Introduction

The evolution of digital spaces and technologies is rapidly changing the landscape of education and consequently transforming the way in which language learning is both conceived and carried out. Within the realm of technology-mediated language instruction, the concept of autonomy has been increasingly foregrounded – and now even more so against the background of a worldwide pandemic, which forced much of educational practices into online spaces by Spring of 2020. But even before the current global situation, the promotion of technology in education had taken firm root in policies and practices. Since the early 1990s there has been a growing general consensus in both academic publications and mainstream media that technological innovation is not only inevitable, it is essential (Laidlaw et al., 2019) and that, moreover, technology can play an essential role in advancing learner autonomy (Pellegrino & Hilton, 2012).