LANGUAGE
RESEARCH
ARTICLE REPORT
Caryl A. Casuloc-an
Presenter
The Effect of Autonomous Learning Process on
Learner Autonomy of English Public Speaking
Students
Nida Boonma
&
Rosukhon Swatevacharku
l
(May 2020)
W H A T
I S
T H E
P R O B L E M ?
SPEECH ANXIETY
In Thai classrooms, students are observed to be unwilling and
have low confidence to communicate in English due to
anxiety (Boonkit, 2010; Chinpakdee, 2015). Since Thai is
predominantly used in and outside of class, English skills
development is problematic for language classrooms (SaNgiamwibool, 2010; Suwannopharat & Chinokul, 2015).
?
https://scienceaftersunset.wordpress.com/2018/06/02/publicspeaking-how-to-present-your-project-to-others/
THAILAND QUALIFICATION FRAMEWORK
This is a National Qualifications Framework for Higher
Education in Thailand which calls for learner-centered
classrooms.
For this study, the ALP is defined as a learning process for English public speaking ability involving learner training in four
dimensions of learner autonomy which are technical, psychological, political-critical, and sociocultural through
reflection activities: written self-reflection, written peer feedback, and group interactive feedback.
Holistically, the students should be trained to use, monitor, and plan their learning strategies (Technical Dimension), to
manage their anxiety (Psychological Dimension), to creatively and critically deliver the speech (Political-Critical
Dimension) and to engage their audience (Sociocultural Dimension).
The Effect of Autonomous Learning Process on
Learner Autonomy of English Public Speaking
Students
Benson (2011) defines learner autonomy as “the capacity to take control of one’s own learning” (p. 58).
It is believed that students are active participants in their own learning processes. Specifically, in the context
of language classrooms, the aims of learner autonomy are to achieve both language goal and learning
process goals (Nunan & Lamb, 2001).
Explicit learner training on the use of self-strategies is integral in learner autonomy pedagogy (Wenden,
1991).
Oxford’s (2003) model of language learner autonomy encompasses four
dimensions as summarized in Boonma and Swatevacharkul (2018):
o
o
o
o
Technical Dimension – autonomy is found in language skills and
strategies conducive for independent learning situations
Psychological Dimension – combination of learners’ attitude and
emotion
Political-Critical Dimension – focuses on learners’ self and identity
which is in line with Pennycook (1997) who suggested that
development of autonomy involves learners becoming the owner
of their own world
Sociocultural Dimension – c
#AppliedLinguisti
cs
The ALP training can be explained as:
Pre-speaking
TRAINING
Training in order to prepare,
rehearse, deliver the speeches,
and manage anxiety before
each speech
Whole semester
training (15 weeks)
Facilitation of activities to develop students’
confidence, motivation, creativity, critical
thinking skills, and collaboration
Post-speaking
training
Reflection training: metacognitive and
social strategy training so as to selfreflect, write and obtain peer feedback,
and participate in the Group Interactive
Feedback (GIF) sessions after each
speech; guidelines are provided so that
students can reflect on themselves or
react to others accordingly
S U M M A R Y
The objectives of this study were: (1) to examine the effect of the Autonomous Learning Process (ALP) on learner autonomy of
undergraduate students in an English public speaking class; and (2) to explore how learner autonomy is revealed through the ALP.
Research Questions
Respondents
1. What is the effect of the
Autonomous Learning
Process (ALP) on learner
autonomy of Thai
undergraduate students in
an English public speaking
class?
19 Thai students
enrolled in an English
Public Speaking class
in an undergraduate
international
program during
Semester 1 of 2017
(August – November
2017)
2. How is learner
autonomy revealed
through ALP in the English
public speaking class?
The original
population is 226
students divided into
12 pre-existing
sections. Out of the
12, one section
consisting of 19
students was chosen
as the sample using
the cluster sample
method.
Instruments / Source of
Data
Data Generated and Type
of Data
Method of Analysis
Findings and Conclusions
Learner Autonomy for
Public Speaking (LAPS)
Questionnaires with 42
statements that make use of
a 5-point Likert scale (the
statements tackled four
dimensions of learner
autonomy)
Quantitative Data: Pre-test
(Week 1) and Post-test
(Week 15) LAPS
Questionnaire answers
Inferential Statistics:
paired-sample t-test
(compares means from
the same group at
different times)
It was found that the level of learner
autonomy for public speaking ability in the
post-questionnaire was significantly higher
than the level of the pre-questionnaire
(t(18) = 5.56, p < 0.05).
