Self-Access

This presentation will communicate initial findings from a research project designed to evaluate the extent to which our self-access learning centre (SALC)  and its environment is autonomy-supportive, and meets our learner’s expressed needs. This evaluation is based on a qualitative analysis of 108 interviews, 280 survey responses and other SALC statistical data, to determine to what extent the three Basic Psychological Needs of: autonomy, relatedness and competence formulated in Self-Determination Theory (Deci and Ryan 1985) are afforded. The researchers share insight into ways in which the SALC environment addresses these needs, and supports our learners to development and exercise autonomy.

The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted traditional approaches to education and forced educators to adopt and adapt technologies to allow institutions to remain open, offer courses and other services to enable students to continue their education. This rapid shift to online teaching and learning has shone a light on the need for institutions to support students in working out how to maintain autonomy through meaningful interaction in the online world. In this paper we discuss the transition of a face-to-face university writing center to a synchronous online writing center that is hosted in the videoconferencing application Zoom. In doing this we explain the rationale that informed our thinking throughout the transition process and how sound pedagogical principles and a focus on the student experience guided our decision-making. Preliminary findings regarding how self-regulated learning was maintained and nurtured in the virtual writing center are presented and discussed.

Keywords: Japanese university, self-regulated learning, writing center, Zoom

This study takes place at a university of international studies in Japan. Incoming freshman students' previous experiences with learning leaves them largely unprepared to direct their own language studies in an autonomous way. The university offers a one-credit elective course that introduces students to self-directed language learning (SDLL) for their English language learning. Taking an interpretative approach to the investigation, the researchers evaluated the course in two ways: (a) with an end-of-course questionnaire with responses from 47 freshman students, and (b) by analyzing documentation of actual work completed by 24 participants (including learning journals, weekly reflections, and an end-of-course report) for evidence of SDLL skills. Results indicate that although learners demonstrate a mastery over the majority of the SDLL skills that were introduced, more support is needed in terms of selecting, using and evaluating resources, strategies, and evaluation of learning gain. Language educators would generally be in agreement that learners who exercise control over their language learning are likely to achieve success. Autonomous learners will have a good understanding of self-directed language learning (SDLL); that is, cognitive, metacognitive, affective, and social processes that govern learning. They also demonstrate a willingness and ability to apply this knowledge in order to have control over their learning. A general consensus is emerging that consciously helping learners to develop such an awareness and control over SDLL skills leads to greater autonomy and is thus desirable (e.g., Benson 2011; Cotterall & Murray, 2009; Wong & Nunan, 2011). More research is needed in order to understand more about the ways in which learners can best be helped to develop those skills; for example, whether they should be explicitly taught the skills or whether it is better to learn them implicitly when the learner demonstrates an appropriate need for the skills. The context of this study is a university in Japan that specializes in the study of languages and culture. After briefly defining SDLL and its relationship with self-directed learning (SDL) and learner autonomy, we will describe the aims and structure of a SDLL course offered by the self-access center at the university. This is followed by an evaluation of whether the course

This paper documents part of the process of preparing to fully reopen the physical Self-Access Learning Center (SALC) in a university in Japan after being somewhat interrupted during two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Self-access is becoming increasingly complex, multi-faceted and multidisciplinary and it is necessary to revisit SALC mission statements periodically, particularly after major events or changes. A group of language educators working at the university examined literature and theories from a range of perspectives in order to inform the future directions of the SALC. In a series of meetings over a one-semester period, one or two team members led a guided discussion based on some key papers, talks or other resources related to eight themes. After a semester of such discussions, they returned to the mission statement and reexamined it, making it more theoretically robust and specific, acting as a guide for SALC services for a new era.

The purpose of advising in language learning is to help learners to think more deeply about the language learning process in order to become more autonomous language learners (Carson & Mynard, 2012). The advising process is negotiated through dialogue between a learner and an advisor and this interaction can often be facilitated by the use of various tools. In this paper, the authors who are all (past or present) learning advisors (LAs) at Kanda University of International Studies (KUIS) in Japan, begin by briefly outlining an underpinning theoretical framework for advising in language learning. The theoretical framework draws on both constructivist and sociocultural viewpoints. The authors then describe various tools that can be employed to facilitate the reflective processes.

