Autonomous Language Learning in Tandem

Lewis, Tim and Walker, Lesley eds. (2003). Autonomous Language Learning in Tandem. Sheffield: Academy Electronic Press.

Abstract

Autonomous Language Learning in Tandem offers an account of the largest-ever European initiative in the development of autonomous learning. At the conclusion of the project, students from more than 20 countries were working as partners, either face-to-face or on the Internet, to develop their own and each other's language skills. Other benefits for learners included heightened intercultural awareness and an enhanced ability to manage their own learning.

This book brings together the reflections of project participants from Europe and North America whose experience has enabled them to acquire the strategies needed to support independent learning either by practical advice, or by affective counselling. These skills are essential for fostering learner autonomy, a major preoccupation in today's educational climate. The book should therefore appeal to all those who are interested in promoting opportunities for lifelong learning.

Some contributions have already been published in six or more European languages. Here they appear for the first time in English. They are complemented by a number of specially commissioned chapters, addressing the theory of autonomous and collaborative learning and offering a way forward both for practitioners of tandem learning and for other would-be innovators in second language learning.