Autonomy-supportive learning

Objective: The research investigated how implementing autonomy-supportive strategies in English language classrooms contributes to increased student motivation. Methods: Participants in this study comprised 100 male EFL learners recruited from an English language institute located in Guilan, Iran. Sixty intermediate language learners were selected using the Oxford Quick Placement Test and subsequently randomly divided into two groups of 30 for the research. A motivation pretest was administered to both cohorts preceding the intervention. The treatment then commenced: the experimental group received autonomy-supportive English language instruction, and the control group followed the CLT approach. A motivation posttest was administered to all participants at the conclusion of the treatment to assess potential differences in motivation levels across the experimental (autonomy-supportive) and control (CLT) groups. Results: The findings, statistically examined with independent and paired samples t-tests, demonstrated that autonomy-supportive teaching methods effectively boosted English learning motivation in the Iranian student cohort. Conclusion: The results offer tangible proof that autonomy-supportive methods effectively cultivate more motivating language learning settings and enhance students' inherent motivation to pursue English language acquisition.