An Example of Classroom Practice Using Flashcards for Young Learners: Preliminary Indications for Promoting Autonomy

• Main Authors: Feng Teng, Fang He
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kanda University of International Studies 2015-12-01
• Series: Studies in Self-Access Learning Journal
• Subjects: learner autonomy; self-access; young learners
• Online Access: https://sisaljournal.org/archives/dec15/teng_he/

This article reports preliminary indications that flashcards are helpful for promoting a sense of control over learning. Participants were 25 fifth-year primary school students, who were required to create flashcards to use outside of their classroom after receiving instructions on relevant techniques. At the end of the semester, flashcards were collected in order to explore notes taken by the students. Ten of the students also participated in a follow-up interview. Results indicated that the open-ended nature of the flashcards, combined with scaffolding provided by the teacher, facilitate students’ autonomous engagement, although some techniques were rarely used and some were not maintained consistently throughout the experiment. Pedagogical implications for promoting self-access language learning are discussed.