Research on Autonomous Learning in English in Higher Education

Learner autonomy has caught much attention in the field of language education and research in the past decades, especially in relation to lifelong learning skills. It has transformed old practices in the language teaching and learning and become a central theme in language instruction. Autonomy facilitates learners to apply the knowledge acquired in a given context to different situations. This paper mainly focuses on a brief analysis of self-study in English learning in higher education, and discusses the contributing factors in self-study and the roles they play in learner autonomy.