Enhancing students' autonomy in their study of English in a nonlinguistic university

Abstract

The purpose of the project is to determine whether fostering learner autonomy in the context of ESP language acquisition in non-linguistic colleges is feasible. In 2018–19, the experiment was conducted at National Aviation University in Ukraine with two groups of electronics first-year students (experimental and control). In the same academic year, assessments of students' communicative English proficiency and surveys of their levels of learner autonomy growth were carried out in September and May, respectively. The experimental group was given unique learning conditions, whereas the control group did not get any additional instruction. Students were given the chance to select educational materials, create learning objectives, reflect on the learning process, and assess the learning outcomes in order to equip them to take ownership of their education. Both scaffolding and modern technologies were heavily utilized (if necessary). The experiment's findings indicated that only some of the most engaged students made use of the setup and developed their autonomy in learning. The decision was reached for developing such an environment. Giving prospective pupils a self-directed learning experience is a challenge that should be taken on.

Keywords

• Learner Autonomy
• Non-linguistic university
• Special learning environment
• ESP
• Ukrainian context