The monograph emerged from experience with an independent learning program at the English Centre of the University of Hong Kong. Students enrolled in classroom-based English spend part of their study time improving their English in ways they have chosen themselves, with the support of self-access learning facilities and counselors. They were asked to reflect on their experiences and evaluate their progress. The report is presented in three parts. The first introduces the notion of autonomy and explores three relevant areas of the literature: learner beliefs about language learning; conceptions of learning; and Vygotskyan interpretations of self-direction and inner speech. A model for analyzing learner discourse on language learning in conceptual terms is offered. In part two, the model is applied to the data to analyze the conceptions of language and language learning collectively available to the learners in the study and their readiness for autonomous learning. The third part contains two case studies, in which these conceptions are related to readiness for autonomy within the discourse of individual students. Contains 57 references. (MSE)