This paper is to critically review the current research studies of learner antonomy (LA) regarding English as a foreign language teaching in China over the last 20 years.154 LA research papers published in 13 Chinese foreign language (FL) core journals from 1998 to 2019 were analyzed. The results showed that: 1) in terms of the number of published LA papers, there was an overall upward trend, reaching the peak from 2006 to 2009; 2) as for research methods, empirical studies of LA were on the rise as a whole, while the instruments used were mainly relying on questionnaires and interviews; 3) on research participants, Chinese LA focused more on the undergraduates, among which non-English majors were in the spotlight; 4) regarding the research contents, the influencing factors of LA and LA platform/mode were the main focus; 5) considering the influencing factors of LA, single factor analysis was predominant. Wherein motivation and learning strategies were the most frequently examined factors affecting learners' LA, followed by language proficiency, metacognitive strategies, teachers’ role, and self-efficacy. Further analysis revealed that there was a lack of comprehensive empirical analysis on the internal and external influencing factors of LA. Finally, suggestions to future research are given.

Nanyun Li is a Ph.D. candidate at the department of English Language & Literature at Kunsan National University. She received her M.A in English Language & Literature from Henan University in China in 2013. She has served as a college English teacher at Xuchang University and Jiujiang University in China. During her doctoral study, she has been committed to the research field of university students' autonomous English learning.