Category: Self-access center

Tokoha SAC Tour

On 21st November 2015, 4 JASAL members joined the SAC tour and discussion at the Foreign Language Study Support Center (FLSSC) at Tokoha University, Shizuoka, hosted by JASAL member Satomi Shibata and her colleague Hitomi Yumoto. We were also joined by 3 students who work in and use the FLSSC: Saemi, Kunpei and Takeki.

For more information about FLSSC and the event, please check out this page.

If your institution would like to host a JASAL SAC tour, please send an email to jasalorgATgmail.com. They usually attract a small group (less than 10) of members and take minimal preparation, but can be very productive in terms of sharing ideas and getting inspiration.

New event: 2nd Feb 2015 – SAC Visit and Discussion at Sojo University, Kumamoto

In collaboration with Sojo University, Kumamoto, JASAL is happy to announce the latest in its series of SAC visits, this time in Kyushu.

On 2nd Feb 2015, Sojo University, Kumamoto is hosting the Teaching & Learning Forum: Focus on Listening,  co-sponsored by Nankyu JALT. http://jalt.org/events/nankyu-chapter/15-02-02

As part of this event, Sojo staff have very kindly agreed to offer a guided tour of their self-access facilities, the Self-Access Learning Centre, which was established in 2010. This will be followed by discussion time, facilitated by JASAL. For more information about the SALC at Sojo, please check their website: https://www.sojo-u.ac.jp/silc/salc/

In order to attend the event, please fill in the online application form for the Forum, stating your interest in the JASAL SALC tour. Participation in the tour also entitles you to full participation in the Forum. Normal Forum registration fees apply-￥1000 for JALT members, ￥1500 for non-members (￥500 early bird discount).  JASAL membership is not necessary to join this event.

Photos from SAC Tour & JASAL Forum @ JALT2014

Thank you to everyone who participated in the SAC Tour and/or JASAL Forum @ JALT 2014 Tsukuba – you really made it a great success! Photos, abstracts and presentation slides can be found under the conference tab. Soon, we will have links to the posters and slides from many of the presenters.

Photos from the SAC Tour & Get-together @ Kanda Institute of Foreign Languages, Tokyo
Photos and slides from the JASAL Forum @ JALT 2014 Tsukuba 

Call for Presentations: JASAL Forum at JALT 2013

CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS
for the JASAL Forum at JALT2013, Kobe (October 25-28, 2013)

Self-access and the lifelong voyage of learning
Self-access learning can be a lifelong endeavour, starting at any age, and continuing far beyond graduation from an institution. This process is easily likened to a voyage, with learners going in different directions and progressing at different speeds depending on a variety of environmental factors. The self-access centre can be seen as a port, with learners coming to refuel with ideas, restock with learning materials, share stories of their adventures, and possibly chart out a new direction for the future. Feel free to interpret this year’s JALT theme in any way that is relevant to you and your context.

 We invite submissions on areas including, but not limited to:

  • SAC layout
  • Managing and administrating SACs
  • Materials
  • Learning program design
  • Integrating self-access with curriculum
  • Learner involvement in self-access
  • Self-access learning communities
  • Learning advising/counseling
  • Assessment of self-access learning
  • Evaluating SACs
  • Research design
  • Interaction and collaboration with colleagues and administrators

Continuing on the success of last year’s event, this year’s forum will consist of short presentations followed by a poster session and open forum discussion.

Proposals should include the following:

  • Title
  • Format (poster or presentation)
  • Name(s) of presenter(s) and affiliation(s)
  • JALT membership number of all presenters, (if applicable)
  • 150-200 word abstract
  • 75-word summary which clearly states your topic
  • Equipment you will require

Please submit your proposal to jasalorgATgmail.com by Sun, April 14, 2013. Please note that while the JALT deadline for submissions is April 21, we need time to put together our proposal. If for some reason your presentation cannot be included in the JASAL Forum, we will notify you so you can submit your proposal to the JALT conference as an individual paper before the April 21 deadline.

