State-supported provincial university English language instructors' attitudes towards learner autonomy

The purpose of this study was to investigate state-supported provincial university instructors’ attitudes towards learner autonomy and towards sharing instructional responsibilities with learners regarding aspects of students’ own learning. The study was conducted with 72 English language instructors working at Afyonkarahisar Kocatepe University, Akdeniz University, Balikesir University, Mugla University, Nigde University, and Zonguldak Karaelmas University. Data were collected through a questionnaire including Likert-scale questions. The preliminary section of the questionnaire gathered data about the instructors’ educational background and teaching experience. The thirteen items in the questionnaire investigated instructors’ ideas about how much instructional responsibility learners should share in accordance with learner autonomy. Respondents were asked to indicate their opinions on a five-point Likert-scale, with ‘not at all’, ‘little’, ‘partly’, ‘much’, and ‘very much’ for each item. Additionally, the interviews were conducted with 10 instructors from participating universities. The results of the data analysis revealed that participating instructors are neutral to slightly positive toward learner autonomy in their formal teaching environments and consider some areas of teaching and learning as more suitable than others for the implementation of learner autonomy. The outcomes also showed that the participating instructors’ attitudes towards learner autonomy change depending upon the facilities they are provided by their universities and the opportunities for authentic language use in their environments. Moreover, the findings highlighted that an in-service training for the instructors, and systematic and planned adjustments in the curricula might contribute to the promotion of learner autonomy in these universities.