An exploratory study on Turkish EFL learners' readiness for autonomy and attitudes toward self-access centers

This study investigated attitudes toward self-access centers (SACs) and readiness for autonomous language learning among Turkish learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). It also explored whether learners' attitudes toward the SACs and their readiness for autonomy were related to frequency of SAC use. The study was carried out with 250 Turkish EFL learners at a preparatory language school at a state university in Ankara, Turkey. The researchers employed a SAC attitude questionnaire and a learner autonomy readiness questionnaire to collect data. The results revealed a statistically significant difference between the attitudes of infrequent users and regular SAC users, suggesting that learners' attitudes toward the SAC and the frequency of SAC use were interrelated. The findings of the study also show that Turkish EFL learners were ready to take responsibility for their own learning despite their inclination to accept the teacher's power and authority in the learning process. Additionally, the SAC users were not necessarily the autonomous learners who made decisions about their own learning. The findings suggest the necessity of training EFL learners for independent learning and raising their awareness about the advantages of SACs so as to increase the effective use of the centers.