Năng lực tự học vai trò của giáo viên và bạn bè LEARNER AUTONOMY: THE ROLES OF TEACHERS AND PEERS

Generalcontextofthe study

ThehistoryofEnglishteachingandlearninginVietnam

The evolution of foreign language education in Vietnam mirrors its socio-political and economic landscape English has gained prominence since the country's economic reforms (Doi Moi) in 1986 The history of English language teaching in Vietnam can be divided into three key milestones: pre-1954, 1954-1975, and 1975-present, each reflecting the changing political and economic contexts.

Prior to the influence of foreign powers, Mandarin Chinese held sway as the primary foreign language taught in Vietnam during the Chinese occupation Following the French colonial era from 1884 to 1945, French became the second major foreign language taught in Vietnamese schools Notably, English emerged as a minor foreign language during this period, marking its initial introduction to Vietnam (Hoang, 2020a).

AftertheendoftheFrenchcolonizationandfrom1954to1975,Vietnamwasdividedinto two parts – the North and the South, and each part was allied with different worldsuperpowers.TheSovietUnionprovidedeconomicassistancetoNorthVietnam;meanwh ile, the United States began to replace France as the principal foreign power inSouthVietnam.Thesupport fromtheSoviet

UnionandAmericaninvolvementinVietnamaddedRussianandEnglishtothechoicesofforei gnlanguagestaughti n schools besides Chinese and French Notably, the North promoted learning Russian andChinese, and the South emphasized the study of English and French as the main foreignlanguagesinsecondaryandpost-secondaryeducation(Hoang,2010).

After the end of the Vietnam War and the independence of the country from 1975 to1986, Russian was the language that dominated the foreign language scene in Vietnam;other foreign languages, such as Chinese, French, and especially English, were relegatedto an inferior status (Hoang, 2020a) In 1986, Vietnam initiated an overall economicreform commonly known as Doi Moi (Renovation), opening the door of Vietnam to theworld, especially to Western and non-Communist Asian countries The implementationoftheopen- doorpolicyhasstronglysupportedtheteachingandlearningofEnglishas asignificantforeignlanguage,turningittobecomethekeytointernationalcommunication. Additionally, Vietnam joined different internationalo r g a n i z a t i o n s i n theregionandallovertheworld,suchastheUnitedNations(UN)in1977,theAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1995, the Asia-Pacific EconomicCooperation (APEC) in 1998, the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2007, the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (TPP) in 2015 In 2009, ASEANformallymadeEnglishthesoleworkinglanguageforthegroup.

English proficiency has become a crucial factor in the global economy, elevating language skills to a status of economic capital (Holec, 1981) This transformation has established English proficiency not merely as a linguistic ability but as a strategic asset for participation in the global economy As Singh et al (2002, pp 53-54) emphasize, enhancing citizens' competence in English is now seen as an investment in economic development, creating a more competitive workforce and facilitating international collaboration.

“a way of securing economic advancement, elevated status andprestige,andtrans- nationalmobilityofacountry.”Consequently,inVietnam,proficiency in English is not only a widespread aspiration but is also integral to thenation’s economic development,modernisation, and global integration Post-1986, withthe onset of the Doi Moi reforms, English has become the dominant foreign language intheVietnameseeducationsystem,playingapivotalroleinshapingthecountry'seducationall andscapeanditsinternationalengagements.

Thevital roleofEnglishinVietnamesecontext

Good English hasbecomethe passport towell-paid jobs in Vietnam and theadvancededucationsystemsofprestigiousuniversitiesworldwide.Aqualifiedworkforce withgoodEnglishskillsistheconditionforthenation’seconomicdevelopment in the era of industrialization and globalization Because of its vital role,many legal documents from the MinistryofE d u c a t i o n a n d T r a i n i n g ( M o E T ) s t r e s s e d the importance of improving students’ English levels The Government’s VietnameseEducation Strategies document stated that one of the essential attributes that Vietnamesestudentsm u s t p o s s e s s i s E n g l i s h c o m p e t e n c y ( V i e t n a m e s e G o v e r n m e n t , 2 0 0 5 ) T h e

Vietnamese Education Law required that the foreign language taught in the nationaleducationsystembe“widelyusedininternationalcommunication”(VietnameseNati onal Assembly, 2005, p 2) In 2008, the approval of the National Foreign LanguageProject entitled “Teaching and Learning Foreign Languages in the National EducationSystem, Period 2008- 2020” (with a budget of up to 450 million US dollars) proved thatEnglish teaching and learning is one of the priorities in the government’s investmentstrategies and education policies (Vietnamese Government, 2008) The Project specifiedEnglish as the foreign language taught at all education levels in Vietnam It stated thatVietnamese students need to acquire a certain level of English after completing eacheducation level to communicate and work in a global working environment (VietnameseGovernment, 2008) Even though in the framework of the VietnameseC o n s t i t u t i o n 2013, English was a foreign language with six other foreign languages, it has a specialstatus, second only to Vietnamese - the national language - in terms of time and trainingoutcomes The vital role of English is displayed in its dominant status in a student’slearningprocessinVietnam.

In Vietnam, English language acquisition is highly emphasized from an early age English is introduced in preschool for children as young as three Primary school students attend English classes for two periods per week from Grade 1 to Grade 2 Throughout lower and upper secondary school, English remains a mandatory subject with a total of 700 periods The curriculum aims to equip Vietnamese students with proficiency in the English language.

(Hoang, 2020a) The regulation stated that English is taught four periods per week at theprimary level, three periods per week at the lower secondary level, and three periods atthe upper secondary level; the time allocated to English accounts for over 10 percent ofthe total time designed for all general school education subjects in Vietnam

(MoET,2018a,2018b).Further,Englishisoneofthethreecompulsoryexaminations(Mathem atics, Vietnamese, and English) that an upper-secondary student must take togetanupper- secondaryschoolgraduationcertificate.Withthecertificate,studentsproceedtohighereducat ionatcollegesanduniversities.

Overall, the effort allocation for helping the students to have good English has proventhe vital role of English in the Vietnamese context However, over the past decades, thecountry’s English teaching sector has consistently been underperforming (Ngo, 2021),which is one of the reasons leading to students failing to achieve the required languagelevel to graduate as well as meet the requirements of the workplace’s standard

ThechallengesofEnglishtraininginVietnamesecontext

The challenges of the language training process come from the characteristics of theVietnameseeducationsystem,itsteachingconditions,anditslearners.

The first challenge isthe high centralism ofthe educationalsystem in Vietnam(Hoang, 2020a) MoET takes the initiative for curriculum design, development, revisionandreview,andtextbookwritingandassessment.MoETadoptsaone-size-fits- allapproachtocentrallymandatedcurricularchanges,andteachersareexpectedtoimplement those changes in their classroom teachings faithfully Besides the possibilityof reaching a consensus in the teaching process, this approach leads to the fact that mostof the teaching focuses on dealing with the content of the coursebook rather than thespecific conditions of students or the ability to use English for real-life communication(Ton

2017) Even though MoET stresses developing practical communication skills,the crucial exams do not reflect that As a result, the training activities in the classroomfocusondevelopingreadingcomprehension,vocabulary,andstructuralpatternsto prepare students to pass those exams Teacher training and development programs havebeenupdatedanddesignedtohelpteacherstoteachcommunicatively;however,classroom reality does not promote opportunities to develop students’ communicativecompetence. The third difficulty is from the training force There is a disproportionate demand- supply for English teachers and learners The number of English teachers, both nativeand competent non-native speakers, is far less than the number of learners who have anardent desire to learn English Moreover, teachers of English’s professional training andretraining are limited, which require much more resources and investment. Teachers arehaving difficulties meeting MoET’s requirement to have an English-level proficiency ofCEFR B2 for primary and lower secondary school teachers and CEFR C1 for uppersecondary and high school teachers and tertiary level teachers as part of the NationalForeign Languages Project 2020 Furthermore, most teachers have minimal chance tostudyinanEnglish- speakingcountry.Theselimitationshavecausedteachers,i n general, not usually to communicate in English and cannot sustain teaching that dependson communicative interactions (Hoang, 2020a) When the teachers are qualified, it iseasier for them to implement the curriculum and fulfil their roles, leading to the problemof L1 (Vietnamese) overuse and misuse in the language classroom (Nguyen, 2017). AsVietnamhasmovedtowardsanentiremarket- driveneconomy,t r a d i t i o n a l t e a c h e r valuesareincreasinglyinconflictwiththequas i-marketisationoftheeducationalsystem Teachers, therefore, must face even more challenges, such as the demandingattitudesofstudentsand parents.

Classroom management challenges arise from large class sizes and limited resources Crowded conditions hinder teacher-student interactions, while uninspiring textbooks and scarce supplementary materials fail to engage students Despite textbook modifications, effective implementation requires significant investment Inadequate facilities outside the classroom, such as libraries and self-study areas, demotivate students and limit learning beyond the classroom Moreover, students' passive learning attitudes, influenced by Confucianism's emphasis on teacher authority and respect, hinder effective instruction Confucianism prioritizes social harmony and collective well-being, promoting collaboration and group cohesion in educational settings.

0 1 8 ) T h e s e i n f l u e n c e s e x p l a i n students’lackofflexibilityandobediencetoteacher s’arrangementsinclassroomlearning,especiallyforstudentsatlowlevelsoftraining(Bui,2 018).Asaresult,whenstudentsenterhighereducation,theystillneeddetailedguidanceore venteacherdictationt o c o n d u c t t h e i r l e a r n i n g ( P h a n , 2 0 1 5 ) , w h i c h c a n h i n d e r t h e m f r o m t a k i n g controloftheirlearning.

English training in Vietnam faces challenges that hinder its effectiveness, despite early initiation of language learning Higher education students now require international certifications or equivalent and work-ready English proficiency for graduation This emphasis on English proficiency in tertiary education underscores the importance of the researcher's choice to study this context.

EnglishtraininginVietnamhighereducation

Tertiary education is a valuable period for students to be nurtured, supported, andmatured in knowledge and generic skills Therefore, it is a rip period for students toround up their knowledge and skills and prepare for their future jobs The governmenthas invested much more money in tertiary-level training than other levels, expectingstudents to adapt to and then create modern technologies and business conditions

(WorldBank,2020).Oncehighereducationtrainingissuccessful,thequalityoftheworkf orceisimproved,whichcontributestothesustainablegrowthofthecountry’seconomy. VietnamesestudentshavevarioushighereducationoptionsinVietnam,suchasuniversities, senior colleges, junior colleges, professional secondary schools, vocationalschools,andresearchinstitutes.HighereducationtraininginVietnamhasspecificcharacte ristics.

Firstly,most studentstend tostudyaway from homewhen theygot o u n i v e r s i t y , being attracted to universities in big cities such as Ha Noi, Ho Chi Minh, and Can Thofor better training quality, forming the knowledge clusters in the

North and South ofVietnam(Evers&Bauer,2011).Hence,classesatuniversitytypicallyconsisto f students from different provinces with different educational backgrounds, even thoughthey have achieved similar scores in the upper secondary school graduation exams.Secondly,training at the tertiary level follows the central credit-based system Whenstudents select the course they want, they can exercise their active role in learning Thestudents’ freedom to make selections also maximizes the flexibility of teachers’ teachingmethodologiestomeettheprograms’objectivesandthelearners’demands.Next,technolo gyisgraduallybeingappliedinthetrainingprocessinVietnam,andthedigital transformation of education has sped up through the pandemic of COVID-19. EducatorsfullyknowtheimportanceofICT(InformationandCommunicationTechnology)imp lementation, but the ICT facilities and instruction on ICT use were underinvested(Nguyen,2021).

At the tertiary level, the role of English is even more stressed There are two maincategoriesofEnglishlanguagetrainingintertiaryeducationinVietnam.Thefirstdivisionist hetrainingprogram forstudentswhochoose Englishastheir major.Theycanstud yatdepartmentsorfacultiesoftheEnglishlanguageinuniversitiesa n d colleges The training program lasts four years, and the requirement for graduation isadvanced English level – level 5 as defined in MoET’s Six-level Foreign LanguageCompetency Framework for Vietnam (equivalent to CEFR Level C1) (MoET, 2014).The second category is a program for students who study English as a compulsorysubject from undergraduate through doctoral level The amount of time allocated toEnglish teaching may vary in universities and colleges, but in general, undergraduatestudents must accumulate 14 over 120 credit hours (equivalent to 630 learning periods);at 7 out of 50 credits (equivalent to 315 learning periods) at graduate (master) level andfour credit hours (equivalent to 180 learning periods) One of the requirements for non-English major students’ graduation is English at Level 3 for undergraduate students asdefined in MoET’s Six-level Foreign Language Competency Framework for Vietnam(equivalent to CEFR Level B1) or Level 4 (equivalent to CEFR Level B2) for doctorallevel(MoET,2014).Non-

EnglishmajorstudentscansubmitinternationalEnglishcertificates such as TOEIC and IELTS to shorten the time of English training at theinstitution Non-English majors whose teachers use English as a means of instructionmayneedtoachieveahigherlevelofEnglishtograduate.

English majors enjoy high employment rates due to strong demand for graduates with strong English proficiency The curriculum aligns with MoET guidelines, covering general, foundational, and specialized knowledge Despite their prior English training, Generation Z English majors face learning challenges and must supplement their education with additional language training to meet graduation requirements, which can be time-consuming and expensive.

English major education faces challenges such as centralized regulation, mismatched teaching practices, teacher shortage, and resource limitations Solutions have focused on revamping teaching and learning, enhancing teacher capacity through professional development, and improving infrastructure However, fostering learner autonomy remains crucial, as students need to overcome passiveness and take ownership of their learning.

Learner autonomyhas long been considered aW e s t e r n c o n s t r u c t , a n d i t i s d i f f i c u l t forVietnamesestudentstobecomeautonomousduetothestronginfluencesfro mConfucian cultural features in which teachers fully initiate learning (Bui, 2018; Dang

&Robertson,2010).Despitetheseculturalfactors,supportinglearnerautonomyhasreceived more concerns in the Vietnam education system in recent years From thepolicy level, national policies on tertiary-level education reform state that “students needtobeprovidedopportunitiestodeveloppositiveness,self- awareness,activeness,creativityand self-study ability tomeetthecountry’s demand forindustrialization,modernization,andinternationalintegration”(2005EducationLawi nArticle40).

Promoting students’ ability to self-study first was considered the primary responsibilityofhighschoolandtertiary- leveltraining(VietnameseCommunistParty,2013).However, the policy issued in 2017 stressed that autonomy needed to be encouraged forlearners of all ages (Vietnamese

Government, 2017) Most recently, the regulationsrequiredthatanytrainingprogram’slearningoutcomesclearlydefineagraduate’s degree of autonomy besides the requirements for knowledge, skills, and accountability(MoET, 2021) However, from a practical view, there is no formal separate trainingabout learner autonomy in institutes but integrated into the outcomes of every subjecttraining.

Overall, English training in Vietnamese higher education plays a decisive role inequipping students with good English to enter the workforce; however, its effectivenessis still under expectation The teaching and learning process is conventional, with thedictation of the teachers in the formal classrooms, while it can be more dynamic outsidetheclassrooms.For English majors, they also needmoresupportso that they canregulatetheirlearningeffectively.Promotinglearnerautonomyisoneofthebestsolutionss uggestedtoimprovelearningoutcomesandgetthemreadyforlifelonglearning.Itis alsothereasonforconductingthecurrentresearch.

Rationale of theresearch

Having discussed the history of English training, the vital role of English in society,the challenges that English training is facing, and the characteristics of English trainingat the tertiary level, the researcher has three main reasons to conduct the current researchto explore EFL tertiary students’ learner autonomy in the out-of-class learning contextand itsmediating factors.First, it is necessary to investigate EFL tertiary students’ learner autonomy becauselearner autonomy can be one of the main solutions to help students learn better andbridge the gap between the practical demands of English in professional settings andEnglishinstructionatVietnameseuniversities(Tran&Marginson,2018;N g u y e n , 2013).DespitesignificantinvestmentinEnglishtrainingatthetertiarylevel,graduates receive mounting criticism from employers, which can hinder their career promotion.The case of English majors is not an exception Students of English may delay theirgraduationandcareeropportunities becauseofl o w l a n g u a g e c o m p e t e n c e ( N g u y e n e t al., 2020) Learner autonomy has been proven to improve learning outcomes such asEnglish proficiency (Myartawan et al., 2013) and writing skills

2022).Learnerautonomyisalsoacorevalueoflifelonglearning(Gavrilyuk,2015),t h e premier goalofeducation.However,previousresearchshowsthateducatorsa n d learners at tertiary may appear psychologically but still need to be behaviourally readyforautonomy (L in & Reinders, 2 0 1 9 ) Specifically, Vietnamese E F L te rt i ar y students are reported to have reactive learner autonomy, which needs to be ignited by otherfactors such as teachers (Le, 2019; Dang, 2012; Nguyen, 2009) Thus, research aboutEFL tertiary students’ learner autonomy is necessary to target the scaffolding actionsbetter.

While EFL tertiary students' autonomy in out-of-class learning has been neglected, it plays a crucial role Self-access centers, social learning spaces, and technological advancements have fostered out-of-class learning Despite adult learning primarily occurring outside the classroom, including for Vietnamese students, this context receives limited attention due to falling outside teachers' responsibilities Research on Vietnamese EFL tertiary students' learner autonomy in this specific context is fragmented, highlighting the need for further investigation.

Third, considering theassociations between learner autonomy and its two socialfactors,teachersandpeersinout-of-classandin- classlearningcontextscancontribute to understanding learner autonomy Learner autonomy is a social construct; studentsdevelop their learner autonomy when interacting with other social factors. Teachers andpeers are the two external factors that influence the development of learner autonomy.ResearchaboutlearnerautonomyintheVietnamesecontextshowedthatteachers’i nterventions in the classroom, such as strategy training (Nguyen, 2009), mentoring (Le,2013), portfolio writing (Duong,

2015), or online learning platforms designing (Nguyen,2018) could promote learner autonomy Peers can also help students become moreautonomous through peer assessment (Phan, 2015) However, classroom training inVietnam is typically constrained by prescriptive exams and traditional learning methods(Roe&Perkins,2020),whichprovidenospaceforlearnerautonomy- promotingactivities Hence, the focus should be on opportunities to promote learner autonomywithin routine tasks of in-class learning These opportunities have been proven to existbut very delicate (Wang & Ryan, 2020) Research, therefore, is needed to understandhow learner autonomy in out-of-class learning is associated with teachers and peers inthe classroom The findings can shed more light on the factors influencing learnerautonomyandbridgingin-classandout-of-class learning.

Researchaims,objectivesandresearchquestions

The research has two objectives: to find correlations between EFL tertiary students’learner autonomy in the out-of-class learning context and the perceived teachers’ andpeers’ roles in the classroom and to explain these correlations through the mediatingfactors.Parallelwiththeobjectives,theresearchhasfourresearchquestions:

1.TowhatextentdoesEFLtertiarystudents’learnerautonomyinout-of- classlearningcorrelatewiththeirperceivedteachers’rolesintheclassroom?

2.TowhatextentdoesEFLtertiarystudents’learnerautonomyinout-of- classlearningcorrelatewiththeirperceivedpeers’rolesintheclassroom?

3 WhatfactorsmediatethecorrelationsbetweenEFLtertiarystudents’learnerautonomyinout- of-classlearningandtheirperceivedteachers’rolesintheclassroom?

4 WhatfactorsmediatethecorrelationsbetweenEFLtertiarystudents’learnerautonomyinout- of-classlearningandtheirperceivedpeers’rolesintheclassroom?

Significanceoftheresearch

First, the current research gives necessary insights into the construct of learnerautonomyintheout-of- classlearningcontextfromlocalstudents’perspectives.Although learner autonomy is regarded as one of the primary outcomes of education atall levels in Vietnam, it remains a fluid construct for learners and stakeholders Hence,this understanding contributes directly to nurturing this capability in the EFL learningenvironment.

