SLA RESEARCH ON SELF-DIRECTION: THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL ISSUES

In these days, we are experiencing other forms of formal learning that imply a
certain degree of distance (either in space or in time, or both) as in what is commonly
called distance learning. In this case, the learning materials (apparently more interactive)
and the possibility of using different media, such as e-mail, make up for this social
interaction. According to A. Little, the learning challenge lies in the difference, i.e. the
unfamiliarity, between learner’s and educator’s beliefs. The gap between belief systems
must be big enough to represent a challenge but not so big that the challenge cannot be
faced.

If the gap between the culture of the learner and the culture of the educator
is too wide then learning equilibria will not be achieved and learning may
become less and less effective over time. Conversely if the gap is too narrow
then learning may not occur at all. (A. Little, 1994,69).

Finally, learning arenas are dynamic in the sense that any successful learning
experience leads to the possibility of facing new challenges, that is, to set more
demanding learning goals. It is a kind of spiral phenomenon that explains learning as a
“dynamic, fluid and changing” process.

Everything that has been said so far about learning arena applies to the concept
of learning culture. However, I have chosen to use the word culture instead of arena for
two main reasons.

First, as I see it, culture, in opposition to arena, carries the idea of permeability.
This means that cultures are open to influence from other cultures:

Cultures are ideational entities; as such they are permeable, susceptible to
influence from other cultures. Wherever exchange among human occurs,
the possibility exists of the in∩uence of one culture by another. (Fay, 1996, 59)

If we then add this feature to the ones stated by A Little, we end up with the
following definition of learning culture:

a permeable, dynamic, challenging and interactive arena for learning
in which two sets (the learner’s and the educator’s) Ofbeliefsystems
(about the content, the manner, the motivation and the outcome of
learning) are confronted in order for the learning of knowledge, skills
attitudes and/or behaviours to take place.

The second point I want to emphasise is the way I feel about culture. As I said
before, most studies in language education deal with “large” cultures, and in most of
them there seems to be a conflict between the cultures concerned, either because they
cannot co-exist or because one is imposing cultural values on the other. This stance
somehow arouses negative attitudes about cultural issues. Actually, this is not a

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