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Date Posted: 14:23:37 01/27/04 Tue
Author: Renata Nascimento
Subject: autonomy

After reflecting about my own autonomy, I can easily say today that I have been much more autonomous when it comes to being a student of a foreign language than being a teacher of one. The reason why I say so is because, unfortunately, I have just began to think about it and see the great importance of "giving learners opportunities to make choices". I was not aware of that. In other words, I had no idea that there were in fact a huge amount of opportunities I could provide to my students in order for them to be independent. Instead, I guess I have always asked them to do what I would like them to do, not what they would prefer to.

This last statement reminded me of Sandy�s story when she says "we are not babies, for some teachers they will just give you...". To be honest, I almost cried after reading her story due to the reflection she made me have. I asked myself at least three times: do I act like that with my students? You know what? Smiling, I can answer no, at least not anymore. Today, after not only reading this great text, but also after taking languages course, I am more aware of the students� needs. What they really need is to be self-aware of their own learning process as well as understand it pretty well and try to mode it according to their own way of learning. Therefore, I know exactly what my role is, which is to instruct my classroom learners and help them "develop and exercise their autonomy". In short, "the teacher is no longer transmitting this knowledge, but the learners are negotiating over it...". However, the teacher must at least show them how and when negotiate it.

As a student, as I have already mentioned, I consider myself a very autonomous person because I have grasped the special way, which I learn. It wasn�t easy, though. I had to observe myself a lot in order to choose the best way of learning. I confess I learn by listening to music and reading a lot. Moreover, I do not "rely on the knowledge acquired in lectures". It is not enough for me. I do need to study more at home, read more about that specific topic or even talk to friends. By the way, I love discussing lectures with my friends at a bar. Drinking beer and talking to friends make me think a lot about my learning process, can you believe it? It is true, indeed.

"As teacher educators, our challenge is to convince teachers that we can learn a great deal from listening to our learners." That�s what I have truly tried to do, in fact. I have listened a lot from my learners, either from journals, portfolios or self-evaluation. To conclude, not only my students have learned how to be autonomous, but me too. For this reason, I have been much more professional in both as being a teacher and a learner. Nevertheless, I know I have to keep observing, helping and understanding my students and of course, myself.

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