Autonomous learning involves learners taking responsibility for and control of their own learning. It is an active process where learners engage with experiences and conversations to build mental models. For learning to be autonomous, learners must be able to identify and set their own goals, plan and execute learning activities, and reflect on their progress. Autonomous learners benefit from increased motivation, engagement, and a sense of independence over their learning.

1. Autonomous Learning

2. What is learning?

3. “Learning is the relatively permanent change in a person’s
knowledge or behavior due to experience. This definition has
three components: 1) the duration of the change is long-term
rather than short-term; 2) the locus of the change is the content
and structure of knowledge in memory or the behavior of the
learner; 3) the cause of the change is the learner’s experience in
the environment rather than fatigue, motivation, drugs, physical
condition or physiologic intervention.”
From Learning in Encyclopedia of Educational Research, Richard
E. Mayer

4. “We define learning as the transformative process of
taking in information that—when internalized and
mixed with what we have experienced—changes what
we know and builds on what we do. It’s based on
input, process, and reflection. It is what changes us.”
From The New Social Learning by Tony Bingham and
Marcia Conner

5. “Learning involves strengthening correct responses and
weakening incorrect responses. Learning involves adding
new information to your memory. Learning involves
making sense of the presented material by attending to
relevant information, mentally reorganizing it, and
connecting it with what you already know.”
From eLearning and the Science of Instruction by Ruth C.
Clark and Richard E. Mayer

6. Learning is a process that is active. It is a process of
engaging and manipulating objects, experiences, and
conversations in order to build mental models of the
world (Dewey, 1938; Piaget, 1964; Vygotsky, 1986).
Learners build knowledge as they explore the world
around them, observe and interact with phenomena,
converse and engage with others, and make connections
between new ideas and prior understandings.

7. Learning is a process that is situated in an authentic
context. It provides learners with the opportunity to engage
with specific ideas and concepts on a need-to-know or want-
to-know basis (Greeno, 2006; Kolodner, 2006).
Learning involves far more than thinking: it involves the
whole personality - senses, feelings, intuition, beliefs,
values and will. If we do not have the will to learn, we will
not learn and if we have learned, we are actually changed in
some way.

8. What is autonomy in education?
 The etymology of the concept derives from the Greek autonomos
‘having its own laws’ (Oxford Dictionaries, 2015).
 Autonomy means the ability to take control of one's own learning,
independently or in collaboration with others.
 Student autonomy in the classroom means learners take the initiative
and responsibility for their learning.
 The result, at schools that embrace autonomy in education, are
students who develop a sense of responsibility and self-motivation.

9. […] autonomy is conceived of as a second-order capacity
of persons to reflect critically upon their first-order
preferences, desires, wishes and so forth and the
capacity to accept or attempt to change these in light of
higher-order preferences and values. By exercising such a
capacity, persons define their nature, give meaning and
coherence to their lives, and take responsibility for the
kind of person they are. (Dworkin, 2015)

10. What is autonomous learning?
 It refers to a situation in which learners are responsible for their
learning. They take charge of their own learning and are actively
involved, taking individual decisions according to their necessities
or preferences focused on the goals they need to achieve.
 The learner take responsibility for his/her own learning, set goals,
choose language learning strategies, monitor progress, and
evaluate his/her successful acquisition.

11. Principles for achieving
autonomous learning
There are five:
1. Active involvement in student learning.
2. Providing options and resources.
3. Offering choices and decision-making opportunities.
4. Supporting learners.
5. Encouraging reflection.

12. What skills do autonomous
learners need?
 the ability to identify and set learning goals;
 the ability to plan and execute learning activities;
 the ability to reflect on and evaluate their learning;
 an understanding of the purpose of their learning;
 an understanding of their own learning processes;
 knowledge of a range of learning strategies and skills;
 clear motivation to learn.
In short, autonomous learners need to be proactive, reflective, self-aware and
motivated.

13. Characteristics of an autonomous
learner
They include:
 Critical reflection and thinking
 Self-awareness
 Taking responsibility for own learning
 Working creatively with complex situations
 The ability to create own meanings and challenge
ideas/theories.

14. Five tips for successful autonomous
learning
1. Check your understanding. Ask yourself questions about what you have read or listened to
with the book closed, the CD player off or your laptop lid down.
2. Paraphrase: recite what you have learned but using different words and expressions. It’ll
make you think, rather than repeat by rote.
3. Embrace mistakes! They are not failures, they are opportunities to learn and to understand
where you need to study more.
4. Try online tutors for areas you need particular help with: you can dip in as and when you need
help as they’re more flexible than face-to-face tutors, who tend to work to regular sessions.
5. Maintain focus on the end result. Autonomous learners desire to increase their knowledge and
skills, rather than purely pass exams. So keep your goals front-of-mind at all times to help
maintain your motivations.

15. Benefits of Autonomous Learning
1. Active. This more liberal system of learning, driven by the learner, gives them
independence and a sense of control over how, when, and what they learn.
2. Motivates. The freedom attached to autonomous learning motivates your learners
and increases their level of self-determination to succeed, further encouraging
them to learn more.
3. Engages. Think of it as a grown-up way of learning. Your learners take
responsibility for setting goals, scheduling and managing their learning. And,
because they’re in charge, they develop a deeper interest and engage more with
the content when compared with a conventional trainer-led environment.

16. Furman, L. Robert. (October 18, 2017). Autonomous Learning
is the Future of Education. Huff Post. Retrieved from
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/autonomous-learning-is-
the-future-of-education_b_59e77f81e4b0153c4c3ec479