Of course, my own learning process did not end there (in fact it has not ended!).
Having defined my own cognitive theory for self-direction, I needed to go back to reality
(go back to Mexico) and put it into practice, or better, reconsider practice again and see
if my model matched with learners’ practice.
From this confrontation of theory (Chapter 4) and practice (Chapter 6 and 7) I
became aware of the principles that underlie my conceptualisation of self-direction, the
rationale that made me think that the self-directed language learning scheme that I was
proposing was in fact the beginning of the creation of a learning culture. After all, I did
not go back to Mexico and “quietly observe” people working in the self-access centre.
On the contrary, I met them, got to know them as learners, I intervened in their learning
processes, I “contaminated” them with my ideas, I got highly involved, working with
them as a counsellor, as I understood the counselling role, and, definitively, I learned
with them. But above all, we, the learners and I, did things together. And this is what I
mean by the creation of a learning culture.
Therefore, in this chapter, I will be dealing with different issues related to the
creation of a learning culture. I am aware that what I mean by creation other researchers
have identified as development and has been often discussed through the discourse of
innovation. I have also realised that I am actually dealing with the development of a
learning culture (and hence the use of initiator and developer culture on page 112),
understanding development as gradual growth, and that certain elements of the
innovation discourse are related to the content of this chapter. However, I have chosen
the term creation because it especially brings with it the connotation of human beings as
having the ability to create, that is, as active agents within a learning culture. As the
reader will notice, I believe that the role of learners and educators in such a process is
essential for the development of a learning culture, and in this sense, it is creative.
Within this perspective, the content of this chapter will deal with the following: a
working definition of learning culture (section 8.1.1), a discussion of the process of
creation of a learning culture (section 8.1.2), and an analysis of some findings of the
Oaxaca/97 project relevant to this discussion (section 8.2). I shall conclude on section
8.3 with some reflections on the role of interaction between the creators of a learning
culture.
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