Saudi EFL University Students Readiness for Autonomous Language Learning

Introduction

The implementation of the learner-centered approach in English language teaching (ELT) has shifted the attention from the instructor to the learner. This transformation has led to the rise of two important teaching concepts: learner involvement and independent learner ( Littlewood, 1996 ). Ahmed and Hasan (2020), Yildirim (2008), Thanasoulas (2000) , and Littlewood (1996) agree that the shift from focus on the teacher to focus on the learner have paved the way for the concept of learner autonomy (LA), which has become dominant in ELT. Consequently, more emphasis has been made on learners and their learning because it contributes to preparing them to be lifelong learners, engage them in their learning, and develop their skills and abilities (Weimer, 2002; Shujun, 2006 ). Rogers (1969) points out that any schooled person is the one who knows how to adjust knowledge, becomes aware of knowledge insecurity, and considers searching for knowledge as a foundation of securing it. Learners’ awareness of knowledge instability and their seeking to resolve it call for promoting their ‘how to learn’ ability, thus leading them to become independent learners ( McDevitt, 1997 ), implying that education should target preparing learners to oversee their learning. Nevertheless, learners may not be willing to be accountable for their learning due to a lack of readiness for autonomous language learning (ALL). This could also be attributed to the teacher-centered approach adopted in most situations involving English as a foreign language (EFL), as is the case in Saudi Arabia. Saudi EFL learners were found to be heavily reliant on their instructors in learning ( Alonazi, 2017 ). Accordingly, this may represent a risk for ELT, and Saudi EFL learners might not become life-long learners.

Literature review

By attracting researchers’ interest, autonomy has recently found solid ground among them. Additionally, a wide range of terms are currently used as synonyms of autonomy ( Everhard, 2012 ). These terms include self-directed learning, learner independence, and self-managed learning ( Everhard, 2012 ). For example, Holec (1981) defines it as “the ability to take charge of one’s learning” (p. 3). Littlewood (1996) refers to autonomy as a capacity to think and perform separately in any position including cases of learning. Another definition is proposed by Benson (2001, 2003, 2006) who suggests that autonomy is an individual’s ability to manage learning. Little (2007) points out that autonomy entails learners doing things for themselves. ALL can be considered as a learning approach that students follow in order to be in charge of their learning and to manage it (Ahmed and Hasan, 2020). This study favors Littlewood’s definition of ALL, as it covers both the ability to think and perform personally in all situations including learning; it relates reality to educational settings.

According to Benson (2001, p. 50), other aspects of autonomy are abilities related to autonomy, thus allowing students to:

• program their study tasks,

• observe their advancement,

• assess their results,

• manage their learning on a daily basis, and

• direct the content of their learning.

Autonomy could be harnessed in various ways according to Benson and Voller (1997). It could be used for cases in which students study by themselves or for a group of abilities that are acquired and used in autonomous learning. It could also be adopted for innate abilities restrained by formal education or for learners’ practice of taking charge of their learning. Finally, it could be used for learners’ prerogative to decide on the way of their learning.

Moreover, autonomy has some degrees, as proposed by Nunan (1997) . This author provides a five-degree model of learner autonomy features that are classified into stages of development. Firstly, awareness, where learners are aware of the educational aims and the material they learn. Then, involvement, which refers to learners’ involvement in choosing their own objectives from a range of offered objectives is the second phase. Next, intervention, which requires learners that participate in adjusting the aims and subject matter of the course. After that comes the stage of creation, when learners are expected to formulate their special goals and objectives. Finally, there is the stage of transcendence, where learners move beyond the borders of the classroom to connect between the class material and the real world.

An autonomous learner can be described, according to Littlewood (1996) , as the possessor of private capacity to execute options in controlling his deeds. This capacity has two main parts: ability and knowledge. The former relies on knowledge about the options between which learners must choose and the skills needed for making suitable choices. The latter is based on possessing motivation and confidence to be responsible for said selection. Together, all these parts are required for a person to act autonomously.

As with the definition of autonomy, many scholars such as Dickinson (1993), Breen and Mann (1997), Lai (2019), and Ahmed and Hasan (2020) have enumerated some features of autonomous students. For instance, Dickinson (1993) proposes that autonomous learners can:

• recognize what was taught to them,

• create their own learning aims,

• use suitable language learning strategies,

• distinguish inappropriate learning strategies, and

• observe their own learning.

Research on students and their teachers’ responsibility towards English language learning has shown a correlation between students and teachers’ responsibility within the English learning process ( Yildirim, 2008. Spratt, et al., 2002).

Regarding learners’ beliefs in their ability to behave autonomously, Chan (2015), Yildirim (2008) , and Spratt et al. (2002) concluded that their respondents were confident in their capabilities to act autonomously in the learning of language. Research on students’ real applications of ALL have revealed that learners normally engage in and out-of-class language learning tasks that were not related to their formal study courses (Spratt et al., 2002. Yildirim, 2008 ).

In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the issue of autonomy and ALL is relatively new ( Alrabai, 2017 ), which is why very few studies have been conducted on this issue. Alrabai (2017) attempted to identify the level of autonomy and its relation to academic achievement among Saudi intermediate and secondary school and university students in four geographical regions. The study revealed that Saudi students were not autonomous and that this affected their language achievement. It also revealed that gender significantly influenced autonomy and achievement (female students were more autonomous and thus achieved better results than male students). Alonazi (2017) investigated the part played by teachers in upgrading Saudi secondary school students’ autonomy in Riyadh. The study concluded that teachers usually encouraged autonomous learners in their classes and that teachers adopted various teaching strategies. In addition, teachers were confronted by some obstacles which hindered them in promoting their students’ autonomy. These problems entailed learners’ absence of individualistic learning skills, insufficient school laws, and instructors’ shortage in core techniques to enhance ALL. Alzubi et al. (2017) aimed at identifying current practices involving learner autonomy among Saudi undergraduate students in the preparatory year at Najran University. Their study yielded several findings. First, it found that the students displayed a decreased standard of learner autonomy. Second, the participants were had a midpoint mean knowledge proficiency. Third, the students had a decreased perception regarding their learning. Fourth, they showed signs of dependence. Finally, they had a weak level of ALL dimensions such as grammar knowledge and communal distinction.

