Learner autonomy in language learning, initially associated with independence, is now viewed as a capacity that can be developed in social contexts involving learner interdependence and collaboration. In this volume researchers, most of whom are also language teachers, from Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, and North and South America, explore the social aspects of learner autonomy in various language learning contexts. Bringing together theory, research and practice, the studies draw on socially oriented theoretical perspectives - such as social constructivism, sociocultural theory, situated learning, ecology and complexity - and primarily employ case study and ethnographic methodologies. This research suggests that the social dimensions of learner autonomy encompass under-investigated emotional, spatial and political dimensions. In addition to theoretical issues, the authors discuss implications for practice, making this book of interest to teachers, researchers, and other language professionals working in classrooms, distance education, self-access centres, as well as virtual and social learning spaces

Exploring the social dimensions of autonomy in language learning /Garold Murray -- Developing autonomous language learners in HE: a social constructivist perspective / Christine O'Leary -- Self-regulation and autonomous dependency amongst Japanese learners of English / Tomoko Yashima -- The semiotics of place: autonomy and space / Garold Murray, Naomi Fujishima, and Mariko Uzuka -- 'Facebook me' within a global community of learners of English: technologizing learner autonomy / Alice Chik and Stephen Breidbach -- Autonomy, social interaction, and community: a distant language learning perspective / Linda Murphy -- Meeting the autonomy challenge in an advanced Spanish listening class / Diego Mideros and Beverly-Anne Carter -- Autonomy, complexity, and networks of learning / Liliane Assis Sade -- The ecology of learner autonomy / David M. Palfreyman -- Social class and autonomy: four case studies in a Mexican SAC / E. Desirée Castillo Zaragoza -- Local engagements enhancing practitioner action and knowledge for learner development and autonomy within a collaborative teachers' network / Andy Barfield -- Autonomy in language learning as a social construct / Garold Murray