Fostering Learner Autonomy Through Formative Assessment

Learner autonomy can be defined as "situation in which the learner is totally responsible for all of the decisions concerned with his or her learning and the implementation of those decisions" (Dickinson, 1987). It is the ability of the learner to take responsibility for his or her own learning and to plan, organize, and monitor the learning process independently of the teacher. Autonomy in language learning is a desirable goal for philosophical, pedagogical, and practical reasons. Fostering learner autonomy is of great significance on pedagogical and practical grounds simply because no students, anywhere, will have their teachers to accompany them throughout life. Students should make decisions for themselves about what and how they should learn. But since the Chinese EFL learning and teaching have long been influenced by the traditional "teacher-dominated" approaches, the majority of teachers and students are accustomed with those traditional teaching methods. This makes the implementing of learner autonomy difficult. In order to change this situation and change the authoritarian role of teachers, improve the current teaching methods and help students learn effectively and autonomously, this thesis presents its theme of fostering learner autonomy from the perspective of formative assessment.Assessment is considered as a very significant factor in English teaching. Formative assessment emerged under humanism and constructivist theory of learning, which is being accepted and has drawn our more attention in China.This paper is based on study that investigates formative assessment and impact on students' learning. The researcher conducted a 3-month action research aiming at...