Learner Autonomy in EFL: Teachers' & Peers' Roles - TESOL Dissertation

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY …………………………. LE HA TO QUYEN LEARNER AUTONOMY: THE ROLES OF TEACHERS AND PEERS DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DISSERTATION IN TEACHING ENGLISH TO SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES HO CHI MINH CITY, 2023 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY …………………………. LE HA TO QUYEN LEARNER AUTONOMY: THE ROLES OF TEACHERS AND PEERS Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Code: 91 40 111 DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DISSERTATION IN TEACHING ENGLISH TO SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES SUPERVISORS: 1. BUI THI THUC QUYEN, Ph.

DANG TAN TIN, Ph. HO CHI MINH CITY, 2023 ii STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP The Doctoral Dissertation titled “Learner Autonomy: The Roles of Teachers and Peers” has been submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. Except for the references cited in this dissertation, I hereby declare that the whole or parts of this dissertation have not been published or used to obtain the degree elsewhere. No other person’s work/research may be used in this dissertation that is not properly cited.

This dissertation has never been submitted for any degree at any other university or training institution. Ho Chi Minh City, 2023 Le Ha To Quyen iii ACKNOWLEDGEMNENTS “Learner Autonomy: The Roles of Teachers and Peers” Doctoral Dissertation has been completed at Ho Chi Minh City Open University. I take this opportunity to extend my heartfelt thanks and deep gratitude to all those who have contributed to the successful completion of this dissertation. Their continuous support, guidance, and encouragement have been instrumental in my academic journey.

First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my scientific supervisors, Ms. Bui Thi Thuc Quyen, Ph. Dang Tan Tin, Ph. Their comprehensive knowledge, unwavering support, and enthusiastic guidance have been the cornerstone of my research.

Their insights and intellectual stimulation have been invaluable to my growth and understanding of the subject matter. I am forever indebted to them for their roles in my achievement. I am also deeply thankful to the Graduate Lecturers at Ho Chi Minh City Open University. Their extensive expertise and generous provision of background knowledge have significantly enriched my study activities.

I must also extend my appreciation to my family, relatives, colleagues, classmates, and friends. Their belief in me and constant encouragement have fortified me during the challenges and pressures of this endeavor. Without their support and love, this journey would have been far more arduous. Finally, I acknowledge all others who have contributed in any way to this project, whether directly or indirectly.

The collaborative spirit I have experienced will stay with me as cherished memories. In closing, I reflect on this journey with profound appreciation for the collective wisdom, guidance, and support that have made this dissertation a reality. It is my hope that the work presented here honors the efforts and contributions of all those mentioned above. Ho Chi Minh City, 2023 Le Ha To Quyen iv ABSTRACT Learner autonomy has been considered the central aim of education because of its significant role in enabling students to develop into successful lifelong learners.

In modern times, students have many opportunities to learn outside the classroom, the ideal context for learner autonomy development. Therefore, research about learner autonomy in the out-of-class learning context needs more focus. Based on sociocultural theory as the theoretical framework, the current research explores the situation of EFL tertiary students’ learner autonomy in out-of-class learning and the potential of promoting it through teachers’ and peers’ roles in the classroom. With the explanatory sequential mixed methods design, the study collected data from answers to a questionnaire on learner autonomy and teachers’ and peers’ roles (N=709) and semi-structured in-depth group interviews (N=35).

The findings pointed out positive correlations between factors of the situational, behavioural, and psychological dimensions of learner autonomy and the roles of teachers as a resource, an evaluator, a controller, an instructor, a facilitator, and a co-learner in the language classroom. The mediating factors of these correlations were the students’ motivation and trust, the teacher as a role model, and the teachers’ care. In addition, the correlations between learner autonomy and the four perceived peers’ roles in the classroom: a co-learner, an encourager, an assessor, and a supporter were also statistically significant. The mediating factors of these correlations were positive emotions, interdependence, responsibilities, and face value.

The research findings have provided empirical data about EFL tertiary students’ learner autonomy in the out-of-class context and the connection between in-class and out-of-class learning in fostering learner autonomy. Key words: learner autonomy, teachers’ roles, peers’ roles, out-of-class learning, in- class learning. v TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS.

iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. xi LIST OF FIGURES. xii LIST OF TABLES. xiii LIST OF APPENDICES .xv Chapter 1 – INTRODUCTION.

General context of the study. The history of English teaching and learning in Vietnam. The current situation of English teaching and learning in Vietnam. The vital role of English in Vietnamese education.

English teaching and learning from primary to high school education. English teaching and learning at tertiary level. The challenges of English language teaching and learning in Vietnam. The statement of problem.

Rationale of the research. Research aims, objectives, and research questions. Significance of the research. Scope of the research .16 Chapter 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW.

Conceptualisation of learner autonomy. Concepts of learner autonomy in language learning. Perspectives of learner autonomy. Models of learner autonomy.

Operational definition of learner autonomy. The importance of learner autonomy. Degrees of learner autonomy. Factors that influence the development of learner autonomy.

Approaches to foster learner autonomy. Learner autonomy in out-of-class learning. Perceived teachers’ roles in the language classroom. Perceived peers’ roles in the language classroom.

Constructivism and social constructivism. Community of Practice (CoP). Learner autonomy and perceived teachers’ roles. Perceived teachers’ roles in learner autonomy development.

Mediating factors of learner autonomy and perceived teachers’ roles. Learner autonomy and perceived peers’ roles. Perceived peers’ roles in learner autonomy development. Mediating factors of learner autonomy and perceived peers’ roles.