Second, the research provides empirical data on the associations between students’learner autonomy in out-of-class learning and perceived teachers’ and peers’ roles in theclassroom The mediating factors can explain how learner autonomy in out-of-classlearning correlates with teachers’ and peers’ roles in the classroom The findings alsoshow that learningcontexts, in-classand out-of-class, should intertwine forlearnerautonomydevelopment.

Understanding EFL students' learner autonomy outside the classroom is crucial for policymakers, institutions, teachers, and students to promote its development and foster successful out-of-class learning By supporting learners' autonomy through the roles of teachers and peers in the classroom, institutions can enhance learning outcomes and contribute to the overall success of out-of-class learning initiatives.

Scopeof theresearch

First,theresearchexploresEFLstudents’learnerautonomyino u t - o f - c l a s s learning context and the correlations between and the perceived roles of teachers andpeers in the classroom Therefore, the study does not focus on learner autonmy indifferentlearningcontexts,suchasintheclassroom.

Second, the study is restricted to three institutions located in Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnam, wherein the perceptions of 709 English majors and the opinions of thirty-fiveof them were studied in survey and interview sessions The research is geographicallylimitedtoHoChiMinhCity,Vietnam.Therefore,thescopeofthisstu dyislimitedtoHo Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and more specifically to institutions offering English majorprograms.

Finally,theresearchwas conducted in2022.This temporal limitation suggest sthatthe findings are representative of the competencies of language major students duringthis specific period As perceptions can change over time, the results might not beapplicable todifferenttime periods.

Definition ofkeyterms

 Learnerautonomy isalearner’s capacitytotake chargeof learning outside theclassroominthreedimensions:situational,behavioural,andpsychological.

 Out-of-classl e a r n i n g ist h e i n f o r m a l , s e l f - i n s t r u c t e d , i n d e p e n d e n t l e a r n i n g t h a t takesplaceoutsidethefourwallsofthef ormalclassroomofalearner.

 Perceivedpeers’rolesarehowstudents understand orinterpretdifferentpatternsof theirpeers’behavioursintheclassroom.

Thesisorganisation

Chapter 1 is the introduction of the thesis It first provides an overview ofEnglish’svital role in society and the training system It then shifts the focus to English teachingand learning challenges, especially in Vietnamese higher education Following this, thechapter uses these contextual descriptions to link the context with learner autonomy, oneof the objectives set in the higher education reform agenda After presenting the researchrationale,itformulatestheresearchobjectivesandquestions.Finally,thesignifi cance, scopeofthestudy,definitionsofkeyterms,andthedissertationorganizationarepresented. Chapter 2 includes a literature review of learner autonomy, perceptions of teachers’roles,andperceptionsofpeers’rolesinlanguageteachingandlearning.Learnerauton omy’s conceptions and models are discussed to finalize the operational definitionof learner autonomy It then continues with the importance of learner autonomy, itsdegrees, factors influencing learner autonomy development, and approaches to fosteringlearnerautonomy.Itendswithlearner autonomyintheout-of- classcontext,thefocusoftheresearch.Next,itdocumentsandanalysesthestuden ts’perceptions oftherolesof teachers and peers in the classroom Finally, the chapter presents the conceptualframework to express the relationship between learner autonomy and the perceivedteachers’ and peers’ roles It then concludes with the conceptual framework of theresearch.

Chapter 3 describes the methodology of the investigation It first develops a researchperspective consistent with the conceptual framework proposed in Chapter 2 It thenargues for employing mixed methods to align with the research perspective and generatenecessarydatafortheinvestigation.Asetofproceduresforimplementingthesepha sesis also reported together with the data integration method Accordingly, the researcherdescribest h e p a r t i c i p a n t s , o b j e c t i v e s , i n s t r u m e n t d e s i g n , d a t a c o l l e c t i o n p r o c e d u r e s , data analysis, and issues of reliability and validity of each method The chapter finisheswith ethicalconsiderations.

Chapter4reportsthefindingsofthequantitativeandqualitativeresearchconduct edin the current investigation Quantitative data generated from the questionnaire answersthefirsttworesearchquestions.Qualitativedatafromthesemi- structuredgroupinterviews answers the last two research questions The chapter finishes with a generaldescription of learner autonomy in the study context by integrating the results from bothstudies.

Chapter5discussesthefindingsfromintegratingdifferentdatasetsaboutE F L tertiary students’ learner autonomy and its correlation with perceived teachers’ andpeers’ rolesintheclassroom.

Chapter6includestheconclusionandimplicationsoftheinvestigation.Itstartswitha research summary, highlighting significant results and critical analyses The chaptercontinues with pedagogical implications to promote learner autonomy in EFL educationin the local and regional contexts It then addresses the study’s limitations, considers thepossibility of generalizing the study findings, and puts forward directions for furtherresearch.

Chapter overview

The chapter has provided an overview of the study context, leading to the rationaleforconductingtheresearch.Theresearcherthenpresentedtheobjectivesandtheresear ch questions The chapter also presents the significance of the research and thescope of the study The chapter concludes with a definition of the key terms and thedissertationorganizationwithsixchapters.

The next chapter reviews the relevant literature on learner autonomy in out-of- classlearning and the perceived teachers’ and peers’ roles in the classroom The theoreticalframeworks explain the potential correlation between learner autonomy and perceivedteachers’ and peers’ roles.Previous research is reviewed to point outther e s e a r c h g a p forthecurrentresearchbeforeprovidingtheconceptualframeworkofthestudy.

Thischapterprovidesasynthesisoverviewoflearnerautonomyinpriorforeign/second- languageeducationresearch.Itstartswithpresentingtheconceptualisation of learner autonomy in language education over time and its modelsbefore finalising them into the current study’s operationalized definition The first sectionthen continues with the importance of learner autonomy, its degrees, the factors thatinfluence learner autonomy development and approaches to fostering learner autonomy.The part of learner autonomy ends with learner autonomy in out-of-class learning, themain context of the research The following two parts discuss learners’ perceptions ofteachers’ and peers’ roles in the classroom, with detailed descriptions for each role.Finally, the chapter presents the theoretical framework to convey the connection betweenthe students’ learner autonomy in the out-of-class learning context and the perceivedteachers’andpeers’rolesintheclassroom.Fromthat,theresearcherpresentstheconcept ualframeworkof theresearch.

Learnerautonomy

Conceptualisation oflearnerautonomy

Learnerautonomyhasbeenoneofthefociineducational practices andresear chfor over four decades The term "autonomy" traces its roots to the Greek word auto-nomos, where "auto" signifies

"self," and "nomos" denotes "rule or law" (Voltz, 2008).Auto-nomos, in essence, describes a state in which an individual establishes their ownrules or laws (Dang,

2012) The classical Greek philosopher Plato further shaped itshuman- centrici n t e r p r e t a t i o n , d e f i n i n g a u t o n o m y a s t h e i n d e p e n d e n c e a n d f r e e d o m o f an individual, a concept applying in various fields such as philosophy, medicine, andpsychology (Marshall, 2006) In the realm of education, the term autonomy is often usedforschools,teachers, andlearners, referredtoasschoolautonomy, teachera utonomy, andle ar ne ra ut on o my W h i l e thef ir st t w o co ns tr uc ts arerelat ed t o e d u c a t i o n p o li ci es and teachers’ professional development, the third, and the focus of this research, is onstudents’ learningattributes. Learner autonomy in foreign/second language learning is widely recognised as acomplicated (Little, 2003), complex (Paiva & Braga, 2008), and multifaceted construct(Smith & Ushioda, 2009) Holec, the father of language learner autonomy, definedlearnerautonomyas “ t h e a bi li ty tot a k e charge of one’slearning”(Holec ,1981, p 3 ) An autonomous learner is able to “determine the learning objectives, define the contentsand the progressions, select methods andtechniques tob e u s e d , m o n i t o r t h e p r o c e d u r e of acquisition (rhythm, time, place ) and evaluate what has been acquired” (Holec,1981, p.3) The control ability is also expressed through how learners would makedecisionregardings“settinggoals,choosingmaterialsandtasks,planningpracticeoppor tunities,monitoring, andevaluatingprogress”(Cotteral,1995, p.5).Theterm“ability” could be replaced by different terms such as “skill” (Littlewood, 1999) or“skill and technique” (Oxford, 2003) to control one’s learning; however, “ability” is amore popular term Le (2019) defined learner autonomy as the ability to set goals, planautonomous activities outside the classroom, manage time, materials, and resources, andself-assess.

Learner autonomy has been expanded from solely encompassing the ability to control learning actions to also include cognitive dimensions, such as willingness and attitudes (Little, 1991) This broader conceptualization defines learner autonomy as a capacity for critical reflection, independent action, and detachment (Little, 1991) Moreover, Wenden (1991) highlights the importance of learner attitudes and awareness in autonomy, emphasizing how students reflect on their learning and evaluate their options.

In refining Holec’s original definition, Benson (2001) substituted the terms

“ability”and“takecharge”with“capacity”and“control,”respectively,todefinelearnerauton omyas“thecapacitytotakecontrolofone’slearning”(p.47).Thisupdatedconceptencompassesno tonlythelearners’abilitiesbutalsotheirdesireandthefreedomnecessary for autonomous learning Benson suggests that learners will actively self-direct their learning only if they have the desire to do so and if they are not hindered bymaterial, social, and psychological constraints Furthermore, Benson

(2006) and otheradvocatesforautonomyinlearningcontendthatfreedomisessentialforthedevelopment of autonomy, implying that educational environments should support thisfreedom forautonomyto flourish.

The term “capacity” compiling of “ability, desire, and freedom” has become theoverarching concept to depict the individual learner taking control of their learning.Researchers based this conception to form their own definition of learner autonomy inthe specific research context Nguyen (2018) described learner autonomy as learningstrategies, motivation, and attitudes in learning English equating to ability, desire, andfreedom NguyenandHabók (2019)definedlearnerautonomyasaconstruct withteachers’ roles, motivation, metacognitive knowledge, metacognitive skills, desire tolearn English andfreedom.

In conclusion, the concept of learner autonomy has evolved considerably over the lastforty years, reflecting its complexity and the changing contexts of learning For thepurposes of this study, Benson’s definition, which identifies learner autonomy as thecapacity of learners to take control of their own learning, works particularly well Thisconceptualisation resonates with the out-of-class context where learners are expected toexercise their abilities, be mentally ready to learn, and navigate the freedom outside theclassroom to manage their learning processes effectively This understanding of learnerautonomycanbefurtherdetailedbyexaminingspecificmodelsthatdelineatet h e vari ousdomainsinwhichlearnerscanexertcontrol,therebyprovidingamorecomprehensivefram eworkfor analysis.

The first is Littlewood’s three-aspect model of learner autonomy (1997) The modelincludes language acquisition, learning approach, and personal development In the areaof language acquisition, learner autonomy is “the ability to operate independently withthelanguageanduseittocommunicatepersonalmeaningsinreal,unpredictablesituations

” (“autonomy as a communicator”) In the area of classroom organization,learner autonomy involves the “ability to take responsibility for their learning and toapply active, personally relevant strategies” (“autonomy as a learner”) In the broadestdimension, learner autonomy is “a higher-level goal of greater generalized autonomy asindividuals”(“autonomyas aperson”)(Littlewood,1997,p.81).

Macaro (1997) establishes a model with three dimensions of autonomy: language competence, language learning competence, and choice and action Benson (2001) outlines three dimensions of learner control: learning management, cognitive processes, and learning content Macaro's first dimension involves communicative competence, while Benson's learning management focuses on controlling learning behaviors Macaro's second dimension emphasizes transferring language skills, similar to Benson's cognitive processes, which address internal mental capacities Macaro's third dimension concerns decision-making in learning, comparable to Benson's learning content, which involves controlling learning situations Interdependence exists among these dimensions, with control in one supporting performance in others.

Thethreemodelsunderdiscussioneachaddressdifferentaspectsofl e a r n e r autonomy. Thefirsttwomodelsprimarilyemphasisethelearner’scontroloveraspecificlanguageskill,thenlang uagelearningprocesses,andfinallybeinganautonomousperson not only in their learning, but also in their daily life.

Benson (2001) and Ding & Shen (2022) proposed a framework for understanding learner autonomy during out-of-class learning, considering three dimensions of control: situational (the environment and resources), behavioral (actions and strategies), and psychological (beliefs and attitudes) This comprehensive approach captures the multifaceted nature of autonomous learning, encompassing control over the learning situation, actions, and mental states The applicability of this framework to various aspects of out-of-class learning makes it a valuable tool for analyzing learner autonomy in this context.

Thesituationaldimensionconcernslearners’capacitytocontroll e a r n i n g situations. Dickinson (1979) defines the control of the situational dimension as

Learner autonomy entails the responsibility for decision-making and implementation in learning ( Benson, 2001) Learners should have the freedom to determine their learning content and goals for genuine self-directed learning (Benson, 2001) The control of learning content includes selecting suitable content and focusing on specific areas of interest (Ding & Shen, 2022) Learner autonomy also encompasses both group autonomy (awareness of authorities) and individual autonomy (control over learning goals and content) (Murase, 2015).

The behavioural dimension emphasises learners’ capacity to control the skills orstrategies for unsupervised learning, such as the metacognitive, cognitive, social, andotherstrategies(Benson,2011).Thecontroloftheselearningstrategiesmanifeststhrough learners’ specific behaviours in various stages of the learning process. Thisprocessisgenerallydividedintothreemainstages:before,while,andafterlearning.

In the pre-learning stage, learners prepare for learning They can gather past learningexperiences and think about what and how to learn (Dam, 1995) Gathering previouslearning experiences is identifying learners’ strengths and weaknesses (Murase, 2015).Other researchers clarify thinking about what and how to learn by determining thelearninggoals,planning,andselectingresourcesandstrategies(Holec,1981;Zimmerman,200 2;Reinders,2010;Murase,2015;Ruelens,2019).Inthecurrentresearch, thep r e - l e a r n i n g s t a g e i s n a m e d G e t t i n g r e a d y L e a r n e r s ’ c o n t r o l o f t h i s s t a g e is their capacity to identify their strengths and weaknesses, know the most suitablelearningways,identifythelearninggoals,andplanthelearningsteps.

The while-learning stage is when the learners perform (Zimmerman, 2002) or practisethe learning content (Reinders, 2010) Students learning progress in this stage goestogetherwithmonitoring(Zimmerman,2002;Reinders,2010;Murase,2 0 1 5 ) Therefo re,thecurrentresearchdescribesthewhile- learningprocessthrought w o learningp h a s e s : c a r r y i n g o u t t h e p l a n and m o n i t o r i n g F ir st ly , int h e c ar ry in go ut th e plan phase, learners initiate their learning The learning process may never start becauseeven students know clearly about their strengths and weaknesses; or think about whatand how they should learn but keep delaying initiating their learning The ability toinitiate learning is essential Having initiated learning, learners create the conditionsunder which they can study best and arrange the time to study As they study, they alsotry different learning ways and resources until they can find the most effective ways(Murase,2015).Secondly,monitoringhappensthroughoutthelearningp r o c e s s Le arners engage and maintain learning, modify learning paths and negotiate with others(Dang,2012).Murase(2015)suggeststhatlearnersconsiderwhetherlearningisprogres singaccordingtothelearningplanandeffectivenesstomakeneededadjustments They seek help and modify their learning in response to the comments andhelp they receive(Murase,2015).

Thepost- learningstageconsistsofevaluatingthelearningprocesstoseewhatgoodor bad and starting new planning (Dam, 1995) It is assessing, revising (Reinders, 2010),andtransferring acquiredskillsand informationt o o t h e r c o n t e x t s ( R u e l e n s , 2 0 1 9 ) I n theself- evaluatingstage,Ruelens(2019)highlightstheabilitytoselectcriteriatoevaluate the learning plans, goals, and learning process From those reflections, they canconclude the level of learning success Once the learning has finished and they haveconcluded the effectiveness of their learning, the process does not stop there.

However,learnersmusttransferthenewlyacquiredknowledgeorskillstoanewcontextands tarta new learning activity Reulens (2019) focuses on retaining newly acquired knowledgeand skills, integrating them into the learner’s knowledge, and transcending them tosimilarcontextsandsubsequentlearningactivities.Thefinalaimofthisstageistransferring acquired skills or information toother contexts, so thea b i l i t y t o l o o k f o r newlearningopportunitiesisessential.

Theimportanceoflearner autonomy

The first reason is that learner autonomy in language teaching and learning stemsfrom various sources, namely political philosophy, education reform, adult education,language learning, and the psychology of learning (Benson, 2011) Political philosophygave rise to autonomy – a country or state’s right to self-rule or self- government, andeducators extended the term to learner autonomy - an individual’s right to self-controltheir learning The educational reform stresses freedom in learning, the most essentialcharacteristic of learner autonomy Adult education explains the importance of self- directedlearning,thecontextfordevelopinglearnerautonomy.Languagelearning emphasizesthefocusonthelearners,confirmingtheimportanceoflearner-centeredness, and learners’ development is also the focus of learner autonomy Thepsychology of learning looks at learner autonomy as a part of constructivism, in whichlearnersconstructtheirlearning.Thus,learnerautonomyhasasignificantroleineducati onbecauseithasbuiltitselfondifferentsolidsources.

Second, the significance of autonomy can be discussed from different perspectives.Ideologically, everyone has the right to exercise their own choice in learning as in otherareas Psychologically, learning is more meaningful, permanent, and focused when theindividual is in charge Economically, society needs more resources to provide personalinstruction needed by all its members in every learning area. Individuals must be able toprovide their learning needs to acquire the knowledge and skills they want

As globalization expands second and foreign language education, it fosters increased diversity in classrooms and learning environments Learner autonomy emerges as a practical approach to address the challenges of mass education By fostering self-directed learning, learner autonomy supports individuals in constructing new identities as second or foreign language learners, empowering them to navigate the complex landscape of language acquisition.

Learner autonomy is crucial in today's self-improvement culture, where individuals actively engage in practices that enhance personal growth This culture emphasizes the individual's capacity to self-learn and foster relationships with others People seek knowledge and guidance from diverse sources, including self-help books, psychology literature, and confessional talk shows where experts provide advice This trend underscores the importance of autonomy in learning, promoting the development of self-directed individuals who actively pursue their own educational and personal growth.

Learner autonomy is essential for knowledge construction and sustainable learning intoday’s globalized world (Dang, 2012) Their responsiveness to teachers’ instructionsdoesnotguaranteestudents’successbuttheircapacitytoinstructandtraint hemselves.

Degreesoflearnerautonomy

Nunan(1997)proposedamodeloffivelevelsoflearneractions,ranging fromawareness,“involvement,”“intervention,” and “creation” to “transcendence.” Theselevelscouldinformthesequencingoflearnerdevelopmentactivitiesinlanguagetextboo ks These levels also involved dimensions of “content” and “process.” At theawareness level, learners are “made aware of the pedagogical goals and content of thematerials”,

“identify strategy implications of pedagogical tasks,” and “identify theirpreferredl e a r n i n g s t y l e s / s t r a t e g i e s ” T h e l e v e l s m o v e u p t o t h e t r a n s c e n d e n c e l e v e l when learners would “make links between the content of classroom learning and theworldbeyond”and“becometeachersandresearchers”(Nunan,1997,p.195).

Littlewood (1999) divides autonomy into proactive and reactive autonomy. Learnershave “proactive autonomy” when they can “affirm their individuality and set up theirdirections,whichtheyhavepartiallycreated.”Tobemorespecific,proactiveautonomous learners regulate the direction of activity as well as the activity itself. Theycantakechargeoftheirlearning,determinetheirobjectives,selectmethodsandtechnique s, and evaluate what has been acquired Learners have “reactive autonomy”when they

“regulate learning activity only after clear directive instructions are given”(Littlewood,1999,p.75).

