The Effectiveness Of Mind-mapping In Promoting Learner Autonomy

Résumé: This research is an attempt to promote learner autonomy in formal language learning context (secondary school) with pupils belonging to the third year classes in the languages stream.Our study aims to prepare this category of learners for the autonomous learning at the university. Since learner autonomy implies the use of effective learning strategies, we thought of implementing mind mapping, one of the most recent techniques which proved its effectiveness in the field of teaching and learning. Therefore, It is a case study designed to investigate the extent to which the implementation of mind mapping as both a teaching and a learning tool can be effective in enhancing learners’ motivation, self confidence, self esteem, responsibility and independence. It also aims to explore if the use of mind mapping can change learners’ negative attitudes toward learning English and provide a stress free environment. The results showed that using mind mapping by teachers and training learners to use them have proved to be effective , to a certain extent ,in enhancing learners’ engagement, interaction, motivation, or at least learners’ partial autonomy. they also argue that English language teaching in Algeria should aim at cultivating learner autonomy through attributing new roles for the language teacher and learning strategy training for the learner. Finally, this study insists on the need to integrate learner autonomy in English learning not only as a top-down decision but as a gradual procedure based on training of teachers of English as a foreign language and learners towards the development of autonomy.

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