Concept of Autonomy Autonomy in Language Learning

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CHAPTER II REVIEW OF LITERATURE

This chapter is aimed at discussing the theories underlying the study. This chapter covers theoretical description and theoretical framework.

A. Theoretical Description

This section presents a detailed discussion of three key concepts in this study. They are autonomy in language learning, extensive reading and perception.

1. Autonomy in Language Learning

a. Concept of Autonomy

Holec 1979: 3 defined autonomy as “the ability to take charge of one’s own learning”. To take charge of one’s own learning is elaborated as “to have and to hold, the responsibility for all the decisions concerning all aspects of learning”p: 3. It consists of the responsibility for “determining the objectives, defining the contents and progressions, selecting methods and techniques, monitoring the procedure of acquisition, and evaluating what has been acquired” p: 4. This definition points out that autonomous learners are able to direct their own learning by making all the significant decisions concerning its management and organization. Furthermore, Little 1991: 4 defined autonomy as a capacity for detachment, critical reflection, decision making , and independent action. It presupposes but also entails, that the learner will develop a particular kind of psychological relation to the process and content of his learning. The capacity for autonomy will be displayed both in the way PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI the learner learns and in the way he she transfer what has been learned to wider context. Little’s definition describes autonomy more in terms of control over the cognitive processes involved in effective self-management of learning. This definition completes Holec’s definition of autonomy. Following the above definitions, Benson 2001: 49 adds a social aspect in the definition of autonomy. Therefore, the description of autonomy should at least recognize the importance of three levels at which learner controls may be exercised: “learning management, cognitive processes and learning content” Benson, 2001: 49. Figure 2.1 Defining Autonomy Benson, 2001: 50 Control over learning management points to the behaviors the learners employ to handle the planning, organization, and evaluation of the learning Benson, 2001: 77. Nunan 2000: 8 describes management as behaviors related to time allocation, making plans and developing one’s own learning contracts. In this regard, the behaviors are closely related to the metacognitive strategies. According to O’Malley and Chamot 1990 as cited in Benson, 2001: 81 metacognitive strategies involve “ thinking about the learning process, planning for learning, monitoring the learning task, and evaluating how well one has learned”. Control over cognitive process concerns with the psychological factors underlying the control of learning management Benson, 2001: 86. It is assumed that the controlled cognitive processes constitute the controlled behaviors, either the process or the content of learning Little, 1991, cited in Benson, 2001:84. In this viewpoint, the control of cognitive processes contributes an essential role in enhancing autonomy in language learning hence. Benson p: 86, furthermore, identifies three independent factors strongly influencing the cognitive processes. They are attention, reflection, and metacognitive knowledge. Figure 2.1 describes the relationship and the contribution of those factors to the process of cognition in language learning. Figure 2.1 Controls over Cognitive Proces Benson, 2001: 86 Attention refers to the noticing of linguistic input, a key process in language acquisition, which constitutes students’ consciousness and awareness of a particular linguistic form Benson 2001: 90. Discussing attention toward language input calls attention to talk about the process of how the students attain the linguistic input. The picture of this process is elicited via students’ reflection. Little 1997 cited in Benson, 2001: 93, asserts that reflection is indispensable to enhance learning autonomy. Benson p: 93, furthermore, asserts that reflection and autonomy are interconnected in terms of “the cognitive and behavioral process by which individual takes control of the stream of experience they are subject to”. As sated by Holec 1980 cited in Wenden, 1987: 57, “critical reflection fosters the students to dig up the psychological attitudes toward learning to bring about the change of their learning behavior.” Thus, reflection plays as a basis for control over learning management Benson, 2001: 95. The reflected learning facilitates the students to look at themselves and finally find the strengths and weaknesses of their learning. Consequently, reflection raises students’ learning awareness. Furthermore, the students also bear the cognitive knowledge about their learning, consisting of person knowledge, task knowledge, and strategic knowledge. The metacognitive knowledge is used in their upcoming learning management in terms of planning, problem solving, monitoring and evaluating Benson, 2001: 111. The third aspect of learning autonomy is control over learning content. Being able to control the learning management and cognitive processes, as discussed previously, but failing to find the material to be learned does not guarantee PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI learning to take place. Controlling the learning content also conveys the challenge for the students to decide what they want to learn in order to reach the goal of their learning Benson, 2001: 47. The three levels of control are clearly interdependent. Effective learning management depends upon control of the cognitive processes involved in learning, while control of cognitive processes necessarily has consequences for the self- management of learning. Autonomy also implies that self- management and control over cognitive processed should involve decision concerning the content of learning Benson, 2001: 50. As to the control over learning content, Littlewood 1999: 74 proposes two kinds of learning autonomy, namely proactive autonomy and reactive autonomy. Proactive autonomy is somewhat idealistic in the effort of promoting autonomy in language learning. It indeed suggests that the learners regulate both the direction and the activity of learning. Given this respect the learners are as “the locus of causality towards their learning” Littlewood, p: 74. Proactive autonomy is regarded to be in accordance with the clarification of ideal autonomy articulated by Holec 1979: 3 that the learners are able to determine the objective, select technique and method, and evaluate what is learned in order to take charge of their learning. Thus, the clarification appears to be the main key for proactive autonomy. In short, the ideal form of autonomy lies in the total involvement of the students in their learning. Reactive autonomy, on the other hand, requires the students to regulate the activities when the direction is set by external authority Litlewood, 1999: 149. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI However, it also functions as an initial step to achieve the ideal learning autonomy for autonomy is a continuum process. Meaning to say, the reactive autonomy seeds the proactive autonomy. In this kind of autonomy, the teacher provides the students with stimulus, through establishing the goal, procedures, and the materials. Yet, once the stimulus is determined, the stduents are given an opportunity to organize the resources that support them to achieve the determined goal Benson, 2001: 100.

b. Characteristics of Learners Autonomy: