It is with deep sadness that we honour the life and work of Lienhard Legenhausen, a scholar, mentor, colleague, and friend whose influence on learner autonomy has been profound and enduring. I have known Lienhard for more than twenty years, and like so many in our community, I will miss him greatly. His generosity of spirit, intellectual rigour, and unwavering commitment to learners were constants; quietly present, always encouraging, and deeply empathetic.
Lienhard’s scholarly legacy is inseparable from the development of autonomous language learning as both a principled pedagogy and a serious research endeavour. As Professor Emeritus of Language Pedagogy and Applied Linguistics at the University of Münster, he brought clarity and courage to questions others hesitated to ask, particularly the need for robust empirical evidence to support autonomy-oriented practice. Together with Leni Dam, he co-led the landmark LAALE project (Language Acquisition in an Autonomous Learning Environment), patiently and systematically documenting the linguistic and personal development of learners over four years. The results were published in Little, Dam, and Legenhausen (2017). That work remains a touchstone for researchers and practitioners alike.
Beyond research, Lienhard was a tireless community builder. His long-standing service to the Learner Autonomy Special Interest Group of IATEFL, as committee member, joint coordinator, and advisory board member, helped shape LASIG into the supportive, intellectually vibrant community it is today. Alongside Leni Dam and David Little, he was instrumental in sustaining dialogue across generations of teachers and researchers, most recently through the Edinburgh pre-conference workshop in 2025. Equally important was his deep involvement in the Nordic Workshops on Developing Learner Autonomy, where his presence embodied the workshops’ founding spirit: rigorous thinking, shared inquiry, and warm collegiality (often accompanied by lively discussion - and occasionally dancing!).
At Candlin & Mynard, we are honoured to have published several of Lienhard’s chapters in the Autonomous Language Learning series. These contributions reflect the breadth and coherence of his thinking: from classroom research that insists on methodological plurality and triangulation, to powerful demonstrations of how autonomy creates genuinely inclusive learning environments for dyslexic learners, students with ADHD, and mixed-ability groups. His writing never offered quick fixes. Instead, it invited us to think more carefully, act more ethically, and trust learners more fully. Teachers often tell us that his chapters are the ones they return to, not because they are easy, but because they are honest, principled, and grounded in real classrooms.
I invite you to (re)visit Lienhard’s work as an act of respect. Reading his chapters is a way of continuing the conversations he cared about so deeply: What does it really mean to hand over responsibility to learners? How do we design classrooms that work for all students? And how can research, theory, and practice genuinely inform one another? His contributions in our books remain a living resource for anyone committed to learner autonomy with integrity. I will paste some links below so that you can locate them easily. I also recommend watching an interview he did with Tom Stringer in December 2024 [LINK].
Lienhard Legenhausen’s death is a great loss—to me personally, to our publishing community, and to the field as a whole. Yet his ideas, his questions, and his example endure. We will miss his voice, his kindness, and his steady presence. And we will continue to learn from him.
Reference
Little. D., Dam, L., & Legenhausen, L. (2017). Language learner autonomy: Theory, practice and research. Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781783098606 [LINK]
Chapters by Lienhard Legenhausen published in Candlin & Mynard's Autonomous Language learning Series.
Dam, L., & Legenhausen, L. (2018). Ten golden rules for successful language acquisition in an autonomous learning environment. In C. Ludwig, A. Pinter, K. Van de Poel, T. Smits, M. G. Tassinari, and E. Ruelens (Eds.), Fostering learner autonomy: Learners, teachers and researchers in action (pp. 10-15). https://doi.org/10.47908/4 [LINK]
Dam, L. & Legenhausen, L. (2023). Preface. In K. Schwienhorst & J. Ramos-Gonzalez (Eds.), Making space for autonomy in language learning (pp. 2-13). Candlin & Mynard. https://doi.org/10.47908/28 [LINK]
Legenhausen, L. (2018). Classroom research in autonomous language learning. In C. J. Everhard, Mynard, & R. C. Smith (Eds.), Autonomy in language learning: Opening a can of worms (pp. 16-22). Candlin & Mynard. https://doi.org/10.47908/3 [LINK]
Legenhausen, L. (2018). Learner autonomy as a response to the challenges of educational inclusion. In K. Schwienhorst (Ed.), Learner autonomy in second language pedagogy and research: Challenges and issues (pp. 29-49). Candlin & Mynard. https://doi.org/10.47908/5 [LINK]
Legenhausen, L. (2019). The development of a dyslexic learner in the autonomy classroom - a case study. In A. Burkert, L. Dam, & C. Ludwig (Eds.), The answer is learner autonomy: Issues in language teaching and learning (pp. 118-134). Candlin & Mynard. https://doi.org/10.47908/9/6 [LINK]
Legenhausen, L. (2019). Researching autonomous language learning: Issues and some findings. In M. Menegale (Ed.), Autonomy in language learning: Getting learners actively involved (pp. 2-20). Candlin & Mynard. https://doi.org/10.47908/ [LINK]
Legenhausen, L. (2025). Issues in inclusive education and some answers from autonomous language learning. In K. Heim, L. Dam, A. Albrecht, & C. Becker (Eds.), Reforming the foreign language classroom: Empowering learners to take ownership (pp. 87-102). Candlin & Mynard. https://doi.org/10.47908/40/4 [LINK]
Beyond research, Lienhard was a tireless community builder. His long-standing service to the Learner Autonomy Special Interest Group of IATEFL, as committee member, joint coordinator, and advisory board member, helped shape LASIG into the supportive, intellectually vibrant community it is today. Alongside Leni Dam and David Little, he was instrumental in sustaining dialogue across generations of teachers and researchers, most recently through the Edinburgh pre-conference workshop in 2025. Equally important was his deep involvement in the Nordic Workshops on Developing Learner Autonomy, where his presence embodied the workshops’ founding spirit: rigorous thinking, shared inquiry, and warm collegiality (often accompanied by lively discussion - and occasionally dancing!).
