A Qualitative Study of Adult Learners’ Self-Directed Learning Readiness in Non-Formal ESP Online Courses: Lithuanian Students’ Perspective

95 Annotation. This study aimed to explore Lithuanian students’ approaches towards the factors related to self-directed learning readiness. Fourteen adult respondents participated in structured in-depth interviews, where they answered questions based on the Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (Fisher et al., 2001). The conducted study revealed the students’ approaches that can positively contribute to the enhancement of learners’ self-directedness.


Introduction
Recently, there have been many implemented changes in education due to the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since all the educational institutions were physically closed, all the teaching and learning activities were forced to be conducted virtually. Such a rapid change and transition to online learning have led to an even higher need to enhance learners' abilities to be independent, autonomous, and take control of their learning processes, which refer to self-directedness (Sumuer, 2018). Also, as Mahlaba (2020) states, the COVID-19 pandemic has proven that Knowles' (1975) considerations towards self-directed learning and its significance were "pointed to a future in which most of us are now living" (p. 123). Moreover, a great number of globally conducted studies has shown that online learning is the most effective way for dealing with the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused during academic years (Chick et al., 2020, as cited in Mahlaba, 2020. In this context, educators make attempts to enhance learners' self-directed learning by assigning certain activities in online learning. However, it has been found that there might be a wrong teachers' misconception about learners' self-directedness (Wahyudi et al., 2021). According to Wahyudi (2021), even though teachers perceive themselves to be aware of self-directed learning, the conducted study showed that they were not able to apply this knowledge in the development of learners' self-directedness in online learning. Therefore, to enhance learners' independence, autonomy, and abilities to take control of their own learning as well as promote the quality of online learning and choose the right activities, it is essential to analyse learners' approaches towards self-directed learning, which would help to understand not only how competent they are in terms of self-directed learning readiness, but also what kind of attitudes and personal characteristics they possess. According to Demir et al. (2014), analyzing learners' perspectives about their learning is valuable as awareness of their approaches can help perceive their certain achievements or determine the way teaching and learning programmes are designed. However, studies on analysing ESP learners' approaches towards self-directed learning in non-formal online courses are limited in Lithuania. Thus, the current study aims to focus on this field and explore adult learners' approaches towards self-directed learning readiness, including desire for learning, abilities to manage and control own learning processes, in non-formal ESP online courses, which, as a result, could contribute to the enhancement of learners' self-directed skills as well as the quality of ESP online courses.

Self-Directedness and Students' Approaches to Learning
Understanding students' approaches to learning is essential in order not only to determine why some students are successful and others fail but also to perceive why some of them are more self-directed than others. The relevant literature illustrates that deep and surface approaches are the most common ones that learners possess (Richardson, 2005;Heikkila & Lonka, 2006;Parpala et al., 2010;Trigwell et al., 2012;Burkšaitienė & Šliogerienė, 2021). A deep approach is when learners are curious and attentive to the materials that are going to be learnt, and those students who apply a surface approach tend to memorize information too precisely, which is considered to be superficial (Heikkila & Lonka, 2006). In the establishment of Lithuanian undergraduate learners' perspectives towards learning ESP, Burkšaitienė and Šliogerienė (2021) draw the main conclusion of their conducted study that points out that students' approaches appeared to be surface and deep. For instance, some students learnt only the information that was required to receive a proper grade, and it shows that they applied a surface approach to learning ESP. Also, a systematic and organized learning process seemed to be more practised by the students with a deep approach. Thus, learners' self-directedness can be more easily enhanced if teachers and educators are aware of their students' approaches to learning, which "plays a pivotal role at all levels of education" (Burkšaitienė & Šliogerienė, 2021, p. 469).
Another reason why it is significant to be aware of students' perception towards online learning is their academic achievement and abilities to self-regulate their learning processes. Ellis and Bliuc (2019) found that the quality of results is directly linked with how learners assess their online learning. The authors' conducted study showed that "it was the quality of student perceptions which had the strongest association with academic achievement" (Ellis & Bliuc, 2019, p. 22). Another research indicated that those students who used deep approach seemed to be able to self-regulate their learning process as well as to participate actively while learning ESP (Burkšaitienė & Šliogerienė, 2021). According to Hasnor et al. (2013), to encourage students to be more successful in their learning, educators should encourage their learners to avoid using surface approach and enhance the application of deep approach, which proves to be meaningful, requires critical thinking and deep comprehension of the overall learning process. Teachers who are aware of learners' approaches and suitable ways of how to foster self-directed learning succeed in developing learners' autonomy (Lai et al., 2013).

