Computer-based materials: a study of learner autonomy and strategies

Jarvis, HA; Figura, KA

Abstract

This paper reports on a study which examines the extent to which specified cognitive, social, and
metacognitive strategies, are used by language students when working with computer-based materials
(CBMs), in self-study contexts outside of the language classroom; particularly in a self-access centre
(SAC). Data were collected using questionnaires, interviews and snap-shot observations from
English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students enrolled on a summer course at a British Higher Education
Institution (HEI). The data identify the frequency with which students use a SAC and the
value they attach to computers for language learning. The data then examine the types of strategies
students use and the extent to which learner autonomy is being fostered. The vast majority of participants
were found to have positive attitudes towards computer-based material (CBMs) and language
learning despite frequent use of L1, furthermore they were found to use cognitive strategies
and to apply metacognitive awareness in their use of such CBMs. Students believed CBMs assisted
with learning and demonstrated conscious applications of a range of strategies while learning in an
electronic environment. However, the study also found that less than half the students used social
strategies in the target language and this raises a number of issues.

Citation

Jarvis, H., & Figura, K. (2007). Computer-based materials: a study of learner autonomy and strategies. System, 35(4), 448-468. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2007.07.001

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2007
• Deposit Date: Oct 15, 2010
• Journal: System
• Print ISSN: 0346-251X
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 35
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 448-468
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2007.07.001
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2007.07.001