At Candlin & Mynard, we are honoured to have published several of Lienhard’s chapters in the Autonomous Language Learning series. These contributions reflect the breadth and coherence of his thinking: from classroom research that insists on methodological plurality and triangulation, to powerful demonstrations of how autonomy creates genuinely inclusive learning environments for dyslexic learners, students with ADHD, and mixed-ability groups. His writing never offered quick fixes. Instead, it invited us to think more carefully, act more ethically, and trust learners more fully. Teachers often tell us that his chapters are the ones they return to, not because they are easy, but because they are honest, principled, and grounded in real classrooms.
I invite you to (re)visit Lienhard’s work as an act of respect. Reading his chapters is a way of continuing the conversations he cared about so deeply: What does it really mean to hand over responsibility to learners? How do we design classrooms that work for all students? And how can research, theory, and practice genuinely inform one another? His contributions in our books remain a living resource for anyone committed to learner autonomy with integrity. I will paste some links below so that you can locate them easily. I also recommend watching an interview he did with Tom Stringer in December 2024 [LINK].
Lienhard Legenhausen’s death is a great loss—to me personally, to our publishing community, and to the field as a whole. Yet his ideas, his questions, and his example endure. We will miss his voice, his kindness, and his steady presence. And we will continue to learn from him.
Reference
Little. D., Dam, L., & Legenhausen, L. (2017). Language learner autonomy: Theory, practice and research. Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781783098606 [LINK]
Chapters by Lienhard Legenhausen published in Candlin & Mynard's Autonomous Language learning Series.
Dam, L., & Legenhausen, L. (2018). Ten golden rules for successful language acquisition in an autonomous learning environment. In C. Ludwig, A. Pinter, K. Van de Poel, T. Smits, M. G. Tassinari, and E. Ruelens (Eds.), Fostering learner autonomy: Learners, teachers and researchers in action (pp. 10-15). https://doi.org/10.47908/4 [LINK]
Dam, L. & Legenhausen, L. (2023). Preface. In K. Schwienhorst & J. Ramos-Gonzalez (Eds.), Making space for autonomy in language learning (pp. 2-13). Candlin & Mynard. https://doi.org/10.47908/28 [LINK]
Legenhausen, L. (2018). Classroom research in autonomous language learning. In C. J. Everhard, Mynard, & R. C. Smith (Eds.), Autonomy in language learning: Opening a can of worms (pp. 16-22). Candlin & Mynard. https://doi.org/10.47908/3 [LINK]
Legenhausen, L. (2018). Learner autonomy as a response to the challenges of educational inclusion. In K. Schwienhorst (Ed.), Learner autonomy in second language pedagogy and research: Challenges and issues (pp. 29-49). Candlin & Mynard. https://doi.org/10.47908/5 [LINK]
Legenhausen, L. (2019). The development of a dyslexic learner in the autonomy classroom - a case study. In A. Burkert, L. Dam, & C. Ludwig (Eds.), The answer is learner autonomy: Issues in language teaching and learning (pp. 118-134). Candlin & Mynard. https://doi.org/10.47908/9/6 [LINK]
Legenhausen, L. (2019). Researching autonomous language learning: Issues and some findings. In M. Menegale (Ed.), Autonomy in language learning: Getting learners actively involved (pp. 2-20). Candlin & Mynard. https://doi.org/10.47908/ [LINK]
Legenhausen, L. (2025). Issues in inclusive education and some answers from autonomous language learning. In K. Heim, L. Dam, A. Albrecht, & C. Becker (Eds.), Reforming the foreign language classroom: Empowering learners to take ownership (pp. 87-102). Candlin & Mynard. https://doi.org/10.47908/40/4 [LINK]
