Empowerment refers to giving learners the power to make their own decisions about learning rather than the teacher having all the control.

a student studying alone in a library

This opportunity to make decisions is part of what can make a learner more independent, or autonomous.

Example
A teacher decides to negotiate the syllabus of a skills course for a group of high level learners. The learners identify what they need and help design a suitable course.

In the classroom
Certain teaching approaches and methodologies have learner empowerment as an aim. Examples include Community Language Learning, the Dogme approach, the inductive approach to new language and humanistic traditions.

Further links:

https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/negotiated-objectives

https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/blogs/cerirhiannon/ceri-jones-assessment-negotiating-exam-formats

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