Morerecentresearchaboutthedegreeofautonomyistheintroductionofthecontinuumo f a u t o n o m y H e t e r o n o m y ( o t h e r - d i r e c t e d , t e a c h e r - d i r e c t e d , c o m p l e t e l a c k ofautonomy(vegetative),totaldependence)andautonomy(sel f-directed,student-directed, complete autonomy (idealistic), autonomy) are two ends of the continuum(Everhard, 2018) The continuum would not have fixed degrees or stages, nor would itmove only in one direction, but it would allow for progression and regression in eitherdirection (Schmenk,2006).

Even though the degree of autonomy of a person does not stay the same for everylearning situation because the performance of autonomous learners ‘can take numerousdifferentforms,dependingontheirage,howfartheyhaveprogressedwiththeirlearn ing, what they perceive their immediate learning needs to be, and so on’ (Little,1991), the ideas of putting the performance of students on different degrees gave a bighelp to discuss about pedagogies to foster learner autonomy Smith (2003) associated“weakpedagogies”and“strongpedagogies”withthelevelofstudents’l e a r n e r autonomy to suggest learner autonomy supporting measures “Weak pedagogies” areneededwhenlearnerscurrentlylackandneedtrainingtowardsbeingm o r e autonomous,” while“strongpedagogies”assumethatstudentsare“ a l r e a d y autonomous”tosomedegre eandfocuson“co- creatingwithstudents’optimalconditionsfortheexerciseoftheirautonomy”(Smith,2003,p.131).

Factorsthatinfluencethedevelopmentoflearnerautonomy

Therearemediatingfactorsthatcanpositivelyornegativelyimpactthedevelopment of learner autonomy Researchers have separated them into two categories:internalandexternalfactors.

Concerning internal factors - the factors from the learners themselves- they aregrouped into two categories: their psychological traits and learning styles and strategies.Personal psychological traits, including attitudes, motivation, inclinations, and learninganxiety, can influence how autonomous a learner is When students think they cannotlearn, they may not exert the necessary effort, which does not favourably contribute tolearnerautonomygrowth(Wenden,1998).Eagerlearnersaremorelikelytohaveoptimistic views, spend more time studying, and be more likely to set learning goals andachieve them(Zhao& Qin, 2021) Withgreater self- esteem, they can have highersuccess rates by maintaining a balance between their self- confidence and faith in othersby asking for help when needed (Leaver et al.,

2005).Researchers also agree thatmotivationisessentialforthedevelopmentoflearnerautonomy.Itstatesthatthestrongerthem otivation,thegreaterthesense ofengagementinlearningactivities(Chan et al., 2002) Students with motivation are more inclined to go forward and implementtheir learning methods better, demonstrating learner autonomy’s fundamental qualities(Chen & Pan, 2015) The apprehension of learning a new language, however, harmslearnerautonomy.Oncethestudentsarenervous,theytendtobereservedanddependentonth eirteachersandavoidtakingchancestoregulatetheirlearningatallcosts.

Learning styles and strategies play a significant role in fostering or impeding learner autonomy (Begum & Chowdhury, 2016) A study by Ng and Confessore (2010) revealed a strong correlation between multiple learning styles and learner autonomy The research identified six learning styles: avoidant, collaborative, competitive, dependent, independent, and participant Autonomous learners exhibited a flexible approach, utilizing collaborative, competitive, dependent, independent, and participant learning styles as needed (Ng & Confessore, 2010, p 7) Furthermore, the study emphasized the importance of adaptability in learning styles to enhance learner autonomy.

Cognitive strategies enable learners to employ cognitive functions in language learning, such as repetition, translation, and inference Metacognitive strategies involve planning, monitoring, and analyzing learning capabilities Effective utilization of these strategies enhances learner engagement and self-direction, fostering autonomy in learning Moreover, individuals with prior expertise in a related field tend to exhibit better self-study performance, demonstrating the correlation between knowledge and self-directed learning proficiency.

Othermomentaryfactorsthatpreviousresearchmentionedtoinfluencelearnerautonomyd evelopmentincludelearners’background,learningbeliefs,preferences,needs and goals, and willingness to learn (Lai, 2019; Dang, 2012) Gender and students’learning results were reported to influence the students’ learner autonomy In someresearch, female students were more autonomous

(Irianti et al., 2021), and male andfemalestudentsapplieddifferentstrategiesforcriticalthinkingskillsencounteringchallen ges (Mardjuki, 2018) A positive correlation was also between learner autonomylevel andlanguagelearners’academicsuccess(Dafei,2007).

Regarding external factors that could affect the development of one’s learning, thefactorsthatcouldinfluencethedevelopmentoflearnerautonomyarethelearningenvironmenta nd the task.

Learning environment factors include social and situational aspects (Benson, 2001).Parents, siblings, relatives, friends, and teachers, all these elements in the learner’slearning environment could influence the development of learner autonomy In thesesocial factors, under the influence of Confucian culture, teachers and peers seem to playavitalrole.Little(1991)pointedoutthatalthoughlearnerscanbes e l f - r e g u l a t e d learners, this does not indicate thatt h e y w i l l d o i t i n d e p e n d e n t l y o f t e a c h e r s L e a v e r e t al (2005) believe that teachers not only help students define learning objectives andchoose appropriate learning tools but also allow them to make their own decisions,which are the main actions of autonomous learning Alonazi (2017) suggests that toencouragelearnerstobemoreindependent,teachersshouldtakeonvariousroles,includingguid e,resource,andfacilitator.Anenthusiasticteachercouldm o t i v a t e learners to engage in the learning process (Tran & Vuong, 2023) Similarly,whenstudents are comfortable engagingw i t h o t h e r s , e x c h a n g i n g i n f o r m a t i o n a n d r e s o u r c e s to accomplish tasks is more manageable According to Kemala (2016), learners are moredriventolearniftheyfeelinvolvedwiththeirclassmatesinthelearningprocess.

The situational aspect of environmental factors is the learning content: the learningresources and materials Reinders and Balỗikanli (2011) claim that only a few textbookssignificantlyi m p a c t e d l e a r n e r a u t o n o m y d e v e l o p m e n t M o s t t e x t b o o k s f o c u s o n informing their users about language features and guiding them to practise these featuresbut provide learners less chance to engage in learning a language independently Harmer(2007) asserts that engaging and stimulating topics increases the likelihood of effectivelearning.Secondly,students’taskssignificantlyimpactlearnerautonomy,eitherpositiv elyornegatively(Kemala,2016).Studentswillbecomemoreintrinsicallymotivated and able to develop their self-management, self-assessment, and decision-making abilities if they work on intriguing and demanding tasks such as writing aportfolio Conversely, they may feel unmotivated by monotonous tasks (Tran & Vuong,2023).

To summarise, because of the dynamic of learner autonomy, a range of internal andexternal factors can mediate its development However, these factors differ from onecontext to the other, so educators should consider them thoroughly in that specificsituationwhenfosteringlearners’learnerautonomy.

Approachestofosterlearnerautonomy

Benson(2011)classifiedsixbroadapproachestopromotethedevelopmentofautonomy:re source-basedapproach,technology-basedapproach,learner-basedapproach,classroom- basedapproach,curriculum-basedapproach,andteacher-basedapproach.

Theriseofself-accesscentres(SAC)orresourcecentresatthebeginningofthe1970swas regarded as the primary way to promote learner autonomy from the resource-basedapproach SACs withspecific characteristics of proper management, resources, andcounselling personnel aim to provide learners with the resources needed to learn aforeign languagebythemselves.

In the modern world, technological advancement with various computer programs,software,andapplicationshasmadeself- regulatedlearningmoreaccessibletolearnersat anytime and anywhere There has been a long association between CALL (Computer-assisted language learning), MALL (Mobile-assisted language learning), Internet- basedteaching,andlearnerautonomy.Learnerscanchoosethecontenttheywanttopra ctice and how to do it in their own way This freedom offers the learner a degree of controlover their learning.

In contrast to approaches that provide opportunities for self-directed learning, thelearner- basedapproachdirectlyattendstolearnerdevelopmentorbehaviouralandpsychologicalchan gewithinthelearner.Learnerscanbesupportedtoraisetheirawarenessabouttheimportanceofl ifelonglearningsothat theygradually‘acceptresponsibilities for their learning and learn on their own effectively’ (Little, 2007).

Fosteringlearnerautonomycancomefromchangestoconventionaleducationalstructuresofcl assroompractice.Studentsarescaffoldedtobecomeactiveintheirlearningthroughdifferent teachingapproaches suchas flippedclassrooms,project- basedlearning,andmoretosupportthemintheclassroom.Thecriticalfactorindeveloping learner autonomy is the opportunity for students to make decisions abouttheir learning within collaborative and supportive environments This opportunity ariseswhen students can contribute to making significant decisions concerning classroomactivities.

The curriculum-based approach to autonomy extends the principle of learner controlover managing their learning to the training curriculum The principle of learner controloverthecurriculumhasbeenformalisedintheprocessofsyllabusorcurriculumnegotia tion, in which learners are expected to make significant decisions concerning thecontentandproceduresoflearningincollaborationwiththeirteachers.

Finally,theteacher-basedapproachdrawsattentiontohowateacherinanautonomous classroom performs differently from a teacher in the traditional classroom.Inanautonomouslearningsituation,theteacherplaysmultiplerolessuchasacounselor, facilitator, advisor, manager, and/or guide (Benson, 2011) Teachers should possess thecapacitytoplanthemostpotentialdirectionsavailablefortheirstudentsandtheconsequence s of following any particular direction They enhance the conditions oflearning by providing help tolearnerstomakethemawareofpossiblechoices.Learners also expect to have teachers’ companion in their learning process and their response tolearningdifficulties.

Learner autonomy, the ability of students to manage their learning independently, is fostered by a combination of methods that converge to promote this goal This research focuses on the impact of teacher and peer roles in the classroom on learner autonomy in out-of-class settings The teacher-based approach emerges as crucial, offering pedagogical strategies that cultivate an environment where autonomous learning is supported This environment extends beyond the classroom, empowering students to engage in self-directed learning activities The enhanced learning outside the classroom reinforces learner autonomy, creating a positive cycle that enhances student independence.

Learnerautonomyinout-of-classlearning

Language learning in today’s world occurs beyond the physical walls of formalclassrooms in highly autonomous, self-directed, and creative ways (Han & Reinhardt,2022) Formal classrooms are slowly drifting away from being the central venue oflanguage learning toward being just one of the venues where it may occur (Reinders &Benson, 2017) The dynamic nature of this shift and its implications have garneredattentioninlanguagelearningresearch,especiallyfromresearcherso f l e a r n e r a utonomy.LearningcontextsdifferentfromlearningintheclassroomaretermedLearning Beyond the Classroom (LBC) There are four dimensions of LBC: location(where and when the learning takes place), formality (the degree to which learning islinked to educational qualifications or structured by educational institutions, pedagogy(thedegreetowhichteachingisinvolved),and locusofcontrol(howdecisionsdistributebetween the learner and others) (Benson, 2011) Some popular types of LBC are out- of-classlearning,extra-curricularlearning,self-accesslearning,o u t - o f - s c h o o l l e a r n i n g , anddistancelearning.Inthecurrentresearch,theresearcherdefinedo u t - o f - c l a s s learningf r o m f o u r d i m e n s i o n s o f L B C : l o c a t i o n , f o r m a l i t y , p e d a g o g y , a n d l o c u s o f control Therefore, out-of-class learning in the current research is the informal, self- instructed, independent learning that takes place outside the four walls of the formalclassroomof learners.

Research concerning students’ out-of-class learning and the development of learnerautonomy has focused on three aspects: profiling thenatureof learning, validatinglearningoutcomes,andsupportingout-of-classlearning(Laietal.,2015).

Regardingthenature ofout-of- classlearning,learning atSACsistypicallydefined as the primary context of out-of-class learning and its potential to promote learnerautonomy using materials/ resources provided there has been the focus of research onlearner autonomy in the out-of-class context (Hsieh & Hsieh,

2019) The followingprofileofout-of- classlearningisdepictedthroughlongitudinalresearchatsociallearning places such as L- café (Murray, 2014) as a community of practice for studentsoutside the classroom, where students can meet and improve their language competence.Finally,out-of- classlanguagelearningusuallyrelatestodifferenttechnologicaltools/platforms, how learners interact with them, and the learning ecology constructionwith technological resources that students build up outside the classroom (Godwin-jones,2019).

Out-of-class learning provides opportunities for students to practice language skills and promotes successful language development Balancing activities that emphasize meaning and language forms is crucial for positive outcomes in English language learning, including improved grades, efficacy, and enjoyment Informal technology-mediated learning has been linked to vocabulary expansion and perceived English proficiency While autonomous out-of-class learning can have benefits for affect (e.g., willingness to communicate) and cognition (e.g., test grades, confidence), its effectiveness depends on learners' self-regulatory abilities.

The learning outcomes will not be promising if the time students spend studying outsidetheclassroomisoncompletingtheworkassignedbytheirteachers(Kimura,2014). The final group is research about supporting students in developing their learnerautonomy in their out-of-class learning.To help students learn well in out-of- classlearning, especially learning with technology, teachers could give support on affectivefactors,andlearningstrategies(Laietal.,2016).Throughtrainingprogramswhichfocuso na w a r e n e s s - r a i s i n g a n d s t r a t e g y i n s t r u c t i o n ( c o g n i t i v e a n d m e t a c o g n i t i v e s t r a t e g i e s ) for learners in the classroom, educators hope that when students can study well in theclassroom,theycanapplythemtostudybetterinout-of-classcontexts.Learnerautonomy short courses with advising services are also provided at some institutions(Mynard

Research about learner autonomy in the out-of-class context is more scattered in theVietnamese context Vietnamese EFL students’ learner autonomy in the out-of- classcontexthasundergonedrasticchangesoverthedecades.

Nguyen(2009)statedthatstudentsengagedinreceptiveactivitiesratherthanproductivelan guageusewhentheylearnedoutsidetheclassroom.Exampleso f receptive activities were noting new words and their meanings when they read or listento English, doing extra revision not required by teachers, and reading books aboutbecomingasuccessfullanguagelearner.Incontrast,productiveactivities couldbenamed as activities that requiresocial interaction, such as joiningE n g l i s h - s p e a k i n g clubs or seeing teachers about their work Regarding their out-of-class English usingactivities, the five least popular activities in which learners could practise using Englishincluded joining forum discussions on topics of their interest, doing part- time jobs forwhichcommunicationinEnglishwasaprerequisite,spendingtimewithvolunteerteachersofE nglish,participatinginyoutheventssuchasmeetingandshowinginternationalstudentsaround thecity,andwriting their blogsinEnglish.Learnersgenerally did not use the Internet orSACs to improve their English outside class andtendedto avoidsocialinteraction.

In more recent research, the out-of-class learning of EFL students in the Vietnamesecontext is more diverse Nguyen (2019) reported that tertiary EFL students behaveddifferently in different learning contexts On the one hand, they were inclined not tochallengetheteacher’sauthorityinsidetheclassroomandreact cautiouslytotheirteacher’s encouragement to be more autonomous On the other hand, they tended to bemore autonomous and proactive in learning outside the classroom and actively create anenvironment and opportunities to learn English outside the classroom through part-timejobs,socialactivities,and hobbies.

Le and Dang (2020) found comparable results stating that students claimed that theclassroomwasnolongertheonlycontextwherethelearningoccurred.Learninghappened when they studied by themselves or with friends at home, in different areas ofthe school, coffee shop, or in their part-time job’s working environment They were alsoslightly inclined towards having more social interactions in their out-of-class learningwhenparticipatingincommunitiesofinterest,English- speakingclubs,andonlinelearning spaces (Le & Dang, 2020) However, the students also reported that they lackedthe motivation to study and were not confident of their control over three dimensions oflearnerautonomy:learningcontent,cognitiveprocess,andlearningmanagement.

In conclusion, out-of-class learning is the tendency of language learning in moderntimes.Thislearningcontextcanpromotelearnerautonomy;however,onlysomestude ntscansuccessfullynavigatetheirlearning.Inthecurrentstudy,out-of-classlearning isdefinedastheinformal,self- instructed,independentlearningt h a t t a k e s placeoutsidethefourwallsoftheformalclassr oom ofalearner.

Thisparthasconcludedthediscussionaboutlearnerautonomy,includingtheconceptualisa tion of learner autonomy in language teaching, its importance, its degrees,thefactorsthatimpactlearnerautonomyandapproachestofosterit.Moreimpo rtantly,it has provided the operational definition of learner autonomy and reviewed it in the out-of-class context The following parts of the report focus on students’ perceptions ofteachers’ and peers’ roles in the classroom, the two external factors that can potentiallyinfluencestudents’learnerautonomyinout-of-classlearning.

Perceivedteachers’rolesinthelanguageclassroom

Acontroller

Teachers are traditionally expected to have the utmost control in the classroom.Influenced by Confucianism, teachers are usually imagined as the great sage sittingamidst his disciples, explaining the way, and occasionally asking questions to check hisdisciples’c o m p r e h e n s i o n T h e s a g e o w e s h i s c o n t r o l l e r r o l e b e c a u s e h e k n o w s m o r e than his students do, and his primary task is to transfer his knowledge to his students.Thepopularteachingmethod,theGrammar-

Translation Method (GTM) and Audio-Lingual Method (ALM) share the characteristic of vesting authority in the teacher In GTM, the teacher serves as the sole provider of learning materials, ensuring their dominance as the "sage on the stage." Students passively follow instructions to acquire the teacher's knowledge Similarly, in ALM, the teacher acts as an orchestra leader, meticulously directing the language behavior of students Both methods prioritize teacher-led instruction and student compliance.

In more modern teaching situations, even though the learning materials are moreaccessible to students, the role of a controller of a teacher is still prevalentin theclassroom When playing that role, teachers are the centre of focus and are responsibleforallactivitiesthatoccurinclass(Harmer,2001).Arafat(2005)describes theactionsof a controller in the classroom: having complete control of what students do and beingthe one to determine when students speak and use the language; attracting, motivating,and inspiring students; being the critical source of roughly tuned comprehensible input;and pointing out the students’ mistakes and correcting them Harden and Lilley (2018)and Koca et al (2021) described the role of a manager and leader of a teacher asengagingwiththedecision- makingprocess,managingelementsinthecurriculum,supportingchange,andovercomingob stacles.

As educational leaders within the classroom environment, teachers possess the ultimate authority to shape all aspects of the learning experience They determine the curriculum delivery methods, select engaging activities, curate appropriate materials, and establish assessment protocols Moreover, teachers bear the responsibility of captivating students' attention and cultivating a positive classroom atmosphere that fosters academic progress.

Ensuring students have an engaging learning experience is paramount When teachers maintain complete control, students may become passive, solely adhering to instructions rather than proactively seeking knowledge To counter this, diverse teaching roles have emerged, fostering student autonomy and critical thinking, moving away from the traditional model where teachers dictate every aspect of classroom dynamics.

An instructor

Teachers’ primary responsibility in the classroom is to teach and instruct students.Allteachingmethodsrequireteacherstoimpartknowledgeinspecificways.Forexam ple, in the GTM, teachers focus on comprehension and translation; in the DirectMethod (DM), teachers instruct students to directly associate meaning with the targetlanguage. They naturally demonstrate the meaning of new target language words andphrases through realia, pictures,or gestures and never translateit into the student’snative language Whatever teaching methods the teachers apply, they need to impartknowledge well (Koca et al., 2021) How teachers transfer knowledge can motivate aswell as demotivate students to learn They think of different approaches to give excitingactivitiestomakethelessonattractivetothestudents(Arafat,2005). Todothat,teachersmustensuretheyhaveupdatedtheir teachingmethodsto organizethelesson effectively.

