Teachers as researchers of their own development towards language learner autonomy
Leni Dam, Denmark
It looks as if a big hurdle or constraint - if not the biggest for developing Learner Autonomy is the teacher himself/herself. For the last 40 years I have tried to support teachers in developing learner autonomy. In workshops, in talks and in writing my aim has been to provide teachers with useful tools for getting their learners actively engaged in their own learning: ways of getting the learners to use the target language from the very beginning of learning English, activities designed to support a differentiated and inclusive pedagogy, documentation of own learning - just to mention a few. But the focus has always been the learner, and the results have not been satisfactory. In this talk I will therefore focus on the teacher. How can the teacher be supported in becoming a researcher of his or her own development? How can the teacher be supported in a continuous journey on the road towards learner autonomy? The talk will to a large extent be based on my own experience from in-service teacher training.
Leni Dam, Denmark
It looks as if a big hurdle or constraint - if not the biggest for developing Learner Autonomy is the teacher himself/herself. For the last 40 years I have tried to support teachers in developing learner autonomy. In workshops, in talks and in writing my aim has been to provide teachers with useful tools for getting their learners actively engaged in their own learning: ways of getting the learners to use the target language from the very beginning of learning English, activities designed to support a differentiated and inclusive pedagogy, documentation of own learning - just to mention a few. But the focus has always been the learner, and the results have not been satisfactory. In this talk I will therefore focus on the teacher. How can the teacher be supported in becoming a researcher of his or her own development? How can the teacher be supported in a continuous journey on the road towards learner autonomy? The talk will to a large extent be based on my own experience from in-service teacher training.