Lengkanawati, Learner autonomy in the Indonesian EFL settings 222 LEARNER AUTONOMY IN THE INDONESIAN EFL SETTINGS Nenden Sri Lengkanawati Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia nendensl@indo.net.id First received: 10 August 2016 Final proof received: 15 January 2017 Abstract Learner autonomy in Indonesian educational institutions has not commonly been listed as a teaching- learning objective, and most teachers seem to be hardly acquainted with learner autonomy (LA). Therefore, it is very essential to conduct a study of LA as perceived and experienced by school teachers and to find out the importance of LA training for professional development. A questionnaire was used to collect the data about English teachers’ perceptions regarding LA and LA-based practices. In addition, an LA training was conducted to see its significance for professional development. After the data were quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed, it was found that the participating teachers tended to maintain that autonomy should be inculcated among learners, and that the LA concept should not be misinterpreted as learning without a teacher. Concerning choices and decisions by the learners, it was believed that learners’ making choices about how they learned and what activities they did, and involving them to decide what and how to learn could promote autonomy among learners. As regards LA-based teaching-learning practices, it was revealed that most teachers desired to implement LA principles in their teaching-learning contexts, although they identified that many of the LA principles were not that feasible to apply in their situation. It was also found that LA training could improve the teachers’ perceptions regarding LA concepts and principles. There were some constraints which could make learner autonomy difficult to develop among Indonesian learners in general: limited time allotted for the implementation of the curriculum, learners’ lack of autonomous learning experience, too much focus on national examinations, and insufficient proficiency of English. LA-based teaching-learning practices were most desired; however, many were considered as having insufficient feasibility. In this respect, commitment is certainly the key to success in inculcating LA principles as well as implementing them in the classroom setting. Keywords: learner autonomy; autonomous learners; professional development; national examination The term autonomous learning refers to the ability of the learner to take charge of one’s own learning by making himself capable of making his own decision in determining learning objectives, defining the contents and his progress, selecting methods and techniques, monitoring the procedures of acquisition, and evaluating what has been acquired. Holec(1981) cited by Cotterall (2008) also sees autonomy as a potential capacity which needs to be developed in learners. However, Lengkanawati (2014a) reported that LA was very rarely discussed in Indonesian literature. Lamb (2004) mentions that autonomous language learning refers to Western and tertiary education level. He also perceives that LA in language learning is more problematic in Asian secondary level contexts. In a similar vein, Harmer (2007) affirms that in British, Australian, and American culture, people consider LA as the most central and important parts of the teaching and learning outcome. In the Indonesian context, Lengkanawati (1997) states that LA is less commonly utilized compared to that in the Western context. In line with this issue, Borg and Busaidi (2012) say that even though LA has been a key theme in the field of foreign language learning for over 30 years, the space for availability of extensive literature is limited. Language teachers in Indonesia have to face the reality that reading ability of our students ranks very low at the international standard, 61st out of 64 countries, as assessed by the OECD Program for International Student Assessment. In terms of students’ quality, as it was reported by the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), Indonesian students’ higher order thinking ability is considered as low (Mullis, Martin, Foy, & Arora, 2012). These problems might have something to do with the incompetency of the teachers. Baswedan (2014) reported that based on the certification exam administered to 460 teachers in Indonesia in 2012, on average, the average teacher score was only 44.5, far lower than which was expected to reach, that is 70. Nuh (2013) reported that English as a Foreign Language (EFL) proficiency of our high school graduates is not promising as overall they were still at the elementary level, despite the goal of an intermediate level for senior high school graduates. The implementation of 2013 curriculum gives new doi: dx.doi.org/10.17509/ijal.v6i2.4847