The Importance of Self-Directedness in Online Learning
Nowadays, the significance of online learning has become unquestionable. The use of information and communication technologies does not only expose students to a great amount of information, but also provides them with opportunities to seek the information that meets their interests (Sumuer, 2018). Learning online has already become "a real alternative to augmenting the traditional classroom" (Milicevic et al., 2017, as cited in Lasfeto & Ulfa, 2020. Misra & Mazelfi (2021) explain that the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the majority of educational institutions to shift all the learning to online environments. As a result, students' willingness to learn independently plays a key role in maintaining or increasing "satisfaction, confidence, and student learning performance" (Misra & Mazelfi, 2021, p. 232).
The relevant literature illustrates that learners must be highly self-directed while learning online. The reason lies in the fact that the time and space that are required for online learning are usually not limited (Lasfeto & Ulfa, 2020). The authors further explain that successful autonomous learning is determined by learners' knowledge and perspective. When learning online, students should perform in a self-directed manner, which requires motivation, responsibility, and positive attitudes (Demir et al., 2014). Mahlaba (2020) states that students' self-directedness in online learning is significant since teachers are not present during all the learning process and they are not able to constantly monitor their students. This proves that learners must be initiative and able to self-direct their learning. On the other hand, a pilot study that was conducted by Chou (2012) showed that those students who managed to better self-direct their online learning achieved more successful learning outcomes. Lai and Gardner's (2013) conducted study showed that such factors as active and autonomous learning as well as such abilities as being able to use the Internet and evaluate information had a positive impact on successful and efficient online learning. The overview of the relevant literature shows that to enhance learners' self-directedness in online environments, they must be provided with "freedom and choice; control; and interest and engagement" (Song & Bonk, 2016, p. 10).
The above-mentioned reasons are centred on students' approaches towards their learning processes. Based on these, the current study hopes to explore Lithuanian adult learners' perspectives towards self-directed learning readiness in non-formal ESP online courses.

The Scale for Self-Directed Learning Readiness
According to Knowles (1975), self-directed learning involves adult learners' abilities to initiate their learning expectations, set targets for their learning process, determine appropriate learning resources, choose necessary strategies and assess learning results. Fisher et al. (2001) refers to self-directed learning as to a process where individuals present a certain amount of responsibility in their learning. Self-directedness can also be defined as "the degree the individual possesses the attitudes, abilities and personality characteristics" (Wiley, 1983, as cited in Fisher & King, 2010. To assess learners' readiness, the Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (SDLRS), which was initially created by Guglielmino (1977), can be applied. However, due to the concerns regarding its validity, Fisher et al. (2001) later developed an alternative scale to measure learners' level of responsibility they apply for their learning and their readiness for self-directed learning. The Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (SDLRS) created by Fisher et al. (2001), which includes three subscales: Self-Management, Desire for Learning, Self-Control, has proven to be a valid and reliable tool (Fisher et al., 2001;Sumuer, 2018;Torabi et al., 2013). Its validity and reliability were checked by conducting several studies which proved that readiness for self-directedness appeared to be "a significant predictor of the use of evidence-based practice" (Fisher et al., 2001, p. 45). Moreover, the validity of the SDLRS has been supported not only by conducting studies in medical fields, but also for measuring the level of self-directedness among teachers and students in different researches (Torabi et al., 2013;Sumuer, 2018).
Each subscale of the SDLRS consists of the factors related to learners' readiness for self-directedness. The subscales with their items are shown in Table 1. The SDLRS involves the subscales that consist of the characteristics that are directly linked with the degree of control and can measure learners' readiness to participate in self-directed learning (Guglielmino, 1977;Fisher et al., 2001). Despite the fact that the SDLRS created by Fisher et al. (2001) was initially developed for measuring nursing students' preparedness for self-directed learning, the current qualitative study has employed the SDLRS to analyse students' approaches regarding their readiness for self-directed learning by adapting it to the field of ESP and choosing only certain items from each subscale, which are presented in Table 2. In light of this framework, the current qualitative study suggests that learners who have a strong desire to learn and are able to manage and control their own learning are more likely to gain more benefits while studying in ESP online courses.

