Autonomy in language learning is for many language centres in higher education a pedagogical goal. However, although autonomy is a concept that has been associated with language learning for almost 40 years, both the understanding of that concept and its implementation in classroom-settings and in self-access language centres vary considerably. In…

The UFR Lansad (Language centre teaching languages to specialists of other disciplines) was created in 2014 at the University of Lorraine. The process leading to its creation was led by a small number of teachers and researchers, from the pre-existing teams of the previous Lorraine universities (Molle et al. 2019). It is the result of didactic…

High self-efficacy beliefs and effective self-regulatory strategies are increasingly important in academic settings, and especially in developing academic writing skills. This article deals with how students develop academic writing skills in two different pedagogical settings (as autonomous learners and in a traditional learning environment), and…

This report will discuss the process of evaluation for development in a collaborative project that integrated teaching between the Language Centre and the Law School at the University of Eastern Finland. The focus of this report will be on a model the authors devised for the purposes of developing teaching, called "E.A.S.Y,"…

The twenty-first century is a time of unprecedented social and technological development. Defining the period is an internationally interconnected world pregnant with information, dynamic events, and individual choice. These attributes create a highly complex, unpredictable, ambiguous and volatile environment that places new demands on every adult…

Autonomy and self-learning are ongoing challenges for universities generally, and for their language centres specifically when it comes to language learning and acquisition. The University of Modena and Reggio Emilia has always paid attention to both fostering autonomy in its learners and developing customized language learning activities. Among…

The fostering of learner autonomy has become an essential element of modern pedagogy and an established object of research. There are many difficulties in providing evidence of learners' development towards autonomy, however, since it is not measurable in a traditional sense. As a learning advisor (LA) at a private language university in Japan, I…

Democratic principles and human rights, the core values of the Council of Europe, informed the development of the "Common European Framework of Reference for Languages" (CEFR; Council of Europe 2001. "Common European framework of reference for languages: Learning, teaching, assessment." Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.…

In 2011 the Language Centre of the University of Parma introduced a self-study programme aimed at creating an autonomy-inspired language learning environment. Students are actively engaged in the management of their own learning and co-directed by advisors and teachers in the phases of planning, monitoring and assessment. Reflective diary writing…

This article offers an overview of research strategies currently in use at the Language Centre of the University of Calabria and aimed at observing university students' learning habits when they are asked to use the European Language Portfolio during language courses. We present evidence of how experimental groups of students belonging to…

In this article we consider how the roles of learner and teacher are configured in a teletandem exchange between two students working in a university language centre with no external tutor present. Teletandem is a multilateral exchange (Lewis et al. 2011) via desktop videoconferencing. It is based on the tandem method, where two learners with…

The Language Centre at the University of Padova provides language courses for students of all disciplines and with a wide range of needs. Over the years, the number of students having to deal with a language requirement has increased exponentially, while the teaching personnel and general resources have struggled to keep up. Catering to all of the…

Since CercleS was created in 1990, language resource centres, or language centres, have offered learners various means to improve their language skills. They are often places where new pedagogical approaches and innovative learning environments are proposed (Rivens Mompean 2011). As the names of some of the associations belonging to CercleS…

The European Language Portfolio (ELP) was designed as a tool that "supports reflective learning and fosters the development of learner autonomy" (Little 2009, "The European Language Portfolio: Where pedagogy and assessment meet". Strasbourg: Council of Europe.…

This article is based on a plenary talk given at the CercleS seminar hosted by the University of Groningen in November 2011 to mark the tenth anniversary of the publication of the "Common European Framework of Reference for Languages" and the launch of the European Language Portfolio. The first part of the article summarizes the history…