Access here too!
10th JASAL Student Conference (Online)
Date: Saturday, December 5th
Time: 09:30-13:00
Format: Online (Zoom meeting)
Theme: Learning Together, Finding Our Own Way
There are two ways to participate:
Option 1
Give a 10-minute presentation on your own or with a group. Think about your learning centre, your experience as student staff, or your own learning in the centre. Share something you have tried, a challenge you have faced, or an idea you would like to try. Your presentation should be connected to your learning centre.
Submit your summary using the registration form by November 27th, 2026: Registration Form
Option 2
Join without giving a presentation
Register using the form by December 1st, 2026: Registration Form
Learn more about the conference here
We, the organizers of Student Conference, are looking forward to seeing you at our online event and hearing your stories about self-access and/or language-learning journeys!
JASAL2026 Conference Schedule published!
The preliminary conference programme for JASAL2026 at Osaka Institute of Technology (OIT), Omiya Campus is now available. Access it HERE or from the conference page, where you can find all sorts of other useful information.
7th Annual JASAL Student Forum 2026
The 7th Annual JASAL Student Forum was held online on Saturday 11 July 2026, bringing together student staff from Self-Access Learning Centres (SALCs) across Japan.
For the first time, the forum was supported by a student team, who designed the discussion questions, helped moderate the groups, and introduced a shared notes document with rotating leaders and notetakers.
Discussions covered approaches to language study, attracting and retaining students, and measuring SALC effectiveness, with participants swapping practical ideas from language exchange programmes to social media campaigns.
Feedback was very positive with everyone reporting speaking a lot and each participant left with concrete plans for their own centre. As one student put it, the forum “allows a lot of students from all over Japan to connect with each other.” We look forward to an even more student-centred forum in 2027.
Volume 7, Issue 1 of the JASAL Journal has been published!
Read Volume 7, Issue 1 here!
Continuing the theme from JASAL2025 National Conference, this issue focuses on emotions in self-access language learning and covers a variety of topics of interest to self-access researchers and practitioners.
Congratulations to all the authors, and thank you for your valuable contribution to the growing body of shared knowledge in the field of self-access language learning. A big thank you too to the reviewers and the editorial team for their hard work in the publication process.
We hope you enjoy reading this!
JASAL Journal Volume 7, Issue 2 (December 2026) – Call for Papers
JASAL Journal Volume 7, Issue 2 is now accepting submissions with a deadline of 31st August, 2026. The issue will be edited by Ewen MacDonald and Haruka Ubukata. As this is a general issue, we welcome proposals on a wide range of topics related to self-access language learning. Submission is open to all JASAL members.
Please refer to the journal guidelines and send submissions by email (jasalorgATgmail.com), indicating if your paper is a research paper, a discussion of self-access center practices, a reflective article, or a book or conference review. Feel free to make enquiries to the editorial team by email if you are considering whether to submit a paper.
JALT CALL 2026 at Konan University (Nishinomiya Campus) – SAC Tour
Friday 12th June – 16:30-17:45
(pre-JALT CALL)
Before the JALT CALL workshops started, Brent Jones and his team gave a wonderful tour of Konan University’s Nishinomiya Campus’s O-Zone self-access and other Cube facilities at Konan University!
It was great to hear about your set-up, and all the events and initiatives you’re providing!
If you couldn’t join us this time, look out for future tours!
7th Annual JASAL Student Forum 2026
Saturday, July 11th
10:00 -12:00
Online
Hello everyone,
We are proud to announce our 7th annual JASAL Student Forum 2026!
This event is a unique opportunity for SALC student staff, volunteers, and students who regularly use their SALC and want to make a difference to come together with peers from various universities for a lively and meaningful discussion.
Whether you’re supporting your SALC as a staff member or just love using the space to improve your language skills and connect with others, this is your chance to:
• Share your ideas and experiences
• Learn how other students run their SALC and engage with language learners
• Feel inspired by new ideas and creative approaches
• Keep the conversation going before and after the event on Discord
Teachers, advisors, and administrators are also welcome to join as listeners or supporters, but please note that this forum is designed especially for students to speak and lead the conversation.
