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Learner Autonomy in English Language Learning: Vietnamese EFL Learners'

Perceptions and Practices

Article  in  Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics · October 2021

DOI: 10.17509/ijal.v11i2.29605

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 INDONESIAN JOURNAL OF APPLIED LINGUISTICS
Vol. 11 No. 2, September 2021, pp. 307-317

Available online at:

https://ejournal.upi.edu/index.php/IJAL/article/view/29605
https://doi.org/10.17509/ijal.v11i2.29605

Learner autonomy in English language learning:

Vietnamese EFL students’ perceptions and practices
Duong Minh Tuan
English Studies Program, Center for Graduation Standards and Human Resource Development, Nam Can Tho
University, 168, Nguyen Van Cu (noi dai) Street, An Binh Ward, Ninh Kieu District, Can Tho City, Vietnam

ABSTRACT
Learner autonomy has been regarded as an important value which is expected to be present in
any English language students as it can have positive effects on their learning. In Vietnam, the
notion of learner autonomy has attracted more attention, and various studies have been
conducted on teacher beliefs and practices regarding learner autonomy over the last decade.
Nevertheless, not much evidence has been provided on how EFL students perceive and practise
autonomous learning, especially at a time when there has been a shift towards student-centered
instruction. To contribute to bridging this gap, this study is aimed to report on an investigation
into Vietnamese EFL students’ perceptions and practices of autonomous learning. Data were
collected from 50 English-majored students at a university in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam by
using a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. It was found that the students had an
agreement on the importance of learner autonomy in their language learning. However, their
perceived level of abilities to act autonomously was just above average. This result was the
same as that found on their frequency scale of reported practices of autonomous activities inside
and outside the classroom. Therefore, it is suggested that, to better enhance learner autonomy in
teaching and learning English in Vietnam, it should be integrated into English language
instruction by making it an integral part of EFL curricula.

Keywords: Abilities; autonomous learning; autonomous activities; perceptions and practices;

First Received: Revised: Accepted:

21 November 2020 24 April 2021 12 June 2021
Final Proof Received: Published:
15 September 2021 30 September 2021
How to cite (in APA style):
Tuan, D. M. (2021). Learner autonomy in English language learning: Vietnamese EFL students’
perceptions and practices. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 11(2), 307-317.
https://doi.org/10.17509/ijal.v11i2.29605

INTRODUCTION
In the past, the English language teaching in heart, reading English texts, and memorizing
Vietnam was considered as heavily teacher-centered grammatical or sentence structures. Also according
where the teacher played an active role in the to Trinh (2005), these ways of studying were aimed
language learning of students. This was claimed to at preparing students for succeeding in their
result in students’ passiveness in learning and examinations but not for meeting their
therefore act as a hindrance to their language communicative needs. To address these problems,
acquisition. Furthermore, the dominance of more innovative approaches, such as task-based
traditional teaching approaches, such as audio- language teaching, have been introduced to
lingual and grammar-translation methods, in most Vietnam, with the consideration of developing
Vietnamese contexts did not provide students with students’ communicative competence and autonomy
opportunities to enhance their communicative (Barnard & Nguyen, 2010). Accordingly, teachers
competence (Trinh, 2005). In particular, students have been encouraged to employ more student-
studied English primarily by learning vocabulary by centered teaching methods (Nguyen & Hall, 2016)

Email: [email protected]
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 Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 11(2), September 2021

