Language Centres, Online Authentic Materials and Learners’ Needs: Improving Autonomy and Discovery in Language Learning

Unlike a few decades ago, using our phones, tablets, phablets or computers, all sorts of foreign language authentic materials are now easily available and accessible outside our language centres. Nevertheless, learners might find it difficult to select what is more effective for their learning process and be daunted by some complex features of naturally occurring language. This paper draws on previous studies and personal teaching experience to suggest that, in order to fully exploit these resources, language centres should aim at helping learners increase their ability in dealing with online authentic materials inside and outside the centre’s premises. In this perspective, they might consider the introduction of a relatively new approach based on corpora and online resources to enhance the learner’s autonomy and confidence when dealing with online authentic and unfiltered materials in a foreign language.