Please understand that depending on the number and nature of proposals we receive, we may have to ask you to change from a presentation to a poster or vice versa.

For more information on the JALT 2013 conference, please visit: http://jalt.org/conference

Registration for the Student Conference now open!

Happy New Year from the JASAL committee!

The Student Involvement in Self Access Centres Conference is now coming up very soon (1st & 2nd Feb) (more details here). We have around 10 different student presentations for participants to enjoy, and hope that many JASAL members can come to learn from and support students working hard in Self Access Centres around Japan.

If you are planning to attend the conference, please register by completing this 

Conference Registration Form

and sending it to studentconference2013ATgmail.com ASAP. We will also accept onsite registration, but it would help our planning greatly if you could indicate your interest for the different events we will be holding in advance. Registration is free for all students, but, as we are a non-profit conference with very limited funding, we ask for a suggested donation of ¥2000 from professionals attending the conference, to help us cover transportation, food and accommodation costs for student participants who otherwise would not be able to attend.

If you would like to use the onsite accommodation at Nanzan Kenshu Centre, please make sure you return the form by 24th January (sorry about the short notice). Please understand that, due to a limited supply, we cannot promise to be able to meet all requests.

Hope to see many of you in Nagoya in a few weeks!

Student Involvement Conference Update

Season’s Greetings from JASAL! I’m sure there have been many parties held in Centres over the last few weeks, and that we’re all looking forward to a well-earned break.

The nights are drawing in, which means that it’s almost time for Father Christmas to visit, and more importantly, that the Student Involvement in SACs Conference is getting closer. We are happy to announce that there will events over 3 days (1st -3rd Feb), with the main event, the student presentations, taking place on Sat 2nd Feb. See the conference page for more details.

The deadline for proposals from students (max. 200 words) is January 10th. Please have your students email their proposals to studentconference2013@gmail.com, where they will be read and selected by the conference committee, made up of Sugiyama Jogakuen University students.

You can now view information about the conference schedule, access and accommodation details on the conference page here

If you are intending to bring/send students to either attend or present at this conference, but have not yet submitted a proposal or confirmed your interest, please contact the conference organisers at the email address above, especially if you would like to use the accommodation provided at the Centre, as it is quite limited. If the demand is high, it may be necessary to find alternative accommodation.

Gook luck with all your SAC related endeavours in 2013 – JASAL will be here to support you!

Announcement: Student Conference In February 2013

JASAL is proud to support the first ever student conference for Student Involvement in Self Access Centers in Japan, organised by students and staff at Sugiyama Jogakuen University in Nagoya, in association with Nanzan University and JASAL. It will take place in February in Nagoya, and is targetted primarily at students, (although teachers, learning advisors and managers are also encouraged to attend and support their students at the event). For more details, click here.

We hope to see many JASAL members there, supporting their students as they present and share their ideas!SISAC Conference Flyer

Add your Centre to the Japan Self-Access Centre Registry!

The field of self-access in Japan is a diverse one, with centres set in a variety of contexts serving a variety of communities, and new centres of all shapes and sizes popping up all the time.

One of our central missions at JASAL is to facilitate communication between centres. To this end, we have created the Japan Self-Access Centre Registry. Our goal is to have an entry for every self-access centre in the country. We need to know what centres are out there, and we need to be able to contact each other to share information and resources, conduct research, etc. We have a lot to learn from each other.

The registry is a Google Docs spreadsheet with a Google Docs form linked to it. Form entries are automatically added to the spreadsheet, which is sorted alphabetically by the second column, “School Name in English”. Both documents are publicly accessible. We have kept the registry quite simple to ensure ease of use.

Please click here to add your centre to the registry!

Click here to view the Japan Self-Access Centre Registry!

We invite anyone connected to a self-access centre in Japan (JASAL member or not) to make an entry for their centre.

Any feedback on the registry is welcome anytime. Please e-mail jasalorg@gmail.com or any of the Executive Committee members.