Seven ways to develop independent learners

Richard Cleeve
A woman sat outdoors reading a booklet

What is independent learning?

Students who are actively involved in deciding what and how they learn are typically more engaged and motivated.

That¡¯s not surprising, because independent learners are extremely focused on their personal learning objectives.

, independent learning is ¡°a process, a method and a philosophy of education whereby a learner acquires knowledge by his or her own efforts and develops the ability for inquiry and critical evaluation."

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Seven ways to develop independent learners
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In the context of language learning, independent learners can recognize their learning needs, locate relevant information about language and develop the required language skills on their own or with other learners.

There are many advantages of encouraging independent learning among your students:

  • Increased recognition of strengths, weaknesses and progress
  • Higher levels of confidence
  • More motivation
  • Better management of learning
  • Improved performance

Not only will these benefits help your students while learning English, but they¡¯ll also benefit them at school, university and even in their day-to-day lives.

How can I help my students to become independent learners?

Some of your students may already be independent learners; however, most will need your support to become more autonomous.

Here are seven ways you can help:

Make learning goals clear

Sharing learning goals with your class helps students to see what they¡¯re aiming for and they¡¯ll also be able to assess afterwards? whether they¡¯ve achieved it or not. This can be done at the beginning of a lesson or series of lessons or even as a lesson progresses.

Although many teachers set the goals themselves, if you want to create a really independent learning experience, elicit them directly from the students. A simple question could be, ¡°What do you think this activity is helping you get better at?¡±

Personalize learning goals

Another thing to consider is setting different goals for different learners, depending on their strengths and weaknesses. This will be much easier if the students are setting their own goals. For example, when doing a task focused on the speaking paper in an exam course, one student¡¯s objective might be to give extended answers, while another might want to use more discourse markers.

Focus on the process as well as the goal

Once your students have set their goals, they need to start thinking about how they¡¯ll reach them.

One way to help them get on track is to provide them with a set of ¡®success criteria¡¯, which acts like a roadmap for the different tasks they need to complete. If your students understand what they need to do to be successful, they¡¯ll progress much faster and be more motivated when they see how far they¡¯ve come.

If one of your student¡¯s goals is to improve their grammatical accuracy in the C1 Advanced speaking exam, for example, you could give them a rubric (like the one below) which they can use to assess their own performance.

Keep your assessment categories as positive as possible (for example, 'solid', 'good' and 'acing it') and link it to the official exam criteria where possible.

Provide opportunities to reflect on learning

Students should constantly be encouraged to reflect on their performance and whether they¡¯ve met their learning goals. This will help them become more aware of their strengths, weaknesses and the progress they¡¯re making. Recognition of progress will help build confidence and motivation.

Opportunities for assessment and reflection don¡¯t need to take a lot of time. Spending two minutes at the end of the class asking students questions like ¡®What can you do better now than at the start of the lesson?¡¯ will help learners develop critical meta-cognitive skills.

Offer feedback on learning

Teacher feedback also helps students develop the skills needed to become more independent. Offer feedback in a supportive and sensitive manner, making positive observations alongside any criticism.

Effective feedback should allow learners to understand where they currently are in their learning, where they¡¯re heading and how they¡¯ll get there.

Encourage peer feedback

Feedback shouldn¡¯t only come from the teacher. You should also get students to evaluate each other¡¯s progress during and after an activity. Peer feedback is not only advantageous to the student receiving it, but there are also many reflective benefits of giving feedback to someone else.

Transfer learning decisions to students

It¡¯s impossible for students to become independent learners if you make all the decisions for them. Giving students the opportunity to make decisions about their learning will give them greater autonomy. However, this should be a gradual process and not all students will be ready to take 100% control from the outset.

Start with small decisions first and ask questions such as:

  • Do you want to do the task alone or in pairs?
  • Would you like to use a set of useful phrases for support when doing the speaking task?
  • Would you prefer to discuss questions about this topic or another?

This devolvement of responsibility built up over time will help learners to become more independent.

  • A teacher stood helping a student in a large classroomw with other students sat working

    How do different motivations change how students learn English?

    By Steffanie Zazulak
    Reading time: 4 minutes

    Students all over the globe learn English for many reasons. Some of these motivations may come from the students themselves ¨C perhaps they are learning because they are travelling to an English-speaking area, or they want to be able to converse with English-speaking friends and colleagues. Other reasons for learning could include meeting school requirements, studying abroad, or progressing their careers.

