李筱倩*
摘要
外語自學中心的設立是本於自主學習和自我導向學習之理論，其目的在於 提供學生一個可取得學習資源以從事獨立學習的環境。在一些亞洲國家，已有 成功的案例報導，指出學生規律並經常性地去自學中心自學。在臺灣，許多高 等教育機構也都成立了外語自學中心，以促進學生的英語能力和自主學習。然 而，目前有關學生在外語自學中心從事的實際學習活動紀錄及有關的教學活動 建議仍有待補充更新。本研究於 2011 年第一學期在南臺灣某所科技大學進行，
共計三十六名五專四年級的學生自願參加了這項研究，他們每週自我紀錄報告 在自學中心所從事的活動連續達十四週，同時研究者也對這些參與學生進行了 研究活動前及研究活動後之問卷調查，此外，學校定時統整之外語自學中心學 生到訪紀錄時數表也為研究者一併蒐集，以藉此達到研究數據之三角交叉。研 究結果顯示：學生利用外語自學中心完成學校功課，而不是把它當作一個英語 學習資源的學習中心。然而，每週填寫自我報告的這項任務，激發了學生在自 學中心的學習。此外，因為教師在課堂上鼓勵學生閱讀英語小說，本研究中之 學生傾向於利用在自學中心的學習時間來獨立閱讀英文小說。根據這些研究結
*國立高雄海洋科技大學
果所做的教學建議分別是：教師應鼓勵學生主動使用自學中心，而不是強制他 們前往自學；同時充足的教師支持與指導也不可或缺，以確保學生在自學中心 能從事與英語有關的學習活動。本研究的最後結論是：一旦學生在自學中心經 歷了愉快的英語學習後，他們便會願意花更多的時間學習英語，並終而成長為 能自主學習的英語學習者。
關鍵詞：外語自學中心、以英語為外語之學習、科技大學學生
檢視學生在自學中心自主學習之個案研究 47
Introduction
Self-access (language learning) centers (which are usually abbreviated as SAC) where students have access to resources and work independently of a teacher have been established during the past few decades as a beneficial approach in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) pedagogy. Built on the theory of learner autonomy and self-directed learning (Benson, 2001; Dickinson, 1987; Little, 1991), SACs are believed by many scholars to be advantageous in supporting English courses through their remedial programs or extensive practices in reading, writing, listening and speaking, in fostering autonomy and self-directive study strategies among students, and in providing multiple technologies as learning resources to motivate and enhance English learning (Cotterall & Reinders, 2001; Klassen, Detaramani, Lui, Patri, & Wu, 1998; Shen, 2008; Stepp-Greany, 2002).
In Asia, successful cases of SACs where learners visit frequently and regularly have been reported. One example is the Independent Learning Center at Sung Bin Home for Girls in South Korea (reported by LaClare, 2011). This center is a language and life skills environment for local adolescent girls. Initially learners exhibited enthusiasm for the center; however, over time interest faded and many learners ceased to be regular users. To revive interest and enhance learner identification with the center, as LaCalre (2011) reported, volunteers and staff worked together to turn the center into “a place of wonder, excitement, and change and improvement” (p. 308). The practical methods they adopted included inviting potential users to provide inputs, locating the center where the users could have easy access to, and provided items of interest and relevance to the learners. Most
important of all, the center started a cycle of “project”, whose on-going aims were to discuss ways to enhance participation, to design action, to promote activities, and to plan further projects to enhance more involvement. As a result, the declining participation was eventually reversed.
Another successful example is the English Resource Center in Saitama University in Japan (reported by Hughes, Krug, & Vye, 2011). This center provided an English learning environment available to the university-wide community.
Different from the activities they usually did in a formal classroom, students visiting the center were encouraged to take charge of their own learning. Native language was strictly prohibited inside the center. When students gathered together with peers, they had to use English to communicate. The role of the advisors in the center were to facilitate English communication and rapport between the students, and they soon stepped back and let learners autonomously develop and manage their interaction. In the report by Hughes, Krug, & Vye (2011), they indicated deepened social interaction in the center as well as the development and expansion of an out-of-class second language learning community. They noticed that peer students gave each other more advises on language learning and they observed further social activities in English outside the center.
In Taiwan, since the launch of The Teaching Excellent Project by the Ministry of Education, many higher education institutions have established an SAC to promote students’ English proficiency and learning autonomy (Li, 2008).
Accordingly, researchers in Taiwan have carried out studies on students’
perceptions and learning practices of the SAC and on its effectiveness in engaging students in autonomous learning. However, still comparatively few studies have
檢視學生在自學中心自主學習之個案研究 49
been conducted to examine actual student learning activities at the SAC;
pedagogical suggestions made from empirical studies for fostering student English learning at the SAC are also limited. Since certain conditions, such as learning strategies, motivation, attitudes (Dickinson, 1987), academic confidence (Thanasoulas, 2010) and national cultural background (Palfreyman, 2003; Scharle
& Szabo, 2000), forecast learner autonomy, not every student using the SAC is well-prepared to become a self-directed and autonomous learner. In addition, the previous studies done by scholars generally recommend a certain degree of teacher involvement in student learning at the SAC, such as offering an orientation program to familiarize students with the resources at the SAC (Chao, 2003, in Chinese), providing onsite assistance like counseling services (Cheng & Lee, 2009), supervising the student learning process (Wang, 2010), and building the links between class activities and student learning at the SAC (Liou, 1995, in Chinese;
Wallis, 2005). Therefore, it is important to find out what students do during their visits at the SAC and what support or guidance teachers can offer to facilitate autonomous English learning at the SAC. Research conducted to investigate these areas should help English educators to modify curricula when student independent and productive learning at the SAC is desired.
A case study was conducted at a technological junior college in southern Taiwan (school name abbreviated as NKMU) during the first semester of 2011, with 49 fourth-year junior-college students voluntarily participating in the study.
The study aimed to answer the following questions:
What do the students’ self-reports and survey answers suggest about their English learning at the SAC?
What are students’ perceptions of learning at the SAC?
Do students’ perceptions change after the implementation of the self reporting task?
Answers to these questions and pedagogical suggestions thus made should help teachers of English learners better understand their students’ learning at the SAC and therefore create curricula more helpful in promoting their students’
autonomous English learning there.