Accentuating ‘autonomy’ in the Self-Access Centre

The Self-Access Centre of the University of Naples "L'Orientale", since its foundation in the late 1990's, has been implementing various ways of enhancing autonomy in language learning. Students attending the centre are offered a wide range of language learning materials as well as personally tailored courses and other resources useful to raise awareness and metacognitive reflection. Although the Self Access Centre (hereafter referred to as SAC) is considered an ideal context to develop learner autonomy, we have observed that this learning environment is not always used to its fullest potential, and a common student behaviour when visiting the Centre is disorientation. Based on a wider and on-going research project, this study focuses on encouraging students "to take charge of their own learning" (Holec, 1981, p. 1) by discussing ways in which they can use the language classroom as a SAC-enabling medium. The study presents a support system which is especially designed as a scaffolding tool to guide language educators and counsellors in dealing with students who find themselves at a loss when visiting the SAC and are not able to take advantage of its resources and learning processes. The University of Naples 'Orientale' is one of the few universities in Italy that is known as a 'language university'. This is due to its three-hundred-year old history marked by the teaching of humanities and especially languages, considered the foundation subject of the institution itself. Due to the presence of many language departments, the SAC at the Orientale represents the heart and soul of the University and an important support centre for all language educators. Although it is not possible to offer a complete account of the University's language provision, it is perhaps interesting to mention that language courses at the Orientale, as in many other universities in Italy, are taught by linguistic collaborators who are responsible for the teaching of the general language component of the course, while the professors are responsible for the teaching of the cross-cultural and linguistic aspects of the foreign language. Based on our experience, the existence of this 'double teaching role', another commonality of language teaching in Italian universities, is not always beneficial and it is often the result of poor classroom learner-centeredness strategies. Having said that, in analyzing attitudes towards autonomy, it is within this context that the present study aims to investigate how language educators and counsellors can promote autonomy by linking the experience of classroom language learning to that which occurs within the self-access centre. However, central to this discussion is the general consensus that although self-access centres have been implemented with the aim of promoting students' autonomy, this relationship and its effectiveness are still object of debate (Benson, 2001; Cotterall & Reinders, 2001; McMurry, Tanner, & Anderson, 2009; Sheerin, 1997). Grounded on the broad theoretical framework encompassing the concept of autonomy in language learning, this study shares the premise that autonomy in language learning is the result of learners' willingness to control learning (Dam, 1990) and of the consequent process of autonomisation (Holec, 1981). It is our opinion that this long and gradual process, needing constant nurturing and guidance, cannot be started unless learners become aware of their role, potential, and responsibility in language learning. As mentioned earlier, our assumption is that student 'non-readiness' for autonomous learning is partially due to the lack of a support system that works within the classroom and is further developed and consolidated in the SAC. Sharing Little's view of autonomy as a "capacity for critical reflection, decision-making and independent action", which "entails that the learner will develop a particular kind of psychological relation to the process and content of his learning" (Little, 1991, p. 4), this support system also works in favour of reinforcing the psychological construct of locus of control. This construct, indeed, reflects an individual's explanation for learner success. The students' perceived low or high capability of carrying out a task will be linked to whether they feel they can succeed. Inevitably, the perception of control of their own learning will, in turn, affect motivation and self-esteem, which are two other important psychological constructs (Seifert, 2004). In light of the above, this study seeks to answer the following questions: 1) To what degree are students familiar with the idea of autonomy before coming to the SAC? 2) Are students willing to become more autonomous in their learning? 3) What kind of conditions should be implemented in the language classroom to prepare students for self-learning? 4) How can students be enabled to take charge of their learning process and use SAC resources effectively