Metacognition and Learner Autonomy: The “Learning by Doing” Approach to Higher Education Language Teaching
Résumé
The objective of this approach is to encourage the metacognitive skills development of language learners through the use of learner autonomy, which can serve as an impetus for student motivation and engagement. This research involves the creation of a task-based activity, which involves active research on behalf of the students. The students must prepare and share an oral interaction in the form of a professional scenario. The role-play involves the active participation of and full interaction with the audience. The method is founded on a solid theoretical background as well as the CEFR. The results are based on a student questionnaire, which is distributed to the students at the end of the activity. During this activity, the students work in an independent manner while conducting research on the internet. They must write and learn their scripts and they are encouraged to use props or audio/visual aids during their presentations. This didactic approach can be applied to any foreign language teaching situation or discipline.