THE IMPACT OF SCAFFOLDING STRATEGY ON PROMOTING EFL LEARNERS' AUTONOMY

Abstract

The present study aims at investigating the importance of scaffolding strategy in raising students’ awareness about autonomous learning, and teachers’ readiness to implement this strategy in English as a foreign language classes. Students of English as a foreign language are facing different challenges that make their learning not efficient; a major problem is the lack of using effective teaching strategies that could raise students’ skills and develop their independent learning. Thus, we hypothesize that there could be a correlation between using scaffolding strategy and promoting learners’ autonomy. To put it differently, implementing the instructional scaffolding strategy may lead to fostering students’ autonomous learning. To prove this hypothesis, a quantitative descriptive study has been conducted. It involves two samples: First year students and their teachers. Two questionnaires have been conducted; a different questionnaire for each sample to collect information about the actual use of scaffolding strategy and learner autonomy. The analysis of the gathered data from both questionnaires has revealed that students over rely on their teachers, which means that they are not autonomous. Also, it has shown that teachers frequently use scaffolds in teaching and that they really attempt to promote their students’ autonomy. The results of this study have confirmed that a linear relationship exists between applying scaffolding strategy appropriately and the promotion of autonomy. Thus, it is recommended to raise teachers’ awareness about the significance of scaffolding strategy in foreign language teaching and learning; i.e. to its crucial role for developing students’ skills and orienting them towards autonomous learning.