The present study was conducted with 20 English-asa-foreign-language (EFL) teachers at Dong Thap University, Vietnam through interviews. The findings showed that the teachers had positive understandingsof the related aspects and levels of learner autonomy. In practice, they made significant attempts to cultivate students’ autonomy. | EFL teachers’ perceptions and practices regarding learner autonomy at Dong Thap University, Vietnam Hue University Journal of Social Science and Humanities ISSN 2588-1213 Vol. 127, No. 6B, 2018, Tr. 05-17; EFL TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICES REGARDING LEARNER AUTONOMY AT DONG THAP UNIVERSITY, VIETNAM Le Thanh Nguyet Anh* College of Foreign Languages, Hue University 57 Nguyen Khoa Chiem, Hue City, Vietnam Abstract. Learner autonomy is currently one of the central themes in language education. Autonomous learning plays an important role not only in university life but also throughout the life of learners. Explor- ing teachers’ perceptions and practices regarding learner autonomy (LA) is necessary, especially in the local contexts, to provide more insights intothe field. The present study was conducted with 20 English-as- a-foreign-language (EFL) teachers at Dong Thap University, Vietnam through interviews. The findings showed that the teachers had positive understandingsof the related aspects and levels of learner autono- my. In practice, they made significant attempts to cultivate students’ autonomy. However, they faced cer- tain common problems as shared by EFL teachers at other universities in Vietnam. On the basis of the findings a number of implications have been made. Keywords. learner autonomy, teacher, student, EFL, perception, practice. 1. Introduction In the context of the informative technological development these days and the changing situa- tion of English language teaching in the 21st century, autonomy is considered as a crucial goal in the teaching and learning process. Therefore, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET)of Vietnam has practiced the Law of Higher Education to promote the quality of the higher educa- tive system approaching international standards in the 21stcentury. Up to 2017, MOET had tried to integrate and develop .