All these studies did not cater to students majoring in the English language regarding ALL, and they tackled aspects of autonomy such as Saudi EFL learners’ level of autonomy and its relation to attainment, teachers’ role in promoting autonomous learning, and the current practices of autonomous learning among Saudi undergraduate students. These studies ignored aspects of students and teachers’ responsibility toward language learning, students’ abilities to act autonomously, and their real applications of ALL outside class. Bearing this gap in mind, this paper aims to examine Saudi English major students’ readiness for ALL at the Department of English of a Saudi public university. Thus, this research seeks to answer these questions:

1. How do university-level Saudi English language major students view their personal and their professors’ responsibilities in the process of learning the English language?

2. What do the students think about their ability to act autonomously?

3. What are their real applications of ALL outside the classroom?

Methods

Results

Discussion

Teaching the English language is of paramount importance in Saudi Arabia, and the government pays attention to this. Unfortunately, the researcher’s experience in teaching Saudi EFL learners showed that their ability to rely on themselves in language learning is limited or absent. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating Saudi university EFL learners’ views on their personal and their professors’ responsibilities regarding the process of English language learning, their thoughts concerning their potentials to act autonomously, and their real applications of ALL outside the classroom.

It was revealed that there was a relationship between the learners and professors’ responsibilities in the process of learning regarding items 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10, where the p-values of the chisquare were ≤0.05. These results suggest that the students were aware of their responsibility towards progressing outside class and determining what to learn in extracurricular contexts. Moreover, according to the results for items 3, 6, 7, and 8, the respondents seem to know that these items are part of the teachers’ and the Department’s responsibility. For items 1, 4, and 9, which are not correlated, the participants believed that their professors should be more responsible than them regarding items 4 and 9, and they assigned more responsibility to themselves in item 1. In general, the percentages are low, suggesting that the participants are hesitant towards their responsibility for learning English. The results imply that the participants perceive that their professors should be more responsible towards their learning than them. This indicates that the respondents believe that their professors are not only responsible for identifying their weaknesses, but that they are also solely in charge of evaluating their learning and courses. This might be due to school rules and regulations that consider teachers to be more responsible than their students ( Alonazi, 2017 ), which contradicts what was revealed by Spratt et al. (2002) and Yildirim (2008) , who concluded that there is a relationship between their participants’ responsibility and that of their teachers.

As for the students’ ability to behave autonomously, it was found that the respondents believed that they could act autonomously in items 18, 19, 12, and 11 (mean scores of 2.45-2.63). These findings indicate that students majoring in English lack confidence in their ability to act autonomously while learning the English language. This may be attributed to the obstacles faced by teachers in encouraging students to behave autonomously in Saudi Arabia. These obstacles include the students’ lack of skills to act autonomously, school laws, and instructors’ lack of core techniques to promote ALL. However, the results contradict those found by Alonazi (2017) . He concluded that teachers at secondary schools in Riyadh encouraged autonomous learners. The results also differ from those of Spratt et al. (2002), Yildirim (2008) , and Chan (2015) , who revealed that their students were able to completely behave autonomously.

The results also showed that, apart from using the internet to learn English (mean=2.70) and watching English TV programs and films (mean=2.67), the students did not practice any ALL activities outside the classroom, which implies that they may not be ready for ALL. Generally, these low percentages are close to those in sections 2 and 3, thus indicating that the students depend on their teachers to some extent and cannot behave autonomously. The results also indicate that students neglected several ALL practices. This is evident in the low means ranging between 1.80 and 2.31, which only reveal a few numbers of students practicing ALL activities ( Table 3 ). It is noted that these activities have no relation to any prescribed syllabus, so students neglect them. Nevertheless, half of the participants practice English by surfing the Internet and watching TV programs and films. This implies that students tend to be closely related to technology, which could be maximized to serve them in ALL. According to Lai (2017) technology plays a key role in ALL, specifically beyond the boundaries of the classroom. This also indicates that ALL may play an integral part in online learning due to the availability of English language materials online, which an autonomous language learner can access as appropriate in order to learn the language ( Ariebowo, 2021 ). The results agree with what was revealed by Alrabai (2017), Alonazi (2017) , and Alzubi et al. (2017 , who found that Saudi students either had a low level of autonomy or were not autonomous in acquiring the English language. The sample members in this study were all Saudi male students of English language, and they practiced only two ALL activities outside the classroom.

Conclusion

Recognizing students’ readiness for ALL and their ability to behave autonomously could be beneficial to teachers and their students. It can provide them with more insights into the learning process, facilitate learning, and recognize the role of learners in their learning. Teachers may be informed on how to cater for, encourage, and foster students’ ALL. Students can be confident enough to depend on themselves while learning English and thus become life-long learners. This study was an attempt to identify Saudi English major students’ readiness for ALL. A questionnaire to which 105 students responded was adopted for collecting data. The results of the study revealed a relationship between the students’ own responsibility and that of their professors for their English language learning process. However, the students assigned more responsibility to their teachers. The study also found that the students did not trust their ability to act autonomously when learning English. Finally, the results showed that the participants do not practice almost all of the out-of-class activities mentioned in the questionnaire. Overall, the participants in this study may not be ready for ALL because of their dependence on their teachers, lack of training, guidance, and encouragement.