Introduction 1
Section Ⅰ:What is autonomy? 5
1 The history of autonomy in language learning 7
1.1 Origins of the concept 7
1.2 Autonomy and self-access 9
1.3 Autonomy and learner training 10
1.4 Autonomy and individualisation 11
1.5 Autonomy and interdependence 13
1.6 Why autonomy?Why now? 15
1.7 The two faces of autonomy 19
2 Autonomy beyond the field of language education 22
2.1 Educational reform 23
2.2 Adult education 33
2.3 The psychology of learning 35
2.4 Political philosophy 43
3 Defining and describing autonomy 47
3.1 Levels of control 48
3.2 Measuring autonomy 51
3.3 Autonomy and culture 55
4 Control as a natural attribute of learning 59
4.1 Self-management in learning 60
4.2 Learner agendas in the classroom 65
4.3 Control of psychological factors influencing learning 67
4.4 The seeds of autonomy 75
5 Levels of control 76
5.1 Control over learning management 76
5.2 Control over cognitive processes 86
5.3 Control over learning content 99
6 Conclusion 104
Section Ⅱ:Autonomy in practice 107
7 Fostering autonomy 109
8 Resource-based approaches 113
8.1 Self-access 113
8.2 Self-instruction and distance learning 131
8.3 The effectiveness of resource-based learning 133
9 Technology-based approaches 136
9.1 Computer-assisted language learning 137
9.2 The Internet 139
9.3 The effectiveness of technology-based approaches 140
10 Learner-based approaches 142
10.1 Learner development and language learning 144
10.2 Learner development and autonomy 146
10.3 The effectiveness of learner-based approaches 149
11 Classroom-based approaches 151
11.1 Planning classroom learning 152
11.2 Evaluating classroom learning 155
11.3 The nature of control in the classroom 159
11.4 The effectiveness of classroom-based approaches 161
12 Curriculum-based approaches 163
12.1 The process syllabus 164
12.2 Examples of curriculum-based approaches 165
12.3 The effectiveness of curriculum-based approaches 170
13 Teacher-based approaches 171
13.1 Teacher roles 172
13.2 Teacher autonomy 173
13.3 The effectiveness of teacher-based approaches 176
14 Conclusion 177
Section Ⅲ:Researching Autonomy 179
15 Research methods and key areas of research 181
15.1 Action research 181
15.2 Key areas of research 183
16 Case studies 193
16.1 Case study:ethnicity and attitudes towards autonomy 193
16.2 Case study:out-of-class learning 199
16.3 Case study:reflection 204
16.4 Case study:decision making in the process syllabus 208
16.5 Case study:language acquisition in autonomous classrooms 214
16.6 Case study:developing autonomy 220
17 Conclusion 224
Section Ⅳ:Resources 227
18 Resources for research and practice 229
18.1 Books,journals and newsletters 229
18.2 Conferences and workshops 230
18.3 Professional associations 230
18.4 E-mail lists 232
18.5 Web sites 232
18.6 Bibliographies 233
18.7 Self-access centres 234
References 236
Index 254