Abstract

This study investigates foreign language teacher candidates’ views regarding the issue of autonomous learning through a survey given to the students in the Department of German Language Teaching at Marmara University in Istanbul. Participants’ views on their responsibilities, learning styles, strategies, and motivation during the learning processes were elicited through the scale “checklists for learner autonomy”. The results of the study indicate that while prospective teachers were aware of their learning styles and strategies, their strengths and weaknesses, they needed to develop their skills to put into practice what they knew about autonomous learning in theory.

Key words: Autonomous learning, learning style, learning strategy.