Let's Negotiate: Learner Autonomy in Action in a University ESAP Course

Learner autonomy is often many different things to many people but Holec's early definition that it is \u0022the ability to take charge of one's learning... to have, and to hold, the responsibility for all the decisions concerning all aspects of this learning\u0022 (1981, p. 3) is still extremely influential today. \u0022All aspects\u0022 include decisions about the objectives of a course, defining the course contents, and even evaluating what has been acquired. In the context of teaching English at Italian universities, however, this vision can be challenging or even impossible to implement, given the vast number of limitations imposed upon undergraduate programmes from all the different stakeholders involved. This chapter will present an action research project whose aim has been to actively include students in the decision-making processes of an advanced English for specific academic purposes (ESAP) syllabus for economics students at the Free University of Bozen- Bolzano. Parts of the ESAP syllabus,

including assessment means, are negotiated with the students in order to allow them to contribute directly to the course contents. In this way, not only does this approach promote learner autonomy as envisaged by Holec, but it also attempts to address the language needs of each individual learner, as each member of the class has the right and opportunity to contribute. The chapter will present the approach to the negotiated syllabus, problems encountered during the study and some of the results of the syllabus implemented, including evaluation from the students themselves. [Publisher's Text]

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Jemma Prior, ORCID 0000-0002-8869-0602.