Taking to the road to autonomy

HRADILOVÁ, Alena and Barbora CHOVANCOVÁ. Taking to the road to autonomy. In IATEFL LASIG Local Conference 2018. 2018.

Basic information

• Original name: Taking to the road to autonomy
• Authors: HRADILOVÁ, Alena (203 Czech Republic, guarantor, belonging to the institution) and Barbora CHOVANCOVÁ (203 Czech Republic, belonging to the institution).
• Edition: IATEFL LASIG Local Conference 2018, 2018.

Other information

• Original language: English
• Type of outcome: Conference abstract
• Field of Study: 60202 Specific languages
• Country of publisher: Czech Republic
• Confidentiality degree: is not subject to a state or trade secret
• RIV identification code: RIV/00216224:14640/18:00106110
• Organization unit: Language Centre
• Keywords (in Czech): autonomie - angličtina pro specifické účely - internacionalizace
• Keywords in English: autonomy - ESP - internationalization
• Tags: International impact, Reviewed

Abstract

This presentation argues that though autonomous learning is not subject specific, it can be successfully used in English for Specific Purposes classes as a means to motivate students and teach them soft and life skills relevant for their future professional careers. The road to autonomy may not be as straightforward as one would like, but it is definitely worth taking, even in such specific fields as Legal English. This presentation discusses how a special tailor-made teaching module of a “Virtual Erasmus” can be used to achieve this goal. Many teachers of legal ESP have discovered that law students tend not to be natural team players. However, while students shy away from autonomous activities, they can, given the right circumstances, become very autonomous language learners, as attested by our experience when teaching the “Virtual Erasmus” course. The course, which is designed to foster creativity, independence and professional skills, has an attractive international appeal: its participants come from law schools in three different EU countries). It strives to show the benefits of getting involved in a law-specific project across borders, which bears direct relevance to the students’ future professional careers. The presentation not only outlines the structure, components and aims of the course, but it also offers the students’ perspective by showing their feedback on the experience and their newly discovered commitment to autonomy.