Materials and Methods
The qualitative research analysed adult learners' perspectives towards self-directed learning in non-formal ESP online courses. It focused on the SDLRS (Fisher et al., 2001) with the three subscales and their items. The authors' consent for the usage of the SDLRSNE had been received before conducting the survey.
The study was conducted in the English language through a video communication platform Zoom in October and November, 2021. Structured in-depth interviews were used as the data collection method for 14 adult learners. For this study, the interview questions were composed using the selected items from the SDLRS (Fisher et al., 2001). The chosen items may be observed in Table 2.

Sample
A Lithuanian language school was selected as the research setting for this study. 14 adult learners studying ESP in online courses participated in structured in-depth interviews. Table 3 presents interviewees' demographic information.

Data collection
Structured in-depth interviews were used as the data collection method for the 14 adult learners. According to Horton et al. (2004), the advantage of choosing to conduct interviews lies in the fact that interviewees can feel more freedom to express their feelings and considerations. Structured interviews are usually performed with the goal of providing interviewees with identical questions so that their answers could be aggregated (Koskei & Simiyu, 2015). The aim of the research as well as the confidentiality had been explained to all 14 participants before they were interviewed. Once all the attendees' consents were received, interviews were conducted individually through a video communication platform Zoom. All the interviews were recorded with the usage of a tape-recorder and later transcribed without including participants' names and another confidential information.

Data analysis
The data were analysed according to qualitative analysis procedures by applying the inductive content analysis method. The inductive approach is used when there is not enough previous knowledge about a particular phenomenon (Elo & Kyngas, 2008). According to Graneheim et al. (2017), the inductive content analysis is performed by looking for similarities and differences which are later described in the forms of "abstraction and interpretation" (p.30).

Self-Management
Adult learners were asked four questions related to their self-management abilities, which involved being self-disciplined, disorganised, and having an ability to set strict time frames while studying ESP in non-formal online courses. The selected items with interviewees' responses are shown in Table 4.

Table 4
The Items of the Subscale "Self-Management"

Self-Management Respondents Agreed Partially agreed Disagreed
I am disorganised 14 1 respondent 2 respondents 11 respondents I set strict time frames 14 3 respondents 2 respondents 9 respondents 9 out of 14 respondents consider themselves as self-disciplined. This can be seen by some interviewees' answers: 'Yes. I am self-disciplined in all the things I do all the time, and one thing in all my routine is this course, so I think I act as self-disciplined.' Similarly, another interviewee answered positively when asked if he considered himself to be self-disciplined: 'Yes, I feel very good learning English remotely because I receive a lot of information and no one distracts me'. The respondent added the importance of learning remotely, which contributes to his positive perspective towards self-discipline. 4 interviewees expressed partially positive answers towards being self-discipline due to their everyday commitments: 'I think yes, but there are a lot of duties in my life. However, I try to be disciplined while learning. For example, I know that every Wednesday I have to make my homework before classes.' Moreover, teachers' role was emphasized as a key point in maintaining self-disciplined. This could be seen from Interviewee7's response: ' Actually, not really, it depends on the task, and if it's really hard for me, I am tempted to procrastinate. My teacher encourages me to be self-disciplined. ' Another item from the subscale 'Self-Management' was related to disorganisation. Almost all the respondents denied being disorganised while learning ESP online. One of them commented: 'No, everything is great, this type of learning is good because I graduated from my university remotely, and I am ready for remote learning.' However, some respondents found it challenging to consistently remain organised due to their everyday duties: 'I would call myself an organized person, but sometimes in life there are many things to do and you put priorities and sometimes English is in another priority.' Hence, practising self-directedness is crucial to adult learners as it can have a positive impact on their learning results while trying to balance between their everyday responsibilities (Khiat, 2017).
It was found that the majority of respondents does not set strict time frames while studying ESP online. The respondents indicated that it is impossible to set strict time frames due to their work and other life commitments. This could be seen from some of the interviewees' responses: 'It is difficult for me because my work is very unpredictable sometimes and it is very difficult to put everything in place' (Interviewee1

