Learner Development EFL teachers’ perspectives on the interface between autonomy and agency more

While learner autonomy and student agency are widely known concepts within language education (Benson & Cooker, 2013), these constructs have largely been treated as separate and distinct, possibly competing, or mutually exclusive. The increased use of online learning during the global pandemic has again raised the issue of learner autonomy and the spaces within which learning takes place (Benson, 2021). This makes the examination of the interface between learner autonomy and student agency even more important to investigate as teachers and students return to face-to-face classes. Using qualitative interview data with two EFL teachers from two private Japanese high schools, the presenter will examine how these teachers conceptualise the interface between learner autonomy and student agency within their own lived experiences of teaching in Japan. The insights from this research suggest that there is a need to consider the impact of the social space on whether students display autonomy or not. Such a focus includes classroom management by teachers, teacher development, as well as institutional barriers and cultural practices that encourage or discourage students from taking more responsibility for their learning. Finally, this research also lets us probe whether learner autonomy and student agency are really completely distinct concepts.