Qualitative Data: Learners’
overall written reflections
collected on Week 8 (after
completion of 2 informative
speeches) and Week 14
(after completion of 2
persuasive speeches)
Thematic Content
Analysis: finding
patterns or common
themes in the
qualitative data; data
was coded and
quantified by counting
the frequency of
categories/themes
Learner autonomy, as revealed through the
ALP, can be classified into 5 emerging
themes:
(1) Use and plans of the learning strategies,
(2) evaluation of learning and learning
strategies, (3) capacity to provide and
accept praise and criticism, (4) increased
positive emotions, and (5) sense of
awareness and a better understanding of
self.
Written Reflections of
learners within the duration
of the ALP
Methodology: MIXED-METHOD APPROACH
For this research design, a qualitative strand (qual) is embedded within a quantitative experiment (QUAN) to supplement the experimental
design (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011).
Methodology: MIXED-METHOD APPROACH
For this research design, a qualitative strand (qual) is embedded within a quantitative experiment (QUAN) to supplement the experimental
design (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011).
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
CONCLUSION
To conclude, there are four points of discussions which could explain how the ALP contributed to the improvement of the level of learner
autonomy and how learner autonomy is revealed. First, learning strategies are prerequisites for learner autonomy, and the study’s findings
revealed that the types of the speech tasks can enhance the use and plans of learning strategies. Second, the students’ capacity to reflect and their
formation of reflective behaviors indicate the improvement of learner autonomy. Such capacity to reflect is found in both questionnaire and the
Overall Written Reflections. Third, as the students developed more positive affect towards their learning, their level of learner autonomy is
improved. Mutual motivation is also developed, and the students are more satisfied and prouder of their learning. Lastly, the students’
construction of identity leads to the improvement in learner autonomy. Based on these four points of discussions, the impact of the ALP is that
the students’ level of learner autonomy can significantly improve.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation for further research includes an addition of a controlled group in the study to ensure the effectiveness of the ALP in English
public speaking classrooms and a replication of the study should be done to ensure the reliability and generalizability of the findings.
C R I T I Q U E / a n a l
y s I s
ON the TOPIC and the approach used in
the study…
ON the instruments
strategies utilized…
The problem on speech anxiety is very relevant not just in the
context of Thailand but also in other language learning
environments. Using applied linguistics as an approach in
tackling speech issues is noteworthy because not only does it
introduce new findings, but it also helps solve problems in a
more practical sense.
Coming from the perspective of someone with little to no knowledge of
statistics, I would have wanted to see brief descriptions of the inferential
statistics strategies used in the study (i.e., what they are and what to use
them for). Nevertheless, the diagrams in the paper were very helpful and
they displayed how each of the instruments and data analysis procedures
were relevant to the study’s research questions and objectives.
ON the methods employed…
ON the autonomous learning program…
•
The cluster sampling method where only one pre-existing
section is selected out of 12 (specifically, 19 students out of
226) could have been improved since according to Thomas
(2020), “ideally, each cluster should be a minirepresentation of the entire population. However, in practice,
clusters often do not perfectly represent the population’s
characteristics, which is why this method provides less
statistical certainty than simple random sampling”.
•
The study makes up for reliability concerns by using a mixed
method where there is input for both qualitative and
quantitative data to strengthen research findings.
and
data
analysis
The ALP effectively reflects the four-dimensional framework discussed in
the RRL. The program is very detailed but is discussed clearly, and
although the framework involves cyclical repetition of tasks, the skills
targeted by the ALP are very high-level (e.g., metacognitive thinking,
critical thinking, reflective thinking, etc.). It is evident in the discussion
that the program was well-thought-of especially that there are established
rubrics for tasks such as preparing speeches down to writing reflections
and giving feedback. My only wish was that appendices were attached in
the paper for future researchers to refer to and/or adapt.
R E F L E C T I O N
research reflections
•
•
As an education practitioner and TESOL student, I have come to
prefer studies that lean on applied linguistics since these help
solve problems beyond the theoretical level and provide
pedagogical implications that other teachers could learn from.
It is better to have varied yet reliable sources of data to make the
research results more credible and open to replication.
Pedagogical reflections
•
•
•
Learners should be explicitly taught self-strategies to make them
in control of their own learning.
Teachers should set a learning environment where learners are
more concerned with the experiences and processes of learning
rather than grades.
Reflection should not be underestimated. The study models how
reflective thinking fosters independent learning, critical
thinking, and self-awareness.