in which students are allowed to construct Nguyen, 2011). Cotterall (1995) elucidates learner
knowledge by themselves and take charge of their autonomy by looking at the degree to which learners
own learning. By doing this, teachers play less are able to use a set of tactics for taking control over
dominant roles both inside and outside the their own learning. The tactics are comprised of the
classroom. That is, in accordance with student- ability to identify goals, select materials and tasks,
centered teaching, teachers are expected to be, for plan practice opportunities, and monitor and self-
example, “the facilitator of learning, the nurturer of evaluate learning progress. These variables of the
creative thinking” (Tran et al., 2014, p. 107), and no tactics are also known as metacognitive factors that
longer the provider of knowledge (Keiler, 2018). emphasize self-regulated learning skills (i.e., skills
However, under the effects of traditional teaching for planning, monitoring, and evaluating learning)
practices, shifting the language instruction from (Trinh, 2005). Further explaining the definition,
teachers to students is by no means an easy task in Cotterall assumes that students can have various
reality. Besides, one of the changes in educational levels of practices of these tactics partly due to their
policy in Vietnam is that students have to be well different perceptions about language learning.
equipped with skills necessary for the twenty-first Noticeably, many researchers assert that autonomy
century, with autonomous learning being one of involves some extent of freedom in learning.
them (Nguyen, 2016). However, learner autonomy However, this freedom is believed to be of
has been taken for granted by and found lacking in constraints, and it is not synonymous with autonomy
many Vietnamese students, even those who study at (Benson, 2007). Little (1991) postulates that
the tertiary level. autonomy is not the same as self-instruction, which
Learner autonomy is not a new term in is described as situations in which learners work
Vietnam as it is one of the significant goals set for individually or with other students without the
students in any language curriculum, especially control of their teachers during the learning process.
when most universities in the country employ the This is because there is no guarantee that students
credit-based system that requires students to take who undertake self-instruction can obtain a high
more responsibilities for their own learning. It is level of autonomy. In his definition, autonomy is “a
claimed that, more often than not, autonomous capacity for detachment, critical reflection, decision-
students are likely to study languages better than making, and independent action” (p. 4).
those with a low level of autonomy. In other words, Lengkanawati (2017) perceives autonomous
the ability to learn autonomously is viewed as an learning as learners’ capacity to control their own
indispensable and important attribute of a successful learning. That is, autonomous learners are able to
language student. Although the concept of learner make their own decisions in determining learning
autonomy has attracted much interest from teachers, objectives, defining learning contents and
educators, and researchers in different contexts since progressions, choosing learning methods and
the mid-1970s (Chan, 2015), it was not awarded techniques, monitoring acquisition procedures, and
enough attention of researchers in Vietnam until evaluating learning results.
recently (Nguyen, 2016). Various efforts have been
made to investigate teachers’ beliefs and practices Dimensions of learner autonomy
pertaining to learner autonomy, but a small body of Also based on the definition proposed by Holec
research has been conducted to provide valuable (1981), scholars in various contexts have put
insights into how it is perceived and practised by forward, albeit not in the same ways, the idea of
Vietnamese EFL students. According to Cotterall categorizations of learner autonomy (Nguyen,
(1995), elucidating students’ autonomous learning 2011). In this respect, acknowledged as the first
behaviors and beliefs is a prerequisite for any researcher, Benson (1997) suggests three
interventions which target at stimulating learner dimensions of autonomy in language education,
autonomy. To fill this gap, this study is intended to namely ‘technical’, ‘psychological’ and ‘political’.
explore EFL students’ perceptions and practices of From the technical perspective, learning skills or
learner autonomy in a Vietnamese context. strategies are essential for students to discover
learning on their own, with learner training being a
Conceptions of learner autonomy focal issue in language instruction. In regard to the
Learner autonomy in language learning is a psychological view, autonomy is seen as the
multifaceted concept that has been defined in capacity to take responsibility for one’s own
different ways. Holec (1981) who has been learning. This point of view is in line with the
considered a prominent figure in the field of aforementioned definition of Holec (1981). As for
autonomy refers to it as ‘the ability to take charge of the political aspect, autonomy is emphasized as the
one’s own directed learning’ (p. 3). Holec’s work on ability to take control of the content and process of
autonomy has laid the theoretical foundation for learning. Some years later, these dimensions of
much later relevant research added to the literature, autonomy were developed by Oxford (2003) into a
although the consensus on the definition of this term distinct model with four perspectives, including
has not been so far reached (Benson & Voller, 1997; ‘technical’, ‘psychological’, ‘sociocultural’, and

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 Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 11(2), September 2021

‘political-critical’, each with a different focus. The power structures’ and ‘to develop an articulate voice
technical perspective emphasizes the physical amid competing ideologies’ (p. 79). Trinh (2005)
situation of learning where autonomy is enhanced assumes that autonomous students are ones who
by independent work, for example, in a self-access possess the ability to take control of the affective
center. The psychological perspective is not just (attitudes, willingness, readiness, and self-
confined to learning responsibilities as, compared to confidence), cognitive (ability or capacity), and
that of Benson’s, it is extended with the focus on social factors (social skills required for cooperating
students’ emotional and mental characteristics. In and interacting with others) in their learning.
the sociocultural perspective, attention is paid to In this study, learner autonomy is
mediated learning in which interaction is important conceptualized from a combination of the technical,
to students’ learning processes. Regarding the psychological, social, and political dimensions, each
political-critical perspective, autonomy is stressed as of them being briefly described in Table 1 below.
a medium to gain access to ‘cultural alternatives and

Table 1
Dimensions of Learner Autonomy (Benson, 1997; Oxford, 2003; Trinh, 2005)
Dimensions Description
Technical Focus on learning activities taking place outside formal educational contexts without the aid of teachers
Psychological Emphasize the capacity for students to take responsibility for their own learning
Political Highlight conditions in which students take control over the content and process of their learning
Social Stress the roles of cooperation and social interaction in language learning

