EXAMINING SECOND-YEAR ELT STUDENTS’ LEARNER AUTONOMY THROUGH THE USE OF OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (OER) AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DANANG - UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDIES

Abstract

In tertiary education, students are required to develop self-learning skills due to the extensive workload and limited classroom time. Open Educational Resources (OER) are increasingly being recommended to enhance learner autonomy, particularly in second-year English Language Teaching (ELT) courses. This study aimed to investigate the impact of using OER on the learner autonomy of second-year ELT students, while also exploring the benefits and drawbacks associated with using OER for this purpose. The study utilized a mixed-methods design, with 44 second-year ELT students at The University of Danang - University of Foreign Language Studies participating in the Research Method class. During the course, students were introduced to and used OER to promote their learner autonomy. To meet the study's objectives, the researchers employed three data collection instruments: a questionnaire, interviews, and participant observation. Quantitative data from the questionnaire were processed using descriptive statistics while qualitative data from the interviews and participant observation were analyzed thematically. The results indicated that using OER generally improved the learner autonomy of students. Additionally, the study identified several benefits and drawbacks associated with using OER to promote learner autonomy. These findings contribute to the growing body of literature on the use of OER to enhance learner autonomy, particularly in ELT courses. Future research could investigate how OER can be utilized in other contexts to promote learner autonomy and identify additional benefits and drawbacks associated with their use.