Having considered the reasons why learner autonomy should be encouraged, we can look at some ways in which it can be fostered in the language classroom. Before doing so, we must first ask, in practical terms, what it means for the students, and what it means for the tutors. In order to foster more autonomous learning, both tutors and students need to acquire new sets of skills, some of which are outlined below:

Students should:

• be aware of their own learning needs;
• be aware of their strengths and weaknesses;
• be aware of the types of language learners they are;
• make and test their own hypotheses;
• decide how they are going to meet their learning needs;
• decide which aspects of the course to attend to;
• express their needs to the tutor.

Tutors should be able to:

• ensure that the lesson content is meaningful to their students;
• place high respect and value on the learner;
• help their students to view learning as a form of self-discovery;
• give learners a considerable say in the decision-making process;
• act as a facilitator to develop and maintain a supportive class atmosphere;
• stress the role of other learners as a support group.

Nunan (1997: 200) believes that learner autonomy can be encouraged through task design at five levels:

• Level 1. 'Awareness': The most superficial level. Learners are made aware of the pedagogical goals of the task and are encouraged to identify appropriate strategies for its completion.
• Level 2. 'Involvement': Learners are involved in making choices from a variety of possible course content, goals and tasks.
• Level 3. 'Intervention': Learners are involved in modifying and adapting course content, goals and tasks.
• Level 4. 'Creation': Learners are encouraged to create their own content, goals and tasks.
• Level 5. 'Transcendence': Learners 'transcend the classroom, making links between the content of the classroom and the world beyond the classroom'.

The level of autonomy at which students are asked to work can be selected according to a range of factors such as age, ability, previous learning experiences, the way teaching is organized, and so on. In the next section, five classroom activities are described, each of which reflects one of these five levels of autonomy.