Autonomy and Its Role in English Language Learning: Practice and Research

This chapter picks up discussion in the previous edition of this handbook of how the concept of autonomy has influenced language education and applied linguistics in recent years. It begins by discussing the philosophical and practical origins of learner autonomy in language education and particularly in English language teaching and how these have developed over the last 10 years. Key practical initiatives and research findings are reviewed to illuminate how autonomy has been interpreted in relation to learners, teachers, and the learning situation; how it has been linked or contrasted with other constructs; and how fostering autonomy has been seen as a part of pedagogy. Recent developments from the earlier edition are discussed regarding metacognition and, in particular, various contextual dimensions of learner autonomy. Other emerging topics are also reviewed, including learner autonomy in the world of digital/social media, learner autonomy in curriculum design and published materials, and the relation of learner autonomy to plurilingual perspectives. The chapter discusses issues in each of these areas, potential strategies for developing autonomy and effective learning, and possible future directions for research and practice

Impact of different receptor binding modes on surface morphology and electrochemical properties of PNA-based sensing platforms.

Silicon-based field-effect devices have been widely studied for label-free DNA detection in recent years. These devices rely on the detection of changes in the electrical surface potential during the DNA recognition event and thus require a reliable and selective immobilization of charged biomolecules on the device surface [1]. The preparation of self-assembled monolayers of phosphonic acids (SAMPs) on metal oxide surfaces is an efficient approach to generate well-defined organic interfaces with a high density of receptor binding sites close to the sensing surface [2,3]. In this work, we report the functionalization and characterization of silicon/silicon nitride surfaces with different types of peptide nucleic acid (PNA), a synthetic analogue to DNA [4]. Differently modified PNA molecules are covalently immobilized on the underlying SAMPs either in a multidentate or monodentate fashion to investigate the effect of different binding modes on receptor density and morphology important for PNA-DNA hybridization (Scheme 1). Multidentate immobilization of the bioreceptors via C6-SH attachment groups at the γ-points along the PNA backbone provides a rigid, lying configuration on the device surface (PNA 1), whereas a monodentate immobilization by Cys-capped PNA molecules (PNA 2) results in more flexible and more accessible receptor binding sites. Our results indicate that the presented functionalization scheme can be successfully applied to produce morphologically and electrochemically different PNA bioreceptor binding sites on silicon/silicon nitride surfaces. Consequently, a well-chosen modification of the PNA backbone is a valid approach to influence the sensing properties of surface-immobilized PNA bioreceptors, which might provide an additional parameter to further tune and tailor the sensing capabilities of PNA-based biosensing devices