Promoting Learner Autonomy through the CALL Projects

Learner-centered approach has been a recent research focus in the second language acquisition, but few studies have dealt with how to develop learner autonomy, particularly in a computer-assisted language learning environment. The paper first illustrates the importance of promoting learner autonomy in the EFL context and elaborates the three main factors contributing to its development. Then it focuses on how the CALL research project promotes autonomous learning through a small-scale study in Gyeongju University. Both quantitative and qualitative methods have been employed to examine whether in the CALL project learners exercise control over their own learning and evaluate the outcome. The results indicate that due to a flexible syllabus, highly motivating research topics and the network-assisted environment, learners do take responsibility for most aspects of learning and thus the CALL project proves to be a promising approach for autonomous learning.