Related studies on learner autonomy readiness for autonomous learning in terms of their
Although much research has been conducted to educational responsibilities, abilities to learn
investigate teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding autonomously, and actual performances of learner
learner autonomy in various contexts, only scant autonomy. Data were collected from 140 freshmen
attention was given to how students perceive and EFL students at Birzeit University in Palestine using
practise autonomous learning. a questionnaire and an interview. The results
showed that students were affected by their past
Overseas studies learning experiences in the sense that, from their
Yildirim (2008) did a study on Turkish EFL perspective, teachers took responsibility for their
students’ readiness for learner autonomy. learning results and acquisition of the target
Specifically, the study was intended to explore three language. In addition, they assumed that they would
distinct constructs of autonomous learning, namely be able to act autonomously if they were given
the perceptions of teacher and learner exposures to learning activities that permitted
responsibilities, the abilities for autonomous autonomy. As regards the actual practices, the
learning, and the practices of learner autonomy. To students reported that there were a variety of
this end, 103 students of English at Anadolu autonomous learning activities that they took part in
University were selected to participate in this both inside and outside the class to improve their
descriptive research. In relation to the research English language proficiency.
instrument, a questionnaire was used to gain Another research was conducted in Thai Lan
quantitative data for the study. The results revealed by Scheb-Buenner (2019), aiming at investigating
that students had positive perceptions of shared EFL students’ perceptions of autonomous learning
responsibilities between teachers and students in at a private university in Thai Lan. Unlike the
most classroom activities. However, they thought aforementioned studies, this study focused on
that there were some cases (e.g., designing learning exploring the extent to which students could
activities in class) when teachers had the greatest understand the concepts of learner autonomy. To
responsibility for their students’ learning, and there obtain further insights into this issue, their teachers
were some situations (e.g., choosing activities also participated in the study. As for the similarity
outside the classroom) in which students took the compared to the studies mentioned earlier, students’
greatest responsibility for their own learning. It was levels of learner autonomy were observed in this
also found that students perceived themselves as research. In response to the research aims, both
capable of learning autonomously, and they were quantitative and qualitative data were collected
ready to employ some out-of-class activities that through a questionnaire for fifty-seven students and
could enhance their autonomy in the learning an interview for four teachers. When it comes to the
process. results, the majority of student participants showed a
Similarly, Razeq (2014) studied EFL students’ limited understanding of the concepts of learner
perceptions of their responsibilities and abilities autonomy, although they viewed themselves as
related to learning autonomy. To be specific, the autonomous learners.
study was aimed to identify language students’

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 Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 11(2), September 2021

