Recent years have witnessed an unprecedented growth of online information and digital tools; therefore, learning autonomy increasingly draws attention of people nowadays. Some claim that this tendency is really helpful in developing independence, critical thinking or lifelong learning, whereas others argue that it can lead to confusion or inappropriate learning methods if learners are not guided properly. A third perspective suggests that it should combine with conventional teaching strategies instead of completely supplanting it. I hold the belief that all three viewpoints are convincing given the following reasons.
First and foremost, it should be admitedt that learning autonomy allows learners to develop crucial skills for future learning. The first one is the independence. When studying on their own, students are to decide whether a method is effective for them, or which digital tools should be utilized for specific purposes. In other words, learning autonomy encourages students to make careful decisions by themselves without external support from teachers or parents, thereby fostering the independence and decision-making skills. These are prerequisites for future career in which employees are supposed to work autonomously without much support from their managers. Besides, when choosing information, learners also have to decide which sources are reliable and useful through assessment based on their own knowledge. As a result, they may gradually develop critical thinking as evaluating objectively a problem requires the ability to ask questions and view the problem from different stances.
However, I believe that not every learner has the capability to study independently, and without external support from teachers, those lacking discipline or management and assessment skills may face difficult situations. Particularly, those not competent in assessing problems may not have accurate elaboration of different learning strategies or sources of information, thereby feeling disoriented or even selecting unverified, unsuitable content. Additionally, those easily affected by distractions may not concentrate fully on their main tasks when studying on their own, making self-study ineffective. As a consequence, learning autonomy is not always beneficial when lacking the external guidance or supervision from teachers, especially for those who are not accustomed to decision-making or assessment process.
Therefore, combination of both conventional teaching and autonomy learning should be prioritized. The chief point lies in the experience and well-trained skills of teachers. Professionals are trained to tackle learners’ problems and guide them towards more suitable solutions. To be more precise, a student may be able to concentrate on the tasks and not be affected by distractions, but cannot opt which learning strategies are practical for them. In that case, the orientation from their mentors is necessary to guide and recommend them which one is the most well-suited according to their personal characteristics, preferences and academic ability. Thus, decreasing the likelihood of confusion and allowing self-study to help learners reach their full potential with the inseparable external aid, rather than entirely replacing it.
To conclude, I subscribe to the viewpoint that autonomy learning encourages students to develop pivotal skills for future career, yet guidance from teachers is indispensable to help them deal with challenging obstacles.