Instructors also teach learning strategies and methods to develop students’ skills (Xu&Xu,2004).Studentsaresometimesonlyfamiliarwithanarrowrangeofstudymethods.They mayusemethodsunsuitabletotheirpersonalitiesorskillss i m p l y because theyare unaware ofalternatives.T h e r e f o r e , t e a c h e r s a l s o s u g g e s t a p p r o a c h e s tolanguagelearningthatstudentsmightnothavepreviouslyconsidered.Tea cherstransfer to students not only knowledge but also ways of study so that they can learneffectively in the future Teachers can do that more quickly if they understand students’needsandareopentoadjusting theteachingproceduretofitwith students’ expectations.

Current research argues that as an instructor, teachers impart knowledge well. Theymake lessons enjoyable to follow and conduct suitable activities Teachers listen tostudents’ ideas about the lesson during the teaching process to modify it if necessary.Besides imparting knowledge, teachers also equip students with the necessary learningskillstoscaffoldthemnecessarylearningskills.

Besides being an instructor, teachers also act as facilitators to help students thinkaboutwhattheyneedtolearnandworkthroughproblems andideas.

Afacilitator

Thetendencytowardsstudent- centerednesssincethep o p u l a r i t y o f Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) has dismissed the sole focus on teachers inthe classroom CLT regards teachers as the facilitator rather than the controller of thelearningprocesshappeningintheclassroom.Asafacilitator,teacherssetupcommunicative activities, which help the students to interact a great deal with oneanother in pair and group work (Larsen-Freeman & Anderson, 2013) They also helpstudents sense that their teachers are concerned about them, supporting them in learningfor themselves as self-explorers (Archana & Rani, 2017) To do so, teachers need todevelopthebestlearningenvironmentthatreflectsthestudents’lifeinsocietal,intellectual,a ndlinguisticoccurrences,layingasolidfoundationfortheirpersonalgrowth Once a suitable learning opportunity has been identified, learners may need justalittlehelptogetstartedonataskortogetonwithitefficiently.Asafacilitator,teachersare optional to give students the correct answer but facilitate and make things easier tosupport the learners’ efforts to find the answer. Koca et al (2021) list the actions ofteachers acting as a facilitator and a mentor in the classroom as clarifying learningoutcomes, identifying appropriate learning opportunities, making learning effective andefficient,engagingandmotivatingthestudents,andservingas amentor.

Current research defines the role of a facilitator as creating the best conditions foreffective learning in the classroom To do that, teachers identify appropriate learningopportunities for the class and state the activities' outcomes with them before doingthem They also help students to figure out how to do the tasks and help them to getprepared for them Once the learning has occurred, teachers check if the task is goingwellandencouragestudentstoparticipate.

Because of these characteristics, being a facilitator is one of teachers' most criticalroles in teaching and learning Besides facilitating activities in the classroom,teacherscanparticipateintheprocessofdoingthetaskwithlearners.

Aco-learner

Understanding the importance of meeting students' learning needs is crucial for educators Adopting the learner's perspective enables teachers to effectively convey knowledge By comprehending the students' perspectives, teachers can adapt their teaching methods and strategies, fostering a more receptive and engaging learning environment for students.

&Rani, 2017) It is generally expected that the teacher is the organizer of the activities;however, there are certain times when teachers decide to work with students as co-learners As a co-learner, teachers are good models of English speakers, helping studentsinitiate using English (Arafat, 2005) Practising with teachers gives students chances towork with professionalspeakers of the language, andteachers’ participationc a n h e l p shy students speak up By doing so, teachers can enliven things from the inside insteadof promoting or organizing from outside the group (Harmer, 2001) When it goes well,students enjoy having the teacher with them, and participating in doing the task withstudents can bring joy to their teaching It can also create a lively atmosphere in thediscussionandforthewholeclass(Arafat,2005).

In contrast, the danger remains when a teacher acts as a co-learner, in which theteacher may dominate the discussion Therefore, the role of teachers as participantsrequires the teachers’capacity andsensitivityto respectfully listent o s t u d e n t s ’ i d e a s and share their concerns (Naibaho, 2019) Only that way can students work togethercooperativelyinaspiritoffriendlinessandharmony,whichcanmotivatethewholeclassto tryharder(Dửrnyei&Murphey,2003).

In the current research, acting as a co-learner, teachers participate equally in classactivities Besides allowing students to work with a good model of English speakers,which can help them speak up, teachers take the opportunity to work with students tounderstand their concerns and listen to their ideas, resulting in a positive connectionwithin theclass.

Collaborating with students highlights the other role of teachers as a resource ofknowledgeand guidance.

Aresource

Teachers, with their expertise and experience, are always considered the mostreliable source of knowledge and experience With their competence and expertise,teachersareconsideredasawalkingresourcecentrewhoisknowledgeableandexper ienced about the subject teaching As a resource, they are ready to offer help orprovide learners with the language they lack when they perform learning activities(Arafat,2005).

Besides being the resource for students to account for when they have difficulties inthe task, the role of a resource also concerns the teacher’s action of introducing learningresources In the past, information was in the hands of teachers; as a result, students hadto wait for teachers toa c c e s s i n f o r m a t i o n I n m o d e r n t i m e s a n d w i t h t h e a d v a n c e m e n t of technology, learning materials are more accessible to learners However, in Asiancontexts such as Vietnam, because of the strong influence on the dictation of teachersundertheinfluenceofConfucianism,studentsarelessconfidentinjustifyingtherightn ess of the source of materials they have if it is not from their teachers’ introduction (Dang

& Le, 2021) Harden and Lilley (2018) stress that besides being informationproviders, teachers must coach for information-seeking skills Koca et al (2021) alsosuggestthatasaresource,teachersnotonlytransmitfilterinformationormakeinformation available to the students but also guide them to source information andevaluate informationreceived.

In this research, as a resource, teachers have knowledge and practical experience inteaching and are ready to offer help when needed Besides providing guidance andlearning materials, teachers introduce good resources for learning and the ways to pickgood resources With the ubiquity of technology, teachers exploit digital resources inteaching.

Apart from being a resource for students to refer to, teachers also fulfill the role of anassessor,whogivesconstructive feedbackandfairassessmentofstudents’performance.

An evaluator

Ateacher’sroleisnotcompletejustbyteachingalessonbutbyevaluatingstudents’performa ncetomaketheirlearningmoreeffective.Beinganevaluatorisoneof the primary roles of teachers (Harmer, 2015) Teachers can decide to give formativeor summative feedback Before assessing a student, teachers must have their criteria forgiving assessments and to what extent a student will benefit from their evaluation Theseassessments can be written orverbal feedback from tests, quizzes, and other tasks(Archana & Rani, 2017) In a communication classroom, teachers can record students’performance and then use it for the individual or whole class’s feedback (Arafat, 2005).An evaluation usually comes after the teaching and learning process, but teachers mustplanf o r i t t o m a t c h i t w i t h t h e t e a c h i n g c o n t e n t s a n d t e c h n i q u e s T h e r e f o r e , t e a c h e r s needtoensurethattheyhaveaneffectiveandbeneficialassessmentmethod.As evaluators,teachersseehowwellstudentsperformanddecidehowtocorrectthem.

Harmer (2015) details the term an evaluator as a monitor and evidence gatherer whokeeps an eye on what is happening when students are involved in a task to ensure theyaredoingwhattheyaresupposedtobedoingandgatherinformationtoprovidefeedbacklater. Evaluation is a process of observing with much encouragement without making abig fuss about any problems, and the teachers should help students recognize theirproblems (Arafat, 2005) Archana and Rani (2017) describe an assessor as someone whocontributes to the school’s assessment profile, plans and implements student assessment,monitors student performance and progress, and provides student feedback Therefore,teachers’ assessment is guided by the school evaluation framework, but teachers areagents who make it beneficial for their students Koca et al (2021) insist that teachersshould monitor and decide about learners’ performance and progress and change theirway ofassessmentwherenecessary.

Thecurrentresearchdefinestheroleofanevaluatorashavingtheabilitytodeterminehow well the students performed Teachers draw students’ attention to their mistakes;their evaluationsaregentle,beneficial,andfair.

An explorer

An excellent way to encourage students to study hard is to show that teachers are alsotrying to improve themselves, continuously update knowledge, and apply new teachingmethods, making their teaching more effective When teachers make a considerableeffort to learn, they can show their students they are practising what they preach Arafat(2005) used the term investigator to describe those who always try to develop his/herskills,investigatewhatisgoingonandwhatisnew,trydifferenttechniques,andobservewhat works well in the classroom and what does not work An explorer keeps currentwitheducationdevelopment,research,andinnovationandsharesexperiencesw i t h others (Harden & Lilley, 2018) Koca et al (2021) coin the term scholar and researcher’to describe teacherswho identify what works and does not and apply evidence topractice.Theyimprovethemselvesandthensharetheirknowledgeintheircommu nityof practice, for example, through training seminars Besides being keen to improve theirteaching to help students within class learning, teachers also encourage students withtheir self-learning if they come to teachers to consult Thus, as an explorer, teachersadvisestudents whattodoiftheywanttostudymore(Arafat,2005).

Inthisresearch,teachers’actionsasexplorerscanbedescribedthroughtheireagerness to learn, update new knowledge, and develop their teaching techniques, thencheck whether new things work well in class Teachers’ concern with students’ passionto further their studies is expressed through their effort to advise students on what to doif they wanttostudy more.

To sum up, through the rigorous literature review, the current research argues that thesevenrolesdiscussedsofarhavefullydepictedteachers’actionsinalanguageclassroom.The sevenperceivedteachers’rolesareacontrollerwhomakesmajordecisions in the classroom, an instructor who delivers suitable lessons, a facilitator whomakes sure learning happens as planned, aco-learner who participates in the classactivitiesw i t h s t u d e n t s , aresourcewhoisknowledgeablethesubjectteaching,an evaluatorwhog i v e s be ne fi ci a l f e e d b a c k a n d a n e x p l o r e r w h o t r i e s t o d e v e l o p h is / h er teaching.

Perceivedpeers’rolesinthelanguageclassroom

Aco-learner

As teaching and learning move towards learner-centeredness, the teaching processin the classroom focuses on giving learners opportunities to practise However, teacherscan only sometimes work with each student, so students are usually asked to work withfriendstobrainstormandpractisethenewlanguage.

Peer collaboration during class time fosters engagement and enhances learning outcomes Peers share similar backgrounds, making them effective collaborators (Lockspeiser et al., 2008) This facilitates understanding and encourages learners to seek clarification (Manning, 2014) Peers offer diverse perspectives, provide negotiation opportunities, and employ metalanguage, promoting reflection and language competence (Voller, 2005) By collaborating in the target language, they share ideas, interact, and enhance their language skills (Phan, 2015) When learning is comfortable and collaborative, students demonstrate improved learning outcomes.

In this research, the co-learner is described as a peer who works together to do classassignmentsinacomfortablelearningatmosphere.Workingtogether,ac o - l e a r n e r shares his/ her ideas for the task and raises new ideas to explore A co- learner must alsofinish his/her part well because it motivates the other friends to try harder and fulfill thetaska s t h e y d o W h e n l e a r n i n g t o g e t h e r , p e e r s a s k e a c h o t h e r f o r h e l p w h e n n e e d e d Thisinteractioncanmakestudentsmoreengagedinthelearningprocess.

Not only working comfortably with each other as a co-learner, peers can also supporteach other.

Asupporter

There is usually only one teacher who oversees the whole class’s learning It isoften overloaded for them to care for each student’s issues Therefore, learners usuallyreach out for help; the first agent they connect with will be their peers Peers can helpeach other achieve self-efficacy Peers raise each other’s learning awareness (Voller,2005),support eachotherinidentifyinglearninggoals,increasemotivation(Aoki,2001), maintain an appropriate working pace, and effectively implement and evaluatelearning outcomes (Smith, 2003) Peers share the in-class materials and other sources ofmaterials (Dửrnyei

& Murphy, 2003) They are reported to improve students’ learningstrategyuse(Irvineetal.,2018),developstudents’criticalthinking,andincreasestude nts’ use of learning resources (Shi & Han, 2019) When teachers use technology inclass, students can support each other’s digital literacy skills and increase interaction inonline settings (Peeters & Mynard, 2019) Peer help also can support students to gainbetter grades and tackle public examinations, increasing their instrumental motivation.Students can negotiatepresent and future self-identity through discussions with friendsto obtain peer recognition and group memberships (Chan et al., 2019). However, tosupporte a c h o t h e r e f f e c t i v e l y , p e e r s a l s o n e e d t o l e a r n h o w t o s u p p o r t e a c h o t h e r t o guaranteep os i t i v e i n t e r d e p e n d e n c e , i n d i v i d u a l a c c o u n t a b i l i t y , a n d s o c i a l s k i l l s (Ol se n &Kagan,1992).

The current study defines a supporter as a friend who can instantly support theirfriends, especially by sharing learning resources and skills As a supporter, peers givehelp when their friends are in need, and the assistance is more instant than when theymay need to wait for their teachers, who must deal with many students Peers share thematerials they have with each other; it can be from the sources that teachers have givento the class or their own resources to solve the tasks that teachers have given.Thelearning resourcesandpeerscan also showor recommend thestrategies they findadequate for their learning while working together Peers may not give advice directly,but students can look at their peers’ learning behaviors and try the ones they think mightwork for them Besides support, peers also give the courage to motivate their friends tolearn.

An encourager

The learning process can be challenging; students must try hard, or they will giveup halfway Affective factors - learners’ feelings and emotions are crucial for learning(Larsen-Freeman & Anderson, 2013) Besides giving mutual support about learningways and materials, learners expect to give and receive encouragement from their peers,focusing on the health of their mental state Therefore, the role of an encourager isdiscussedseparatelyfromtheroleofasupporter(Dửrnyei&Murphey,2003). Acting as an encourager, peers can encourage each other to talk about their problemsandneverallowgivingup.Fromthat,theycansolicitcontributionsfromothermembers.In this way, peers are reported to boost learning motivation (Kimura, 2014), the mostcritical factor in sustaining learning. Peers can reduce learners’ anxiety in the languageclassroom (Bekleyen, 2004; Huang et al., 2010) and help them properly adjust theiremotions for learning (Valiente et al.,

2020) Peers’ hard work also can boost students’eagerness to learn because they do not want to be behind their friends (Johnson et al.,2007) Through working together, peers can encourage each other to be open to newthings,regardedaspeercoaching(Little,2007).

Inthisresearch,anencouragerisdefinedasafriendwhogivesspiritualencouragement while they study together in the classroom An encourager encourageseach other to keep trying and not allow ‘put-downs’, soothes out the problems eachlearner is facing,solicits their contributions, and gives a try to new things Peers’ hardworkalsoinspiresotherlearnerstostudyharder.

An assessor

Peerassessment orpeerevaluation, peer ranking,pe er rating, andpeerfee dback are defined as a process whereby students assess or are assessed by their peers (VanZundert et al., 2010) Peer assessors can help students recognize their weaknesses (Phan,2015) Many people may criticize that peer assessment or feedback is not valuablebecause students need more experience and knowledge. However, three methods of peerassessment: peer nominations, peer ratings, and peer rankings can be reliable and valid,and it is best used as part of a multisourceapproach to performancea s s e s s m e n t ( K a n e & Lawler, 1978) Peers can appraise a friend’s contributions, point out the problemhis/her friend is facing, and give valuable comments based on their understanding andexperience Peers have gone through a similar learning process, so they can understandclearly what problems their friends can face and how to deal with them most effectively.However,i t i s n o t alwayseasy fo rp e e r s t o k n o w howto g i v e commentsbe neficia lly and constructively, and the effectiveness of peer assessment depends on the assessor’straining andexperience(VanZundertetal.,2009).

In current research, as an assessor, peers first acknowledge their friends’ efforts and thengive feedback about their work They then point out if there are any problems and givesuggestions.Peersalsolistentothelearners’feedbackwithrespect.Givinga n d receivingf eedbackisatwo-wayprocess;alllearnerscanbenefitfromthat.

Peers assume diverse roles within classrooms, fulfilling various functions: Co-learners collaborate seamlessly, exchanging ideas to accomplish tasks Supporters extend immediate assistance, sharing effective learning methods and resources Encouragers instill motivation, fostering perseverance, preventing negativity, and resolving issues Assessors provide critical evaluations, identifying potential problems, and offering valuable feedback, guiding their peers' progress.

The first three parts have presented a detailed analysis of three constructs: learnerautonomyintheout-of- classlearningcontext,theperceivedteachers’rolesintheclassroom, and the perceived peers’ roles in the classroom.The theoretical frameworkpresentednext willexplaintheconnectionbetweenthem.

Theoreticalframework

Constructivismandsocial constructivism

Threemainlearningtheoriescanexplainthelearningprocess:behaviourism,cognitivism/ mentalism,andconstructivism.Behaviouristsbelievethatl e a r n i n g a foreign language as an adult is much like a baby’s acquisition of a mother tongue Bothprocesses require learners to imitate, practice, receive feedback on their success, andformhabits.However,behaviourismcannotexplainhowlearnerscanproducethelanguag ethatnoonehasevertaughtthem;theiracquisitionofmorecomplexgrammatical structures requires a different explanation Cognitivists or mentalists regardlearners as born with an innate blueprint for language to answer why learners couldfigureoutlanguagerulesandproducenewbitsindependently.Learnerslearnb y thinking about and trying to understand what they see, feel, and hear.Cognitivismstronglyemphasizesinternalmentalprocessesandassumesthatknowledgeexist sindependentlyofthelearner.Thisfocusneglectsthesocial,cultural,andcontextualthat influencecognitionandlearning.Constructivistsdepictthelearningprocessmoreclosely to the learners, defining learning as a process in which learners actively build uptheir knowledge and continually rebuild it toa c c o u n t f o r i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t d o e s n o t f i t theoldknowledge.Learnersreflectontheirownexperiencesandconstructtheirunderstan ding of theirworld.

Constructivism is widely recognized as the most suitable foundational theory for fostering learner autonomy This approach emphasizes the active role of learners in constructing their knowledge and understanding through experiences, interactions, and reflection Constructivism encompasses two main branches: individual cognitive constructivism, represented by Piaget, and social constructivism, represented by Vygotsky Piaget's theory focuses on how individual learners process information through developmental stages and learning styles In contrast, Vygotsky's social constructivism emphasizes the social nature of learning, arguing that social interactions drive development and understanding.

Even though learner autonomy is an individual capacity, it cannot be promoted by alearnerseparatedfromthelearningcontext, tobemore specific, thesocial conne ction inthatcontext.Inotherwords,theindividual’sinternalcognitiveprocesscannotaccountfor learner autonomy development However, it depends on the relationship betweenlearners and others in that learning context, which can promote or slow the learner’sdevelopment.

In essence, constructivism is the foundational theory for learner autonomy, and socialconstructivism can explain the associations between learner autonomy and other socialfactors,such asteachersandpeers.

SCT

SCT was the leading theory of social constructivism It was first developed andsystemizedbyVygotskyandhiscollaboratorsinRussiainthe1920sand1930s.Ith as become the foundation of much research and theory in cognitive development over thepastseveraldecades.

Sociocultural theory (SCT) proposes that cognitive processes arise from social interactions and experiences with cultural artifacts Cognitive development begins in the social plane (interpersonal interactions) and later internalizes into the intrapsychological plane (within the individual's mind) Learning and development occur in collaborative environments where learners interact with others, objects, and events Language serves as a central mediational tool, facilitating mental reasoning (inner speech) and communication (external speech) Social interactions influenced by cultural norms and practices shape mental abilities Cultural contexts determine the nature of social interactions, impacting individuals' thinking and cognitive development.

One of the factors that has drawn language educators to SCT is its emphasis onmediation in the process of learning (Le, 2003) According to the Vygotskian view,knowledge becomes refined and viable through social mediation and gains coherence.Mediation links the social or interpersonal plane and the individual or intrapersonalplane Mediators, which can be objects, symbols, and persons, help transform natural,spontaneous impulses into higher mental processes In the case of language learning,mediatorscanbeatextbook,visualmaterial,classroomdiscourse,instructi on,orother kinds of teacher assistance (Le, 2003) Social mediation can occur as expert- novicemediationor aspeermediation.

