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Developing Learner Autonomy
through Strategy Training in ESL
Classroom
By Nurul Nadiah Huda Bt Abd Halim
M.ed TESL
2014913581 ED7701A1

2. Table of Content
1.0 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..1
1.1 Backgroundof Research…………………………………………………………………………………………2
1.2 Statementof the Problem………………………………………………………………………………………3
1.3 ResearchObjectives……………………………………………………………………………………………….3
1.4 ResearchQuestions………………………………………………………………………………………………..4
1.5 Operational Definitions…………………………………………………………………………………………..4
1.6 Limitationof the Study……………………………………………………………………………………………5
1.7 Significantof the Study……………………………………………………………………………………………5

3. 1.0 Introduction
In today’s national education system the ministry of education had proposed various ways to
enhance the learning of students to produce students with great quality and be at the same level
as students from other countries. In order to achieve this goal the implementation on the use of
the English language is needed to be exposed at an early age. However, many language
educators have accepted that the ability to learn a language is more significant than absorbing the
language (Benson, 2001).
A significant amount of researches have been conducted to highlight the importance of
learners learning environment to scaffold and optimize the learners’ knowledge, for instance on
the study conducted by J.E Brindley, C.Walti and O. Zawacki-Richter entitled Learner Support
in open, Distance and Online Learning Environment. However, the learners learning
environment is not the only factor that plays a major role in students’ education, Gremmo (1995)
had stated that there has been a change in focus from the teacher to the learner in the field of
second and foreign language education. Gremmo (1995) also adds that an exclusive focus was on
how to develop teaching methods and approaches to an inclusive concern for how a learner goes
through their learning.
To diminish the gap of teacher centered in the classroom and the development of today’s
generation of ICT, educators need to grasp the importance of self-directed learning among
learners so that they can distance themselves from teacher-oriented teaching and become
autonomous learners.
Furthermore, to begin establishing learner autonomy in the classroom it involves a gradual
shift from the teacher-centered to learner-centered (Dam, 1995). To promote learner autonomy,
the need of the teachers’ effort, time, patience and skills is essential (Chan, xxx). However, this
is a great challenge for teachers in Malaysia working in exam-oriented contexts where the
classroom is in a formal and structured manner.
Autonomous learners implies life-long learning which is an importance in today’s world of
globalization as a formal or the current methods of teaching cannot keep up with the continuous
changes and learners need to be able to learn to process some information on their own (Ikonen,
2013)

4. 1.1 Backgroundof the Research
The rapid development of the country and the extensive spread of electronic media the
need for Malaysians to be competent in English have become very significant. According to Tun
Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, the fourth prime minister of Malaysia, Malaysia is to become a full-
fledge industrial country whereby the citizens of the country need to not only be proficient on the
national language but also the English language.
Asmah (1994) stated that Malaysia needs to be assisted with the English language if it
wants to strive for excellence as it cannot be accomplished by solely depending on the National
language. Asmah (1994) also added that to assist Malaysia to shift rapidly into the science and
technology fields it is essential that Malaysian are proficient in the English language as the
knowledge of science and technology can only be acquired through reading books which are
always written in English.
Norlida Ahmad (2004) stressed that many complaints were made by teachers regarding
the students’ low proficiency level even though they were introduced to the English language as
early as 7 years of age. The result of this, many of these students’ cannot apply the language
outside the classroom setting thus they are unable to use the skill in the real world. Hence,
students are needed to be train and become autonomous learners to be proficient in the language
and not be dependent on the teachers.
In contemplation of making Malaysia a developed nation by 2020 the role of Malaysian
teachers has become vital as teachers are required to provide students with knowledge and
related skills to avoid students from being lag behind (Norlida Ahmad, 2004)
In Malaysia, there has been numerous amount of research to study learner autonomy coming
from different perspective and as a result of this there are many definitions of learner autonomy
and efforts to utilize learner autonomy in a particular context. Thang (2001, 2005) had conducted
a study on undergraduates of University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) based on their autonomy
and identified that these undergraduates were lacking of autonomous quality. In addition, a
follow up study was also conducted on three universities in Malaysia and the results of the
findings were also similar. According to Thang and Azarina (2007), even though the learners
were mostly teacher-oriented they did acquire the characteristic to learn English autonomously.

