A Study of Iranian Professors' Perceptions of EFL University Students' Autonomy

Abstract

This paper investigated the relationship between professors’ perception about BA students' autonomy and learners’ actual level of autonomy. This research also attempted to shed light on the factors that contribute to learners’ autonomy. Fifty undergraduate students and twenty-two professors of English major from Islamic Azad University of Bandar Abbas, Iran served as the participants of the current study. Two questionnaires, one for students, and one for teachers were chosen as the instruments of the current study. After collecting data through instruments, the statistical analysis was done. The results of the study demonstrated that there is a positive relationship between teachers’ perception about learners’ autonomy and learners’ actual level of autonomy. Furthermore, those factors which foster learners’ autonomy were identified. The present study has also some theoretical and pedagogical implications for both language learners and language teachers.