Mediation under the influence of Confucianism can explain the association betweenlearner autonomy and teachers’ and peers’ roles through two main components:

The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) represents the gap between a learner's actual development level and their potential development with support from others It is a crucial space for learning where the learner's existing abilities are complemented by assistance from more knowledgeable peers or adults, who provide guidance that slightly exceeds the learner's current competence Thus, interactions within the ZPD are not limited to novice-expert exchanges but involve multiple agents and beneficial relationships between students of varying capabilities, fostering multilateral learning.

Scaffolding refers to structuring interaction between an adult and a child based onwhat the child already knows and the potential of what it can do with the adult’sassistance (Kao, 2010) In education, scaffolding refers to the assistance of teachersoffered to students so that they can do what they otherwise could not. Scaffolding istemporary byits nature andgradually disappears as thestudents’ competenceg r o w s until finally, they can perform a task or master knowledge independently Scaffoldingalso denotes the transfer of responsibility Via pre-planned fading, the responsibility forthe performance of a task is gradually transferred to the learner, meaning they becomemore independent through the task (Van de Pol et al.,

2010) Morec a p a b l e p e e r s c a n also givestudentsthe scaffoldingtheyneedtodo better.

Therefore, rather than just following curriculum guidelines or focusing on learners’language acquisition, mediation requires teachers and peers to engage in a joint effortwithlearners,throughinteraction,toadvancetheirlearning.

In the Vietnamese context, even though tertiary level students are not under the strictdictation of teachers as in previous training levels, hierarchy is still maintained in theclassroom (Bui, 2018) Teachers play the decisive roles in the classroom, providingguidance, explanations, correcting all the mistakes, and ensuring students’ progress(Nguyen&Habók,2021).Throughsocialinteractionsintheclassroom,t e a c h e r s scaffold students and mediate their learning, helping them form assisted performance.The cultural contexts of each student such as their educational backgrounds and theirbeliefs in learning could influence the way they perceive teachers’ mediation in theclassroom, resulting in different learning results for each student Peers also mediateeachother’slearningthroughtheirsocialinteractionsintheclassroom.Learnerautono my, an aspect of learners’ learning, is socially situated, and influenced by socialfactors(Ushioda, 2011); therefore, students’ learner autonomy and teachers’ and peers’roles are conceptually associated through teachers’ and peers’ mediation in the teachingand learningprocessunderthe viewoftheSCT.

CoP

Wenger (2011) notes that communities of practice are formed by people whoengage in the process of collective learning in a shared domain of human endeavor: atribe learning to survive, a band of artists seeking new forms of expression, a clique ofpupils defining their identity in the school (p 1) In a broad sense, a community ofpractice refers to any group of people who gather intentionally (or unintentionally) sincethey share a common goal of doing something and aim at improving a specific skill(Wenger,2011).Hepointsoutthatthreecharacteristicsdefine acommunityofpractice: (1)thedomain,

(2)thecommunity,and(3)thepractice.Hearguesthatmembershipinacommunityofpr acticeimpliesitsmembersarecommittedtoaspecificactivity(domain).Thewholeclasscanbeac ommunityofpracticebecausetheysharethesame interests in gaining knowledge and passing the final exams There can be differentcommunitiesofpracticeamongsmallergroupsoffriendsinoneclassroom.F o r exa mple, when a few individuals in the class share a passion for learning a foreignlanguage,theycanbeconsideredacommunityofpractice.Theessentialchar acteristicofacommunityisitsmembersparticipatingindiscussionsandhelpingeachotherwithinth eir shared domain of interest The last component of the community concerns theactual practice – a developed routine

A community's knowledge and skills within a specific domain can be enhanced through the utilization of various resources These resources form a repertoire that can assist in developing expertise in the chosen area The practice of using these resources can take on different forms, sometimes even without conscious awareness For example, when community members engage in an activity that indirectly supports their overall goal, such as discussions on improving speaking skills during class time, they may not directly realize the positive impact on their overall objective.

Beingamemberofacommunityofpractice,aparticipantdoesnotreceiveknowledgepassively. However, they also actively engage in it to improve their knowledge and theirlearning independence Little (2004) suggests three pedagogical principles of learnerautonomy in a community of practice Language learners in a community should beresponsiblefor setting targets,m e t h o d s , a n d c o n t e n t s ( l e a r n e r e m p o w e r m e n t ) a n d b e abletomonitorandevaluatetheirlearning(learnerreflection)tobecomemoreautonomous Moreover, a language learner should be surrounded by the target languagedaily. Classrooms should bethe foundationsofacommunityof practice forl e a r n e r s who want to learn English better It is called the classroom community of practice(Brown,

2007) The feeling of belonging to a community can make students, as well asother members of the communities- namely teachers and peers- more responsible fortheir learningandtheircommunity’sprogress.

To conclude, the current research claims Vygotsky’s notions of SCT withZPD,scaffolding, and Wenger’s idea of CoP as the theoretical framework to establish theconceptual associations between students’ learner autonomy and teachers and peers’rolesintheclassroom.

Learnerautonomyandperceivedteachers’roles

Perceivedteachers’rolesinlearnerautonomydevelopmentactivity

Teachers play different roles in promoting the development of students’ autonomouslearning The teachers’ roles that are discussed most in fostering learner autonomy arefacilitatorsandcounselors.Becausethedevelopmentoflearnerautonomyrequiresstudent s to be in control of the learning process, teachers tend to play the role of ‘thesaga on the side,’ giving the stage for students to perform Knowles (1975) reports thatteachers play the role of a facilitator and a consultant when scaffolding students to beautonomous in learning Voller (1997) describes the roles of teachers as a facilitator whoinitiates and supports decision-making processes and a counselor who responds to theongoing needs of individuals and makes their knowledge and expertise available to thelearnerswhenneeded.

Recent studies highlight the pivotal role of facilitators and counselors in fostering learner autonomy They encompass the role of a resource provider, not only disseminating information but also cultivating students' capacity to utilize learning resources effectively Furthermore, classroom organizers have been identified as instrumental in shaping a conducive learning environment that supports the development of learner autonomy, fostering students' needs and providing ample learning resources.

In the Vietnamese context, in research about conducting a portfolio-based writingcourse to foster learner autonomy, teachers are expected to have three prominent roles:aninstructorwhointroduceslearnerautonomyknowledgetostudents,presentsnecessar y learning strategies, guides students to create a good study plan, and getslearners involved in their learning activities through presentations; a feedback giver whogives feedback and suggestions to students; an encourager who encourages learners toovercomedifficultsituationsthroughtheirownexperienceandassistslearnersinfindingsolutions(Duong,2015).Phan(2015)focusesontherolesofteachersasadvisorsand guideswhomotivate an d help s t u d e n t s dealwithlanguage i ssu es , o u t l i n e orstr ucturetheir learningtasks,andgivevaluablecomments.

Mediatingfactorsoflearnerautonomyandperceivedteachers’roles

The mediating factors that can explain the correlations between teachers’ actions andstudents’ learner autonomy in the language teaching and learning context are argued tobemotivation, trust,andteachersasrolemodels.

Firstly, researchers in learner autonomy in language learning agree that autonomouslearners are motivated learners (Ushioda, 2011) There have been arguments on whichcomesfirst:motivationorlearnerautonomy.Thisrelationship,however,couldbedyna micandoperateindifferentdirectionsdependingonthekindofmotivationinvolved.

However, motivation is the critical factor that influences the extent to whichlearners are ready to learn autonomously (Chan et al., 2002), and motivation effectivelycontributes to predicting autonomy (Liu, 2015) Students are motivated extrinsically orintrinsically, and the motivation scale is on a continuum from the lowest to the highestlevels, with amotivation and intrinsic motivation at opposite ends (Ryan & Deci, 2000).Intrinsically motivated learners may determine to participate in an activity for pureinterest, enjoyment, and satisfaction, whereas extrinsically motivated learners act forutilitarianbenefitssuchaspassinganexam.Extrinsicmotivationisoftenregardedwitha degree of caution because students are primarily driven by external rewards and theirmotivationtoengageinlearningmaybecontingentupontheattainmentoftheseexternalfactors.Inc ontrast,intrinsicmotivationarisesfrominherentinterestorpersonalsatisfaction derived from the learning process itself Therefore, it is important to nurturebothintrinsicandextrinsicmotivations.Learnerscanmovefromextrinsicallytointrins icallymotivatedonthemotivationscale,theconceptofmotivationintensity.

Secondly, the appreciation of teachers’s u g g e s t i o n s c a n b e e x p l a i n e d b y s t u d e n t s ’ trust in their teachers In a study about the use of blogs to foster learner autonomy, thefindings emphasize that from students’ perception, the teacher’s knowledge and beliefscanf o s t e r l e a r n e r a u t o n o m y , a n d t h e y c a n s t u d y a s e c o n d l a n g u a g e a u t o n o m o u s l y i f beingguidedbyaknowledgeableteacher(Arıkan&Bakla,2011).Withtheadvancementoftec hnology,studentscanparticipateinmanyphysicalandvirtuallearning spaces, both formal and informal Students are reported to tend to accept thelearning spaces suggested by their teachers If it suits their preference, they will activelywork on it and exercise control over it If it is not their preference, they still stay on it,but peripherally (Dang &

Le, 2021) Therefore, students’ learning journey can initiatefrom thetrustin thosesuggestions.

Students' admiration for teachers as role models significantly influences teachers' roles in classrooms Teachers' professionalism, competence, knowledge, skills, and ability to deliver engaging instruction foster student admiration These qualities inspire learners, promoting their autonomy and motivating them to engage in the learning process.

Tosummarize,teachershavedifferentrolesinlearnerautonomydevelopmentactivities.Motivation, trust, and teachers as role models are the factors that mediate thecorrelationsbetweenteachers’rolesandstudents’learnerautonomy.

Learnerautonomyandperceivedpeers’roles

Perceivedpeers’rolesinlearnerautonomydevelopmentactivities

Peer influences and aspirations can drive learners to pursue school success; on theother hand, peers’ impact can sometimes lead them to resist schooling Peers have astrongimpactonlearnerautonomydevelopment,especiallythroughpeerassistedlearningan dpeerassessment.

Peer assisted learning is the general term to describe learners studying together. Peerlearningcanhavemorespecificterms,suchaspeer- mediated,c o o p e r a t i v e , collaborative, and peer tutoring Voller (2005) reports that peer learning can help raiseeachother’slearningawarenessandprovidestudentswithmoreopportunitiesfornegotiat ion,in cr ea si ng i n t e r a c t i o n , an d usingmeta la ng ua ge T he se t r ig ge r more reflections on learning, an essential stage of learner autonomy Peer assisted learningalso gives students more chances to negotiate present and future self-identity to obtainpeerrecognitionandgroupmemberships(Carlsonetal.,2019).Forminglearners’identityi sashowcaseoflearnerautonomydevelopment.

Traditionally,teacherassessmenthasbeenthemainformofassessmentintheclassroom. However, the increasing interest in interactive, cooperative, and self- directedlearninghasmadepeerassessmentmorewidespread(Edwardsetal.,2014).Peerassessm ent is “an arrangement of peers to consider the level, value, worth, quality, orsuccess of the products or outcomes of learning of others of similar status” (Topping etal., 2000, p.15) Students can negotiate meanings, ask for clarification, give suggestions,and practise various language skills (DiGiovanni & Nagaswami, 2001) Peer assessmentcan help students recognize their weaknesses and improve their competence and self-learning skills through peer response, peer review, peer check, and peer feedback, eventhough friends cannot be as professional as teachers (Phan, 2015) When students reviewand set their criteria based on teachers’ guidelines to reflect and comment on their peers’work, they develop reflexive learning to understand the matter deeper using their higher- orderthinkingskills.Theseactionsareopportunitiestodeveloplearnerautonomy(Lindblom- Ylọnneetal.,2006).Peerassessmentcanalsomotivatestudentsbyempowering them through the assessment process, encouraging them to take ownershipof learningandassessment(Edwardset al.,2014).

In essence, besides teachers, peers are proven to be an important social factor thatcouldi n f l u e n c e t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f l e a r n e r a u t o n o m y I n t e r a c t i o n s a m o n g p e e r s c a n have better results inlearner autonomy development if peers receive training fromeducators(Phuongetal.,2018).

Mediatingfactorsbetweenlearnerautonomyandperceivedpeers’roles

Peers can give students positive emotions, interdependence, and responsibilities thattriggertheirlearning,leadingtothepotentialdevelopmentoflearnerautonomy.

(1998)statethatcollaborativelearningonlyworkswhenthestudents are interested in improving the other members’ performance There are a range of waysin which this can be set up, including goal interdependence (learners share a commongoal for the activity), resource interdependence (learners have partial resources such thattheycannotcompletetheactivitywithoutcombiningresources),identityinterdependence (learners collectively choose a team name or slogan for their group);andevenoutsideenemyinterdependence,wherebythe teachersets upcompetition(‘negative interdependence’) between groups It is essential for the approach’s successthat the learners in a group are aware of and embrace these conditions A culture of‘promotive interaction’ (mutual help and support) should be fostered when the studentsare working together (Palfreyman, 2018) The supportive environment and culture needto be built up gradually, which could be the mutual effort of the teachers and the wholeclass.

Another factor that can promote peer learning is the positive emotions it brings.Students’ feelings about cooperating with their peers influence their reactions regardingtheir cooperation with their fellow students Angelaki and Mavroidis (2013) state thatquality tutor-student and student-student communications lead students to experiencepositive emotions such as excitement, satisfaction, and relief, which can help them insiston learning to achieve their learning goals Therefore, when working together, studentscan create a relaxed and comfortable learning atmosphere, caring and supporting eachother to achieve the learning goal They can feel the care their friends give them, andtheydonotwanttolettheirfriendsdown.Later,theyalsowanttobethepersonw hocansupporttheirfriends,sotheywilltryhardertobeabletodothat.

Finally, each student has responsibilities in their peer work also matters Shen et al.

(2020), in their research about the influence of peer assessment on learner autonomy,stated that when they have more responsibilities, i.e., to be an assessor to assess theirpeers’ assignments, the students start to take more charge of their learning. With thedecentguidanceofteachers,studentscanstepbysteptakeovertherolesandresponsibilities ofteachers,becomingmoreindependentlearners (Edwardsetal.,2014).

Not only acting as an assessor but peers can also be a learning resource to share learningmaterialsandstrategiesthattheyfindhelpfulfortheirlearningwiththeirfriends.

To conclude, peers play an important role in promoting the development of students’learner

Previousstudiesandresearchgap

Out-of-class learning has the potential to broaden the social ecologies of languagelearning (van Lier, 2004; Palfreyman, 2014); therefore, it plays a vital role in one’slearning Out-of-class learning does not exclude classroom learning but connects with itin many ways, such as classroom learners engaging in learning beyond the classroom,autonomous learners taking classroom-based language courses, and self- study learnersusing textbooks designed for classroom use (Reinders & Benson, 2017). Even when out-of-class learning is gaining more significance, the classroom is likely to remain one ofthe settings that make up the most affordances for but also constraints on languagelearning beyond the classroom As a result, in-class and out-of-class learning shouldsupport eachotherforbetterlearningresultsforlearners.

However, there needs to be an adequate understanding of how the in-class and out-of- classlearningblendtodeveloplearnerautonomyindifferentcontexts.

Lamb's 2004 study found that much of Indonesian junior high school students' English learning occurred outside the classroom, primarily through after-school lessons at school or private institutions The study also highlighted that while classroom lessons remained important for student-teacher relationships, they often fell short in terms of lesson content Moreover, a significant gap between in-school and out-of-school learning can arise when teachers are burdened by a rigorous curriculum and insecurities about their English communicative abilities.

In another research, Lai’s (2015) study investigated how learners perceived theirlanguage learning experiences inside and outside the classroom and how they bridgedlearning in thetwo contexts.Data from individual interviews with 11 Hong Kongundergraduate language learners showed that, in their perceptions, the two learningcontextshaddistinctfunctions.However,theycouldcombineeachc o n t e x t ’ s aff ordances to create complementary and synergetic learning experiences Moreover,their tendency to use the affordances was mediated by the features of the resources(demanding little time, convenience, and having learning support) and the dispositionsandabilitiesofthelearners(learningneeds,beliefs,abilitiestomakeuseofthereso urces, and learning historicity) To help learners benefit from out-of-class languagelearning, educators may need to build mechanisms to enhance their capacity to perceiveandactontheaffordancesofout-of- classlearningandtobridgetheirlearningexperiencesinsideandoutsidethelanguageclassroo ms.

In the same vein of bridging in-class and out-of-class learning, particularly in theVietnamese context, Nguyen and Stracke (2021) focused on students’ learner autonomyin and out of class Data was collected through a multi-case study with four successfultertiaryEFLlearnersinablendedlanguagelearningenvironment.Thefindingssug gested that students perceived their actions differently in the two contexts. Studentsthought that they mostly played a passive role in their learning practice for in- classlearning They preferred teacher-led learning and evaluation and test-oriented practice.For out-of-class learning, they actively and creatively generated practice opportunitiesthroughpart- timejobs, social activities,and hobbiesbecausetheyweremoretargeted at developing language skills than at high test scores Therefore, to bridge in-class andout-of- class,howstudentsregulatetheirlearningoutsidetheclassroomshouldbeacknowledgedbyed ucators.Fromtheunderstandingofwhatstudentsarelearningoutside the classroom, how effectivetheir learning is, and the problems theyface,teacherscanbuildupamechanismintheclassroomtosupportstudentswithth eirout- of-class learning The specific solutions mentioned are towards (1) getting students moreinvolved when making decisions in class, such as the ways of giving assessments andchoosing learning materials, (2) making classroom learning close to real-life practices,and (3) individualizing classroom learning to provide opportunities for personal hobbiesandinterests,and(4)encouraging students toworkoutside theclassroo mthroughtheuse ofproject-basedandflippedlearning.

Also focusing on promoting learner autonomy in the classroom, Wang and Ryan(2020) discussed teachers’ practices that could facilitate or hinder the control shift fromteachers to learners, the key to developing learner autonomy The study included nineteachers within one English department of a Chinese secondary boarding private foreignschool involved in multi-case studies The analysis of classroom practices, interviews,andpost- lessondiscussionshighlighted thatopportunities topromotethedevelopmentof learner autonomy are available, even though delicate, within routine classroom tasks.The teachers’ practices conducive to language learner autonomy were divided into classpresentation,collaborativegrouplearning,student- ledpeerteaching,andreportedpractices Some teachers’ particular actions, such as letting team members decide onpresenters and materials for presentations, team teaching, peer assessment, intragroupexercise-explaining, students acting as teacher assistants, and nominating the best self- studylearnerarebeneficialtoscaffoldlearnerautonomy.Studentsaregivenopportunities to practise different autonomous learning skills and strategies, so theirlearner autonomy canbefostered.

Finally, Seppọnen (2014) explored the roles of individual learners, peer groups, andteachers in fostering autonomous language learning behaviour Datacollected fromtwenty-five undergraduate students of an advanced English course at a university inFinland suggested that teachers and peers could assist the learning process of individuallearners The research participants went through an initial goal-setting task and threeworking cycles, each starting with a strategy development activity and culminating in awritingassignment.Strategiesintroducedduringthecoursewereexploitingonlineresources ,e x p a n d i n g v o c a b u l a r y , c r e a t i n g d o - i t - y o u r s e l f l a n g u a g e d e v e l o p m e n t t a s k s , and reflecting on the effectiveness of their practiced strategies Each cycle of work wasfinished with a writing task so that the students could incorporate their latest learninginto a complete piece of writing The writing tasks included the TED talk task, an articlebased on a guest lecture task, and a blog-post task Teachers, peers, and individual roleswere explained clearly in different stages of the learning process: (1) choosing aims,purposes, and setting goals;

(2) choosing materials, methods, and tasks; (3) exercisingchoice and purpose in organizing and carrying out the chosen tasks; and (4) choosingcriteria for evaluation. The report was written when the project was still running, soconclusions about the roles were not reached It could be said that teachers and peersshould be involved more in preparing for learners’ autonomous learning, and learnersthemselves are still the ones who decide to avail themselves of the opportunities tobecomemoreautonomouslearners. The above researchhas pointed out that out-of-class learnings h o u l d b e a d d r e s s e d , andin-classandout-of- classlearningcansupporteachotherwell.Inthespecificcaseof promoting learner autonomy, the understanding of students’ learner autonomy in out-of-class learning and ways to support its development,especially in the Vietnamesecontext, is still scattered Exploring the correlations between students’ learner autonomyin the out-of-class context and the roles of teachers and peers in the classroom canstrengthen the understanding of learner autonomy in the out-of-class context and itsmediating factors It also fills the gap of bridging in-class and out-of-class learningcontexts, looking at how each dimension of learner autonomy in the out-of- class contextcorrelateswitheachroleofteachersandpeersintheclassroom.