Desire for Learning
Adult learners were asked two questions related to their desire for learning. The first question was 'Do you enjoy learning new information?'. All the 14 respondents reported that they enjoyed learning new information, which confirms their positive attitudes towards learning new information. The selected items from the subscale 'Desire for Learning' as well as respondents' answers are presented in Table 5.

Table 5
The Items of the Subscale "Desire for Learning"

Partially positive answers ('I do, but…'; 'I try'; 'I think so')
I Another question from the subscale "Desire for Learning" was 'Do you learn from your mistakes?' It was found that 5 out of 14 respondents certainly learn from their mistakes. They expressed absolutely positive attitudes towards their abilities to learn from their mistakes. However, 9 interviewees indicated partially positive answers. This could be seen from some of the interviewees' responses: 'I try. I try to review the tasks and what kind of mistakes I have done, it's like self-analysis and self-control." Similarly, another interviewee reported some difficulties to learn from her mistakes: 'I hope so. I know it's really hard to re-learn everything because it's like a habit. When I speak, I don't listen to myself.' Both interviewees stressed that it is not easy to learn from mistakes while studying ESP, but expressed their optimistic approaches by making attempts to revise and be aware of the fact that it is not easy to change habits. In addition, teacher's role in the process of learning from mistakes was emphasized by one interviewee who stated that 'I can correct mistakes when I know how to correct them. If I don't know how to do that, my teacher corrects me and it helps me to learn English.'

Self-Control
Four items from the subscale 'Self-Control' were chosen in order to assess adult learners' approaches towards setting their own learning goals by themselves, evaluating their own performance, being responsible, and being able to find out necessary information for themselves. The chosen items and interviewees' responses may be observed in Table 6.

Table 6
The Items of the Subscale "Self-Control It was found that the majority of respondents do not prefer to set their own learning goals, and the teacher's role was highlighted: 'No, I prefer my teacher to set all the goals for me', Interviewee7 strongly remarked. Some adult learners observed that their teacher's role is important, but it is a mutual process as well. Interviewee6 explained: 'My teacher helps me, and I think it's both ways, as a learner I know my drawbacks but it is hard to see myself from aside.' Similarly, Interviewee11 emphasized that setting goals is a mutual process that involves both a teacher and a learner: 'My teacher helps me and I follow her methods, but I love to share my own findings with my teacher, and in this way, she can see more and suggest new learning goals for me.' When asked if they evaluated their performance while learning ESP in online courses, most respondents responded positively: 'Yes, I think I can speak English better compared to the first time of this course and now I am speaking and it is satisfying. I evaluate my performance in this way' (Interviewee10). Similarly, another interviewee highlighted the fact that it is a long-lasting process: 'And yes, and no. After a certain time you can feel your progress, and this is how you can feel evaluation and effectiveness of your work.' Another part of the respondents emphasized the importance of teachers in the process of evaluating performance. For instance, Interviewee4 responded that 'my teacher evaluates my level and tells about my improvement, and also I see this evaluation in some kind of everyday life when I feel more comfortable to talk, write and read.' All the adult learners expressed positive attitudes towards their responsibility while learning ESP online. Respondents stressed that they felt guilty if they did not accomplish some of the assigned tasks: 'If I don't do my assignments, I feel really guilt, and next time I push myself to do more.' Similarly, another interviewee related responsibility with motivation and self-discipline: 'I try to do all the tasks because it includes my self-motivation and self-discipline. ' Such learners' responses align with their deep approaches towards a learning process, and this is in line with the results of Burkšaitienė & Šliogerienė (2021) who found that learners' deep approaches had a positive impact on their learning quality, which involved students' abilities to self-regulate their learning more efficiently.
The last item from the subscale 'Self-Control' was related with learners' ability to find out information for themselves. All the respondents highlighted that search engines play a crucial role in finding necessary information: 'I google things. If I read an article or watch a video and do not know certain words, I try to google them.' Another interviewee responded that he uses a dictionary when needed: 'When I write an e-mail to my client, I always check what I have written, and I usually use a dictionary for it.' It was found that teacher's role is significant in this process as well: 'Yes, I can find out information on the Internet, in the dictionary, but our teacher gives a lot of information for us.' Similarly, another interviewee emphasized the importance of a teacher in a learning process: 'Yes, I am able, by using search engines, but my teacher helps me if I need some kind of specific information and about specific themes.' As previously discussed in the literature review, when learning online, learners should be self-directed, which requires motivation, responsibility, and positive perspectives (Demir et al., 2014).

