The 2023 JASAL Student Forum was held online on Saturday, June 10^th and it was
attended by 13 students and 10 teachers/advisors/members of staff from 9
different universities. 
We had very interesting discussions about the following questions:

1.  Why did you decide to participate in today’s event? What is your goal today?
2. How do you study English? What kind of things do you recommend as a SALC
   staff?
3. How do you recruit new students to your SALC?
4. What kind of projects are you working on at the moment in your SALC? Any
   problems you are dealing with? Any solutions you have found so far?
5. What did you learn today? What do you want to try in your self-access learning
   center?

Student participants brought their unique experiences and insights into these
pleasant and meaningful discussions. Organizers of the forum were
really happy to see the students’ commitment to making their self-access learning
centers better. We, organizers of the event, hope that all the participants were
able to make some new acquaintances, strengthen their previous connections,
gain new insights, and become more motivated to continue the excellent
work they are doing in the field of self-access language learning in Japan.

Umida Ashurova, Student Events Co-coordinator
Hisako Yamashita, Student Events Co-coordinator 

Greetings to all students involved in self-access language learning centers, their advisors, and teachers!

• Are you currently working or volunteering for a self-access center at your university?
• Are you interested in sharing your self-access-related experiences with students from other universities?
• Do you want to meet and hear the stories of other students with similar experiences?
• Are your students working on some amazing self-access projects?
• Or are they new to self-access and want to hear how other universities are doing?

Then please join us for an online casual discussion over Zoom and share your stories and listen to the stories of others! Teachers, please encourage your students to join the online discussion with students from different universities around Japan. Get some wonderful ideas and make your self-access better and more successful!

Date & Time: 10:00-12:00 Saturday, June 10th, 2023

Format: Online, Zoom meeting

Note: NO NEED to prepare a presentation: just be ready to talk about your center!

Sign up for this event here by June 7th, 2023.

Contact us at jasalorg@gmail.com with any questions about this event.

Umida Ashurova, Student Events Co-cordinator
Hisako Yamashita, Student Events Co-cordinator 

Will you be in Kyoto for JALT PanSIG on 12th-14th May 2023? If so, why not join on the Friday afternoon for a SAC tour at Beyond Borders Plaza (BBP) Ritsumeikan University, Kinugasa Campus? This is our first SAC tour since before the pandemic hit, and we look forward to being able to meet and discuss all things self-access in the stimulating environment of a self-access centre. Join us for this casual event which is free to all.

The tour will take place between 3:30pm and 5:30pm.

Sign up here by Monday, 8th May.

Details about BBP Kinugasa can be found here.

We would like to announce that Gifu Shotoku Gakuen University will be the location of the JASAL 2023 National conference.

More information coming soon!

Links to presentation videos, slides, and posters

Presentations

Videos

E-CO Stories: The Experiences of SAC Student Staff
Christopher PHELPS, Otemon Gakuin University

Link to video file

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Linguistic Diversity in Self-Access Spaces
Katherine THORNTON, Otemon Gakuin University

Link to video file

Slides

Written Advising Supporting Freshmen by Seniors
Misako Kawasaki & Ryo Moriya, Waseda University

Link to slides (PDF)

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Alternative Gateway to SALL for Beginner Learners
Viorel Ristea, Prefectural University of Kumamoto

Link to slides (PDF)

Posters

Evaluating SALC Inclusiveness: How Are We Doing?
Jo Mynard, Isra Wongsarnpigoon, Christine Pemberton, & Emily Marzin, Kanda University of International Studies

Link to poster (PDF) // Link to video file

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Advising With Progress-Tracking Applications
Alexandra Ornston, Clair Taylor, & Jason Walters, Gifu Shotoku Gakuen University

Link to poster

If you are attending the JALT conference in Fukuoka this year (or from the comfort of your home) please join us for the online JASAL Forum this year!

Sunday, November 13, 10:45-12:15 (online)

Motivation in self-access learning: listening to student experiences

Staying motivated is one of the most difficult aspects of learning a language beyond the classroom. In this year’s JASAL forum, we will explore issues related to learner motivation through two presentations and discussion. Gerardine McCrohan will share results of a study of regular self-access centre users, while Etsuko Yamada will report on a project which investigated the impact on students of hearing international students’ stories of their language learning experiences. The presentations will be followed by discussion.

The presentations will be prerecorded videos, but we have plenty of time for fruitful discussion and networking too! If you couldn’t make it for JASAL2022 or are already missing your JASAL fix, come and join us!

(Contrary to the abstract in the JALT Program, both presentations will be in English.)

Here is a one-page schedule for Saturday’s conference. Please refer to the full program – see below or the conference page – for abstracts and further information.

If you have booked a spot on the charter bus to attend JASAL2022 at AIU on Saturday, please board the bus from Bus Stop 5 on the EAST side of Akita Station – see map below. Please note, this is NOT the West side where there is a bigger bus terminal. The bus will leave at 9am so please arrive in good time. There are still a few spaces available on the bus.

If you do not intend to take the bus, and will travel by public transport, please note that you need to be on the 08:09 train to Wada station from Akita, to pick up the 08:35 bus that will take you to AIU.

After the conference, we will get the 18:35 local bus to Wada station to return to Akita. Please note that this is the last bus of the day so please make sure to take it if you want to avoid getting a taxi.

For those coming straight from the airport, you may be able to share a taxi with other JASAL participants. There is a natural meeting place by the Namahage masks in the airport lobby. A taxi should cost around ¥2000.

A basic schedule for our JASAL2022 National Conference, held at and co-sponsored by Akita International University, is now available. Further information about presentations will be released in the coming weeks. Be sure to register by Friday 30th September if you are planning on attending on-site in Akita, so we can reserve lunches and transportation for the venue. If you register after that, please make your own way to AIU on public transport. Online participants should register and submit payment by Thurs, October 20th. See the conference page for more information.