Becoming Autonomous Learners to Become Autonomous Teachers: Investigation on a MOOC Blend

Abstract

Autonomy appears to be a challenging concept for both language learners and teachers. This article attempts to ascertain the beliefs on learner autonomy (LA) and teacher autonomy (TA) of students on the MA in English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics at Coventry University (UK) engaging with this concept while reflecting on a distributed MOOC blend flip. This article explores the extent to which a MOOC blended into an existing curriculum can support students in their transition between LA and TA for their professional practice. The paper discusses the interpretations of autonomy in language education, including “technical”, “psychological” and “political” orientations and illustrates two categorises of autonomous perspectives: independent learning and interdependent learning. The article also discusses how blended learning can support language teacher with re-thinking their role. It moreover illustrates, some constraints regarding fostering autonomy in practice and highlights some problematic areas in the reconceptualization of learning and teaching with a MOOC blend.