Self - Access Approach

Cuauhtémoc Lara Díaz

Métodos

Self – Access Approach

Self – Access Language Learning (SALL) comes from constructivism since it suggests that the way students act or react with regard to language teaching is connected to mental constructs that they have formed from previous classroom events. This approach is pretty interesting since it gives Ss the opportunity to develop initiative, responsability, self-awareness, and independence in learning (which is for sure the most important thing about this approach).

SALL promotes the approach where students study independently choosing from among different resources that are available. The theory behind this style of learning is that students, especially foreign language students, learn better if they have a say in how they learn.

SALL is the kind of approach that promotes the independence of the Ss, it allows them to choose from the among different resources that are available.

In this approach the role of the teacher changes from being the source of all knowledge to be more a facilitator or guide to the learning process. At the same time your are guiding your Ss you create as many opportunities you can for learning to occur.

I must say that what i admire the most about this approach is the purpouse of it, to make Ss develop his own autonomy. The ability of taking charge of one’s own learning is one of the biggest and hardest steps for us teachers. In this approach is where comes something I would call as autodidactism (Learning on your own).

In one hand. when you learn on your own, you search your own material and input which might become a great disadvantage. In the other hand, since you look for your own material you learn about the real world, how language is really used and you learn more about what you want and need.

In my experience Self – Access learning is one of the most incredible approaches when autonomy is completely developed. In Chiapas at the UNACH there’s a Self – Access office where Ss can learn a language by theirselves and they are just guided and tested by a teacher when they are ready. I learned French that way, but once you reach certain level or you start getting lazy everything goes down and learning stops.

Sources : http://www.tesl-ej.org/wordpress/issues/volume3

Self-access language learning center -- a new language learning environment

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