What It Means to ‘Take Ownership over One’s Own Learning’ in a Self-Determination Theory Analysis

To bear fruit, language learning depends on two favorable conditions: (1) the learner’s willingness to take ownership over his or her own learning and (2) access to learning environments that support and are responsive to the learner’s inputs and initiatives. The first condition emanates from the learner’s autonomous motivation and depends on qualities of the learner. The second condition emanates from the environment’s capacity to meet the learner’s needs and depends on the qualities of the surrounding environment. But like two ships that pass unaware in the night, these two conditions often miss each other. Many
autonomous language learners fail to find or create supportive physical and interpersonal surroundings for themselves, just as many supportive learning environments open their doors each day hoping to host absent autonomously motivated language learners. Recognizing this, the purpose of the present chapter is to identify the bridge that connects autonomous learners with their sought-after supportive surroundings. That bridge is the learner’s agency, or agentic engagement.

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