The literature on autonomy in language education has primarily focused on the development of a theoretical basis for the construct of autonomy and the implementation of educational initiatives aimed at fostering it. Research on the efficacy of autonomous learning has examined the more accessible aspects such as self-access learning and a range of factors that influence its development. Comparatively speaking, the evaluation of autonomous learning initiatives remains on the peripheral limits of research in the field. This study was aimed at addressing this perceived gap in the literature. In evaluating the autonomy-enhancing initiatives offered at the English Language Centre of a major university in Hong Kong, the study adopted a grounded theory approach to understand the social world of the Centre in which participants’ behaviours and practices contribute to a particular culture of learning. The evaluation was informed by data from interviews, observations, questionnaires, and learner portfolios documenting tutors and learners’ experience of autonomous learning. It was designed to gain an understanding of participants’ perceptions of programme reality and of how the programme itself was situated towards achieving its goal of fostering learner autonomy. Evaluation outcomes have created a composite picture of the socially constructed nature of the construct of learner autonomy. The insights gained into the value systems that exist in this social setting have shown how, despite the lingering influence of beliefs ingrained in past experiences, individuals’ perceptions have evolved with exposure to new learning environments. Learners have exploited the freedom extended within this social context to create personally relevant and meaningful learning experiences that have enabled them to examine existing understandings and progress towards developing new identities as proactive individuals. Tutors have functioned as reflective professionals and created their own spheres of influence to stimulate understanding of learning processes and position their learners favourably towards the self-management of learning. Constraints characteristic of innovation introduced in institutional contexts have resulted in tensions arising at the interface of beliefs and engagement for both tutors and learners. However, they have been able to conceptualise the freedom that autonomy pre-supposes in terms of negotiating situational constraints and working with the possibilities within their context and have progressed towards establishing some control over their practices. The study has substantiated the notion of autonomy as a socially embedded phenomenon. While psychological ideals such as motivation, willingness and ability influence its development, the social environment which is organised to extend a range of meaningful options that develop and support an individual’s autonomy is also of significance, as it ensures that the exercise of autonomy has value in terms of what an individual needs to achieve in life. It thus highlights the importance of providing learning experiences that are personally relevant and meaningful, as they position the learner not only for autonomy in learning, but also towards the overarching concept of autonomy in life. Finally, the study also provides some useful insights into the evaluation of autonomous learning schemes. / published_or_final_version / Applied English Studies / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

This thesis explores the mutual impacts between English learners’ identity construction and their English learning at university level of education in the People’s Republic of China. Grounded in the sociocultural perspective on second language learning and based on the theory of communities of practice and the concepts of imagined communities and investment, the research focuses on two non-English major students’ English learning in a comprehensive university and investigates the social, historical and individualistic factors causing identity continuity and/or identity change in the first year of university study and explores how identity construction and English learning mutually impacted each other. This research adopted a qualitative case study method and employed weekly diaries and interviews as data collection instruments. Data collection lasted six months. Weekly diaries guided by prompt questions were collected per week to track learners’ English learning and identity construction. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted every five to six weeks to gain rich contextual, historical and individual information and to retrospectively find out learners’ English learning and identities before entering the university and in the first semester in university. Their English teacher was interviewed for data enrichment and triangulation. Thematic analysis and Fairclough’s model of discourse analysis were used to identify evidence which shows identity continuity, identity change, and English learning. Findings show that in English learning in the university, language learners experienced either identity continuity or change in English learner identities, future career expectations and the sense of belonging to learning communities in the university. Learners’ imagined identities in future careers and future social status remained continuous in the first year and the imagined identities in future careers and future social status strongly promoted learners’ investments in English learning. By engaging in the learning communities in the university with imagination of learning communities they desired to participate in and imagination of their future, learners built their sense of belonging to the university, their classes and their dormitories. The growth of the sense of belonging reflects learners’ identity change. The sense of belonging facilitated their full participation in English learning in the university, classes and dormitories as learning communities. The findings also show that when congruence between the actual and imagined communities appeared, learners’ English learning were promoted, whereas incongruence negatively impacted English learning. The findings of this study reveal the importance of learners’ imagined communities and imagined identities in future careers and future social status and also reveal the effects of learners’ non-academic factors on their English learning. This thesis suggests that learners’ diverse backgrounds and multiple identities should be taken into consideration when English curricular are designed. Career counselling and buddy schemes are also suggested. Accordingly, this study enhances the understanding of the first-year non-English major undergraduates’ identity construction in EFL learning in China. This study also attracts educators’ and researchers’ attention to the needs of non-English major students’ English learning in China as well as the needs of first-year undergraduates who experience a transition from high school to university. / published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Philosophy

