SLA RESEARCH ON SELF-DIRECTION: THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL ISSUES

AUTHOR

CONCEPT

______DESCRIPTION____________

______EXAMPLES__________________________

Wenden
(1987)

beliefs

lw) learning using the language

2w) learning about the language

3w) social∕affective aspects of FL

________learning_________________________

-Ieam the natural way

-take a formal course

-you have to be stimulated
to Ieam________________________________________________

Horwitz
(1987)

belief areas

lh) foreign language aptitude

2h) difficulty of language learning

3h) nature oflanguage learning

4h) motivations

5h) strategies

-everyone can Ieam to speak a FL

-you can’t Ieam a language in
one hour a day

-it is best to Ieam English in an
English-speaking country

-1 would like to have American friends

-it is important to repeat and
practice a lot

Riley
(1989)

belief
categories

Ir) general beliefs
2r) about self
3r) norms and rules

4r) goals

-you have to start at the beginning

-I sound childish when I speak French

-The French get easily offended when
you make mistakes

-I just want to be able to make myself

understood_____________________________________________

Piper
(1993)

beliefs and
assumptions

lp) what you need to do to Ieam

2p) nature of language

3p) learning is product-oriented

4p) group-work is valuable

5p) motivation

6p) language learning is stressful

-you need to practise

-vocabulary

-Summative assessment

-provided opportunities for practice

-desire to do well in formal assessment

-being 'forced to speak'_______________________________________

Cotterall
(1995)

factors

1 c) the role of the teacher

2c) feedback

3c) learner independence

4c) learner confidence in study
ability

5c) experience on language
learning

6c) approach to studying

-I like the teacher to offer help to me

-I find it helpful for the teacher to give
me regular tests

-I like trying new things out by myself

-I know how to study languages well

-I have been successful in language

learning in the past

-I study English in the same way I study

other subjects_____________________________________________

Broady
(1996)

attitudes

lb) readiness for self-directed
learning

2b) independent work in
language learning

3b) importance of class∕teacher

4b) teacher explanation and
supervision

5b) language learning activities

6b) selection of content

7b) objectives and evaluation

8b) external assessment

-I Ieam a lot working by myself

-language learning involves a lot of
self-study

-a teacher is necessary for learning a
language

-1 like the teacher to explain everything
to us

- language classes should be used
mainly for speaking practice

-1 would like to be able to use my own
material for language classes

-I feel I have a good idea of my

language proficiency

-all exercises should be marked by

the teacher