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When I first saw the term "Learner autonomy", I thought of the way in which students learn something on their own, without any supports, encouragements and reminders from their teachers. Therefore, at that moment, I considered learner autonomy was true for me. However, after delving more into this concept, I realize that I have misunderstood, for autonomy in learning involves that students become active managers of their own learning, making decisions about what, how, and when to learn, using self-study strategies and adjusting these strategies by themselves rather than passive recipients of knowledge. Through the knowledge and information you provide in your presentation, I consider myself fit reactive autonomy because I normally depend on the directions given by my instructors or existing frameworks instead of developing by myself. In terms of the level of autonomy, I put myself at the third level, Intervention, because I usually try to adapt the goals of the program and make some change to make it suitable for my own circumstances. In general, I feel more confident in my learning when I have something existing and available to follow, so that I could avoid mistakes during my progress.

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I used to misunderstand that "learner autonomy" means students can work independently and can choose the learning content. I tried to empower them by letting them choose a task from the list of teacher-assigned tasks. While some students may feel a little more satisfied because they have a choice, deep engagement and learning motivation have not yet been established. They are still just completing assigned tasks. Since they don't have the opportunity to explore subjects they're truly interested in, students may not be able to demonstrate their innate creativity and curiosity. I've realized that I'm still misunderstanding learner autonomy. I had students choose from a list of tasks that I had assigned, allowing me to assess them more easily. Then, I’ve realized that learner autonomy is not simply about providing students with choices within a pre-determined framework, but rather about creating opportunities for them to take responsibility for their own learning with teachers' scaffolding.

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Hà Trang

My misunderstanding of learner autonomy was that I believed giving students “freedom” was enough, thinking they would know what to learn and how to learn it. But in practice, this freedom sometimes turned into confusion, with students picking materials that were either too easy or too difficult. Now I understand that autonomy requires structure because learners still need direction, goal-setting, and reflective support from the teacher to become truly independent.

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I think I've always got a pretty decent understanding of what learner autonomy means. I believe that students should be allowed to take control of their learning process, which can be illustrated through them being given the chance to select their favorite reading/listening materials related to the topic of the lesson before class. Thanks to students' prior preparations, there can be livelier in-class discussions and sharing sections. In order to ensure that students select appropriate and high-quality materials, I would give them relatively detailed instructions and requirements beforehand.

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La Thi Hoang Lan

At first, I thought learner autonomy meant letting students study completely on their own. I gave them projects and little guidance, but many felt lost and unmotivated. Later, I realized autonomy doesn’t mean “no teacher help.” It means helping students step by step—teaching them how to set goals, use strategies, and make choices—so they can slowly take more control of their own learning.

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Nguyen Thi Khanh Linh

I used to think that learner autonomy was the same as being a completely independent, solitary learner. I believed it meant I should be able to go to the library, find a book on a topic, and learn everything on my own without any help from others.

However, the presentations made it clear that autonomy is not about learning in isolation. It involves strategic planning, reflection, and even collaboration. It also highlighted that a teacher's role doesn't disappear; it simply changes to that of a facilitator who helps guide the learning process. My understanding was limited to only one dimension of autonomy, but now I see it as a much more comprehensive concept.

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At the beginning of my teaching career, I was a private tutor. I assumed that learner autonomy means completely studying by themselves without the teacher's guidance. After each lesson, I assigned them a homework handout without instructions because I wanted my students to do it independently. The next lesson was coming without any tasks finished, and they burst into tears, "Teacher, I don't know how to do it. Don't punish me, please". After that, I had to search on GG to find some books and theories about learner autonomy. I realized that I was totally wrong. If I want to foster their autonomy, I should scaffold them in the first place until they gradually do it by themselves according to the levels of learner autonomy by Nunan (1997), from the level of awareness to transcendence. As a result, my students are more confident and independent with their own learning, and they have better performance at school with my proper guidance and their efforts.

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I used to think "learner autonomy" often means learning alone. However, after Group 3's presentation, I've come to realization that autonomy isn’t self-instruction or a teacher-free zone; it’s the ability to take charge of learning, often with teacher scaffolding and structure. Autonomy grows when learners set goals, choose strategies, and monitor progress, while teachers model techniques, provide timely feedback, and co-design tasks. It’s guided independence: students make informed decisions within clear constraints (curriculum aims, assessment criteria, time), not free-for-all choice. In short, autonomy is responsible control over one’s learning, cultivated through purposeful support rather than solitary effort.

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My misconception is that I used to think "autonomy" is all about students themselves. They should do everything on their own and should actively come to me for advice or consultancy when needed. After your group and previous groups' presentations, I've learned that "learner autonomy" goes beyond students alone and without teachers' guidance, it's hardly successful. And it's interesting to learn that "autonomy" has different levels and going from one level to another is a journey that requires a lot from both learners and teachers. I believe understanding more about my own "autonomy" journey will help me support my students better in their journeys.

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I used to think that autonomy was on the learner solely with their own needs and self-paced learning.

It turns out to be with much collaboration (the teacher also one component in this process), reflection (in which the lesson and syllabus and the teacher's instructions strongly involved) and interaction (between the thinking, critical insights and feedback intellectually).

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I used to think learner autonomy meant students working entirely on their own, without any guidance. This led to the assumption that autonomous learners don’t need teachers or structure. In reality, autonomy involves proactive decision-making within a supportive framework. Learners need scaffolding like setting goal and reflective practices you encourage in your students to proactively manage their learning, not just react to tasks.

