Practical applications of Postmodern Theory for promoting learner autonomy in a foundation studies program

Introduction In his 1986 treatise entitled The Postmodern Condition, Jean-Francois Lyotard famously describes postmodernity as an incredulity toward metanarratives. This description illustrates the kind of fetishism with which cultural studies theorists have always latched onto buzzwords. But it is the telling subtitle of this same book A Report on Knowledge that hints at some of the shared concepts between theories of postmodernity and independent learning. This paper illustrates that, while postmodernity may eschew metanarrativity, it undeniably embraces the concept of metacognition . While noticing may be a buzzword among the learner-autonomy set, it has distinct corollaries within the jargony world of postmodern theory. Other terms and concepts such as deconstruction, self-reference, agency and even Foucault's discourse on discourse, all point to common bonds between the theory of postmodernity and the theory and practice of facilitating learning in a university preparation environment. This paper not only highlights some of the commonalities between the two fields, but it also proposes some ways in which the disciplines can be comb ined and applied in an independent language learning setting.