What is autonomy? This is probably the single most difficult question to answer about autonomy in language learning and any answer to it is likely to be subjective. To me autonomy is about people taking more control over their lives -individually and collectively. Autonomy in learning is about people taking more control over their learning in classrooms and outside them and autonomy in language learning about people taking more control over the purposes for which they learn languages and the

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... s in which they learn them. Autonomy can also be described as a capacity to take charge of, or take responsibility for, or control over your own learning. From this point of view, autonomy involves abilities and attitudes that people possess, and can develop to various degrees. There are different points of view, though, on what these abilities and attitudes are (and even whether abilities and attitudes are the right words!). There are also different points of view on whether or not autonomy also involves a 'situational' element (i.e., the freedom to exercise control over your own learning). These differences explain why it is so difficult to explain exactly what autonomy is.