本研究通過對深圳大學初級漢語水平留學生的晤談以及測試，發現初級水平階段的漢語學生在聆聽過程中常出現以下困難： 1. 未能準確辨識出語音。 2. 雖然能夠識別單個辭彙或者短語，但是無法獲取整個句子的含義。 3. 未能及時進入聆聽狀態，以至於錯過了錄音的開始部分。 4. 遇到障礙往往會卡在困難之處，導致錯過了後續的錄音內容。 5. 無法概括出語段大意。 由於語言知識的不足，留學生在聆聽過程中往往受挫。從認知負荷理論的角度看，無論是語音、辭彙、語法結構，乃至於句子的深層含義和文本大意，不同的層面都對工作記憶施加了負荷。降低認知負荷的有效方法便是激活學生的圖式，對所聽材料進行預測、補充以及選擇性加工，使工作記憶留存更多資源處理不熟悉的任務。適當的聆聽策略可以幫助學生激活長時記憶中的圖式，跳躍障礙，提升理解。 基於此，本研究以深圳大學初級漢語班的外國學生為研究對象，以其中一班（共13 名學生）為實驗組，另一個班（共11 名學生）為控制組，進行准實驗研究。考慮到學生已初步具備預估、猜想的意識，且大部分聆聽困難可透過此方法得以解決，所以在實驗過程中，實驗組學生將接受“猜一猜”的聽力策略教學法。此聽力策略的實施階段包括聆聽以前和聆聽過程。控制組學生接受教師原有的教學方法，即聆聽前教師講解生詞，學生流覽問題，而後聽錄音做練習。 准實驗研究結果顯示，實驗組學生“詞義推斷”一項成效明顯，而“句子深層含義”以及“概括大意”兩項雖然有所改善，但和控制組相比，差異仍未達到顯著水平。“猜一猜”的聆聽策略能在一定程度上幫助學生激活長時記憶中的圖式，在聆聽前根據話題、背景知識等預估錄音大意，在聆聽過程中，利用上下文來跳躍障礙，達成順暢理解。圖式的激活降低了學習者工作記憶的負荷，為工作記憶釋放了大量空間。 從學生調查問卷的結果看，聽力策略“猜一猜”得到了師生的普遍認同，具有教學意義。 最後，本研究對聆聽教學以及未來研究提出了一些建議，以期有更深入的探討。 / published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

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This study identifies and compares the language learning strategies and beliefs about language learning of 166 university students learning Persian (Farsi), a strategic less commonly taught language. The data were collected from three settings in the United States; the University of California at Berkeley (UCB), the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), and the University of Texas at Austin (UT), using three questionnaires: the Individual Background Questionnaire (IBQ), the Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI), and the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL). In descriptive analyses of the BALLI, results showed that participants reported holding strong beliefs in the categories of "motivation and expectation" and "foreign language aptitude". A good number of the participants also reported strong beliefs about the importance of learning Persian and strong motivations for learning Persian, particularly to get to know native speakers of Persian better. Descriptive analyses of the SILL showed that participants reported using compensation and social strategies most, followed by cognitive, metacognitive, memory, and affective strategies. On the other hand, students reported less frequent use of memory and affective strategies. This higher use of language learning strategies, as well as stronger beliefs about language learning held by students of Persian, likely corresponds to the number of heritage learners and is an indication of a potential existing association. In short, the results of this study provide empirical description of the language learning beliefs and strategies in learners of Persian, a previously unstudied group of language learners. The study concludes with a list of practical implications for Persian instruction.