View Content #24806

By Julie Sykes, CASLS Director

Sarah walks into the classroom and looks around. She notices the typical materials for seasons, days of the week, and classroom supplies, but something more catches her attention. As she looks around, she notices a display of local hangouts, fun museums, video games, and even a few cookbooks with neat recipes. She is curious as she sits down. Today, her instructor begins by letting them know he has some things they may or may not be interested in over spring break. Their challenge is to rest and have fun. “I won’t be grading you on any of this and you don’t have to turn anything in, but I wanted to share some things you might be interested in.” With that, all are given time to peruse the options. Sarah is exited and unsure; she figures she’ll look a little and then just get on to spring break. However, as she is moving toward her next course, she notices an event on slam poetry with a special guest from Italy. She immediately adds the info to her phone, knowing that, especially since slam poetry is a favorite of hers, she will go to the event. From there, the rest is history, Sarah dives into multilingual slam poetry and becomes part of the community. Under the conditions for exploration without oversight, she jump started her learning and directed her own expertise building to meet her interests and needs.

Learner-directed behavior is just that, learning that happens because a learner wants to find out more, not because they have to. As we explore learner-directedness this month, we move beyond the notion that learner choice is enough to create the conditions in which learners feel empowered and motivated to engage without teacher facilitation. Three principles guide our exploration of learner-directed language learning.

1. Inspiring learner-directed behavior means doing more then just giving small choices on the topic of a graded paper or the option of one of three units to complete. The scenario above would have been entirely different had the instructor required the students to do two of the activities over break and turn in something proving they had done it. Instead, offering consistent resources to catalyze exploration can create the conditions for meaningful exploration.
2. Reflection is key. Whether directed by the learners themselves or an outside observer, such as a teacher or peer mentor, the opportunity to reflect on the experience adds depth and meaning. Making time for reflection without evaluation or assessment in language classes is a powerful means to encourage learner-directed behavior. Moreover, formal classroom instruction can help build the skills necessary for meaningful reflection by engaging learners in thinking routines (i.e., reflective, deep thinking activities) designed to build the skills needed for independent learning and exploration. That is not to say facilitated reflection is necessarily superior to that which learners can, and do, do on their own.
3. Learner-directed behavior is the goal, not an extra credit assignment. While oversight, grading, evaluation, and feedback are very valuable, their role should be to facilitate participation in the multilingual world. A focus-on the skills needed for learner-directedness should be embedded throughout the course, not just in peripheral activities.  Deep learning experiences can, and in a perfect world, do, occur outside of formal classroom contexts. Instructors have a unique opportunity to help learners to find them.