JASAL Forum at JALT2024 (Shizuoka)

Join us for this year’s JASAL Forum at JALT2024 in Shizuoka!
Date/Time: Saturday, 16th November, 11:15–12:45
Location: Shizuoka Granship, Practice Room 2 (B1)
Presenters: Stacey Vye (Saitama University), Suwako Uehara (University of Electro-Communications), Agnes Maria Francis (Konan Women’s University)

Forum Title & Summary:
Evolutions in Self-Access Language Learning
In recent years, self-access language learning, whether delivered through curricula or custom-made facilities, needs to constantly evolve to stay relevant to student needs and learning preferences. 

In this year’s JASAL Forum, the three presenters will share recent evolutions in their self-access practices. These include innovations to a learner autonomy curriculum, an evaluation of self-access facilities and an investigation into facilitating supportive behaviours in hybrid self-access spaces. The presentations will be followed by discussion.

Presentation Abstracts

Stacey Vye
Learner Preferences in Hybrid SALC Spaces
This presentation provides examples of technology and physical artifacts facilitating supportive behaviors and encouraging learner ownership at a small English self-access learning center (SALC). Increased learner engagement was analyzed through learner preferences and findings from advisor focus-group sessions that have created a novel and enjoyable learning environment. The learners have been leveraging technology by reaching out from local and distant spaces, communicating, and fostering a mutual love for learning English while cultivating self-direction.

Suwako Uehara
Evaluating a SALC in a public STEM university: Ten years on
In 2013, a self-access learning centre to support students’ language needs was established at the University of Electro-Communications, and it has entered its second decade of operation. Evaluated through strategic planning, ongoing research cycles, and new timelines (Mynard, 2016), findings indicate that the evolution of activities offered and initiatives to enhance resources and budget management have been critical to its sustainability. Future plans include considerations for efficiency in management and ongoing research on effectiveness.

Agnes Maria Francis
Getting Started: Connecting Tutoring Class, Advising, and SALC
In last year’s JASAL forum, I presented challenges related to mandatory advising sessions and gathered solutions from the group discussion. Reflecting on these insights, I redesigned this year’s syllabus to incorporate discussions and activities on learner autonomy. I also strengthened connections among the course, advising, and SALC to encourage student ownership of learning. This presentation will outline the syllabus and explore students’ perceptions of learner autonomy.