In the same year, Ramadhiyah and collect data for the study, sixty English-majored
Lengkanawati (2019) carried out a study to explore students were selected to participate in a narrative
voices about learner autonomy of an English teacher interview on a voluntary basis. It was found that all
and thirty-six high school students involved in an the participants recognized the significant role of
EFL curriculum in Indonesia. This study also sought learner autonomy in higher education and supported
to identify how the teacher stimulated learner the need for students to develop the ability to act
autonomy during the implementation of the autonomously. The results also showed that they
curriculum. Three instruments, namely observations, demonstrated different levels of practices regarding
an interview, and a questionnaire, were used to gain autonomous learning.
data for the study. The results revealed that the More recent is the research done by Truong et
teacher had a basic understanding of learner al. (2019) in a Vietnamese context. With the
autonomy consistent with the features specified in participation of eighty EFL students at Hung Vuong
the technical dimension in which students were University, the study investigated learner
expected to do extra activities independently outside perceptions about autonomous learning across four
the classroom. Besides, it was inferred that the dimensions: (1) the importance of learner autonomy,
teacher showed some efforts to promote learner (2) the responsibilities of learner autonomy, (3) the
autonomy, even though this was implemented with a abilities of learner autonomy and (4) the behaviors
lack of authentic materials. Concerning the student of learner autonomy. A mixed-methods approach,
participants, the study had a different result including a questionnaire and a semi-structured
compared to that of Scheb-Buenner (2019)’s as the interview, was used for data collection and analysis.
students did not consider themselves as autonomous The results revealed that the students emphasized
learners. This was because they found it difficult to the importance of learning autonomy in English
adapt to a learning environment where the learner- language learning. Although they were aware of
centered instruction became dominant. their autonomous responsibilities, such as
Using an experimental design, Boonma and determining learning objectives, selecting learning
Swatevacharkul (2020) conducted a study first to activities and strategies, and evaluating their
investigate the effects of the autonomous learning learning progress, they reported that their
process on undergraduate students’ level of learner autonomous abilities were limited to some extent.
autonomy and second to examine how learner As regards the students’ autonomous learning
autonomy was revealed throughout this process. To behaviors, they preferred peer interaction to student-
collect data for the study, nineteen Thai students teacher interaction inside the classroom, and there
were asked to participate in a learning process was a disparity in the selection of activities that they
where they were trained under four dimensions of did outside the classroom.
learner autonomy (i.e., technical, psychological, Since learner autonomy is a multidimensional
political-critical, and sociocultural). The concept, the term itself cannot manifest a
participants’ written reflections on learning satisfactory meaning from just a single perspective.
activities during that learning process and two As seen from most of the above studies, the
questionnaires on learner autonomy were means of researchers divided learner autonomy into different
data collection. As shown in the results, the aspects of focus, among which autonomous
autonomous learning process had positive effects on responsibilities, abilities, and behaviors were
the students’ level of learner autonomy, with a large commonly investigated. The similar results found in
effect size. To provide more evidence on the these studies were that EFL students had positive
students’ improvement in this regard, learner perceptions towards autonomous learning, and they
autonomy was then analyzed using different themes engaged in various activities, despite at different
related to their learning strategies, reflective levels of engagement, with the intent to become
behaviors, attitude towards learning, and identity autonomous learners. However, it was concluded in
construction. Scheb-Buenner’s (2019) study that, notwithstanding
their agreement on the importance of learner
Studies in Vietnam autonomy in language learning, the students’
In Le’s (2018) research, the aim was to explore knowledge of the relevant concepts was limited. In
Vietnamese EFL students’ voices, including both Vietnam, only a few studies on university students’
their perceptions and practices, on learner perceptions and practices of autonomous learning
autonomy. Learner autonomy in this study was have been recorded in the literature until the present.
analysed based on a four-aspect framework: (1) the Exploring learner autonomy from the teacher
awareness of learning responsibilities, (2) the ability perspective, Nguyen’s (2014) and Nguyen’s (2011)
and willingness to create learning plans and identify studies arrived at a similar conclusion that most
objectives, (3) the selection of methods, strategies, teacher participants did not believe that their
and resources to perform learning activities with and students were capable enough to take charge of their
without the assistance of teachers, and (4) the learning (as cited in Nguyen, 2017). This result
evaluation of learning processes and outcomes. To concurred with that of each of the works mentioned

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 Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 11(2), September 2021

earlier, showing an inconsistency in the perceptions collected. The second section consisted of 40 rating
about Vietnamese students’ capacity to act scale items used to obtain quantitative data for the
anonymously. Therefore, there is a need to provide study. To determine the reliability of the
more evidence on what learner autonomy means to questionnaire, Cronbach’s alpha was calculated. The
Vietnamese students in terms of importance and the result showed that the reliability coefficient of this
extent to which they are able to act autonomously, instrument was high (α=.89). With respect to the
and what autonomous learning activities they take statistical data analysis, responses gained from the
part in whereby further understanding on questionnaire were subjected to the Software
Vietnamese students’ capacity to take control of Package of Statistics for the Social Science (SPSS,
their learning could be drawn out. The present study version 20.0) to measure the participants’
attempted to investigate Vietnamese EFL students’ perceptions and practices of learner autonomy.
perceptions towards the importance of learner Specifically, the Descriptive Statistics Test and the
autonomy in language learning, their perceived One Sample T-Test were calculated to observe the
abilities to act autonomously, and their practices of quantitative results of the study.
in-class and out-of-class autonomous activities. To Regarding the interview, it was employed to
reach these research aims, the study was designed to enrich the results of the study. This instrument was
address the following research questions. developed by the researcher to elicit information on
1. How do Vietnamese EFL students the students’ perceptions and practices of learner
perceive the importance of learner autonomy. Six participants were randomly chosen in
autonomy in English language learning? this phase of data collection. They were interviewed
2. What are the students’ perceptions of for more than 15 minutes on a one-on-one basis, and
their abilities regarding autonomous all the responses were recorded for later analysis.
learning? There were four prepared questions in the interview
3. What are their practices of activities that centered on to which extent the students
relating to autonomous learning? perceive the importance of learner autonomy in their
language learning, how they assess their abilities to
behave autonomously, and what autonomous
METHODS activities they did inside and outside the classroom.
This descriptive study was of a mixed-methods During the interview process, in addition to the main
research design. A questionnaire and a semi- questions, the interviewees were also asked some
structured interview were employed to collect both follow-up questions to gain deeper insights into the
quantitative and qualitative data for the study. research issues. To make sure that all the
Knupfer and McLellan (2001) figure out that interviewees could understand the researcher’s
descriptive research can involve a collection of both questions and give relevant answers, all the
qualitative and quantitative information to aid interviews were conducted in the Vietnamese
readers in understanding a situation more fully. language. The interview data were then analysed
The questionnaire was comprised of three according to specific themes related to the research
clusters: (1) the students’ perceptions of the questions to substantiate the statistical results.
importance of learner autonomy, (2) their perceived
abilities to be autonomous in their language Participants
learning, and (3) the autonomous activities that they The participants included 50 English-majored
did inside and outside the classroom. The items in sophomores from a private university in the Mekong
the first cluster were presented according to a 5- Delta of Vietnam. Their ages ranged from 19 to 21
point Likert scale (i.e., 1= ‘strongly disagree’, 2 = years. They were selected to participate in this study
‘disagree’, 3=‘neutral’, 4=‘agree’, and 5=‘strongly using convenience sampling. Of these participants,
degree’). A similar pattern of 5-point Likert scale the majority were female (N=35, 70%), and the
was repeated for the items in the second and the number of male participants was 15 (N=15, 30%).
third clusters, ranging from 1=‘very bad’ to 5=‘very Concerning their learning experience, they have
good’ and 1=‘never’ to 5=‘always’, respectively. been studying English for at least 10 years at the
Specifically, cluster 1 consisted of 12 items that time of the study being conducted.
were relied on Borg and Al-Busaidi’s (2012) study.
Clusters 2 and 3 comprised 18 and 25 items in turn,
all of which were adapted from Spratt et al. (2015)’s RESULTS
questionnaire. To have a final version of the EFL students’ perceptions of the importance of
questionnaire, it was modified to some extent so that learner autonomy
they could better suit the context under this research. To measure the participants’ perceptions about the
Besides, there were two sections in the importance of learner autonomy in English language
questionnaire. In the first section, the participants’ learning, data obtained from the first cluster of the
demographic information, including their genders, questionnaire with 12 items were used. The
ages, and English learning experience, was Descriptive Statistics Test was run to check for the

