AUTONOMY AND MOTIVATION A LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract A common theme in justifications for autonomy, especially in general education but also in language learning, is that autonomous learners become more highly motivated and that autonomy leads to better, more effective work. Knowles' claim is illustrative: “… there is convincing evidence that people who take the initiative in learning (proactive learners) learn more things and learn better than do people who sit at the feet of teachers, passively waiting to be taught (reactive learners)…. They enter into learning more purposefully and with greater motivation” (1975: p. 14). What is the link between autonomy and motivation? The writing on motivation in relation to language learning over the past several years has been dominated by the social-psychological approach to motivation of Gardner and his associates, which gives little help in attempts to link autonomy and motivation. To find such links it is necessary to turn to the literature on motivation in general education, and especially the literature on cognitive motivation. This paper will review the literature on motivation and suggest that there is an important link between autonomy and some educational theories of motivation which could account for the claimed power of autonomy.

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