DIFFICULTIES OF IMPLEMENTING LEARNING AUTONOMY AT ENGLISH LESSONS IN UKRAINIAN SCHOOLS

• Iryna Vietrova

  Rivne State University for the Humanities

  https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3673-7082

• Svitlana Potapchuk

  National University of Water and Environmental Engineering

  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7907-3565

This article explores the challenges of implementing learner autonomy in English language lessons in Ukrainian secondary schools. The study aims to summarize the problems highlighted in academic literature and to identify and analyze the key factors that hinder the development of learner autonomy in the context of Ukraine’s ongoing educational transformation and wartime conditions. Learner autonomy, understood as the ability of students to take responsibility for their own learning, plays a crucial role in fostering critical thinking, internal motivation, and responsibility—competencies emphasized in updated teacher training curricula in Ukraine. However, based on observations during teaching internships and practice, the actual implementation of autonomous learning strategies often faces serious obstacles. These include reliance on traditional teaching methods, organizational limitations within classroom settings, and psychological factors.The war has intensified these challenges by disrupting stable learning environments, limiting access to resources, and increasing the emotional burden on both teachers and students. The study employs a mixed-methods approach, including surveys and interviews with 15 English teachers working in relatively safe urban areas of Ukraine. The findings indicate several barriers: emotional burnout of teachers, students’ stress and trauma-related demotivation, lack of access to stable internet and learning materials, frequent changes in educational settings due to displacement, and reduced opportunities for collaborative and extracurricular learning. Additionally, the lack of institutional support, methodological resources, and teacher training in fostering autonomy under crisis conditions further complicates the situation. Despite these challenges, many teachers recognize learner autonomy as vital to educational resilience and students’ well-being. The article concludes with recommendations for supporting educators through professional development, resource provision, and experience exchange to facilitate the successful integration of autonomy in language classrooms.

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