Explores one of the least studied areas of self-directed language learning: The attitudes of the language teachers who work as counselors for self-directed language learners. Within an attitudinal construct, analyzes four different factors (students, past, colleagues, and self) that account for the attitudes that the teacher has towards…

Self-instructional programs in the commonly taught languages are recommended for: (1) those who cannot get to classes, (2) classes with individual learner needs, and (3) learners advanced enough to take on self-directed tasks. The roles of teacher and learner in self-instructional programs are discussed. (JB)

The value of the language laboratory of self-instruction is stressed. Methods of using multi-phase drills are given, proceeding from cue repetition to open-ended situations. The presentation of prose texts in the laboratory is examined. (Author/JB)

Examines three aspects of computer technology that allow learners to develop cognitive and metacognitive skills and that facilitate learner autonomy: database organization in a self-access facility, computer-assisted language learning, and the use of menus to organize programs and files. An argument is made that technology should neither control…

A detailed, nonimpressionistic assessment checklist is presented for teach-yourself language packages. Two example research applications are given: a survey of a range of course packages, and an analysis of the patterns of materials used by an individual learner of Hungarian. (39 references) (Author/LB)

The Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center has conducted workshops in instructional technology as they relate to the teaching of foreign language through individualization. The content and scope of the workshops on instructional technology and criterion-referenced instruction are discussed. (SW)

Suggests that many teacher training courses merely provide lip service to methodological developments becuase the teachers fail to actually experience the methodology. Illustrates one way of setting up a self-access center, by describing a specific situation and giving examples of materials used. (EKN)

Examines the components constituting autonomy in second language learning. The article focuses on helping students make and execute choices in the domains of communication, learning, and their personal life. These components form the basis of a conceptual framework for coordinating strategies to help learners develop autonomy. (24 references)…

Computer-assisted language-learning literature points to a need for experimentation with innovative learning structures to realize the full potential of recent technological developments. Reports on a research project that addresses these concerns by exploring the experiences of 23 French second-language learners as they worked independently with…

The hypothesis explored is that autonomy in education and language learning is more significant than the ability to make responsible choices, relating more to exploration of the self-concept and to the realization of personal and group potential. Experiential learning is discussed in this context. (25 references) (Author/LB)

Argues that before autonomous approaches to language learning are implemented, it is necessary to gauge learners' readiness for the behavioral change that autonomy implies. Data collected from a questionnaire on learner beliefs about language learning is presented. Factor analysis of subjects' responses indicated six underlying dimensions. (41…

Reports findings from a longitudinal study tracking the expectations, shifts in expectations, and emergent beliefs of novice self-instructed language learners. Investigates how learners experienced and articulated their experience in a distance-learning context. Focused on learner-context interface, tolerance for ambiguity, and locus of control.…

Autonomous language learning is justified by three arguments: the ideological, the psychological, and the economic. This paper discusses how teachers can use autonomous learning as an approach to the curriculum as a whole, bridging the gap between public classroom activities and private learning activity, and examining all practices from the…

Discusses learner autonomy in formal language learning contexts. The author considers how autonomy is to be fostered, focusing first on learning strategies and learner training and then on the pedagogical dialogue and role of the teacher. It is argued that learning arises from interaction, which is characterized by interdependence. (26 references)…

This course blueprint was first drawn up in 1968 and was later coordinated by the Department of Russian at Birmingham University. Problems of self-instructional courses, details of a particular Russian course and why it had to be changed, and possible improvements for similar course are given. (SC)