Distance Learning and Learner autonomy: a case study on the WAATI virtual program of Italian language assistants

In the last decade many studies have focused on learner autonomy and its role within the language classroom environment. At the same time, in the last couple of years the Covid-19 health emergency forced many countries all over the world to distance and online learning, with a resulting rediscovery of tools and systems functional for the distance education domain. Up to now, some studies have explored the relation between learner autonomy and distance learning, but the number is still limited. As far as post-pandemic research on this matter is concerned, there is no investigation focusing on these two variables. For these reasons, the present work aims at exploring the relation between learner autonomy and distance learning, by studying the opinions of teachers involved in the WAATI virtual program of language assistants. The program was held in 2021 for the first time virtually due to the pandemic and served as a case study for this research. The methods and instruments used follow the works of Borg and Al Busaidi (2012) and Rinesko and Kurniawan (2020). Despite the fact that in literature there are several studies highlighting the limits and difficulties of distance learning, in this work distance education is seen in a positive light, in particular as an opportunity to foster students’ autonomy. Indeed, the results indicate a positive attitude of teachers towards the relation between learner autonomy and distance learning.