Independent learning of English literature students: Learning from an Iranian experience

Abstract

Independent learning is imperative for it can facilitate significant and faster development of a nation’s humanresource. Over the last two decades, more active roles are given to language learners and independent learning istaking momentum in the area of language learning. This study sought to investigate independent learning amonguniversity students of the Shiraz University majoring in English Literature at the department of Foreign Languagesand Linguistics. Analysis of variance and t-test for independent samples were conducted to compare independentlearning among students with different learning backgrounds. It was found that professional status influencedstudents’ independent learning in favour of those students who had an occupation. However, other learner variablesdid not have such an impact on students’ independent learning. This finding might be instructive for Malaysia’sinstitutions specializing in English and other foreign languages.Keywords: human resource development, independent learning, Iran, language learners, learner variables,professional status