Language Acquisition and Learner Autonomy in an Asian EAP Program
Pierre Walter Asian Institute of Technology
In recent years, the scope of learner autonomy in language
education has broadened to include not only pedagogies of learner training, self-access,
and self-directed learning, but also more humanistic and critical ELT approaches.
However, even while the latter pedagogies are recognized as belonging to the educational
foundations of ELT, they have often provoked skepticism as to their effectiveness
in promoting English language acquisition, particularly in institutional settings
in higher education, and especially in Asia. This paper addresses this issue with
an evaluation of language acquisition and the development of learner autonomy
in an EAP program at the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok, Thailand.
