific learning situation (Zimmerman, 1989);

Fourth, they plan and control their own time and efforts for learning rather than reply on the others, and also they know how to create and structure favorable environments to better complete the tasks at hand (Corno, 2001; Zimmerman, 1989);

Fifth, they show greater efforts to participate in controlling and regulating academic tasks, classroom climate (Weinstein, Husman, & Deirking, 2000)

To recap, the high school teachers need to develop their learners‟ autonomy by turning them out self-regulated learners, in which these students can take responsibility for their own learning, consider learning as a proactive process, and independently use strategies enabling them achieve the desired academic results

In summary of the field of fostering learner autonomy in the writing classrooms, teachers should take note that writing learning is not only accuracy-based activities but gradual process from brainstorming ideas to producing final draft In addition, teachers also should facilitate peer feedback practice among high school learners so that learners become more autonomous writers Besides, teachers need to ask their students

to self-evaluate their own writing progress and then self-regulate their writing behaviors, which help these students become more independent and autonomous in their writing learning

2.7 Previous studies

In order to give an overall picture of the concept of learner autonomy and approaches to promoting learner autonomy, especially in EFL writing learning, seven relevant previous studies are summarized

Tanyeli and Kuter (2013) study aimed to examine freshman Law students‟ perceptions in their autonomy in writing classes and their teachers‟ perceptions of promoting learner autonomy The sample included two-hundred freshman Law students and six English language teachers To collect data, mixed-method approach was adopted within a questionnaire and interview protocols The findings indicated that students had positive attitudes towards language learning, yet they did not perceive themselves as autonomous learners in learning writing skill For teachers‟ perceptions, instructional environment, materials and strategies as well as students‟ language problems and their dependence on teachers were viewed to inhibit students‟ autonomy

It is clear that the feasibility of fostering learner autonomy can be affected by some factors regarding teachers, students and schooling environment Thus, the researcher will focus on these factors in the current study

The study of Szőcs (2013) explored the teachers‟ and learners‟ beliefs and practices on learner autonomy in a Hungarian secondary school Mixed methods with attitude-questionnaires, interviews and classroom observation were used The findings

of the study pointed out that teachers should be raised about the importance of learner autonomy to help them build up their learners‟ learning experiences positively regarding autonomy development Clearly, the teachers‟ beliefs on developing learner autonomy are of great importance Hence, an exploration of teachers‟ beliefs on this arena is actually vital

Salimi and Ansari (2015) conducted their survey to investigate Iranian English teachers‟ beliefs about learner autonomy A group of 35 English teachers (7 males, 28 females) from private language centers were selected to answer a 30-item questionnaire This study showed that learner autonomy for the Iranian teachers‟ means that the only participant in the process of learning is not the teacher Teachers also agreed that if the learners have the choice of learning method and materials and assessment procedure, learner autonomy will be promoted more The findings of this study help readers to understand what aspects should be promoted in the area of learner autonomy

Nguyen Thanh Nga (2014) carried out a case study research to investigate the extent to their beliefs in fostering learner autonomy Data were collected through two phases of the study, utilizing mixed method design in which quantitative methods (researcher-generated survey) and qualitative methods (interviews, stimulated recall interviews, video observations) were concurrently employed A sample of 118 English teachers of universities in Hanoi (Vietnam) was recruited in the first phase (survey) and

4 of them were randomly chosen for the second phase (interviews and observations) This study found that teachers‟ actual teaching practices were primarily traditional, teacher-centered teaching The current study indicated that the teachers‟ beliefs and their actual teaching practices were consistently congruent, which was evidenced by the teachers‟ lack of understanding about learner autonomy and by their prior teaching experience The findings of this study indicate that fostering learner autonomy is necessary and the teachers should grasp this necessity in their language education

2.8 Research gaps

The aforementioned body of literature introduced the related works in the field

of learner autonomy in EFL writing skill learning in different contexts; however, the literature has emerged some inadequacies

In common, the previous studies above have been constantly conducted recently (e.g 2013, 2014 and 2015) in foreign countries (e.g Iran, Algeria) such as Tanyeli and Kuter (2013), Szőcs (2013), and Salimi and Ansari (2015) Similarly, in the Vietnamese context, the field of learner autonomy and EFL writing learning has been glanced at but mostly in tertiary institutions (e.g Hanoi universities) As far as the subjects are concerned, high school students have not been put on emphasis Therefore, the study was purposely done at Phuoc Kien high school (Nha Be District, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)

Besides, only Nguyen Thanh Nga (2014) had a deep insight into the relationship between the teachers‟ beliefs and their classroom practices on developing learner autonomy, as well as certain causal factors impacting this interplay Yet, it is obvious that the survey made by Nguyen Thanh Nga (2014) failed to mention EFL writing skill which is deemed to be important but the most difficult one By those reasons, the current study aimed to investigate the high school teachers‟ beliefs about the necessity and feasibility about fostering learner autonomy in EFL writing learning