Rowell de Guia (Bataan Peninsula State University, Philippines)
Abstract
In this presentation, I aim to open windows through which English language teaching (ELT) practitioners and researchers can see how language learning autonomy (LLA) is viewed and fostered in some state universities in the Philippines. The presentation is based on my research motivated by the call for flexible learning in Philippine higher education. Against the backdrop of this recent event, I surveyed 71 English teachers across 21 state universities through structured and unstructured online questionnaires. Using numerical data, I unveiled the teachers’ dominant beliefs about their role in developing independent language learners and described their position on the learners’ involvement in making decisions about learning. Moreover, from the textual data, I uncovered themes indexing the conditions teachers orchestrated to build a learning environment they believed promoted LLA. These findings offered insights into how teachers construed independence in learning English and what ELT model would potentially support LLA in flexible modalities.
Research Paper (In person; 25 minutes)
Critical Pedagogy/Perspectives
Primarily of Interest to Teachers of University Students
About the Presenter
Rowell de Guia is an active member of TESOL and an alumnus of the American English Program of the U.S. Embassy and the Regional English Language Office (RELO). He teaches English courses at the Bataan Peninsula State University College of Education and College of Arts and Sciences. He is interested in research on language learning and computer-mediated communication.