Theconceptualframeworkofthe study

After carefully reviewing the literature about learner autonomy in the out-of- classcontext, perceivedteachers’ andpeers’roles in the classroom,a n d p r e v i o u s s t u d i e s about the associations between in-class and out-of-class in promoting learner autonomy,thestudy’sconceptualframeworkispresentedinFigure2.

There are three constructs in the study: (1) learner autonomy in the out-of-class contextisalearner’scapacitytocontrolthreedimensionsoflearning:thesituational,behavioral,and psychological dimensions; (2) perceived teachers’ seven roles in the classroom: acontroller, an instructor, a facilitator, a co-learner, a resource, an evaluator, and anexplorer; and (3) perceived peers’ four roles in the classroom: a co-learner, a supporter,an assessor,andanencourager.

This study examines the relationship between learner autonomy in out-of-class learning and perceived teacher roles within the classroom environment Trust, motivation, and teacher modeling are explored as mediating factors in these correlations Furthermore, the study investigates the connections between learner autonomy and perceived peer roles within the classroom, considering positive emotions, responsibilities, and interdependence as potential mediators Additional factors that may mediate these relationships are also examined.

Chapter overview

This chapter has discussed the relevant literature of learner autonomy in out-of- classlearning,theperceivedteachers’andpeers’rolesintheclassroom,andtheconceptual association between them to build up the literature foundation of the study.Thechapterstartedwiththetheoreticalbackgroundoflearnerautonomy,w h i c h inclu ded its conceptualisation, significance, degrees, mediating factors, approaches tofoster learner autonomy and previous studies about learner autonomy in out-of-classlearning.Then, knowledge of teachers’ and peers’ roles in the classroom was addressed.The conceptual associations between learner autonomy and teachers’ and peers’ roleswere established using Vygotsky’sSCT with mediation through ZPD and scaffoldingand Wenger’s CoP The chapter ended by summarizing previous studies to justify theresearch gap and the study’s conceptual framework The research methodology will bepresented inthenextchapter.

Understanding the current state of English learning in Vietnam, research is needed to explore learners' autonomy in out-of-class learning and its connections to perceived teacher and peer roles in the classroom The literature review draws on learner autonomy, perceived teacher roles, and perceived peer roles, linking these constructs through sociocultural theory and the Community of Practice This research aims to identify the relationships between out-of-class learner autonomy and the perceived roles of teachers and peers in the classroom, contributing to a deeper understanding of factors influencing EFL tertiary students' learning outside of class.

The purpose of this chapter is to provide themethodologyemployedforthestudy,indicatinghowtheresearcher gatheredevi dencetoanswertheresearchquestions.Thechapterstartswithadiscussionofresearchparadigm and the selection of the mixed methods design concerning the study’s researchquestions.Eachmethodisdescribedindetailabouttheobjectives,participants,recruitmentpr ocess,instrumentdevelopment,datacollectionprocedure,datamanagement,anddataanalys is.Thechapterfinisheswithethicalconsiderations.

Research paradigm

Aslearnerautonomyisacomplexanddynamicconstruct,employingasingleparadigm is insufficient for its investigation On the one hand, to depict an overallpicture of learner autonomy in the out-of-class context and students’ perceptions ofteachers’ and peers’ roles, researchers have suggested that learner autonomy or the rolesthatteachersandpeersplayintheclassroomisonlyonereality,suggestingtheassumptions of positivism On the other hand, to find out how particular teachers’ andpeers’rolesintheclassroomcanpromotestudents’learnerautonomywiths o m e students b u t m a y n o t w o r k w i t h o t h e r s , o r i n o t h e r w o r d s , t h e w a y t h e s e r o l e s c a n influence students are different from one to another, it is argued that multiple realitiesexist, supporting the assumptions of constructivism Therefore, thecurrent researchproposed applying a multiple-approach research design rather than a single data set toincrease the confidence level in answering the research questions The researcher callsfor a theoretical position of pragmatism because it allows a multidimensional view ofreal-world practices, asserting that learner autonomy and its mediating factors can beboth a singular reality and many realities under different perspectives, and knowledgecan be examined using scientific designs or interpretations to measure or interpret.Because of its characteristics, pragmatism is frequently (but not exclusively) associatedwithmixedmethodsresearch(Creswell, 2014).Thenextpartwillconti nuetoexplain theapplicationofmixedmethodsdesigninthisresearch.

Research design

Mixed methods research design generally involves quantitative and qualitativeresearch methods in a single study (Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004) There are threereasons why mixed methods design is the choice of pragmatism First, mixed methodsresearch can combine the strengths of both quantitative and qualitative methods Thequantitative research method has the strengths of conceptualising variables, profilingdimensions, tracing trends and relationships, formalising comparisons, and using largeand representative samples The qualitative research method brings the strengths ofsensitivity to meaning and context, local grounded-ness, the in-depth study of smallsamples,andgreatmethodologicalflexibility,whichenhancestheabilitytostudyproces s and change (Punch, 2013) Second, mixed methods design can provide richerdata than a single method design because “words, pictures, and narrative can be used toadd meaning to numbers” (Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004, p 21) Creswell andClark(2011) echoed this view when combining quantitative and qualitative approaches mayprovide more evidence and a better understanding of research problems and complexphenomenathaneitherapproachalone.Third,mixedmethodsresearchbridgesquant itative and qualitative research by dealing with questions that cannot be answeredalonebyquantitativeorqualitativeapproaches.

This study aims to explore the learner autonomy of EFL tertiary students in out-of-class learning and its connection to social factors like teachers and peers By first establishing a baseline understanding of students' learner autonomy and their perceptions of teacher and peer roles in the classroom, the research investigates the correlations between these factors Through mediating factors, the findings reveal bidirectional relationships between learner autonomy and the roles of teachers and peers To address the research questions' need for diverse data, a mixed-methods design was employed, combining both quantitative and qualitative methods for a comprehensive understanding of the research problem.

There are six primary mixed methods designs: convergent parallel, explanatory sequential, exploratory sequential, embedded, transformative, and multiphase In this research, the sequential explanatory mixed methods design was chosen because it aligned with the research objectives and questions This design involves collecting quantitative data first, followed by qualitative data to explain the relationships revealed by the quantitative analysis The quantitative research collected data on the correlations between learner autonomy and perceived teacher and peer roles, while the qualitative research aimed to explore these bidirectional associations through mediating factors.

ThequantitativeresearchinvestigatedthecorrelationsbetweenVietnameseEFLtertiary students’ learner autonomy in out-of-class learning and perceived teachers’ andpeers’ roles in the classroom The quantitative data was collected from a questionnaireadministeredonlineviaGoogleForms.Itwas thenanalysed using descriptiveandinferential statistics to answer the first two research questions A detailed description ofthismethod isinsection3.3.

Based onthe quantitativedata collected, thequalitativeresearchexplainedm o r e about the correlations through the factors mediating the associations between learnerautonomy in the out-of-class learning and the perceived teachers’ and peers’ roles in theclassroom.Thequalitativedatawascollectedfromin-depthsemi- structuredgroupinterviews The researcher conducted a thematic analysis of the qualitative data obtainedtoanswerthelasttworesearchquestionsthatguidedthisphase.Adetaileddes criptionof thequalitativeresearchisinsection 3.4.

The quantitative and qualitative results were then integrated into the discussion toprovide an insightful profile of learner autonomy and the roles of teachers and peers intheinvestigatedcontextsandenableimplicationstobedrawn.

Table3.1visuallypresentsthemixedmethodssequentialexplanatorydesignprocedures employed in the current study Detailed descriptions of quantitative andqualitativeresearcharepresentedinthefollowingsections.

Selectionofinstitutions Seeking approvals from threeinstitutions

Basedontheresultofquantitativeresearch, designing, and piloting theinterviewquestions

Thequantitativeresearch

Objectives

This quantitative study examines the relationship between Vietnamese EFL students' learner autonomy in out-of-class settings and their perceived teacher and peer roles in the classroom Through descriptive analysis, the article explores students' learner autonomy levels and their perceptions of teacher and peer roles This establishes a baseline understanding of these factors in the language classroom Subsequent inferential analysis investigates correlations between learner autonomy and perceived teacher and peer roles, addressing the research questions: "To what extent does EFL tertiary students' learner autonomy in out-of-class learning correlate with their perceived teachers' roles in the classroom?" and "To what extent does EFL tertiary students' learner autonomy in out-of-class learning correlate with their perceived peers' roles in the classroom?"

EFLtertiarystudents’learnerautonomyinout-of- classlearningcorrelatewiththeirperceived peers’rolesintheclassroom?”.

Participants

Ho Chi Minh City The choice of undergraduate English majors for the studywas made based on several considerations: (1) higher education gives more freedom forteachersandstudentsintheteachingandlearningprocess,andpromotinglearnerautonomy to prepare students for lifelong learning is considered the primary outcome oftrainingatthislevel;

(2)studentsatthetertiarylevelarematureenoughtogivedecisionsaboutt h e i r l e a r n i n g , t o d e s c r i b e t h e i r l e a r n i n g p r o c e s s i n d e t a i l , a n d t o e v a l u a t e t h e i r learning’s effectiveness; and (3) full-time students of English have English as theirprimary concern As a result, the data collected from this group of students could give arichpictureofadynamicconstructoflearnerautonomy.

Asthere qu ir em en t oft h e quantitativ e p h a s e f o r reliability a n d v a l i d i t y , parts ofthe scales used in this research were required to run exploratory factor analysis toidentify themes Therefore, the study aimed to survey 400 to 600 participants as therequirement for a particular number of cases in exploratory factor analysis (Cohen et al.,2011) Nearly twenty institutions in HCMC have full-time training programs for Englishmajors, divided into different sub-majors such as English Language Teaching, EnglishTranslationandInterpretation,EnglishforTourismandHospitality,andBusinessEnglis h Even though each institution has its modifications to the training program, theyneed to follow the training curriculum framework from the Ministry of Education andTraining; therefore, the variance among institutions is limited The researcher randomlychose three institutions (more than 10% of twenty) to participate in the study, with thetarget number of participants from each institution being about 200-250 students in allfour years.

The names of twenty institutions were written separately on small pieces of paper,folded into four, and then put together into a box The researcher randomly picked threepieces of folded paper, and these institutions were chosen to participate in the research.After randomly choosing three universities, initial contactsw e r e m a d e v i a e m a i l w i t h the potential universities’ Deans of the English/ Foreign Languages Faculty A letter ofparticipation invitation and a short description of the research stating two phases weresent to them The researcher also asked to visit them briefly in the office to receiveofficial permission (see Appendix 3A for the invitation letters) One university of threeselected institutions refused to participate because they were busy with external audits.Theresearcher selected anotheruniversity bypickingapieceof paper int h e box an d then contacted the Dean of that university and got the acceptance this time Acadia, BigValley, and Columbia pseudonyms were given to the three institutions that participatedin the study.

Specifically, Acadia is part of the public sector and is managed by MoET It hasvarious majors and specialisations in Economics – Technology, Cultural – Social, Law,Politics, Art, and Pedagogy The Department of Foreign Languages (DFL) is one of themostcriticalunitsofAcadia.DFLofferstwoundergraduateprogramsinEnglishlanguage teaching and English Linguistics (Commerce-Tourism) for more than 1700students and General English and English for Specific Purposes programs for non-majorstudents.

Next,BigValleyisoneofthefirstprivateuniversitiesinVietnamundertheadministration of MoET The institution has over 40,000 students enrolled across morethan sixty-one academic majors The Faculty of Foreign Languages (FFL) is a strongfaculty in Sector VII of the institution, including Humanities, Social and BehaviouralSciences,JournalismandInformation,SocialServices,Hotel,Tourism,Sportsa ndPersonal Services, Transportation Services, Environment and environmental ProtectionandNational S e c u r i t y a n d Defense.T h i s s e c t o r acceptsmore t ha n 1 4 0 0 0 s t u d e n t s forthe school year 2022-2023, being the most crowded sector of the institution.F F L h a s two majors for the undergraduate level: Chinese Language and English Language, andone significant for the Master level: Master of English language The English Languagebachelor’s degree program provides students sufficient knowledge, skills, and more tomeetsocialneedsandinternationalintegration.Studentscanchooseoneoffiveorientations,i ncludingBusinessEnglish,TeachingEnglish,EnglishTranslation–Interpretation,English– BusinessCenter,andTourismEnglish.

Finally, Columbia is a public higher education institution, also under the managementof MoET.Established in 1990 and become a public university in 2006, itn o w a p p e a r s to be one of the high-ranking public universities in Vietnam It offers a variety ofprogramsr a n g i n g f r o m o n - s i t e t o d i s t a n c e l e a r n i n g , s u c h a s B u s i n e s s A d m i n i s t r a t i o n ,

Economics & Law, Finance – Banking, Accounting – Auditing, Biotechnology, andCivil & Electrical Engineering The Faculty of Foreign Languages (FFL) is also one ofthestrongfacultiesoftheuniversity.ItoffersundergraduatecurriculainEnglish,Chinese,an dJapanese.EnglishMajorsincludeEnglishLanguageTeachingandMethodology, Business

English, and Translation - Interpretation The degree programwillequipstudentswithlanguage(English,ChineseandJapanese)knowledgeandprofi ciencyalongwiththenecessarycross-culturalawarenesstopromoteculturalassimilation into the target professional and business fields FFL accepts more than 400studentseachyeartopursuea majorinEnglish.

Event h o u g h o n e p ri va te an d t w o pu bl ic in st i tu t io ns w e r e s el ec te d t o partici patei n the study, they are all under the control of MoET The training programs and outcomesin these institutions strictly follow the standard programs regulated by MoET, so theresearch participants have many commonalities among them, guaranteeing the integrityof theresearchsample.

Random sampling was implemented to select the participants The researcher randomly chose two classes from each year level within a 1 in 5 interval from the class list, ensuring the target number of participants could be obtained quickly However, this sampling method did not guarantee a truly random selection.

Instrumentdevelopment

A questionnaire was chosen as the instrument of this phase for several reasons.First, considering the performance of learner autonomy is one reality that is true foreveryone, a questionnaire was considered an appropriate instrument for research thatsoughtinformationaboutlearners’characteristics,perceptions,beliefs,feelings,attitudes , opinions, values, or habits (Creswell, 2014; Fink, 2017).S e c o n d , u s i n g a Third,aquestionnaireenablesthecollectionofinformationfromalargepopulation,s oit would help provide a general description of the participants’ beliefs, and from thatgeneralisationaboutthepopulationcouldbeclaimed(Dửrnyei&Taguchi,2010).

Anonlinequestionnairewaschoseninsteadofpaperformbecauseofitsenvironmental friendliness, fast distribution, automatic compilation of data, and theavoidance of data entry and coding errors (Varela et al., 2016) Google Forms waschosen as the online data collection tool because Vietnamese students are familiar withworking with different products in the Google ecology The main problem with onlinesurvey questionnaires is the lower response rate However, this drawback was overcomewhen the researcher came to the sites and encouraged the participants to complete thesurvey.

The researcher decided to translate the questionnaire into Vietnamese because itwould be quicker and easier for students to understand the items written in Vietnamese.Answering in Vietnamese takes little time from their lessons and the students’ brainenergy to do the survey Second, even though the participants were English majors, theywere in different years, and their English proficiency levels were different from eachother, the items in Vietnamese will guarantee there was no difference in understandingamongthestudents. Finally, theVietnamesequestionnairecanbeusedforsimilarresearch contexts.

The questionnaire instrument was developed to collect data on the participants’learnerautonomyinout-of- class learning andtheperceived teachers’ andpeers’rolesin the classroom The items were mainly adapted from previous scales based on theconceptualframeworkthathasbeendevelopedintheliteraturereview.

Thequestionnaire(seeAppendix3CforEnglishandAppendix3Dfort h e Vietnamese version) has 116 items in total It consists of five parts: (1) the demographicinformation, (2) the student’s learner autonomy in the out-of-class learning context, (3)perceived teachers’ roles in the classroom, (4) perceived peers’ roles in the classroomand (5) the agreement on the second phase participation Table3.2 gives an overview ofthequestionnaire,andeachpart isdescribedindetail next.

Part Aimofinvestigating N 0 of items Format

Part 1, with four items, collects information on gender, institution, school year, andthe study’s results of the previous year It collects demographic information to describethesample.Fouritemsinpart1requiredrespondentstochooseoneofthealternati ves.

Part 2, with forty-five items, manifests students’ capacity to control three dimensionsoflearnerautonomyinout-of- classlearning:situational,behavioural,a n d psychological Based on the equivalent in concepts, the learner autonomy scale wasadaptedfromthefollowingscales:MILLA(Murase,2015),SEQueLLS( R u e l e n s , 2 019),LAS(Beietal.,2019),andSRFLLSQ(Habók&Magyar,2018).

The Measuring Instrument for Language Learner Autonomy (MILLA) and the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire of Language Learning Strategies (SEQueLLS) are comprehensive tools for assessing learner autonomy MILLA measures technical, psychological, political-philosophical, and socio-cultural aspects through 87 items SEQueLLS combines self-efficacy and learner autonomy concepts, using 37 closed-ended items to gauge strategies like identifying learning needs, seeking support, and evaluating learning Both instruments align with self-regulated learning principles, providing insight into learners' autonomy levels.

LAS (Learner Autonomy Scale) consisted of sixteen items, seven of which are underthePersonal/PsychologicalAutonomyScale(PAS)andnineundertheEducationalAuton omy Scale (EAS) PAS deals with self-awareness and managing difficulties inlearning,whilethelatterfocusesonautonomyinlearningandautonomyinaction.

SRFLLSQ(Self-RegulatedForeignLanguageLearningStrategyQuestionnaire)with 34itemswasdividedintofivecategories:cognitive,sociocultural-interactive,metacognitive, meta-affective, and meta-sociocultural-interactive (Habók &Magyar,2018).

Forthesituationaldimension,todepictlearners’independenceunderthegroupinfluence and freedom in making learning decisions, ten items were selected from theGroupAutonomyandFreedomofPolitical- PhilosophicalpartinMILLA(Murase,2015) Group Autonomy is renamed to Group Influence and includes five items todescribe students’ view/awareness of teachers, the institution, parents, and social trendsas authorities in the learning situation Freedom includes five items about their view onthe freedom to choose and make decisions about the content, goals, and ways of learningwhen learningEnglishoutside theclassroom.

The capacity to control learning behaviours in the behavioural dimension is describedin five learning stages: getting ready, carrying out the plan, monitoring, self- evaluating,andtranscendingwith25items,fiveitemsforeachstage.Nineitemsofthegettingreadyand carrying out the plan stages were selected from items of goal setting, planning, andlearning management in the

Behavioural dimension of Technical Autonomy of

MILLA(Murase,2015).Thefollowing14itemsofmonitoring,self- evaluating,a n d transcending stages were adapted from the sections: monitoring the learning, evaluatingthelearning process and outcome,and transferring acquired skillso r i n f o r m a t i o n t o othercontexts ofSEQueLLS(2019) Two self- developedi t e m s w e r e a d d e d b a s e d o n the concern of Vietnamese students’ reactive learner autonomy, stressing the importanceof their abilities in initiating learning and looking for new learning opportunities To bespecific,item16,“Iinitiatemylearning,”determinesthestudents’capacitytoinit iate learning,anditem31,“Ifindopportunitiesfornewlearningactivities,”showstheactiveroleoflearne rsinout-of-classlearning.

