INVESTIGATIVE RESEARCH - HOW IT CHANGES LEARNER STATUS

What matters about an educational activity is how learners respond to it. This involves questions of ''authenticity'' (Widdowson, 1981) and of meaning, especially ''meaning which is one's own'' (Prabhu, 1987). If a learner responds as a pupil, not showing much personal interest, I call this an exercise. If a learner responds in a creative way, with spontaneity and independence, I call this a piece of work. Work autho red by the learners themselves is authentic in a way that assignments provided by a teacher or materials designer are unlikely to be. This i s significant for notions of learner autonomy which is partly a matter of learners having an opportunity to define their own meanings and de velop them. Investigative research facilitates learners pursuing their own interests and meanings, and releases them from the need to behave as pupils. The change of status is emancipating and is a way of engag ing learner autonomy.