ICT and Paradox of Autonomy in the Iranian Context of Learning French as a Foreign Language

Mohamad-Hossein Otroshi, Jean-François Bourdet 
(Université du Maine, CREN-InEdUM, France)

Abstract: The Information and Computer Technology (ICT) focuses on the individualistic model and promotes autonomy and independence. Iranian learners find themselves lost in a situation mediated by ICT; they find neither educational and cultural habits, nor their educational benchmarks. This paper tries to identify, by analyzing the Iranian context of the teaching/learning of French as a Foreign Language (FFL), the paradox of autonomy in language courses using ICT. Earlier studies, concerning the autonomy process of learning also emphasize the weight of social representations and habits which they produce. The ability to take responsibility for language learning is not innate, or a simple process, or shared by all, and does not develop in all activities in the same way. Because of this, we see various forms of autonomy arise (general autonomy, language and learning). The results of our research based on an experimentation reveals that autonomy in learning a foreign language with ICT needs a strong intellectual discipline, methodological skills, and metacognition. When these skills are not mastered early in the learners’ experience, it is necessary to take into consideration the social significance of cultural capital of learners seriously in order to facilitate the process of using ICT.

Key words: ICT, educational culture, autonomy, FFL