Rethinking Learner Autonomy and Academic Acculturation as Agency
Keywords:
autonomy, academic acculturation, empowermentAbstract
Foreign language learner autonomy has become a widespread concept within the field of education. There are, however, certain constraints when implementing learner autonomy in practice. The present article tackles exactly this issue by taking a closer look at the nexus between foreign language learner autonomy and academic acculturation. Closely related to this, the idea of empowering language learners will also be discussed, mainly arguing that developing learner autonomy can only work if (foreign language) learners are successfully acculturated into their academic community. Although this paper is of a more theoretical nature, the article is informed by recent empirical findings by one of the authors.
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