Main Points:

• Inappropriate in Asia?
• Chinese Sages
• 1997 Survey of HK Self-access Centres

Independence and autonomy are sometimes seen in political versions of autonomy as Western ideals that may not be appropriate for the Hong Kong Chinese context. However, there are strong arguments against this, based on sayings of ancient and modern Chinese scholars. Pierson (1996: 49) quotes Chu Hsi (1130 - 1200 A.D.), who states, "If you are in doubt, think it out for yourself. Do not depend on others for explanations. Suppose there was no-one you could ask, should you stop learning? If you could get rid of the habit of being dependent on others, you will make your advancement in your study." He also quotes the President of Shanghai University and a report of the State-Administered Examinations for Self-Learners in China supporting independent learning. The section on Frequently-asked Questions of the CILL Internet site seeks to persuade its users that independent learning is applicable in the East, even though the present movement originated in Western education systems (Holec 1981: 1).

Gardner and Miller (1997) surveyed 541 self-access centre users in Hong Kong. Their results "indicated clearly that they believed Chinese learners had no difficulty with self-access learning and that it was an effective methodology for Chinese learners." (Gardner & Miller 1997: 44) For details, see the table below.

Table 2.1: Users’ Perceptions of the Appropriateness of Self-access language Learning for Chinese Learners (Gardner & Miller 1997: 44)

Gardner and Miller point out that the high proportion (over 20%) of "Don’t Know" answers in Questions C26 and C29 make these results unreliable. The 20% figure is also nearly reached in Question C28. This high percentage may be because these questions are asking the students to comment on the opinions of all Chinese students, which students will not know, rather than asking for individual opinions. However, the high percentage of students agreeing or strongly agreeing to Question C28 suggests that self-access language learning may be appropriate for the Hong Kong Chinese context.

Gardner, David & Miller, Lindsay (1997) A Study of Tertiary Level Self-access Facilities in Hong Kong Hong Kong: Management Committee, Evaluation of Student Experience Project, City University

Holec, Henri (1981) Autonomy in Foreign Language Learning Oxford: Pergamon

Pierson, Herbert D. (1996) Learner Culture and learner autonomy in the Hong Kong Chinese Context. In Pemberton, Richard; et al.(1996) Taking Control: Autonomy in Language Learning Hong Kong, Hong Kong University Press, 49 - 58