Response Paper

Response Paper: The Process of a Course Design for a Self- Regulated Learning Based English Course for University Students

It is well known that the way in which a particular course is designed will surely impact on both the learning process and learners themselves whether in a good or bad way. That is the reason why, when developing an English course, it is crucial that the course designers are aware of the type of learners the course is designed for (who they are), the needs and personal goals the students desire to achieve, and the specific aim of the course itself. The following paper will discuss the importance of knowing the type of learners a curriculum based on the explicit presentation of self- regulated learning is directed to when

164) can be answered by making a review of literature of what a self- regulated learning learner is, “the one who can determine what to learn and how to learn” (Soysal, 2011, p. 211), what being a self- regulated learner takes ( to plan, organize, control, self- monitor, and self- evaluate their own learning), the roles and expectations both the teacher and the learners are likely to meet throughout the process of learning during a self- regulated learning English course, and another important facts such as the age of the students, their learning styles, etc. By reflecting on what we have covered so far during the class, I totally agree with this because I believe that one of the best ways in order to design a course that is intended to be both meaningful and effective for the learners is by being conscious about the kind of learners the course is directed to (whether if they are standard or self- directed learners, their strengths, weaknesses, learning style, age, etc.) in order to, based on that information, establish the main aim, goals, and objectives of the course, the kind of activities to included according to the learners´ needs, the methodology to be implemented, the best environment to be created for the learners, and consequently, to

75). I agree with this information since I am conscious about how these needs the students may have can serve the course designers as a guideline in order to set the aims, goals and objectives for the course to be designed, and therefore, to develop the activities, materials, etc. and the course itself in an effective way. A clear illustration of the effectiveness of looking at the needs of the learners took place while I started giving classes to a friend of mine, since I first asked her the reason why she needed the English for improving her grammar skills (her specific needs), made an analysis of her level of knowledge about the subject matter, and based on that information I organized and design a course that would help her to not only improve her areas of problem but also to achieve her goal to learn the language in order to increase her grammar skills. Nevertheless, I believe that there are some schools who are the ones that usually worried about completing the whole curriculum of the course that they sometimes forget the things that really matter: “ the needs of the learner” even though is well- known that the “student thinking is more important than the curriculum