EFL Teachers’ Perceptions of Promoting Learner Autonomy in a Thai EFL Context
Learner autonomy has become an important aspect in educational research and language teaching in the
21 century. Furthermore, the key role of teachers in promoting learner autonomy is to create and
maintain learning community. This study aimed at exploring EFL teachers’ perceptions of the promotion
of learner autonomy in a Thai EFL Context. Both qualitative and qualitative data were obtained via a
questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. There were thirty participants who answered the
questionnaire and eight of them were then selected for the interviews. Descriptive statistics were
employed to analyze quantitative data whilst qualitative data were analyzed through content analysis. The
findings indicated that the participants generally acknowledged the importance of learner autonomy in
language learning and viewed a teacher as a facilitator, a counselor, and a resource in promoting learner
autonomy. In practice, however, the participants encountered some difficulties which resulted in some
contradictions between their perceptions and teaching practices.