Discussion and Conclusions
This study aimed at exploring Lithuanian students' approaches towards the factors related to self-directed learning readiness based on the framework developed by Fisher et al. (2001) that includes the subscales of self-management, self-control, desire for learning. As previously discussed in the literature review, understanding learner's approaches can contribute to a more successful process while enhancing their readiness for self-directed learning. It was found that adult learners had mainly posi tive attitudes in terms of self-directed learning, which indicates their readiness for self-directedness. Most respondents seemed to have good self-management abilities, including self-discipline and organisation. Some of them appeared to face difficulties in maintaining self-discipline and being organised due to their work and everyday life commitments. Also, the majority of interviewees stated they did not set any strict time frames apart from their English course. Song and Bonk (2016) reported that freedom is one of the prerequisites that encourages learners' self-directedness in online learning. The results in the current paper also suggest that teachers must take adult learners' willingness not to be restricted into consideration and arrange teaching and learning goals accordingly.
It can also be concluded that, on the one hand, all the fourteen adult learners participating in non-formal online ESP courses enjoyed the process of learning new information. On the other hand, the findings show that some learners encountered difficulties to learn from their mistakes, and the importance of a teacher's role here was emphasized. This result is compatible with Sumuer's (2018) conducted research that emphasized the importance of assistance for college students while developing their abilities for self-directed learning. Therefore, these findings call for action. Teachers should dedicate more efforts to supporting those students who lack such autonomous abilities as learning from their mistakes.
The results of the current research showed interviewees' positive approaches towards self-control, including responsibility and abilities to find information for themselves. Such respondents' revealed qualities as guilt when they do not complete a certain assignment proves their deep approach towards their learning process, which also allows for self-directedness. This result is compatible with the study conducted by Burkšaitienė and Šliogerienė (2021) who found that a systematic and organized learning process seemed to be more practised by the students with a deep approach.
The findings show that the research participants were ready for self-directed learning in terms of their abilities to find out information for themselves, where the usage of the Internet was emphasized. This result is consistent with the findings of Khiat (2017): students' highly perceived competence in using technological tools while learning online positively impacted their levels of self-directedness. The findings of the current study suggest that creating such learning and teaching goals and including the usage of technological tools for finding necessary information can contribute to higher levels of learners' self-directedness. Furthermore, the results of the current study are compatible with the findings of Sumuer (2018) that suggest to design "technology-enhanced learning environments" in order to develop students' readiness for self-directedness (Sumuer, 2018, p. 39).
However, the alarming finding of this study is connected with students' abilities to set their own learning goals and evaluate information by themselves. The majority of the interviewees expressed fewer positive attitudes towards the latter abilities. This finding is in line with the conclusion of Lasfeto and Ulfa (2020) that highlighted the significance of social interaction in online learning. Thus, it should be borne in mind that despite the fact self-directedness includes high levels of autonomy and independence, teachers' role and co-operation are essential in a learning process, especially when it takes place online.
The study proves that diagnosing learners' approaches towards their readiness for self-directed learning, including desire for learning, abilities to manage and control own learning processes, is essential for implementing adequate teaching strategies, which, as a result, could not only facilitate the choice of learning resources, increase the course quality, but also enhance students' readiness for self-directedness.