Saudi English as a Foreign Language University Students' Readiness for Autonomous Language Learning

Autonomous language learning is considered to be a step to prepare students for their future. It is one aspect of the learner-centered approach. Therefore, investigating students' readiness for ALL could be of paramount importance. This study aimed at revealing Saudi English major students' readiness for ALL. More precisely, the study sought to identify the students' perspectives on their personal responsibility and that of their professors towards English learning, their ability to act autonomously, and their real application of ALL outside the classroom. A questionnaire was adopted for data collection. The participants were 105 students majoring in English language at a public university in Saudi Arabia. The results showed a relationship between the participants' responsibility towards the process and that of their professors. However, the students assigned more responsibility to their teachers. It was also found that the participants were not confident in their capability to act autonomously in the process of learning English. Finally, the results showed that the participants do not autonomously practice several extracurricular activities mentioned in the questionnaire. Generally, the participants were not ready for ALL, and the study recommended that students' awareness of the advantages of ALL be raised.