Related studies and research gap. The conceptual framework of the study. The quantitative research. Rationale for choosing English majors.

Rationale for choosing the questionnaire format. Translating the questionnaire. Piloting the questionnaire. Quantitative data collection procedure.

Quantitative data management. Quantitative data analysis. Issues of reliability and validity of the quantitative research. The qualitative research.

Rationale for adopting semi-structured in-depth group interview. Participants and the recruitment process. Piloting the interview protocol. Qualitative data collection procedure.

Qualitative data analysis. The trustworthiness and authenticity of the qualitative data .104 Chapter 4 – DATA ANALYSIS. Results of the quantitative research. EFL students’ learner autonomy in out-of-class learning.

Internal consistency reliability measure of learner autonomy scale. Descriptive statistics of learner autonomy. Perceived teachers’ roles in the language classroom. Exploratory Factor Analysis of perceived teachers’ roles scale.

Descriptive statistics of perceived teachers’ roles. Perceived peers’ roles in the classroom. Exploratory Factor Analysis of perceived peers’ roles scale. Descriptive statistics of perceived peers’ roles.

Correlations between learner autonomy and perceived teachers’ roles. Pearson correlations between learner autonomy and perceived teachers’ roles. Canonical correlation between learner autonomy and perceived teachers’ roles. Correlations between learner autonomy and perceived peers’ roles.

Pearson correlations between learner autonomy and perceived peers’ roles. Canonical correlation between learner autonomy and perceived peers’ roles. Results of the qualitative research. Mediating factors of learner autonomy and perceived teachers’ roles.

Motivation as a mediating factor. Trust as a mediating factor. Role model as a mediating factor. Care as a mediating factor.

Mediating factors of learner autonomy and perceived peers’ roles. Positive emotions as a mediating factor. Interdependence as a mediating factor. Responsibilities as a mediating factor.

Face value as a mediating factor .149 Chapter 5 – FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS. EFL tertiary students’ learner autonomy in out-of-class learning. The situational dimension. The behavioural dimension.

The psychological dimension. Perceived teachers’ roles in the classroom. Perceived peers’ roles in the classroom. Learner autonomy and perceived teachers’ roles.

Correlations between learner autonomy in out-of-class learning and perceived teachers’ roles in the classroom. Mediating factors of correlations between learner autonomy in out-of-class learning and perceived teachers’ roles in the classroom. Learner autonomy and perceived peers’ roles. Correlations between learner autonomy in out-of-class learning and perceived peers’ roles in the classroom.

Mediating factors of correlations between learner autonomy in out-of-class learning and perceived peers’ roles in the classroom. Finalising the research model. Summary of main findings. EFL tertiary students’ learner autonomy in out-of-class learning.

Correlations between learner autonomy and perceived teachers’ roles and their mediating factors. Correlations between learner autonomy and perceived peers’ roles and their mediating factors. Contributions of the study. Directions for further research .186 xi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CEFR Common European Framework of Reference for Languages CoP Community of Practice EFL English as a Foreign Language HCMC Ho Chi Minh City IELTS International English Language Testing System L1 First Language LBC Learning Beyond the Classroom LMS Learning Management System MoET Ministry of Education and Training SAC(s) Self-Accessed Centre(s) SCT Sociocultural Theory TOEIC Test of English for International Communication ZPD Zone of Proximal Development xii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.

1 The operational definition of learner autonomy. 2 The conceptual framework of the study. 1 Scree plot test with Eigenvalues greater than 1 of the second EFA run on perceived teachers’ roles. 2 Scree plot test with Eigenvalues greater than 1 of second EFA run on perceived peers’ roles.

3 Canonical Correlation Analysis between perceived teachers’ roles and learner autonomy. 4 Canonical Correlation Analysis between perceived peers’ roles and learner autonomy .1 Research final model.172 xiii LIST OF TABLES Table 2. 1 Roles of teachers in the language classroom. 2 Overview of the questionnaire.

3 Detailed information of the scales with the adapted sources. 4 Cronbach’s alpha values in the pilot test. 5 Extract of the descriptive statistics of quantitative data. 6 Description of participants in the qualitative research.

1 Demographic information of the participants. 2 Cronbach’s alpha values of nine constructs of learner autonomy scale. 3 Descriptive statistics of the situational dimension of learner autonomy. 4 Extract of the descriptive statistics of the behavioural dimension.

5 Extract of the descriptive statistics of the psychological dimension. 6 KMO and Bartlett’s Test of the second EFA run on perceived teachers’ roles. 7 Extract of the total variance explained of the second EFA run on perceived teachers’ roles. 8 Extract of factor loadings of the second EFA run on perceived teachers’ roles.

9 Cronbach’s Alpha values of perceived teachers’ roles constructs. 10 Extract of the descriptive statistics of perceived teachers’ roles. 11 KMO and Bartlett’s Test of the second EFA run on perceived peers’ roles. 12 Extract of the total variance explained of second EFA run on perceived peers’ roles.

13 Extract of factor loadings of the second EFA run on perceived peers’ roles. 14 Cronbach’s Alpha values of perceived peers’ roles. 15 Descriptive statistics of perceived peers’ roles. 16 Pearson correlations between factors of learner autonomy in the situational dimension and perceived teachers’ roles.

17 Extract of Pearson correlations between factors of learner autonomy in the behavioural dimension and perceived teachers’ roles. 18 Pearson correlations between factors of learner autonomy in the psychological dimension and perceived teachers’ roles. 19 Canonical correlations between factors of perceived teachers’ roles and learner autonomy .