Creating spaces for learning and autonomy: skills support groups in ALMS

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterScientificpeer-review

Abstract

ALMS (Autonomous Learning Modules) has been an important part of the Language Centre’s work for almost 30 years. An ALMS course promotes learner autonomy and offers students the opportunity to fulfil
their foreign-language degree requirement through planning, carrying out and evaluating a programme of work that they themselves have decided on. Throughout this 30-year-period, the ALMS team have actively conducted practitioner research, especially on language counselling, which comprises the course’s main pedagogical support. Less research, however, has focused on ALMS support groups, which also play a key pedagogical role in the course’s ecosystem.
In this article, the ALMS team share perspectives on the support groups they teach and have developed in recent years. They describe the aims, practices and outcomes, showing how ALMS support groups respond to ever-evolving student needs and provide opportunities for students to develop their linguistic competences in focused, informal, and learner-centred ways.
Often considered a more independent study option, these support group portraits highlight the rich social learning environments that emerge during ALMS courses. The portraits also demonstrate diverse approaches to developing linguistic competences in language courses and provide examples of both learner and teacher autonomy in practice.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationNäkemyksiä kielitaidosta ja viestintäosaamisesta / Insikter om språkkunskap och kommunikationskompetens / Perspectives on Language Proficiency and Communication Skills
Number of pages103
Volume10
PublisherUniversity of Helsinki, Language Centre
Publication date20 Dec 2023
Pages81
ISBN (Print)978-951-51-9021-5
ISBN (Electronic)978-951-51-9022-2
Publication statusPublished - 20 Dec 2023
MoE publication typeA3 Book chapter

Fields of Science

  • 6121 Languages
  • language learners
  • language learning

Cite this