Please register using the form below by July 7th, 2026.
https://forms.gle/j68D6X7LTCrf1i63A
We look forward to seeing you there!
Colin Mitchell
Hisako Yamashita
JASAL Student Involvement Coordinators
※ Please note that this is a student conference. We only accept submissions from students. For more information on the JASAL National Conferences please see this page.
JASAL 2026 National Conference – Call for Papers!
At this year’s JASAL conference we invite practitioners and researchers to examine how advising in language learning provides the essential human scaffolding for self-directed paths. Furthermore, we seek to analyze how emergent technologies, from AI-driven personalization to immersive digital environments, can be harnessed to support, rather than replace, the reflective process.
We welcome submissions on this and other self-access related topics, such as:
● Innovations in learning advising/counselling/coaching
● Influence of emergent technologies and AI on self-access
● Virtual self-access
● SAC design and layout
● Self-access and curriculum, learning program design
● Managing and administrating self-access centres
● Learning communities and learner involvement in SACs
● Student perspectives on SALL
● Assessment of self-access SALL
● Research design in SALL
● Professional development for SALL / Learning advisor education
● Promotion of SACs & SALL
● Lifelong learning
● Study abroad & SALL
Presentation Formats
We are accepting proposals for the following kinds of presentations. Please note that at this year’s conference we will have a limited number of online presentation slots available.
- Research presentation (on-site or online) (20+5 mins)
- Practices presentation (on-site or online) (15+10mins)
- Workshop (on-site only) (45 mins)
- Poster session (on-site only)
When submitting your proposal, please indicate if you are only able to accept an online presentation slot. All presenters should be JASAL members at time of registration. (To join JASAL, please send us an email, and include the information requested on the website.)
We welcome submissions in both English and Japanese. Please note that each presenter should be the lead presenter on only ONE submission, and may appear as a co-presenter on only one other submission. Once received, proposals will be blinded and peer-reviewed by at least two members of the JASAL board to ensure quality and relevance to JASAL.
Undergraduate students are welcome to submit to one of these formats with a member of staff (faculty member or administrator), but we encourage these students to participate in the dedicated student conference and other student-centred events, where they will have more opportunities to interact with peers.
Submit a Proposal
Deadline for submissions: Sunday, 12th July 2026
Please submit your proposal here.
JASAL 2026 National Conference – Meet the plenary speaker!
JASAL 2026 will take place at Osaka Institute of Technology (OIT), Omiya Campus in Osaka, on Saturday, 10th October, 2026.
Maria de la Paz Adelia Peña Clavel
Associate Professor at the School of Languages, Linguistics and Translation in UNAM.
Associate professor at the National School of Languages, Linguistics, and Translation (ENALLT) at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). She is responsible for the Teletándem Project at the ENALLT Self-Access Centre (Mediateca). She is a tutor for the online Diploma Program for Learning Advisors of SALCs. She is a professor in the Applied Linguistics Program at ENALLT, where she teaches Learner Autonomy and Telecollaboration. She has been an advisor at the Mediateca since 1996. She holds a Master’s degree in Educational Technology from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and a Master’s degree in Virtual Learning Environments from Virtual Educa and the University of Panama. She has just graduated from the Online Diploma Course in Artificial Intelligence and Gamification. She is also a specialist in Virtual Learning Environments, certified by the Organisation of Ibero-American States (OEI) and Virtual Educa. She has presented lectures and workshops at national and international conferences on learner autonomy and learner development in the classroom, in self-access centres, and with digital tools. She is the founder and President of the Academic Research Network of Learner Autonomy in México. Her research interests are gamification and learner training for Learner Autonomy, Telecollaboration, and the impact of AI in SALCs.
We will share more details about the conference theme, basic schedule and call for papers around Golden Week, so for now please save the date and start thinking about possible self-access research and practices you would like to contribute.
This will be a 3-day weekend (for those of us who get the national holiday!) so we recommend booking accommodation as soon as possible.
