Negotiated Syllabus and Autonomous Motivation: A Self-determination Theory Perspective

According to Benson (2001), the principle of language learners’ autonomy over the curriculum and syllabus design is manifested under the tenets of negotiated syllabus (Breen, 1987), in which learners are expected to make decisions regarding the goals, content, procedures of the learning, and assessment of the course. In this study, the researcher investigated the impact of Breen and Littlejohn’s (2000) suggested framework of negotiated syllabus intervention program on developing EFL learners’ psychological needs for autonomy, competence, relatedness as well as different subscales of motivational regulations within self-determination theory (SDT). The participants assigned to the instructional program were a group (N=40) of EFL learners, doing their bachelor’s degree in ELT program in Islamic Azad University-South Tehran Branch. Under the tenets of negotiated syllabus, the participants developed their acceptance of responsibility for their own learning process and this, in fact, had great effect on enhancing their autonomy scale. Also, the findings indicated a substantial increase in learners’ basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness as well as more autonomous (intrinsic identified) motivational regulations within self-determination theory. Moreover, the magnitudes of correlations between competence, autonomy, and relatedness with more autonomous motivational regulations indicated to be more significant than the other remaining correlational patterns. Collectively, this study suggests that syllabus negotiation as a curriculum-based approach to learner autonomy can be effective on reinforcing EFL learners’ roles to develop their autonomously motivated control over the learning process.