Learner Autonomy, Goal-Setting, and the Implementation of an Electronic Portfolio in a University English Class

Numerous studies have focused on how students learn autonomously, the use of the European Language Portfolio (ELP), and the effect of goal-setting on students’ performance. Nevertheless, the number of studies that highlight the relationship between these research areas seems to be limited. The purpose of the present study, devised using the CEFR-focused Action Research Model (CARM) (Birch et al., 2021), was to investigate the correlation between university students’ learner autonomy and their attitudes towards an electronic portfolio (e-portfolio), whether they demonstrate positive attitudes towards a goal-setting activity in the e-portfolio, and the state of their ability to learn autonomously. The study participants were first-year university students who took a general English course at a private university in Tokyo. The online surveys included the Autonomous Learning Scale (Macaskill & Taylor, 2010) and statements about participants’ attitudes towards the e-portfolio (some statements were adopted from Scharer (2000: 16)). A 5-point Likert scale was employed. The e-portfolio the students used was created in a Google spreadsheet. The Pearson correlation coefficient was utilized to find the correlation while the interview data was analyzed to view the users’ attitudes, particularly towards a goal-setting section. The results showed that there was a strong positive correlation between the level of learner autonomy and their attitudes towards the e-portfolio, and that several statements were found to illustrate positive attitudes towards a goal-setting activity and the development of learner autonomy. The findings of the present study support the promotion of e-portfolio use amongst educators in various settings to facilitate learner autonomy.