Teachers' and Students' Perceptions of Learner Autonomy in the ELT Department at Eastern Mediterranean University

The purpose of this study is to investigate the perceptions of the ELT students and their instructors as regards learner autonomy in the English Language Teaching (ELT) Department at Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) in North Cyprus. To achieve this, the ELT students’ and instructors’ overall perceptions about learner autonomy in general, and learner autonomy in the ELT Department at EMU specifically were identified. The present study is a case study, which employs a descriptive -interpretive method. The study was conducted with 69 ELT students and 11 instructors teaching in the ELT Department at EMU. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected through three different sources: student questionnaire, teacher questionnaire, and teacher interviews. The results obtained from this study reveal that both students and teachers in the ELT Department have positive views about learner autonomy. The outcomes of the study also show that both ELT students and their instructors believed that students should be involved in decisions about their learning, and that the ELT students have the potential to become autonomous learners. However, most of the instructors and students think that it is slightly feasible or unfeasible to involve students in every decision, such as classroom management, the teaching methods used, and the time and place of the lesson in the ELT Department. On the other hand, the instructors recommended that they should try to promote learner autonomy more in their courses by revising the ELT curriculum, redesigning the courses, giving freedom to students to choose their topics for projects and assignments, teaching students how to learn, etc. To conclude, the results of this study show that the ELT students’ and their instructors’ perceptions of learner autonomy are positive, and they can be considered ready for it, because they desire it although they think that it is not completely feasible (i.e. realistically achievable) in the ELT Department at the moment. Based on the results, some pedagogical implications for fostering learner autonomy in the ELT Department at EMU, and suggestions for further research have been recommended. Keywords: Autonomy, Learner Autonomy, Teacher Autonomy, Student Perceptions, Teacher Perceptions