ACTIVE LEARNING, LEARNING STRATEGIES AND AUTONOMY

Learning and autonomy are close related, because both are essential to use effective learning strategies. They are necessary for the learning orientation and the learner autonomy too.

So, the learning is an important part of the foreign language, because it is not only important for improve language learners in vocabulary, basic structures or accumulating the necessary linguistic and communication skills; learning skills puts the learner in active control of their own learning process.

However, the context, the culture and different practices have a big influence in the learning; they are important factors that give motivation and develop the learner autonomy, because the learner can participate, create and evaluate the process, depending of his necessities, levels and interests. So, students do not receive and do not absorb knowledge provided by teachers in a passive manner.

The learning is seen as an active, autonomy, mental and constructed process, where there are specific and self-directed steps taken by learners to enhance their own learning, which is based on cognitive learning theories about learning strategies.
So, Active Learning strategies include the management of the learning and activities as: needs assessment, planning, monitoring and outcome evaluation. It also involves emotions, motivation, attitudes, routines for self-encouragement, reduction of stress and anxiety; and the idea to ask questions for clarification and cooperation with others for communication.

In Active Learning the students are the center of the learning process. That’s why it is necessary that students take part and decisions in the design of activities, as an excellent opportunity to participate and improve the learning process.

In my specific case, as an assistant teacher for a girl with learning difficulties, I have been developing a lot of activities that involves active learning, learning strategies and specially the autonomy, because when you interact with this students, you start modifying the activities in order to make it significant, but easy for them.

Some of the commands that I usually use as learning strategies are to motivate and encourage the student to be more confident, autonomous and self-secure as:

• Try to do it by your self!


• You can do it!


• Take the decision!


• Don’t use the sentence “I don’t know”.


• Think about it!


• Re-read the question or the sentence!


• Try to answer the questions and to participate!


• Try to do your best!


• Focus your attention making contact eye!


• Use self-monitoring!


• Take important notes!


• Try to be organized!


• You are very good, excellent!

All those commands and other learning strategies imply the necessity to create an appropriate environment for students to improve their learning, depending of the amount of students in the class, of the age, the learning level, and the time for the activities.
Also, is important to have clear objectives since the beginning of a lesson plan or activity, and create a space to the students where they can make self and group evaluation about the learning process, with all the aspects that it involves.