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Nguyễn Thanh Thuỷ

When I first tried to apply learner autonomy in my class, I thought it meant giving students as much freedom as possible. For example, I once assigned my 8th graders a project where they could choose any English topic to research and present, without giving them clear instructions or suggested steps. I believed that by letting them decide everything, they would feel empowered and become more independent. However, most of them struggled, they didn’t know how to find reliable sources, how to organize information, or how to present effectively. Some students even gave up halfway because they felt confused. Their presentations turned out weaker than expected, and they admitted that they needed more guidance. From that experience, I learned that learner autonomy is not about leaving students alone, but about gradually training them with strategies, guidance, and support, so they can step by step take more responsibility for their learning.

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Phương Linh

At first, I thought learner autonomy was only suitable for adults or advanced students. With my primary learners, I controlled every step because I believed they couldn’t handle independent choices. But once, I let them decide how to learn new words about “food - some drew pictures, some made flashcards, or others songs. To my surprise, they were more motivated and remembered better. That experience showed me that even young learners can develop autonomy if teachers provide the right guidance and scaffolding.

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Đỗ Thị Thủy

Many people mistakenly believe that autonomy is something learners are simply born with—that students are either autonomous or not. In reality, I have found that autonomy is something that develops gradually with practice, reflection, and support. For example, when I first started learning a new language, I depended almost entirely on the teacher’s instructions. Over time, however, with guidance on setting goals and monitoring my progress, I became more confident in choosing my own strategies and evaluating my learning. This experience shows me that autonomy is not an inborn trait but a skill that can be nurtured and strengthened step by step.

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When I first tried promoting learner autonomy, I encouraged students to choose their own reading materials and set personal goals. But in a 45-minute class, even 5 minutes of hesitation or confusion felt costly. Some students picked texts that were too difficult, while others chose tasks that didn’t match the lesson objectives. One student selected a news article but struggled with vocabulary, spending most of the time decoding instead of practicing comprehension.

To fix this, I started offering structured choices, three curated texts at different levels, each tied to a clear skill focus. I also introduced goal-setting templates like “Today I want to improve my ability to…” and used timers for each stage: 3 minutes to choose, 30 minutes to work, 10 minutes to reflect. This kept autonomy alive but made time use more efficient.

Autonomy works best when students feel confident and supported, not when they’re left to navigate everything alone in a short lesson.

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I used to equate learner autonomy with my own invisibility, if I stepped back and let students “figure it out,” I assumed independence would naturally follow. What actually followed was hesitation and guesswork, which I misread as productive struggle. The shift in my thinking was realizing that autonomy isn’t the absence of the teacher; it’s the intentional transfer of control. Instead of vanishing, I now see my role as making thinking visible early, then deliberately fading support so ownership can move from me to them. Autonomy, in this view, is a progression, not a moment where clarity and structure enable freedom, and independence is the outcome of guidance that gradually steps aside rather than disappears.

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I used to think autonomy meant that students should study and complete tasks entirely on their own, without teacher involvement. This often led to difficulties because many students felt lost or unmotivated. Later, I realized autonomy is not about the teacher stepping back completely, but about giving guidance, strategies, and support so learners can slowly build confidence and take charge of their own learning.

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Đinh Thị Thanh Loan

When I first heard about learner autonomy, I thought it meant letting students learn completely on their own. In one Grade 4 class, I asked students to choose how to practice new vocabulary. The confident ones quickly created games, but the quieter ones sat still and looked confused.

To solve this, I stepped in and gave some choices such as drawing, acting, or making short sentences. With clearer options, even the shy students began to participate.

I realized I had misunderstood. Autonomy is not leaving students alone but guiding them step by step until they can make decisions confidently. Now I always provide structured options and gradually reduce support as students grow more independent.

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At first, I misunderstood learner autonomy as “learning alone without the teacher,” so I thought relying on teachers’ guidance meant I wasn’t autonomous. Later, I realized it is about taking responsibility (setting goals, using strategies, and reflecting) while still valuing teacher support. Now I see autonomy as a shared responsibility between teacher and student, not just individual independence.

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At the beginning of my teaching, I thought learner autonomy simply meant letting students work independently without much guidance. But in my context, where students are still weak in English, I realised that autonomy has to be built step by step. With the help of scaffolding, visuals, and structured tasks, students can gradually take more responsibility for their learning. This made me understand autonomy as a shared process between teacher and learners, not just leaving them to learn alone.

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Phạm Thị Quế

I used to think that autonomous learning is the same as self-study. Therefore, I just focus on doing exercises in books or watching random English videos independently. I sometimes believed that I did it very well and it helped my study better. But the truth is such activities may lack clear goals or reflection. Indeed, if I can set specific objectives, such as focusing on problematic grammar structures or selecting podcasts at an appropriate level, and then monitor progress by applying strategies like note-taking, self-assessment, and evaluation of outcomes, I will make progress faster. Thus, autonomy is not simply about working in isolation but about developing awareness, reflection, and informed decision-making in the learning process.

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Thinking autonomy means no guidance
I used to believe learner autonomy meant that teachers should not give any instructions. As a result, I often felt lost in my learning. Later, I learned that autonomy requires both self-direction and appropriate guidance from teachers.