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 Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 11(2), September 2021

mean score of how the participants perceived the chosen participants were analysed and presented in
importance of autonomous learning. The results of connection with both their perceptions of
this test are displayed in Table 2 below. In addition, importance in this regard and the aforementioned
to provide more interpretation for the quantitative dimensions of learner autonomy (i.e., technical,
results, data from the interviews with six randomly psychological, political, and social).

Table 2
EFL Students’ Perceptions about the Importance of Learner Autonomy
Variable N Min. Max. Mean SD
Perception of importance 50 3.42 5.00 4.12 .36

As can be seen from Table 2, the participants’ and the test values 4.0 and 4.5. The results revealed
total mean score for their perceptions towards the that the general mean score was significantly
importance of learner autonomy in English language different from 4.0 (t=2.36, p=.02) and 4.5 (t=-7.48,
learning was between the scales 4.0 and 4.5 p=.00). This could be interpreted that the students
(M=4.12, SD=.36) which denote the high and very perceived learner autonomy as “important” to their
high levels of perceptions, respectively. The One English language learning.
Sample T-Test was run to compare the mean score

Table 3
EFL Students’ Perceptions about the Importance of Specific Aspects of Learner Autonomy
Items SD D N A SA
N Mean
Learner autonomy can help me... %
1. identify my goals of learning English 50 4.34 0 2 0 60 38
4. choose learning strategies 50 3.96 0 6 18 50 26
5. modify learning strategies when necessary 50 3.88 2 8 12 56 22
6. monitor my learning progress 50 3.82 0 4 28 50 18
7. make plans for my learning activities 50 4.28 0 2 8 50 40
8. choose learning materials 50 4.22 2 0 6 58 34
12. improve my English proficiency 50 4.48 2 0 2 40 56
SD = Strongly disagree D = Disagree N = Neutral A = Agree SA = Strongly agree

