چکیده:
The salient, and often ignored, role that out-of-class learning plays in second/foreign language (L2) learners’ development is overshadowed by classroom research. The main aim of this study is to problematize the role of out-of-class learning in the specific English-as-Foreign-Language (EFL) context of Iran by examination of the ways in which four learners attempted to revamp their English language ability on their own in out-of-class settings. In so doing, we draw on the concepts of agency and autonomy in the field of L2 research to understand and explain learners’ self-directed practices for language learning within situations outside the classroom. Data were collected through in-depth interviews in which the students were asked to describe their personal approaches to English learning, use and practice in any situations beyond the classroom, most possibly hidden from their teachers. Three rounds of semi-structured interviews were carried out with the learners on an individual basis during May 2012. Thematic analysis of the interviews suggests that despite the dearth of naturalistic learning opportunities in our context, Iranian EFL learners take a variety of individual and collective initiatives to create authentic opportunities of language learning, use and practice for themselves in out-of-class contexts such as on-campus and outside the university. Based on the findings, it can be argued that in order to foster learners’ more active role in their learning, greater attention should be paid to their personally-conducted, autonomous English learning activities outside the classroom.
خلاصه ماشینی:
Thematic analysis of the interviews suggests that despite the dearth of naturalistic learning opportunities in our context, Iranian EFL learners take a variety of individual and collective initiatives to create authentic opportunities of language learning, use and practice for themselves in out-of-class contexts such as on-campus and outside the university.
Introduction Research in the field of second/foreign language (L2) teaching/learning has witnessed an exponential growth of interest in clearer description of autonomy in theory and a more effective fostering of it in practice since Henri Holec’s (1981) pioneering work (Benson, 2001; Benson & Voller, 1997;Cotterall, 1995; Dam, 1995; Dickinson, 1992; Huang & Benson, 2013; Little, 1991, 1997; Nunan, 1995; Reinders, 2010; Palfreyman & Smith, 2003; Ushioda, 2011).
In addition, they have mostly been carried out along the quantitative paradigm, with the goal of identification and quantification of out-of-classroom language learning activities or resources (Pearson, 2004; Pickard, 1996; Ryan, 1997; Spratt, Humphreys & Chan, 2002).
Boosting learners’ agency in out-of-class language practice and use becomes specifically important in the Iranian EFL context where English language is still taught at schools in a traditional fashion (Abednia, 2012; Farhady & Hedayati, 2009; Papi, 2010), learners have no contact with native speakers (Roohani & Rabiei, 2013) and success in learning English by mere attendance to regular school classes sounds improbable (Ahmadi & Eslami, 2011).
This situation necessitates that, besides the limited hours of instruction they are exposed to in formal classrooms, learners demonstrate agency and actively take initiatives to create learning opportunities for themselves beyond educational walls either individually or collectively, as both are approximately compatible with their values (Ghorbani, Bing, Watson, Davidson & LeBreton, 2003).