Learning autonomy of English education study program students in Widya Mandala Catholic University Surabaya

Because learning a foreign language is a long and complex undertaking, English Education Study Program (EESP) students as university students get difficulties in learning English. There are also some other reasons why it is difficult in the process of learning. One of the reasons is that a process of learning in universities is completely different from a process of learning in high schools. The lecturers in universities do not directly spoon-feed the students with the materials. Another reason is that English as a foreign language is rarely used in the real situation outside the classrooms. Because of that, the EESP students should take more effort to survive in their study. In order to be successful language learners, the EESP students should take responsibilities in their own learning by being independent or autonomous, because any successful learning is an independent learning (Dickinson, 1987). When the students are autonomous, they develop their autonomy as the ability to take charge of their learning (Holec, 1981) and then they use self-directed learning. Additionally, why developing autonomy is important, that is because some degree of autonomy is also essential to successful language learning. Those theories bring a phenomenon about autonomy and also the relationship between autonomy and the success in language learning. This study is an attempt to answer the questions: Are EESP Students in Widya Mandala autonomous learners? What is their degree of learning autonomy? What factors affect their learning? Is there any correlation between students’ learning autonomy and their learning achievement (GPA)? The writer applied a non experimental study in the forms of a survey, descriptive and correlational study. The writer used Stratified Sampling. Stratified sampling involves dividing the population into homogenous groups; each group containing subjects with similar characteristics. The writer grouped the sample of the study based on the academic year. The population of the study is 287 students. The sample of the study is 196 students. There are three distinctive results. The first result is that EESP students are less autonomous with the degree of learning autonomy 2.94, but they tend to be autonomous because the degree is almost 3 and the maximum degree is 4. The strongest factors affect EESP students’ learning are social or cultural purpose, home support, self- efficacy, role models, experiencing pleasure, self-esteem, and self- confidence. The second result is that there is a positive correlation between EESP students’ learning autonomy and their learning achievement (Grade Point Average or GPA). The third result is that the calculation of the correlation between students’ learning autonomy and their learning achievement is 0.24. It means that there is a low relationship between students’ learning autonomy and their learning achievement. The learning autonomy correlates the learning achievement 5.9%