Language Learner Autonomy: A Practical Guide 
With companion video resources
​
David Little
​(Autonomous Language Learning Series)

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Language Learner Autonomy: A Practical Guide offers a clear, classroom-focused introduction to implementing learner autonomy in language education. Drawing on more than forty years of research and practice, David Little presents a coherent pedagogical approach grounded in dialogue, participation, reflection, and purposeful use of the target language from the very first lesson.

The book focuses on seven interrelated features of the language learner autonomy approach, including sustained classroom dialogue, the development of learners’ skills of self-management, recursive cycles of planning and evaluation, the use of logbooks to document learning, the central role of writing, and a distinctive approach to grammar and accuracy. Throughout, emphasis is placed on practical classroom decision-making and the teacher’s role in creating learning environments that foster learner agency, confidence, and long-term proficiency.

Designed for use in pre-service and in-service teacher education, professional development, and individual reflective practice, the guide is accompanied by short video introductions aligned with each unit of the book.

Access the companion video resources

Endorsements

This excellent book provides a concise practical guide to language learner autonomy for teachers. It takes the reader through key principles and features of the learner autonomy approach in a carefully structured way, using examples of data and materials from real classrooms to illustrate how these are put into practice. Written in David Little’s clear, accessible, and authoritative style, the book and its accompanying introductory videos offer a valuable professional development resource for language teachers and teacher educators.

Ema Ushioda, University of Warwick, UK
Based on fundamental questions about the aims, constructs, methods, agents and consequences of language learning, teaching and assessment, this book provides clear and powerful arguments for learner autonomy. Conceptual reasoning, empirical evidence and practical classroom examples are intertwined and many voices heard, not least those of students. The hybrid format, with short videos accompanying the text, further contributes to the value of this book as an important resource for teachers, teacher educators and policy makers.

Gudrun Erickson, University of Gothenburg, Sweden

About the author

David Little is a Fellow Emeritus of Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. His principal research interests are the theory and practice of learner autonomy in language education, the pedagogical exploitation of linguistic diversity in schools and classrooms, and the use of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages to support the design of L2 curricula, teaching/learning programmes, and assessment. He has contributed to the Council of Europe’s work in language education since the 1980s, including its projects on the European Language Portfolio and the Linguistic Integration of Adult Migrants. Most recently he has been academic coordinator of the Council’s Romani/Plurilingual Policy Experimentation (2022–2025).

Preface (video)

Contents

Preface
Introduction
  • Autonomy
  • Learner autonomy
  • Language learner autonomy
  • With what results?
  • The language learner autonomy approach: Seven features
Chapter 1. Dialogue and participation: Autonomy in language use
  • A traditional experience of language learning at school and university     
  • The dialogic dynamic of the learner autonomy approach
  • Two metaphors for learning: acquisition and participation
  • Dialogue, participation and the role of the teacher
  • Analytic learning activities
  • Working on the dynamics of interaction: “Two minutes’ talk”      
  • Creative learning activities
Chapter 2. Developing learners’ skills of self-management: Autonomy in language learning
  • From participation to reflection
  • The teacher’s role
  • The recursive dynamic of autonomous learning
  • A three-part lesson structure (Teacher time, Learner time, Together time) 
Chapter 3. Logbooks: Managing and documenting learning and teaching
  • What is a logbook?
  • The structure and design of logbooks
  • Logbooks and the management of learning
  • The teacher’s logbook
  • The stories logbooks tell
  • Logbooks and classroom research​   ​
​Chapter 4. The role of writing and the development of grammatical accuracy
  • Grammatical accuracy: An enduring concern
  • Uses of writing in the autonomy classroom: A brief recapitulation
  • The relation between writing and learning in the learner autonomy approach
  • Writing and the development of grammatical awareness
Chapter 5. Curriculum and assessment
  • The role of assessment in the learner autonomy approach
  • Curriculum
  • The European Language Portfolio
Chapter 6. Getting started: Planning and organizing teaching and learning
  • Planning for implementation
  • The curriculum
  • External exams
  • Using a textbook
  • Preparing the learning environment
  • Learner logbooks
  • The teacher’s logbook: Planning and organizing lessons
  • In conclusion
 Appendix: Self-assessment grid from 2001 CEFR  (© Council of Europe)     

Publication details

Publication date: April 30, 2026
Series: Autonomous Language Learning
ISBN (print): 9798258849267  
ISBN (ebook): 9798235149687 
​DOI: https://doi.org/10.47908/42