The Relationship between Teacher Support and First-Year EFL Students’ Attitudes toward Autonomous Learning: Evidence from a Vietnamese University

Vol 9 No 7 (2026): Volume 09 Issue 07 July 2026

Article Date Published : 20 July 2026 | Page No.: 3926-3939 | Google Scholar | Crossref doi for this article

Abstract :

Learner autonomy is widely regarded as a central goal of foreign language education, yet first-year students in Vietnamese higher education frequently enter university with strong habits of teacher dependency formed during exam-oriented secondary schooling. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory, this article examined the relationship between perceived teacher support and attitudes toward autonomous learning among first-year English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students at Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City (IUH). Using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, quantitative data were collected from 202 first-year students through a questionnaire measuring three dimensions of attitude (cognitive, affective, behavioral) and three dimensions of teacher support (autonomy support, structure, involvement), followed by semi-structured interviews with 10 participants. Results indicated that students held moderately positive attitudes toward autonomous learning and perceived moderate levels of teacher support, with a strong, statistically significant positive correlation between the two constructs (r = .766, p < .001). Teacher support correlated most strongly with behavioral attitudes (r = .598), followed by affective (r = .565) and cognitive attitudes (r = .546). Qualitative findings converged with the quantitative results, showing that students associated supportive teaching with guided self-discovery rather than direct answers, while consistently identifying the need for more explicit instruction in learning strategies. The findings suggest that teacher support and learner autonomy are complementary rather than opposing forces, and that first-year EFL programs would benefit from embedding explicit strategy instruction within teacher-supportive pedagogy. Implications for EFL pedagogy, teacher training, and future research in non-English-major contexts are discussed.

Keywords :

EFL, Learner autonomy, Self-Determination Theory, teacher support, Vietnamese higher education

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Author's Affiliation

   Đang Tuyet Nhi
Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City, Faculty of Foreign Languages

   Nguyen Xuan Hong
Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City, Faculty of Foreign Languages

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Đang Tuyet Nhi, Nguyen Xuan Hong, 2026

This work is licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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The Relationship between Teacher Support and First-Year EFL Students’ Attitudes toward Autonomous Learning: Evidence from a Vietnamese University. Đang Tuyet Nhi, Nguyen Xuan Hong, 9(7), 3926-3939. Retrieved from https://ijcsrr.org/single-view/?id=26965&pid=26792

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