Metamorphosis of a Language Learner: The Dynamic Interplay Between Identity, Motivation and Autonomy – An Autobiographical Account

Abstract

In the last thirty to forty years, the concept of autonomy has been a key area of inquiry and pedagogical focus in language education. An autonomous learner is one who takes charge of and assumes responsibility for her learning. As befits her identity as an autonomous learner, she is said to possess certain characteristics, hold certain beliefs and exhibit certain behaviours. In language learning, such attributes can be collectively referred to as individual differences or learner factors. Crucially, when it comes to successful language acquisition, the autonomous learner recognises and accepts that the onus falls on her, not anyone else. Closely related to autonomy is the notion of self or identity. In the last decade or so, learner identity has garnered the attention of many researchers and practitioners in applied linguistics. Identity has been shown to have an important place in language learning. Further, it is postulated that a learner’s success at language learning is intimately linked to her motivation for learning the language. In this paper, the author reflects upon her English learning history, detailing her budding love of the English language as a young child growing up in colonial Hong Kong, her subsequent arrival in England as a teenager, and the education she received there. By retracing the steps of her learning journey in which she explores the role of autonomy in conjunction with individual difference factors and sociocultural theory, the author argues that successful language learning necessitates a very subtle alchemy, highlighting the dynamic interplay between identity, motivation and autonomy.