Last, ten items describe students’ capacity to control the psychological dimension ofout-of-class learning, expressing their mental readiness and capacity to control affectivefactors Mental readiness includes five items selected from PAS (Bei et al.,

2019) todepict a student’s learning independence, awareness of responsibility in learning, andinsistencet o d e a l w i t h c h a l l e n g e s t h e y c o u l d f a c e w h e n l e a r n i n g T h e l a s t f i v e i t e m s were selected from the meta-affective part of SRFLLSQ (Habók & Magyar, 2018) tomeasurehowstudentscontroltheiremotionswhenlearning.

The research instrument consisted of 45 items divided into three groups: situational (10 items), behavioral (25 items), and psychological (10 items) Respondents indicated their level of agreement or disagreement with each item on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree to agree.

To guarantee attentive participation, the researcher employed negative wording and a trap question in the questionnaire Item 31, "I find opportunities for new learning activities," was rephrased as "I do not find opportunities for new learning activities." Question 10*, "Vietnam is a European country," was added to test attention; it was not included in statistical calculations.

Part 3,with 42 items, describes perceived teachers’ roles in the classroom From theliteraturereview,theresearchersuggestedthatteachers,ingeneral,playedsev enrolesin the classroom, including the role of a/an: controller, instructor, facilitator, co-learner,resource, evaluator, and explorer The items describingt h e s e r o l e s w e r e a d a p t e d f r o m the survey sections in Arafat (2005) and Koca et al (2021) Arafat (2005)’s surveyconsistedofthirty- fiveitemscoveringeightmajorrolesofanEnglishLanguageTeacher:aninvestigator,apart icipant,aresource,aprompter,anorganiser,atutor,an assessor, and a controller Explorer replaces the name investigator, and the roles of aprompter and an organizer are combined into the role of a facilitator; therefore, theseitems are suitable to depict the seven roles listed in the literature review Koca et al.(2021) scale had 32 items describing eight subscales of teachers’ roles: informationproviderandcoach,facilitatorandmentor,assessoranddiagnostician,curriculu mdeveloper and implementer,rolemodelas at e a c h e r a n d p r a c t i t i o n e r , m a n a g e r a n d leader, scholar and researcher, and professional The role of a curriculum developer andimplementer is integrated into the role of a controller, together with a manager andleader The other roles fit well into the roles of a resource, a facilitator, an evaluator, aco-learner,acontroller,anexplorer,andaninstructor.

Twenty-two items from Arafat’s (2005) scale and ten items from Koca et al.’s (2021)scale were selected to put in the current scale based on its relevance to the roles’descriptionsdiscussedintheliteraturereview.Tenitemswereself- developedt o describe more closely the roles of teachers in the classroom from the perspective ofstudent-centeredness Particularly, to the role of an instructor, items 32,

Quantitativedatacollectionprocedure

WiththeDeans’approval,eachuniversity’scontactperson(theDepartmentsecret ary)wasassigned tosupporttheresearcher,giving thelistsofclasses each yearan dtheirschedules.Theresearcheralsodiscussedthesuitabletimetovisitthechose nclasseswiththecontactperson.ShealsopreparedaWi- Fihotspottoensuretheparticipantscouldaccesstheformsonline,evenwithanunreliableintern etconnection.Theresearcherwentto theselectedclasses,brieflyintroducedtheresearch totheteachersincharge,andshowedthemtheagreementto supporttheDean.Thete achers introduced the researcher to the class and encouraged the students to participate. Theresearcher quickly briefed the project and explained what the students needed to do withtheform.Forethicalissues,theresearchermadeclearthattheirparticipationw a s entirely voluntary, their information would be kept confidential, and the students couldchoose to withdraw from the project at any time They could also choose not to join byclicking on the “No, I do not agree to participate” option in the survey’s introduction orstop doing the questionnaire at any time A small token of a collection of 20

IELTSpreparationeBookswasgiventoallthestudentstogetherwiththeform’slinktoencourage them to answer the questionnaire more fully The researcher went around theclass to encourage them to finish the survey The researcher received 743 answers, andthedatacollectionforthequantitativeresearchwasdone.

Quantitativedatamanagement

Data management followed Dửrnyei and Taguchi's (2010) steps for processing closed-ended questionnaire data: data check, cleaning, manipulation, and reliability/validity examination Data check used Google Forms tools to ensure questionnaire completion Data cleaning identified invalid data entries and disqualified questionnaires to ensure data validity Google Forms' survey design prevented missing data, as participants were required to provide one answer per row Eight respondents exited the survey voluntarily.

“No, I do not want to participate” in theintroduction part of the survey, so they were removed Another three respondents tickedin number 1 for all the answers, so these answers were omitted Sixteen answers tickingthe option strongly agreed with the trap question “Vietnam is a European country,”sothey were discarded Seven respondents strongly agreed with Item 31, “I do not findopportunities for new learning activities,” which was opposite to their tendency to beindependent in their learning from the beginning of the questionnaire, so they were alsodismissed.SevenhundredninevalidanswerswereexportedtoSPSS26.

Data manipulation involved transferring the participant responses to a datasheet inSPSS The researcher coded the respondents’ answers to numerical scores on the ExcelfileandthenexportedittoSPSS.OncethedatahadbeentransferredintotheSPSSsheet,eachcol umnrepresentedonequestionnaireitemandthecorrespondingparticipantresponses.

To ensure reliability and validity, diverse data collection and analysis methods were utilized within a mixed-methods framework This approach allowed for the integration of existing research and the expansion of knowledge on learner autonomy and the roles of teachers and peers in local and global contexts The scales employed were adapted from previous studies and underwent rigorous testing, including content expert validation, back-translation, and a pilot phase Furthermore, the inclusion of trap questions and negative wording in the questionnaires enhanced the validity of the instruments employed.

Exploratory Factor Analysis and Cronbach's alpha were employed to establish the scale's reliability Factor Analysis identified clusters of variables (factors), ensuring that highly correlated variables formed a construct Cronbach's alpha, a measure of internal consistency, indicated the scale's reliability In this study, internal consistency was used to assess the learner autonomy scale's reliability, while factor analysis was used to extract patterns and check the internal consistency of the scales of perceived teachers' and peers' roles in the classroom Once the instrument's reliability was established, quantitative analysis could be conducted to address the research questions.

Quantitativeanalysis

Cronbach’s alpha (α) test was run for different constructs of the learner) test was run for different constructs of the learner autonomyscale to guarantee the internal consistency of the learner autonomy scale. The alpha ifitem deleted test was conducted to increase the internal consistency level and the equalcontribution of each item Cronbach’s alpha values of 0.7 or higher indicate acceptableinternal consistency (Cortinal, 1993).After the internal consistency test has met therequirements, thedatacouldbeusedforfurtheranalysis.

Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was run using the data set of perceived teachers’and peers’ roles EFA arranged the items into groups, reflecting only the dimensionsperceived by the study sample Small dimensions or dimensions with less than threeitems were not considered In addition, because an item’s factor loading provides itsrelative contribution to its respective factor, items with weak loadings in their respectivedimensions were also removed from the analysis Hair et al (2019) categorised theloadings as follows: 30 indicates minimal significance, 40 denotes importance, and 50represents practical significance A “cross loading” item is an item that loads at 32 orhighero n t w o o r m o r e f a c t o r s I t i s r e c o m m e n d e d t h a t s a t i s f a c t o r y v a r i a b l e s ( a ) l o a d ontotheirprimaryfactor above0.40,

(c)demonstrateadifferenceof0.20betweentheirprimaryandalternativefactorloadings (Howard, 2016) Therefore, the researcher decided whether to drop an item,including cross loading items, from the analysis before rerunning the EFA, until all thevariables were satisfactory.Once the prominent dimensions were formed – in this case,the roles of teachers and peers in the classroom, Cronbach’s alpha was run to check thereliability of each dimension After the reliability met the requirements, the data wereused for furtheranalysis.

Likert-type scales, including learner autonomy, perceived teachers' roles, and perceived peers' roles scales, encompass five response options ranging from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree." Assuming equal intervals between values, Likert-type scales are categorized as interval scales This classification grants researchers the ability to execute mathematical and statistical operations on the obtained data, enabling them to draw meaningful conclusions (Adams & Lawrence, 2019).

Frequencytestsprovidedinformationaboutthesamplethroughdemographiccharacteristi cs: gender, age, learning institution, and the students’ learning results (theresultsarepresentedin4.1.1).To gainadetailedpictureofthedatapattern,adescriptiveanalysis was conducted This analysis specifically described students’ learner autonomyin out-of-class learning, perceived teachers’ roles, and perceived peers’ roles by theminimum,maximum,mean,andstandarddeviationofeachitem’sscores.Aftercomputing the overall sub-cluster of learner autonomy, teachers’ roles and peers’ roles,their frequency values were also calculated The analysis was guided by the followinginterpretation of mean scores, as suggested by Ketsing (1995) and Srisaad & Nilkaew(1992):1.00–1.50=Verylow;1.51–2.50= Low;2.51–3.50=Moderate;3.51–4.50

= High; and 4.51 – 5.00 = Very high The findings are found in sections 4.1.2.2, 4.1.3.2,and 4.1.4.2, which cover learner autonomy in out-of-class learning, perceived teachers’roles,andperceivedpeers’roles, respectively.

Theparametricconditionofthedatawasthencheckedtodecideon inferentialstatistics test. The data from parts 2, 3, and 4 of the questionnaires showed that theparticipants’ratingsused thefullrangeofresponses,from“Stronglydisagree”to“Stronglyagree,”representedbyv alues1and5,respectively.The meanrangedfrom

All items exhibited skewness within an acceptable range (-2 to +2), indicating normal distribution (George & Mallery, 2010) Despite negative skewness, the data displayed a bell-shaped distribution and close trimmed mean values to the mean, indicating minimal outlier impact Thus, normal distribution was achieved, allowing for the inclusion of all items in parametric tests.

To assess correlations between learner autonomy and teacher or peer roles, a bivariate Pearson correlation test was applied to normally distributed data The Pearson correlation coefficient (r) ranges from -1 to +1, indicating the strength of the relationship Using Cohen's guidelines, correlation sizes are categorized as small (|r| = 0.10-0.29), medium (|r| = 0.30-0.49), and large (|r| = 0.50-1.0) Correlations are considered weak (0.10-0.29), moderate (0.30-0.49), or strong (0.50-1.0) based on their r values.

To further examine two variable sets, Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) wasused.CCA,developedbyHotelling(1936),isamultivariatetechniquewhichcanexaminethe relationshipsbetweentwosetsofvariablessimultaneously.Itappliesstructure coefficients as indices for selecting important predictors The key componentsofCCAarethecanonical correlations,canonicalvariates,andcanonic alloadings.The canonicalcorrelationcoefficientsarethevaluesthatindicatehowstronglythetwosets of variablesa r e r e l a t e d T h e v a l u e s r a n g e f r o m 0 t o 1 , w h e r e 0 m e a n s n o r e l a t i o n s h i p and1meansaperfectrelationship.Highercanonicalcorrelationssuggests trongerrelationships between them Canonical variates are linear combinations of the originalvariablesineachset.Thereareasmanycanonicalvariatesastherearecanonicalcorrelations. The canonical loadings are the correlations between the original variablesandthecanonicalvariables,whicharethelinearcombinationsofvariablest h a t maximi sethecanonicalcorrelationcoefficients.Variableswithhighloadingsonaparticular canonical variate are most strongly associated with that variate (Pugh & Hu,1991) Kabir et al (2014) recommended that the loading which has the absolute valueabove 30wasconsideredimportant.

CCA was run twice with two pairs of latent constructs: perceived teachers’ roles andlearnerautonomyandperceived peers’rolesandlearnerautonomy.Thetestshelpidentify the strength and significance of the correlations between learner autonomy andteachers’ roles and learner autonomy and peers’ roles Teachers’ roles were the predictorvariables, and nine constructs of learner autonomy were criterion variables Similarly,peers’ roles were the predictor variables, and nine constructs of learner autonomy werecriterion variables The observed variables in each set were combined into one latentvariable.Thesesynthetic variableswerecreatedinCCAbyapplyingalineare quationto the observed predictor variables to create a single synthetic predictor variable andanother linear equation to the observed dependent variables to create a single syntheticcriterion variable CCA creates two linear equations, one for the predictor variables andone for the criterion variables. These two equations are generated to yield the largestpossible correlation between the two synthetic variables The variance in the observedpredictorvariables iscombined tomaximally correlate withthecombin edvariance inthe observed criterion variable set (Sherry & Henson, 2005) CCA then therefore couldreflect the direct contribution of teachers’ and peers’ role as the predictors for theoutcomevariable,learnerautonomy.

Fromtheresultsofthequantitativephase,theresearchercontinuedwiththequalitative research to find out the factors that mediate the correlations between learnerautonomyandperceivedteachers’andpeers’roles.

Issuesofreliabilityandvalidityofthequantitativeresearch

The researcher strictlyfollowedthe recognizedprocedures to ensuret h e r e l i a b i l i t y and validity of the findings in the quantitative phase The questionnaire was adaptedfrompreviouswell- establishedstudiesinsimilarcontexts(EastAsiancultures).Regarding face and content validity, language experts in learner autonomy, experiencedteachers, and senior students were consulted to give comments and feedback on theappropriateness and coverage of the instrument’s content in the proofreading stage.Regarding external validity, the random sampling process (to select the institutions andthe classes to participate) and the large sample size (N = 709) helped increase thegeneralisability (the degree to which a sample represents the population) of the research.Thequestionnairedesignalsohelpedtominimiseproblemswithresponsesetsorauto mated responses To be precise, most questionnaire items were arranged alternatelyrather than clustered in groups One trap question and a question in negative form wereused across the questionnaire to help identify invalid responses The questionnaire waspiloted carefully before being administered EFA and Cronbach’s α) test was run for different constructs of the learner coefficients wereusedforthereliabilityofthescales.Theseprocedureshavehelpedtoachievethevalidityand reliabilityofquantitativeresearch.

Thequalitativeresearch

Objectives

The qualitative research aims to explain moreabout theassociations betweenlearner autonomy in out-of-class learning context and perceived teachers’ and peers’roles in the classroom by the understanding of the mediate factors The data collectedhelps to answer the third and fourth research questions: “What factors mediate thecorrelations between EFL tertiary students’ learner autonomy in out-of-class learningand their perceived teachers’ roles in the classroom?” and “What factors mediate thecorrelations between EFL tertiary students’ learner autonomy in out-of-class learningand theirperceivedpeers’rolesintheclassroom?”

Rationaleforadoptingsemi-structuredin-depthgroupinterview

The semi-structured in-depth group interview was chosen for the qualitative phaseto explore how the participants conducted their out-of-class learning and how teachersand peers could promote that learning through their roles in the classroom. Interviewingcan delve deep beneath the surface of superficial responses to obtain true meanings thatindividualsassigntoeventsandthecomplexityoftheirattitudes,behaviours,andexperiences. Agroupinterview brings together a small group ofpeople to answerquestions in a moderate setting The social gathering format was also expected to helpthe participants reveal their attitudes, feelings, and beliefs more easily A list of fixedquestions and additional questions that emerge during the discussions could help explorethematterdeeper.Groupinterviewsworkwellwithgroupsfromsixtotwelveparticipant s for each interview (George, 2022), and forming groups with six memberswas the researcher's choice becausei t g u a r a n t e e d t h a t s h e c o u l d s e t u p t h e i n t e r v i e w timeandvenueandmanagethediscussioncomfortably.

Participantsandtherecruitmentprocess

Most scholarsarguethat saturation is crucialwhenmullingoversamplesizedecisions in qualitative research (Mason, 2010) Saturation is defined by many as thepoint at which the data collection process no longer offers any new or relevant data(Dworkin,2012).Thereis noguaranteetoreach saturationafterinterviewinghowmany students; therefore, interviews may continue if new ideas come up and finish whensaturation has been reached Saturation is suggested to occur with twelve participants inhomogeneousgroups(Guestetal.,2006),butsomeresearchrequires25to30participantstob etheminimumsamplesize(Dworkin,2012).Becauseofthesmallscopeof the study, the researcher decided the first number of students participating in thequalitativephaseoftheresearchwasthirty- six,dividedintosixgroups.Moreparticipantscouldbeinvitedifsaturationwasnotreached.

To recruit participants for the qualitative research, the researcher made lists of all thestudents in each institution who were voluntarily willing to participate in the qualitativephase of the study There were 320 students from three institutions: ninety- two fromAcadia,104fromBigValley,and124fromColumbia,whovolunteered topart icipatein the group interviews The researcher wanted to invite twelve students from eachinstitution, sosherandomly pickedtwelve volunteers (the intervalo f o n e e v e r y f i v e ) and sent an invitation to them The invitation gave details about the group interview theywould participate in It was also clear that their voluntary participation did not impacttheir learning results, and they could withdraw from participation at any time Theprocess continued until the researcher got the acceptance to participate from thirty-sixstudents (12 students in different school years at each university) The students sent backthe researcher their consent forms when they agreed to participate and then joined theparticipant chat groups to discuss the date, time, and location of the interviews.Onestudent could not come to the interview because of family issues, so the number ofparticipants in the qualitative research was thirty-five, and they were given codes S1 toS35 Table 3.5 provides information about the participants in the qualitative research,referringtotheircode,gender, yearofstudyandinstitution.

Code Gender Yearofstudy Institution Code Gender Yearofstudy

S1 F 4 th year Acadia S7 F 2 nd year

S13 M 2 nd year BigValley S19 F 1 st year

S25 F 3 rd year Columbia S31 F 1 st year

Instrument

Section A – General information to collect general information about the participants’codes,theplace,date,andtimeoftheinterview,andtheinterviewsessioncode. SectionB–

Rapportestablishmentbyaskingtheintervieweestointroducethemselves,explainingtheoutli neoftheinterview,reachingaconsensusont h e language to be used, reminding the participants that the interview is audio recorded andthe possibility of withdrawing from the interview at any time, and the manner theinterviewer isgoing toaskthe questions. Section C – Core information with two main parts to determine factors that mediatethe correlations between learner autonomy and the perceived teachers’ roles, and factorsthat mediate the correlations between learner autonomy and the perceived peers’ roles.The guided questions were based on the attributes of teachers’ and peers’ roles and howthoseattributesinfluencedstudents’out-of-classlearning.

Section D – Interview closing to thank the interviewees, explain what the interviewerwill do with the data, and ask if they wish to share any further information beforeleaving.

The guided questionswere written basedonthe objectiveso f t h e q u a l i t a t i v e p h a s e and the quantitative research results The researcher also emailed the list of guidedquestions to the two experts who had participated in the quantitative phase to seekfeedback.The feedback receivedsuggested focusingstudents onspeakingaboutt h e roles that were found prominent from the quantitative results rather than exploring theroles one by one The list of questions was modified and sent back to the experts forcomments Then, the questionswere translatedintoV i e t n a m e s e b e c a u s e t h e l a n g u a g e for the interviews was also Vietnamese It is easier for the participants to express theirideas using their native language The interviews were recorded, and the researchertranscribed them right after each interview The instrument for the interview is presentedin Appendix3E.

The focus group interview questions were meticulously crafted based on the qualitative and quantitative research phases A pilot phase with three non-participating students was implemented to validate the questionnaire's effectiveness in eliciting relevant information, gauge potential difficulties for interviewees, and estimate interview duration This pilot also provided the researcher with valuable experience in conducting the interviews.