Items that received high rates of agreement English strategically and improve our English skills
from the participants were presented in Table 3 in the long term.” (Student 5)
above. To be specific, almost all the students (above One of the participants claimed that the
90%) reckoned that learner autonomy could help significance of autonomy should be associated with
them identify their learning goals, choose learning the necessity to learn autonomously and that it may
materials, and improve their English proficiency. contribute to students’ success in language learning.
Meanwhile, more than a quarter of the participants “Autonomy is important in English language
had no ideas about whether learner autonomy could learning, so it’s necessary for students to know how
to learn autonomously. Besides, I think that
help them monitor their own learning progress. Only autonomous students may have a greater chance of
2% of the participants did not think that autonomous success in learning the target language than those
learning could contribute to enhancing their English who are not autonomous.” (Student 4)
language competence.
To provide further information on how To gain more insights into the students’
students perceive the importance of learner perceptions of learner autonomy, data collected
autonomy in their English language learning, as from the interview were also analyzed based on the
mentioned earlier in this study, the semi-structured four dimensions of learner autonomy. The results
interview was conducted with six randomly chosen revealed that the highest level of importance went to
participants. The results showed that the the technical dimension. Nearly all the interviewees
interviewees generally held positive perceptions perceived that learner autonomy would help them
towards the importance of autonomous learning, as learn independently and enable them to select
shown in two of the participants’ responses: appropriate learning activities and methods outside
“I think that autonomous learning is important to the classroom.
any language learners, myself included, as it can “Learner autonomy helps us be more aware of
help us take control of our learning activities and learning outside the classroom. We cannot develop
study English better.” (Student 3) our language proficiency if we just study with our
teachers in class without much further practice. I
“In my opinion, learner autonomy plays an think it’s important for us to have a suitable plan to
important role in English-majored students’ English study more either at home or in the library.”
learning. This is because it can help us study (Student 3)

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 Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 11(2), September 2021

The social and psychological dimensions about what and how to learn within their classroom
equally ranked second in terms of importance. More contexts.
than half of the interviewees assumed that learner “I expect to have more opportunities to choose in-
autonomy would help them work together and learn class learning activities and materials. This will
from each other by doing autonomous learning motivate me to learn a lot, but in many cases, our
activities. Besides, these participants accepted that teachers do everything in planning lessons and we
just follow.” (Student 6)
the capacity to take responsibility for their learning,
including monitoring and evaluating their progress, EFL students’ perceptions of their abilities
was a vital part of their learning. regarding autonomous learning
“It’s important for us to be in charge of our The degree to which the participants perceived
learning, and keeping track of our learning progress
is crucial. We should not always rely on our
themselves as autonomous learners was measured
teachers’ feedback to help us know what we have based on their responses to the 18 items in the
done well and what we should improve.” (Student second cluster of the questionnaire. The Descriptive
4) Statistics Test was performed to identify the overall
mean score of the participants’ perceptions about
Last but not least, the interviewees’ their abilities regarding autonomous learning. Table
perceptions on the political dimension were less 4 shows the results of this test, and Table 5 depicts
strong as opposed to their viewpoints on the others. the students’ perceptions on their abilities. To obtain
Half of the interviewees believed that autonomous further information on the participants’ perceived
learning would contribute to developing their abilities to learn autonomously, results from the
capacity of determining the content and managing interviews with six participants were also presented
the process of their learning. However, they in this section.
suggested that their teachers should offer them more
conditions in which they could make decisions

Table 4
EFL Students’ Perceptions about Their Abilities regarding Autonomous Learning
Variable N Min. Max. Mean SD
Perception of abilities 50 2.94 4.72 3.68 .45

According to Table 4, the mean score of the Test was used. The result revealed that they differed
participants’ perceptions towards their abilities significantly (t=-5.06, p=.00). It could be concluded
concerning learner autonomy was slightly lower that the students perceived themselves to be able to
than the scale 4.0 (M=3.68, SD=.45). To identify learn autonomously at the above average level,
whether there was a difference between the mean indicating that they were not very confident in their
score and the test value 4.0, the accepted mean for abilities in regard to autonomous learning.
the high level of perceptions, the One Sample T-

Table 5
EFL Students’ Perceptions about Their Abilities regarding Specific Aspects of Autonomous Learning
Items VB B O G VG
If having the opportunity, how good do you think you would be N Mean
%
at...
13. choosing learning activities in class 50 3.62 2 0 42 46 10
14. choosing learning activities outside class 50 3.44 4 4 46 36 10
15. choosing learning objectives in class 50 3.88 6 0 22 50 22
16. choosing learning objectives outside class 50 3.66 2 0 42 42 14
17. choosing learning materials in class 50 3.70 0 2 40 44 14
18. choosing learning materials outside class 50 3.68 0 6 40 34 20
19. deciding what should be learned next in your English lessons 50 3.64 0 8 34 44 14
20. deciding how long to spend on each activity 50 3.56 0 14 32 38 16
21. identifying your strengths in English 50 3.80 0 4 30 48 18
22. identifying your weaknesses in English 50 3.92 0 6 20 50 24
23. choosing learning strategies 50 3.88 0 0 34 44 22
24. modifying learning strategies when necessary 50 3.62 0 10 34 40 16
25. working alone 50 3.54 2 8 38 38 14
26. working with other students 50 3.68 0 8 30 48 14
27. making plans for your learning activities 50 3.80 0 2 34 46 18
28. monitoring your learning progress 50 3.82 0 6 28 44 22
29. evaluating your learning progress 50 3.68 2 2 36 46 14
30. studying outside class without your teachers 50 3.24 2 10 58 22 8
VB = Very bad B = Bad O = OK G = Good VG = Very good

