Introduction

Target language use in the autonomy classroom

In Chapter 1 we were concerned with the role of target language (TL) use in the autonomy classroom. We argued that, in order to be an effective channel of learning, TL use should be spontaneous and authentic: spontaneous in the sense that it responds to the shifting demands of classroom communication; authentic in the sense that it reflects the learners' priorities and preoccupations within the range of possibilities specified by the official curriculum. At the same time, we noted that the learners' L1 has an indispensable role to play, especially in the early stages of learning. It is, after all, the involuntary medium of their discursive thinking and the necessary scaffold on which they gradually assemble the elements of the TL as an alternative code. In the discourse of the autonomy classroom, however, the role of the L1 is deliberately restricted in two ways. First, although at beginners' level the teacher provides learners with translations from their L1 on request, from the very first lesson she herself communicates with them in the TL; secondly, the goal of all learning activities is some kind of TL production, which means that TL use is necessarily central to the learning process. We also argued that writing is as important as speaking. From the beginning the autonomy classroom engages learners in the production of texts that come from within themselves in the sense that they reflect their experience, interests and needs – for example, 'About myself' (Chapter 1, pp. 28–30); however, it also engages them in intentional learning activities – for example, the production of word cards, dominoes and picture lotto – the content of which is shaped by their own interests. As learners' skills develop in creative text production and intentional learning activity, little by little they become proficient in three interacting roles: communicator, experimenter with language, and intentional learner. And as their proficiency in these roles grows, it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish between creative text production and intentional learning.