1 Practices and Prospects of Learner Autonomy: Teachers ’ Perceptions

Language learning process works through the learners ’ own reflection on how they learn and it makes learners active in the sense that they learn to analyze their learning strategies. So they start making decisions, e.g., whether to improve them or not, and in which way. Generally, this trait is missing in traditional language teaching process and students are not expected to reflect upon their own learning, analyzing and evaluating their learning experience. Retrospective tasks, such as interviews, group discussion and structured questionnaires encourage learners to reflect upon learning and these retrospective activities may help learners to take responsibility for their language learning processes as autonomous learners and thus making a motivated learner. The role of the teacher is central to the development of learner autonomy (Hurd, Beaven, & Ortega, 2001; Benson, 2009). A teacher is required to create a classroom learning environment that is supportive of learner autonomy. This may involve the teacher first addressing learners ’ past learning experiences, then slowly raising their awareness to the benefits of increased independence in their learning. Dickinson (1993) adds that learner training should aim to help learners develop the ability to take more responsibility for their own learning. To do this, a survey was conducted at Taif University English Language Centre (KSA) to collect the opinion of teachers regarding the practices and prospects of learner autonomy in their classrooms. The sample consisted o