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A detailed look at Table 5 showed that more the remaining three participants who showed a low
than half of the participants, ranging from 50% to level of confidence in learning autonomously.
nearly 75%, regarded themselves as capable of “I believe in my ability to learn autonomously, so I
conducting most autonomous learning activities hope that my teachers will give me more
under survey, such as choosing learning activities in opportunities to do this and let me take more control
class, choosing learning objectives in and outside of my own learning. At the moment, I am trying my
best to practise doing as many autonomous
class, identifying their strengths and weaknesses, activities as I can because I know that this is good
choosing learning strategies, modifying learning for my learning.” (Student 3)
strategies when necessary, monitoring and
evaluating their learning progress, and making plans “Although I know that learner autonomy is
for their learning activities, if they had a chance to important, I do not think that I will do it well. I just
do so. Only 30% of the participants assumed that follow whatever my teachers ask me to do, and I
they would be able to study outside the classroom cannot decide a lot of things in my learning process.
without the aid of their teachers, with 10% As a result, my ability to learn autonomously is
perceiving that they would not handle this activity limited. Therefore, if I had an opportunity to do
autonomous activities, such as choosing learning
well. Noticeably, many students (from 40% to 58%) strategies and evaluating my own learning progress,
perceived that they would have the ability to do such I am not confident that I would handle them well.”
activities as choosing learning activities in and (Student 6)
outside class, choosing learning materials in and
outside class, and studying outside class without EFL students’ practices of activities relating to
their teachers, at the average level. autonomous learning
To have a better understanding of the students’ Data on the participants’ practices of learner
perceptions about their autonomous abilities, autonomy were obtained from the third cluster of
interview responses from the six participants were the questionnaire including 25 items. The
analyzed. A general observation of the interview descriptive statistics of the results on the
results indicated that the interviewees’ perceived participants’ responses to what activities they
abilities to learn autonomously were not at the same employed in and out of the classroom to practice
level. Specifically, three out of the six participants learner autonomy are presented in Table 6 below. In
claimed that if they had an opportunity to take addition, qualitative data collected from the
control of their own learning, they could do this interviews were analyzed with reference to the
well. They explained that learner autonomy was participants’ practices of autonomous learning to
something they were trying to do so that they could scaffold the quantitative results.
study English better without much dependence on
their teachers. This is in contrast to the results from

Table 6
EFL Students’ Practices of Activities relating to Autonomous Learning
Variable N Min. Max. Mean SD
Practices of autonomous activities 50 2.27 4.14 3.28 .46

As shown in Table 6, the participants had a Test. It was manifested from the result that they
mean score of just above the scale 3.0 (M=3.28, were significantly different (t=4.22, p=.00).
SD=.46) for their practices of activities regarding Therefore, it could be concluded that the students’
autonomous learning. The difference between the overall level of practices of autonomous activities
mean score and the test value 3.0, the medium level was just above average. In Table 7, the practices are
of frequency, was checked using the One Sample T- elaborated in details.

Table 7
EFL Students’ Practices of Specific Activities relating to Autonomous Learning outside Class
Items N S So U A
After nearly two-year of studying English at university,
N Mean
how often did you do the following activities outside the %
class?
31. did assignments which were not compulsory 50 3.10 2 14 58 24 2
32. noted down new words and their meanings 50 3.74 0 6 28 52 14
33. read newspapers or magazines in English 50 3.30 0 16 50 22 12
36. listened to English songs 50 3.94 2 4 18 50 26
41. read grammar books on your own 50 3.14 6 12 50 26 6
45. did revision not required by your teachers 50 2.86 4 26 52 16 2
N = Never S = Seldom So = Sometimes U = Usually A = Always

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 Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 11(2), September 2021

Activities practised by at least 50% of the books on their own, and did revision that was not
participants at a specific level of frequency were required by their teachers. Half of the students
displayed in Table 7. It could be seen that the usually listened to English songs, with 52% noting
students (from 50% to 58%) sometimes did down new words and their meanings at the same
assignments that were not compulsory, read level of frequency.
newspapers or magazines in English, read grammar

