SLA RESEARCH ON SELF-DIRECTION: THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL ISSUES

Fig. 2. 5 Scheme ofsupport elements in SAC Oaxaca (from Clemente and Kissinger; 1994, 62)

As I see it, there was another reason for our procedure scheme. In spite of all the
input about autonomy and self-direction, we, foreign language teachers, were not confident
enough about "laissez-faire matters". We wanted some kind of structure, if not for the
students, at least for us, to be more aware of what was going to happen when our first
students tried things out. The scheme of support elements (Fig. 2.5) was the way we foresaw
self-learning a foreign language.

2.4.3.4.1 The user's course

The user's course had the objective of introducing the learner to the SAC system and
to the concept of self-direction in language learning. It lasted 20 hours and its contents were:
information about organisation and resources of the centre, definition of needs and goals and
objectives, identification of learning styles and strategies, discussion of key concepts such as
language, culture, learning, counselling, and self-evaluation. All of this, we thought, had the
purpose not only of informing but also of providing the students with the methodological

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