DEVELOPING EFL LEARNERS' AUTONOMY IN SPEAKING ENGLISH: AN INVESTIGATION INTO STUDENTS' PRACTICE AT A UNIVERSITY IN THE MEKONG DELTA, VIETNAM

Authors

  • Pham Ngoc Huyen Kien Giang University, Vietnam
  • Nguyen Trung Cang Kien Giang University, Vietnam

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46827/ejel.v6i6.4039

Keywords:

learner autonomy, practice, English speaking, activities

Abstract

Learner autonomy (LA) is currently concentrated in the Vietnamese educational context as it equips learners with the capacity for lifelong learning. For the EFL context, tertiary students encounter numerous challenges practicing language skills, especially English speaking because of lacking the language environment. This study aims at exploring what Vietnamese EFL students practice to develop LA in speaking English. The study using a mix-method approach was conducted at a university in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam with the participation of 102 English-majored students ranging from freshmen to seniors. A questionnaire and a semi-structured interview were used to explore students’ practice to develop LA for their English speaking development. The result reveals that the level in practicing LA among groups of students reaches the average, and it also figures out the components of LA in English speaking skills that students have performed as well as activities that students still encounter many obstacles in practicing.

 

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Author Biographies

  • Pham Ngoc Huyen, Kien Giang University, Vietnam

    Pham Ngoc Huyen has been teaching English at Kien Giang University since she completed a Bachelor’s Degree of English education in 2018. She has just completed MA program at Can Tho University, Vietnam. Her research interests are students’ independent learning and motivation.

  • Nguyen Trung Cang, Kien Giang University, Vietnam
    Nguyen Trung Cang is a lecturer of English at Kien Giang university, Vietnam. He holds an MA in Applied Linguistics from La Trobe University, Australia and a PhD in Applied Linguistics at The University of Sheffield, UK. His interests are in materials evaluation, curriculum evaluation, language assessment and learner autonomy.

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Published

2021-11-26

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 6 (2021)

Section

Articles

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