Dr. Leni Dam: Biography
From
1967, Leni Dam was a teacher of English and Mathematics at a comprehensive
school south of Copenhagen where the first steps towards developing learner
autonomy in foreign language learning and teaching started in 1973 with
a group of 14-year-old mixed ability students. During this time and whilst
in this post, Dr. Dam worked on the research project, Language Acquisition
in an Autonomous Learning Environment jointly with Prof. L. Legenhausen,
Münster University, Germany.
Since 1979 she has been an educational adviser and in-service teacher trainer
at University College, Copenhagen. She was awarded an honourable doctor
degree in pedagogy at Karlstad University, Sweden, in 2004. Leni is a producer
of materials for language teaching, a renowned speaker in as well as outside
Denmark. Her areas of interest are closely connected to the development
of learner autonomy, differentiated teaching and learning, internal evaluation
and the use of portfolios.
Dr. Leni Dam:
TACON 07, Plenary
Developing learner autonomy - why, how and with
what results
Based on more than 30 years of classroom practice as well as research results
the session will begin with an initial definition of the concept of learner
autonomy. It will then look at important factors for developing learner
autonomy in the world of today as well as mentioning additional significant
factors relevant to the development of learner autonomy. Finally, the talk
will give examples of some results - linguistic as well as social - from
autonomous classes.
Dr. Leni Dam:
TACON 07, Learner Independence SIG Session
How
to get learners actively involved in their own learning
This session will look at various ways in which the teacher can pass over
more and more responsibility to the learners and thus make them more independent
of the teacher. It will at the same time look at the special features of
the autonomous classroom which prepares its learners for lifelong learning.