Pedagogy for Autonomy as (Becoming-)Appropriate Methodology

Abstract

Concerns regarding the inappropriate transfer of teaching methods and materials from Western to non-Western contexts have been frequently expressed in ELT circles in recent years (cf. Phillipson, 1992; Holliday 1994; Pennycook, 1994; Canagarajah, 1999). In this climate of opinion, as the concept of learner autonomy has risen to prominence in mainstream ELT discourse some writers have been quick to draw attention to the dangers of its possible imposition on non-Western, particularly Asian contexts (for example, Ho and Crookall, 1995; Jones, 1995).