Table 8
EFL Students’ Practices of Specific Activities relating to Autonomous Learning inside Class
Items N S So U A
After nearly two-year of studying English at university, how N Mean
%
often did you do the following activities inside the class?
48. asked your teachers questions when you didn’t understand 50 3.14 4 18 46 26 8
49. noted down new information 50 3.94 0 2 26 48 24
50. made suggestions to your teachers 50 3.00 10 16 44 24 6
51. took opportunities to speak in English 50 3.48 0 12 42 32 14
52. discussed learning problems with your classmates 50 3.84 0 4 30 44 22

As indicated in Table 8, 46% of the they preferred discussing learning issues with their
participants sometimes asked their teachers friends to talking to their teachers.
questions when they did not understand lessons, and “I think that I practised autonomous activities
4% of them never did this activity. Just under 45% outside and inside the classroom at the average
made suggestions to their teachers and took level. I mean that I sometimes did unrequired
opportunities to speak English in class at the activities, such as talking to my friends in English
outside the classroom, read English books and
average level of frequency. Nearly half of the watching English films... In class, when I had any
students usually noted down new information when problems, I preferred to talk to my classmates.”
they were studying in class, 44% of them usually (Student 1)
discussing learning problems with their classmates.
The quantitative results on students’ practices
of autonomous activities were supported by their DISCUSSION
responses in the interview. Two of the interviewees As shown in the results of this study, the students
were fairly satisfied with their practice levels of perceived that autonomy was of importance in the
activities concerning autonomous learning. They process of learning the target language. This result is
said that, apart from obligatory activities, they tried consistent with those of previous research (e.g., Le,
to spend time doing some unrequired ones which 2018; Truong et al. 2019), which concluded that
they thought were beneficial to their learning. EFL students recognized learner autonomy as
“In addition to activities required by my teachers, I “important” to their English learning. Nevertheless,
tried to do some other activities, such as reading the dimensions of the notion had different levels of
books and newspapers in English, watching English
movies on the internet, and joining an English
importance based on the qualitative results. It could
speaking club. I think that these activities were good be inferred that the students’ perceptions of
for my learning.” (Student 3) autonomous learning were driven mainly by the
technical dimension, which focuses on activities
On the contrary, one of the participants showed taking place outside the classroom. To be specific,
a high level of disappointment about the practices of most of the interviewees were of the idea that,
activities both inside and outside the classroom. besides studying in class, learner autonomy would
“To be honest, I feel disappointed with my help them study better by doing out-of-class
engagement in learning activities in and outside the activities and having suitable learning methods.
class. I normally studied for my examination and With respect to the social and psychological
spent most of my time doing revision of what was dimensions, more than half of the interviewees
required by my teachers. I think that I need to do believed that they would have opportunities to work
more activities, such as watching English films or together and develop their capacity to cooperate
listening to English songs. In class, I didn’t take full
advantage of the opportunities offered by my
with each other by doing autonomous activities, and
teachers to practise English. Therefore, I need to learner autonomy would help them boost their
change to be better.” (Student 2) ability to take responsibility for their learning,
including monitoring and evaluating their progress.
Half of the interviewees reported that they had As regards the political dimension, only half of the
an average level of practices relating to autonomous interviewees stated that autonomous learning would
learning. They sometimes did activities that were contribute to promoting their capacity to take
not compulsory to improve their English. In class, control over the content and process of their
learning.

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 Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 11(2), September 2021

As to EFL students’ perceptions of their that students are not capable of learner autonomy.
abilities to learn autonomously, the result showed Drawing on the empirical evidence, it could be
that they considered themselves to be at the above concluded that students can be more autonomous
average level in this regard. This result is to some when they are exposed to a learning environment
extent in line with those of Yildirim’s (2008) and that requires them to do so, with appropriate support
Razeq’s (2014) studies. However, it is different or intervention (Ming, 2009). In Vietnam, therefore,
from that of Truong et al. (2019)’s research, which it is recommended that autonomous learning should
revealed that EFL students perceived themselves to be integrated into EFL curricula and students should
have limitations in their abilities to learn in have as many opportunities as possible to undertake
autonomous ways. Also, Ramadhiyah and independent learning. To take Boonma and
Lengkanawati (2019) found that the students in their Swatevacharkul (2020)’s study as an example, it
study had an agreement on the important role of was concluded that the autonomous learning process
learner autonomy, but they regarded themselves as that was implemented in an EFL course could
not autonomous learners. greatly promote students’ learner autonomy. In
When it comes to the students’ practices of addition, the students themselves should be aware of
autonomous activities, it was found in this study that the significance of employing autonomous activities
their overall practice level was just above average both inside and outside the classroom so that they
level. Given that all the participants were English- can become more autonomous not only in their
majored students, such a level they attained for their perceptions but also in their actual practices.
practices of autonomous learning was not
satisfactory, whereas it was concluded in Le’s
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