Open AccessIs Technology Paving the Way for Autonomous Learning?
Author(s) -
Mehran Esfandiari,
Mir Wais Gawhary
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
world journal of english language
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1925-0711
pISSN - 1925-0703
DOI - 10.5430/wjel.v9n2p64
Subject(s) - affordance , autonomy , autonomous learning , independence (probability theory) , class (philosophy) , computer science , learner autonomy , knowledge management , human–computer interaction , psychology , mathematics education , language education , artificial intelligence , comprehension approach , political science , statistics , mathematics , law
The shift towards communicative, learner-centered approaches to teaching has resulted in attention being drawn to promoting autonomy as a capacity for independent learning. Taking responsibility for their own learning enables students to break down barriers to learning that appear in teacher-directed environments. With independence and interdependence as its two interrelated aspects, autonomy has its roots in interaction with others in social contexts, and it is now looked upon as being certain abilities that facilitate the navigation of learning through higher degrees of motivation, creative thinking, and conceptual learning. Thanks to technology, language learners easily access authentic materials for out-of-class learning. However, this paper aims to argue that where promoting autonomous learning is concerned, it cannot be enough per se; proper guidance is crucial, and the interrelation between pedagogy and technology has to be explored so that enough attention is paid to the affordances of certain technological tools to enable language learners to become more autonomous.