    As well as different reasons to learn English, there are also different goals. Many students are still focused on becoming fluent in English, and we are seeing an increase in people who want to learn the language for specific reasons. For example, immersing themselves in a particular culture or simply being able to order from a menu while travelling abroad.

    Teachers are focusing on these personal needs to help students achieve their actual goals. It¡¯s likely you¡¯ve already spoken to your students about why they want to learn English. Understanding this is important as different motivations can influence a student¡¯s attitude towards learning the language ¨C and it may be necessary for you to adapt your teaching strategies for different groups of learners.

    Teaching English to different groups of learners

    Let¡¯s meet some different groups of students, learn a little more about their motivations and explore whether different motivations alter how students learn English. You may recognise some of these learners in your classes.

    1. Adult learners

    These students are learning English for pleasure or personal reasons. It might be because of travel, social or family reasons or perhaps because a better grasp of English might assist them with their careers. There are also adult learners who could be learning English as an immigration requirement.

    For example, 23-year-old Alice decided to learn English so she could meet people and have more meaningful interactions with her English-speaking neighbours. She says: ¡°I was very shy and not very confident in speaking to people, but learning English helped me connect with others and meet new people. I have changed a lot.¡±

    A motivation like Alice¡¯s requires strong teacher support and peer motivation woven into structured learning. Alice can set her goals and with the GSE Learning Objectives map out what she needs to do to achieve them. Teacher encouragement and personal support ¨C and easy access to digital coursework, a social community of others all learning English, and small classes that emphasise conversation ¨C keep people like Alice engaged and motivated to achieve her language goals. ¡°I cannot do it without them¡±, she says.

    2. Professional learners

    These learners are typically in a more formal type of English programme and are learning the language to achieve specific career milestones, such as a promotion. Their employer might even be paying for their learning or they might be reimbursed for the cost of their lessons.

    Vincenzo is 33 and works as a Product Manager in Milan for an international organization with offices around the world. He says: ¡°I asked to take English classes as part of my professional development. My company chose an English provider and gave me a choice of group or one-to-one classes. I chose one-to-one classes as I¡¯m easily distracted.¡±

    Professional learners like Vincenzo succeed using a blended learning model of learning in class and at home that they can tailor around their lives. They have a strong motivation to succeed ¨C that¡¯s why learning at home works for them ¨C but step-by-step progress provided by the GSE Learning Objectives is also important to keep this motivation alive. ¡°I met with my teacher once a week where we would work on mistakes I would make while speaking English. He would also give me extra practice materials, like interesting games and videos to listen to in my own time, to help me really get a better understanding of the language,¡± Vincenzo says.

    3. Academic learners

    Learning English is a requirement for many school programmes and students will continue this at college or university. Many of these students will be learning English with a formal course that offers practice tests for high-stakes exams.

    Seventeen-year-old Subra is from Malaysia and learns English at school. Some of her family live in Australia and she is considering studying abroad to attend a University that specializes in health care. When she was young, she learned in a traditional classroom backed with tests that helped her see how she was progressing. Now she uses technology, such as her Android Huawei phone to practise her English but still needs the validation of regular testing to know she is on track.

    Subra?says: ¡°I am used to studying for tests as I prepared hard for exams to get into middle school and senior school, which was totally determined by test results.¡±

    Academic learners like Subra need to see demonstrable results to help them stay motivated and guide them to the level of English they need to achieve to get the required score on high-stakes tests. With the clear GSE Learning Objectives and a placement test, academic learners can map out where they are right now and where they need to be in order to reach their academic goals. These learners need encouragement and validation of their progress from their teachers to help keep them on track.

    Understanding student motivations will help you teach to their specific needs, thus helping them to stay focused and motivated in achieving their goals.

  • A teacher stood by a long wooden desk where her students are sat smiling at her

    What¡¯s it like to teach English in France?

    By Steffanie Zazulak
    Reading time: 3 minutes

    Kirsty Murray taught English for a year at a coll¨¨ge (the French equivalent of a secondary school) in Villers-Cotter¨ºts: a town in the north of France known for being the birthplace of Alexandre Dumas. She taught mixed-ability groups of 11- to 16-year-olds, with classes ranging in size from 10 to 35 students. Here, she shares the five lessons she learned from the experience.

  • A woman sat on a sofa with a tv controller

    Five great film scenes that can help improve your English

    By Steffanie Zazulak

    Watching films can be a great way for people to learn English. We all have our favourite movie moments and, even as passive viewers, they're probably teaching you more than you realise. Here's a selection of our favourite scenes, along with the reasons why they're educational as well as entertaining.

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