We have already received a number of excellent submissions for issue 3.1 of JASAL Journal. However, we would like to extend the call for papers to March 28th for any research or practice papers which specifically focus on the JASAL2021 national conference theme: “Post-Pandemic Perspectives on Learning Spaces: Challenges, Opportunities, and Stakes” 

Our guest editor for this issue is Dr John Augeri, an expert on learning space design, and we are very much hoping that “Learning Spaces” can be a central theme in this issue, making the most of John’s expertise.

If you would like to contribute a paper on this theme, there are two options:

1. Research paper (3000–5000 words in English or 6000–10000 characters in Japanese) giving details of a research project conducted on the topic of learning spaces
2. Discussion of self-access practices (2000–2500 words in English, 4000–5000 characters in Japanese) detailing your space design and its underlying principles. These can be new or existing designs, including how your spaces have responded/adapted to the pandemic 

See the JASAL Journal website page for the style guide and formatting details. 

It has been an incredibly fruitful and busy period for JASAL. We had our national conference JASAL2021 (held online) in October. This was a truly wonderful day of networking and presentations, with the conference theme Learning Space Design and Usage in Self-Access Language Learning.

Then, we held a Forum at JALT2021 (also online) on November 13, discussing Serendipities in Self-Access Learning: Positives from the Pandemic, which was a great opportunity to introduce some people to our field and our community.

Finally, we held our 5th JASAL Student Conference, on the afternoon of Saturday, November 27, also online.

Thank you to everyone who has made these events such a success. We are still buzzing from all the stimulation and fresh ideas!

We have decided to extend the submission deadline for the student conference, to be held online on Sat., November 27th, by one week, from October 31st to November 7th. (There is no change to the registration date). Please do encourage your students to take part and to present if possible. Many may feel quite daunted by the prospect but JASAL prides itself on providing a warm and supportive atmosphere for students, and we know from previous feedback how much students get out of it! More information and the submission link can be found here.

We have extended the submissions deadline for 2(2) of the JASAL Journal. Please submit by September 17, 2021. We particularly welcome research papers.

Thank you to everyone who came to the Advising in Language Learning event on Saturday July 10th on Zoom. This was a joint event by JALT Kyoto and JASAL. There were 34 participants, including some from overseas! If you were unable to attend, you can see the videos on our YouTube channel. More information about the event and links to the YouTube videos can be found here.

The June 2021 edition of JASAL Journal, edited by Bethan Kushida and Umida Ashurova, is published! It is a really full issue with three research papers—one by Satoko Watkins, one by Hilda Freimuth, Joe Dobson, and Ishka Rodriques, and one by Haruka Mukae). There are also three discussions of practice and three conference reports.

Thank you to everyone involved in creating the issue. It is a really rich resource for the JASAL community and beyond. Take a look!

The submissions deadline for the next issue, edited by by Naomi Fujishima and Garold Murray, is August 31 2021. It is scheduled for December 2021. We are looking forward to your submissions.

Make sure to put July 10th in your diary! JASAL and Kyoto JALT are holding a joint event: Advising in Language Learning and Its Application to Classroom Teaching. The event will be held on Zoom from 10 am to 1 pm. There is no charge to participate.

See more details here.

This is a wonderful opportunity, so please let your colleagues know about it, and feel free to display the poster in your workplaces!

Download poster as PDF.

Registration is open for the Independent Learning Association Conference 2021 in Mexico. ILAC2021 are one of JASAL’s partner organizations. The schedule of the conference is 9 to 13 and 17 to 20 Mexico time (23 to 3 and 7 to 10 Japan time).

Registration is now available for the IALLT 2021 Virtual Conference!

IALLT are one of JASAL’s partner organizations, and many JASAL members are likely to be interested in attending.

Here is the information:

Resilience has been indispensable in overcoming extreme challenges in the past academic year. The move to the online/remote teaching environment has forced us to carefully examine what we do, how we do it, and most importantly why we do it. As we look to life and education beyond the pandemic, it is important to reflect on this transformative experience, evaluate where we found success, and learn from our own, as well as each other’s extraordinary experiences. We are entering an exciting time, where the potential to transform teaching and learning is limitless.

Our 2021 conference will be virtual; yet we hope to create programming that recreates (as close as possible) the in-person experience. Conference presenters hail from across the globe, and we look forward to the opportunity that a virtual conference offers for our international colleagues who would normally not be able to attend one of our on-location conferences.

This conference is free for current IALLT members, but registration is required for everyone (including presenters) in order to access conference content.

A limited number of Membership plus Conference Registration grants are available. Please apply by May 1.
More information about IALLT 2021 is available on the conference website. We are looking forward to seeing you there!

On March 25, JASAL held our first ever Online Panel Discussion. Katherine Thornton led the discussion, in which questions and topics suggested by JASAL members were discussed by our three highly knowledgeable panelists, Sarah Toogood (Hong Kong Baptist University), Isra Wongsarnpigoon (Kanda University of International Studies), and Mikiko Fukutomo (Yamanashi Gakuin University), with some contributions by other attendees. It was an evening of really positive discussion and information sharing. Thank you to Katherine for MCing the event, and a big thank you to our panelists and attendees. It was a great evening!