Secondary school EFL learners' autonomy, motivation, and digital literacy in emergency distance education

Due to COVID-19, the majority of countries encountered emergency remote education at all learning levels for the first time. This abrupt change in the delivery of education created a suitable environment for adopting learner autonomy. A critical approach is required to ascertain how this ability was perceived and which factors are related to it. This study aimed to present the perspectives of secondary school students on learner autonomy in the context of emergency remote education and explore the relations of motivation, digital literacy, and demographic variables (grade level, gender, and age) with it. Mixed-method approach was used in this thesis and in line, three scales were administered to 180 secondary school learners and semi-structured interviews were held with 10 participants. Quantitative results revealed that secondary school students had above-average levels of learner autonomy and digital literacy while maintaining a moderate level of motivation. Significant positive correlations were found between learner autonomy and both motivation and digital literacy. Additionally, the impact of demographic traits on learner autonomy was discovered. It was found that learner autonomy declined with increasing grade level and age. In terms of gender, female students had more learner autonomy than males. The content analysis revealed that secondary school students' perceptions of learner autonomy are generally positive, but that learners also encountered both positive and negative motivational and digital literacy factors that either encouraged or inhibited their autonomy. The study implicated the need for developing emergency remote education settings in terms of student-teacher interaction, technological resources, and instructional strategies.