The International Conference on Self-Access (Encuentro Internacional de Centros de Autoacceso, EICA) was held at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) from the 4th to the 5th August, 2016. The conference theme in Spanish was Nuevos escenarios en torno a la autonomía del aprendizaje de lenguas extranjeras which translates as ‘New scenarios in autonomy for foreign language learning’ and was attended by approximately 280 delegates. Most delegates were based in Mexico and were mainly working in one of the numerous university or school-based self-access centres around the country. Others were classroom teachers interested in learner autonomy and how it can be fostered in their contexts.

In this short paper, each of the plenary speakers will share a summary of their talks and this will be followed by some brief reflections on the event in general.

The self-access centre at Kanda University of International Studies (KUIS) is one of the main attractions for new students at the university. To keep the centre vital and responsive to students’ needs, teachers and learning advisors take on the role of materials designers. Through an ongoing process, these designers in- vestigate effective ways of producing learning materials that aid the development of learner autonomy in a fashion that bridges the distance between the task-based classroom lessons and the demands of language use and development in the outside world. This has led, through principled trial and revealing error, to a number of insights regarding ideal practices. This paper looks at the process of materials development at KUIS and provides examples of materials that have been generated, as well as works in progress. Implications for other teaching and learning environments are also explored.
神田外語大学Self-Access Learning Centre は本大学の新入学生にとって主要な学習施設の一つである。教員とラーニング アドバイザーは、センターを有効かつ学生のニーズに応え続ける施設にするために、教材開発の役割を担っている。教材開発者 達は試行錯誤しながら、学生の自立学習の進歩を促す教材開発、学生が授業で学んだことをいかに実社会で活用できるか、そ のためのサポート方法を学んできた。 これにより、教材開発をする上での共通の理念を見出すことが出来た。この論文では、 神田外語大学での教材開発の過程、作成中の教材及び今までに作成されてきた教材の例を挙げる。また、その他の指導及び学 習環境との密接な関わりについても検討する。

This paper is a brief summary of an ethnographic research project currently in progress. Although the authors plan to present multiple papers based on the research, this paper has been written with the purpose of documenting progress so far. The main aims are to keep colleagues informed and to ensure that all of the steps are recorded to aid future dissemination of the findings.

The authors summarize a project which started in June 2017 and will continue for several years observing student behaviors occurring in one social learning space in the Self-Access Learning Center (SALC) at Kanda University of International Studies (KUIS).

Self-access centers (SACs), social learning spaces which combine support for language learning with a strong focus on fostering learner autonomy, are becoming popular in tertiary institutions in Japan. While they have much in common with language centers (LCs) in the US, the two fields have, until recently, remained largely unaware of each other. This chapter introduces SACs, specifically explaining how they have evolved in the Japanese context, and the organization which has been established to support SACs, the Japan Association for Self-Access Learning (JASAL). Firstly, the origins of self-access language learning (SALL) and characteristics of SACs are explained, with a comparison to US-based LCs. Particular attention is given to the ways in which SACs support learners in developing both their language skills and their capacity as autonomous learners, often through professional learning advisory services. This is followed by an introduction to JASAL and a discussion of the ways in which JASAL has supported SALL in Japan over the last 15 years. Drawing on data from a survey of JASAL members, the authors then explain the extent to which JASAL has been able to achieve its aims and identify the challenges it still faces to keep SALL relevant to Japanese learners in the 21 st century.

This paper discusses theory and practice related to self-access and metacognitive awareness in young learners. While still an emerging field, the paper presents several studies that describe young learners’ self-access through playing online multi-player digital games, watching TV/films, and reading various types of texts. The teaching of metacognitive awareness, or ‘learning how to learn’, is also discussed, and examples illustrate how this knowledge is applied to learning both in class and beyond. The latter part of this paper describes elementary English instruction in Japan and includes practical applications of learning how to learn through examples from a Japanese sixth grade English class. The students discuss motivating factors beyond the classroom, how they access metacognitive knowledge, and strategies they apply to better learn English.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic created disruption in many of the institutions we regularly rely on, including universities. While disruption may often bring with it a myriad of possible pitfalls, it affords potential opportunities for change and development by reflecting on and modifying practices. In this article, a group of learning advisors and administrators from a self-access center at an international university in Japan reflect on the ruptures we experienced as a result of changes due to unexpectedly working remotely and our attempts to find stability, the pitfalls we sought to avoid, and the opportunities that we found amidst the disruption. Specifically, we illustrate our experiences related to student-led learning communities, self-access curricula, and learning advising, considering the effect on students and advisors alike. We advocate that self-access practitioners actively promote the use of language, encourage the development of communities of learners who focus on th...