5. 1.2 Statement of the Problem
There are many major changes that have been conducted by the ministry of education
regarding the importance of the English language in Malaysia as it continues to attempt and
dominant at an international level. According to Utusan Malaysia Online (2013), the
implementation of English as a compulsory subject to pass in the Certificate of Education (SPM)
will begin in 2016. It is design to produce quality students in various fields, thus assist in
developing the country towards a more developed countries.
Hanim (2005), had conducted a study in Malaysia schools and her findings showed that
students are not prepared to work in any language learning situation without the help of others.
Students are too dependable on teachers and directly follow their lead directly. Due to this,
students need to incorporate self-directed learning so that they can slowly move away from
teacher-oriented teaching and learning method and become autonomous learners. Nevertheless,
to ensure this it requires a change in the classroom organizations and intensive training, added
Hanim (2005).
The current trends of today society are through computers, gadgets and other electronic
devices which have contributed a great deal of presence in the second language pedagogy and in
time assist on promoting learner autonomy. This is beneficial for the students as incorporating
different learning strategies into the teaching and learning process will help guide students to
move away from the typical relationship with their teachers.
1.3 ResearchObjectives
The research objectives of this study are as follows:
i. To develop learners’ autonomy through strategy training in an ESL
classroom
ii. To investigate the effects of strategy training on a learners’ autonomy
iii. To illustrates how strategy training helps ESL learners to gain learners’
autonomy

6. 1.4 ResearchQuestions
The research questions of this study are as follows:
i. How to develop learners’ autonomy through strategy training in an ESL
classroom?
ii. What are the effects of strategy training on learners’ autonomy?
iii. How does strategy training help ESL learners to gain learners’ autonomy?
1.5 OperationalDefinitions
Learners Autonomy- According to Holec (1979), learners’ autonomy is the ability to take
charge of one's own learning. The state in which the learner is fully responsible for all the
choices concerning with his or her learning (Dickinson, 1993).
Strategy Training- lessons where learners are explicitly taught language learning
strategies and explanations are given as to when, how and why these strategies can be used
(Oxford, 1990).
Learning How to Learn (LHTL) - To effectively learn in any learning situation the learner
must possess and acquire both knowledge and skills (Smith, 1990)
Learning Strategies- According to ku-crl.org website (2015), it is a person’s approach to
learning on acquiring new knowledge.
Learner Contracts- According to educ.ualberta.ca website (2011), learning contract is an
agreement between a teacher and a student. The contract states objectives that need to be
achieved by the students with the agreement of both parties.
Learner Journal- It is a vehicle for reflection focusing on ongoing matter and learners
will be able to learn from the process of doing it or from the results (Moon, 2010). Learners
record their reactions after experiencing some form of strategy training (Farrel, 1998)

7. 1.6 Limitation of the Study
This study is based on one ESL classroom in a secondary school in an urban setting in
Shah Alam, Selangor. The selected sample sizes of participants are a total of 30 students and
involving one English teacher. The sampling technique used for this study is purposive sampling
The school chosen to take part in this study is a school in Shah Alam situated in a small.
It is situated near factories where most households are from a low socioeconomic background
thus the proficiency of the English language is low.
The means of communication that is used between the teacher and the students is the
learning journals. This is used to identify the effectiveness of training on developing learner
autonomy on regard of their training. Students are encouraged to record and react to the learning
strategies introduced in the classroom. In addition, students were not corrected on incorrect
grammar and language proficiency this is because linguistic competence is not the main aim of
the study.
1.7 Significance ofthe Study
The importance of this study is that it investigates the use of strategy training to develop
learners’ autonomy in an ESL classroom. It is hoped that this research might initiates educators
to foster learner autonomy in the classroom as it is beneficent for second language learners to be
exposed to approaches they feel is suitable to built their autonomy and not rely on ‘spoonfeed’
materials by their teachers. This research would also be able to help students to take charge of
their learning outside the classroom which would indirectly help improve their learning process
as well as prepare them for the real life world.
In addition, teachers would be able to use these learning strategies and adapt it
appropriately according to the students needs in the classroom so that they would benefit most in
a learner centered curricular. By doing so, teachers would be able to promote and foster learner
autonomy in the classroom thus resulting in self-directed learning. In a research conducted by
Kassim et al (2004), it is emphasized that self-directed learning is an effective methods to gain
knowledge.