The results from the pilot showed that the interviewees loved to talk about their out- of-class learning and could talk off-topic Practising with the pilot interview processhelped the researcherunderstand that the interviewer should noticet h e t u r n - t a k i n g s when interviewing in groups As the data collected was rich with the initial analysis, thequalitativedatacollectionstartedafterward.

Qualitativedatacollectionprocedure

Once the researcher received the participants’ consent form, she asked for theirZalo contacts Six groups were formed on Zalo to discuss a suitable interview date, time,and venue Three group interviews were conducted at the canteen of their institutions,andanotherthreeinterviewswereatthecoffeeshopnearthereafterclass.T h e research er asked permission to record the interviews and explained again that the datacollected was only for research purposes The participants were given food and drinkvoucherstouseduringtheinterviewandapairofcinematicketsasatokenofappreciation. Before conducting the interview, the participants were briefed quicklyabouttheresultsofthequantitativephasethattheyparticipatedinandhowtheresearche r would explore more about those correlations The group interviews lasted for1 hour and a half each After the fifth interview, the researcher felt saturation was nearlyreachedbecauseideaswererepeated,andnewideaswerenolongerarising.The sixth interviewp r o v e d t h a t s a t u r a t i o n h a d r e a c h e d , a n d t h e r e s e a r c h e r d e c i d e d t o s t o p t h e qualitativedata collection.

Qualitativedataanalysis

Thematicanalysiswasusedto identify,analyse,and reportp a t t e r n s ( t h e m e s ) within data (Braun & Clarke, 2006) It was considered suitable for describing structuresandprocessesinroutines andpracticesand fordiscoveringthe subjecti veexperiences of a group of learners The flexibility of the thematic approach allowed the analysis tofocus on individual cases, their distinctive features, and the links among them Bothdeductive and inductive approaches to thematic analysis were adopted in this project.The deductive approach was employed for coding the factors that have been reported tomediate the relationship between the teachers and peers and students’ development oflearner autonomy, and the inductive approach was employed for coding the new factorsthatemergedfromthe interviews.

To ensure accuracy, transcribed data underwent participant review to verify researcher comprehension Upon feedback, the transcription was translated into English Given the participants' English language proficiency, feedback on translation accuracy was additionally requested.

When there was no more change to be made, the researcher started the analysisproceduresfollowingthesixsteps:familiarisation,coding,generatingt h e m e s , rev iewing themes, defining and naming themes, and reporting (Braun & Clarke, 2006).First, the researcher read, reread the transcribed data, and noted initial ideas to developpreliminarycodes anddetailed notes. Second was the generation ofi n i t i a l c o d e s a n d then putting the relevant data into the suitable code The third stage was searching forthemes Based on the literature review, the predetermined themes for the factors thatmediate the correlations between students’ learner autonomy and perceived teachers’rolesweremotivation,trust,andteacherasarolemodel;themediatingfactorsbet ween learner autonomy and peers’ roles were positive emotions, responsibilities, and positiveindependence New themes were also expected to emerge because of the characteristicsof the Vietnamese context.The codesw e r e c o l l o c a t e d i n t o p r e d e t e r m i n e d t h e m e s a n d the new theme The researcher also discussed with the two experts on learner autonomywhohavehelpeddesignthelearnerautonomyscaleinthequantitativephaseofthestudyt o ensure that any emerging themes were not missed The themes were then reviewed inthe fourth stage to check if the themes made sense and accounted for all the codedextracts and the entire data set, generating a code book The codebook was then checkedwith the two experts and the participants to ensure the coder did not misunderstand.

Inthef i f t h s t e p , t h e r e s e a r c h e r c o n d u c t e d a n o n g o i n g a n a l y s i s t o r e f i n e t h e s p e c i f i c s o f eachtheme,generatingcleardefinitionsandnamesforeachtheme.Thisst ageresultedin a comprehensiveanalysis of whatt h e t h e m e s c o n t r i b u t e d t o u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h e d a t a In the last step, the researcher presented a selection of exact examples and the finalanalysis.Beforereachingthefinalreport,anotherresearcher- thecolleaguewhoparticipated in designing the teachers’ and peers’ roles scale - was invited to code thetranslated script using thecodebook.Bothc o d e r s a g r e e d t h a t i f a p a r t i c i p a n t r e p e a t e d the same code multiple times, it would still be counted as just one mention So, even ifthe participant used the code repeatedly, it was recorded as one instance of mentioningthat code, regardless of how many times they repeated it later Pearson correlationindicatedtheintra- coderreliabilityof0.95.Emergingthemesweregeneratedwithagreement by both coders Then, the results of the qualitative research were combinedwiththequantitativeresearchresultstosynthesisesuitablepedagogicalimplicati ons.

Thetrustworthinessofqualitativedata

Specific methodological strategies have been used in qualitative research to ensurethe trustworthiness of the findings in terms of credibility, transferability, dependability,and confirmability(Noble&Smith,2015).

To ensure the credibility of the research findings, recorded interviews facilitated data re-examination Participant feedback on the Vietnamese script, translation, and codebook eliminated misunderstandings Expert guidance from learner autonomy specialists and an experienced teacher-researcher enhanced instrument design and theme identification Investigator triangulation, with the researcher's colleague coding the data using the codebook, further ensured truth value The research process's detailed descriptions, from outline to findings, enhance transferability by enabling other researchers to assess its applicability in comparable contexts.

Towardsitsdependability,themethodsfordatacollecting,analysis,a n d interpretation were chosen carefully to ensure the consistency and reliability of theresults The data collection followed the steps that had been suggested for qualitativeresearch, and the analysis and interpretation of the data followed the six steps proposedby Braun and Clarke (2006) Two experts of learner autonomy and an experiencedresearcher were consulted during the analysis stages of the research They could beconsidered as the research auditors, who could comment on the appropriateness of theresearch steps. These actions were clearly shown in the research report, helping thechance for the study to be theoretically replicated by other researchers and generateconsistentresults.

Thefinalconcernwasitsconfirmability,assuringthatthefindingsobjectivelyreflectedpar ticipant information Inthisphase,all participants wereallowed torefuse topart icipate,ensuringthat thedatacollection sessionsinvolvedonlythosegenuinely willingtoparticipateandpreparedtoofferinformationfreely.Rapportwiththeparticipantswa sestablished by formingthegrouponsocialmedia chat,and clearindications were given that there were no correct answers to the questions asked in theinterviews The participants were relaxed and contributed their ideas without feart o their peers and teachers The interviews were recorded, allowing the researcher to listenwhen needed. The interviewees were also asked to double-check the transcription andtranslation to ensure their ideas were reported objectively Altogether, these measureshavehelpedestablishthedataresults’trustworthiness.

This part has reported the process of designing instruments, recruiting participants,collecting data, and analysing data in the quantitative and qualitative phases of theresearch The measures to achieve the reliability and validity of the quantitative phaseand the trustworthiness of the qualitative phase have been implemented to guarantee themeanings of the data collected The ethical considerations will be discussed next beforereachingthesummaryof thechapter.

Ethicalconsiderations

Researchethicsfocusesonthespecificcontextsofplanning,conducting,communicatin g, and following up research Codes of ethical practice prompt researchersto be concerned about ethical issues like avoiding harm, informed consent, privacyprotection,confidentiality,andanonymityoftheparticipantswhoprovidedata.Conventi onal ethical issuesalsorequire researchers to ensure voluntaryp a r t i c i p a t i o n and avoid deceiving the participants (Punch & Oancea, 2014) Fully aware of the ethicalissues,theresearcherfollowedtheethicalconcernsdiscussedinsocialsciences.

In the quantitative phase, consent was obtained from the institutions participating inthe research and individual participants The researcher sent the institution participationinvitation and the project information sheet to the potential institution leaders and metthemtoreceiveapproval.Theresearcherwenttoeachclassroomtogiveabriefintroduction abouttheresearchandhowtheinformationtheyprovidedwouldbeused and stressed that their participation was completely voluntary When opening the surveyby clicking the link, potential participants could first choose to participate or withdrawfrom the study The survey questionnaire was anonymous, and only participants whodecidedtojointhestudy’ssecondphaseprovidedtheiremailaddressesfortheresearcherto contactattheendofthesurvey.Thecontactinformationwouldnotbeusedfor any other purposes.

In the qualitative phase, the participants were randomly selected Then, the studentparticipantinvitationletterandthequalitativeinformationsheetweresenttothevolunt ary participants Consent forms were subsequently signed by those who agreed toparticipate before the interviews were conducted During this process, the researcherexplained and answered all the questions raised by participants very carefully and indetail.Also,alltherightsofparticipantsintheparticipantinformationsheetandelements in the consent forms were explained carefully It was made clear that there wasneitherharm n o r r i s k i n p a r t i c i p a t i n g ( o r n o t p a r t i c i p a t i n g ) in th e r e s e a r c h T h ey a l s o had the right to withdraw from participating or withdraw the information they hadprovided and the guarantee of confidentiality To guarantee participants’ anonymity andconfidentiality, the researcher assigned and used pseudonyms for the entire qualitativeprocess,whichmeantthattheparticipants’responseswereuntraceable,andnoinfor mation was disclosed to third parties (Dawson, 2009) The interview sessions tookplace in a comfortable environment and in a friendly manner During the interviews, theresearcher avoided questions that might irritate the participants, for example, recallingawkward experiences (Flick, 2007) The interviewer and other participants also showedrespect to other participants and protected them from losing face.

Questions were askedindiversewaystohelpparticipantsexpressthemselvesclearly.Disruptionwasminimise dduringthediscussion;anyembarrassmentwasavoided,andnofurtherquestions were asked about any issues participants did not want to discuss The safestorage of data was ensured The soft-copy data (e.g., audio files, interview transcripts,and data entry intoSPSS) is password-protected in the researcher’s computer All thedataissafelykeptforfiveyears,afterwhichitwill bedestroyed.

Chaptersummary

This part has discussed the study’s methodology, starting with pragmatism as theappropriate research paradigm Then, the sequential explanatory mixed methods designwas explained, and the rationale for this methodological choice was presented. With thisfoundation, the chapter gave a detailed description of the quantitative and qualitativephasesoftheresearch,includingtheparticipants,instruments,datacollectionprocedur es, data management, and data analysis, as well as the concern about issues ofthereliability andvalidityofthequantitativephaseand thetrustworthinessofthequalitative phase Thet w o p h a s e s i n t h e r e s e a r c h c o m p l e m e n t e d e a c h o t h e r t o a n s w e r the concerns about EFL tertiary students’ learner autonomy in the out-of-class learningcontext,howitcorrelateswiththeperceivedrolesofteachersandpeersintheclassroom,and what factorsmediatethose correlations.

Chapter3hasdescribedthemethodologyusedtoanswerthefourresearchquestions proposed in the current project Given the theoretical position presented inChapter 2and the research objectives, amixed methodsdesign,consistingof twosequential phases to collect multiple data sets, was employed This chapter continues toreport on the results of these two studies The first part of the chapter presents thequantitative research resultsto answer thefirst two research questions: to find thecorrelations between students’ learner autonomy in the out-of-class context and theperceivedteachers’andpeers’rolesintheclassroom.Theseresultsarefromthequantitative datacollected from theanswersof 709 EFLs t u d e n t s T h e s e c o n d p a r t o f the chapter reports on the results of the qualitative research to answer the last tworesearch questions, that is, to explain the associations established in the quantitativethrough the mediating factors The data was collected from six semi-structured groupinterviews with 35 participants The factors that mediate the associations are drawn fromathematicsynthesisoftranscriptsacrosscases.

Resultsofthequantitativephase

Demographicinformation

From 709 valid responses, the descriptive statistics showed more females thanmales in the sample, with 71.8% and 26.8%, respectively, reflecting female dominancein the EFL context in Vietnam The students in Acadia, Big Valley, and Columbia wereapproximately the same, at 38.6%, 35.5%, and 25.8%, respectively The number ofstudents in their third and last year at the university was slightly less than that in theirfirst and second years, reflecting the tendency for the bigger class size of the juniorstudents.Mostparticipantshadgoodlearningresults,at50.1%.Althought h e imbalanc edd i s t r i b u t i o n o f g e n d e r i n t h e s a m p l e w a s n o t i d e a l , i t r e f l e c t e d t h e contemporaryrealitiesofEFLtraining Table4.1givesdetails aboutthedemograp hicinformation of theparticipants.

Total participants Variables Divisions Percentage

EFLstudents’learnerautonomyinout-of-classlearning

AssummarisedinTable4.2,Cronbach’salphavaluesfortheconstructwerefrom 709to.824.Eachitemwasthenexaminedusingtheifitemdeletedmethodtoindicatethatth esescalesproducedthehighestpossiblealphasfortheirrespectivefactors.

Dimensions Factors N 0 of items Cronbach’sAlpha

The situational dimension of learner autonomy in out-of-class learning measuresthe students’ capacity to control the learning situation It is expressed through theirawareness of the influence of the authorities in their learning process and their freedomto makedecisions about learning Table4.3shows thedescriptivestatisticsof theparticipants’ control of the situational dimension of learner autonomy in out-of- classlearningcontext.

Items/Factor N Min Max Mean SD

Items/Factor N Min Max Mean SD

External influences significantly impact students' learning, with teachers and institutional regulations holding the most sway (M = 4.09 and 4.00) Parents' wishes play a lesser role (M = 2.80), while friends' influence and societal expectations have a moderate impact (M = 3.29 and 3.23) Students acknowledge the influence of others in their independent learning outside the classroom (M = 3.48).

The participants highly agreed that they were free to make decisions about theirlearning outside the classroom (M= 4.23) The freedom to choose what they wanted tolearn outside the classroom had the second highest score, slightly more than the freedomto choose the learning ways for learning outside the classroom (M=4.15 and 4.11) Thefreedom to choose the learning materials and decide their own goals in learning outsidethe classroom was also elevated (M=4.06 and 4.01) The cluster’s overall high meanscore (M=4.12) indicated the participants had the freedom to make decisions in theirlearning.Thestandarddeviationswerefrom.772to1.068.

Various factors influence students' learning outside the classroom, with educators, institutions, and peers holding significant sway Teachers, in particular, guide students' learning by determining the content, methods, and materials used Additionally, students generally possess a level of autonomy in controlling their learning beyond the classroom setting, tailoring it to their preferences and needs.

Participants in the study exhibited a moderate to prominent level of control over their learning actions across five stages: preparation, initiation, reinforcement, transcendence, and transformation This behavioral dimension of learner autonomy was assessed through descriptive statistics, as shown in Table 4.4 (Appendix 3F).

Items/Factor N Min Max Mean SD

In the getting ready stage, the students were most confident in identifying theirstrengths (M=3.78) They could identify their weaknesses and their learning goals andknow whichlearningwaysbest suited them(M=3.73, 3.63, and3.64) Theabilityt o plan the learning steps was lower, only at a moderate level, with M=3.23 The overallcontroloftheparticipantsinthegettingreadystagewashighwithM=3.61.Thestandarddeviations werefrom.704 to1.055.

Whenconductingtheirlearning,theparticipantsgotthehighestmeanscoreoncreatingthebest conditionstostudy(M=4.20).Theyalsotrieddifferentlearning materials and strategies and arranged as much time as possible to study (M=3.95, 3.76,and 3.70) Theyfoundinitiatinglearning themost challenging in this stage( M = 3 4 6 ) Onaverage,withtheoverallmeanscoreof3.40,thestudy’spartic ipantsdemonstratedam o d e r a t e l e v e l o f c o n t r o l o f t h i s l e a r n i n g s t a g e T h e s t a n d a r d d e v i a t i o n s w e r e f r o m

In the monitoring stage, participants exhibited a moderate level of control (M=3.53) They sought help when needed (M=3.93) and adjusted their learning accordingly (M=3.79) They also adjusted their learning process to reach their goals (M=3.74) However, they had difficulty monitoring whether their studies followed their plans (M=3.46) and reflecting on the effectiveness of their learning routine (M=3.27) These scores indicate that while participants had a moderate level of control over the monitoring stage, there were areas where they could improve their self-monitoring skills.

In the self-evaluating stage, they could evaluate whether they had achieved the goal(M=3.74) They moderately evaluated if their planning was realistic (M = 3.49) andwhether their learning was effective (M= 3.71) They needed to be more confident intheir abilities to draw a conclusion on the level of their learning success and selectcriteriatoevaluatetheirlearningoutcomes(M=3.46,and3.36).Ingeneral,theparticipan ts averagely controlled the self-evaluating stage (M=3.38) when conductingtheir own learning outside the classroom The overall means c o r e o f s e l f - e v a l u a t i n g stage was the lowest in comparison with other learning stages The standard deviationswere from 702 to1.183.

When transcending to the next learning activity, students were confident using theacquired skills in similar contexts (M= 3.85) The ability to find opportunities for newlearningactivitiesandensuretheretentionofthenewlyacquiredskillswasataprominentle vel (M=3.81 for both) They needed to bem o r e c o n f i d e n t i n i n t e g r a t i n g their newly acquired knowledge into their knowledge and ensuring the retention of thenewlya c q u i r e d k n o w l e d g e ( M = 3 7 2 a n d 3 6 4 ) T h e o v e r a l l m e a n s c o r e o f t h e transcendingstagewashigh(M=3.82),beingthehighestmeanscoreinthebehaviouraldimension.T hestandarddeviationswerefrom.702to.975.

Participants exhibited average confidence in managing their learning behaviors outside the classroom They demonstrated proficiency in certain actions, such as optimizing learning conditions, seeking assistance, and exploring new learning opportunities However, challenges persisted in essential actions, including planning learning steps, initiating learning, establishing evaluation criteria, and retaining acquired knowledge.

The control of students in the psychological dimension was expressed through theirmental readiness to take responsibility for their learning and the capacity to control theiremotions in learning The participants were highly ready for their learning outside theclassroom, and they could also control their emotions effectively during the learningprocess.Anextractofthedescriptivestatisticsofthepsychologicaldimensionisprovi dedinTable4.5,andthewholetablecanbefoundinAppendix3F.

T h e y w e r e p o s i t i v e t o w a r d s learningdifficulties(M=3.62)butwerelessconfidentabo utrelyingonlyonthemselvesinlearning(M=3.35).Overall,the participantswere mentallyreadyforlearningontheirownoutsidetheclassroom(M=3.83).Thestandarddevia tionswerefrom.568to1.024.Movingtothecapacitytocontrolt h e i r e m o t i o n s w h e n l e a r n i n g , t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s highlyagreedthattheytriedtorelaxwhentheyhadnegativefeelingsaboutt h e i r learning(M=4.10).Theyalsopaidattentiontotheirfeelingswhenstudyingandre wardedthemselvesortreatedthemwhentheydidwell(M=4.02and3.95).Theyweremoderatelyc o n f i d e n t t h a t t h e y e n c o u r a g e d t h e m s e l v e s w h e n l e a r n i n g a n d c o u l d organiset h e i r l e a r n i n g , s o t h e y a l w a y s e n j o y e d d o i n g i t ( M = 3 4 1 ) T h e p a r t i c i p a n t s ’ ov erallcontroloftheaffective factorswas high(M=3.70).The standarddeviations i n thisgroupwerealsothehighest,from.935to1.191.

In short, the capacity of the participants to control the psychological dimension wasquite high They searched for alternative solutions when problems emerged and adaptedto demanding situations, but they needed to be more confident that they could managethe learning on their own They also tried to relax when they had negative feelings aboutlearning and noticed their feelings but still had difficulties organizing their learning tomakesuretheyalwaysenjoy doingit.

To sum up, this part has described the participants’ learner autonomy in out-of- classlearning context through nine factors of three dimensions of control The next parts willfocusontheperceivedteachers’andpeers’rolesintheclassroom.

Perceivedteachers’rolesinthelanguageclassroom

An exploratory factor analysis was conducted with the data collected from theforty-two questionnaire items to extract possible clusters of these items The strongpartialcorrelations(Kaiser-Meyer-

(Barlett’s Test p=.000