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.
We also hope to offer a SAC Tour of the Language Learning Center (LLC), the self-access centre at OIT, on the afternoon of Friday, 9th October, and an online component to the conference – more details to follow later.
Empowering Language Learning: Self-Access, Advising, and Technology Supporting language learners to navigate the affordances offered by technology has been a key aspect of self-access language learning (SALL) since its foundation in the 1970s and 1980s. This has long been a key role for learning advisors and other educators, and is equally important in a world increasingly dominated by mobile technologies and AI.
Join us as we bridge the gap between theory and practice, investigating how the integration of physical spaces, pedagogical support, and digital innovation can empower learners to navigate their own language learning journeys with confidence and purpose.
Plenary Speaker
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.
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.
JASAL 2024 will take place at Soka University, on Saturday, October 26, 2024.
Format: Hybrid (on-site conference with online participation possible)
Schedule
Friday, October 25, 2024 (afternoon)
We hope to be able to offer a SALC tour in the Tokyo area in the afternoon before the conference. We will confirm this information as soon as we are able to do so.
Saturday, October 26, 2024
09:00-18:00: JASAL2024 Conference at Soka University (1-236 Tangi-machi, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo 192-8577). Click herefor access information)
19:00-21:00 (approximate times): Conference Networking Dinner. Details to follow.
Sunday, October 27, 2024
Post-conference activity is being planned by the site team. Details to follow.
Submit a Proposal
Submissions are accepted until Saturday, July 27th, 2024. Please check the Call for Papers below.
JASAL supports its membership by providing registration waivers and travel bursaries to JASAL members without institutional funding and undergraduate/postgraduate students for participation in the annual conference. If you meet the criteria for eligibility below and desire to apply for a travel bursary, please apply using the online form on the conference webpage. Members of the JASAL Executive Board will review all applications and award bursaries as we are able. Please note that bursary amounts are dependent on a variety of unknown factors such as conference revenue and estimated travel costs of all bursary applicants, and may not cover the full cost of travel. We are unable to cover accommodation. Criteria for eligibility:
I am a JASAL member or undergraduate student.
I do not have a source of funding (e.g., institutional budget, research grant) that can cover my travel costs.
I am willing to write a summary of my experience at the conference for publication in JASAL Journal or another publication. (Details will be given to successful applicants.)
We particularly welcome applications from members new to JASAL, undergraduate or postgraduate students, ALTs, or other non-tertiary sector educators. Please apply for the bursary using this form by 31st August 2024.
Thank you to everyone who participated in and made the recent Student Involvement in Self Access Centers Conference in Nagoya an astounding success! It was great to see so many students talking passionately about their SACs and exchanging ideas about how to make them even better. We hope to be able to hold similar events in the future. Thanks once again to Risa and her team of students at Sugiyama Jogakuen University for a superb job in organising it all!
In order to spread the word even further and keep the conversation going about student involvement in SACs, we’d like to announce a Call for Papers for a Conference Proceedings.
This conference proceedings will be read by people who couldn’t attend the actual conference, so it’s a great opportunity to share your ideas and suggestions with people all over Japan who are interested in SACs and Learning Centres. We also hope to help authors publish their papers in respected academic journals.
Teachers/advisors/managers: please encourage your students to submit a paper for this volume!
The editors would like to suggest the 3 following kinds of paper for submission:
a summary of your presentation content
a conference report, giving details of the different presentations that you saw with some of your reflections
a reflective report on your experiences at the conference – what you learned and how you would like to change and improve your SAC based on the ideas you got from the conference.
Papers should be around 750 words. The deadline is 6th May, 2013. Please send your submissions to studentconference2013ATgmail.com.
All submissions will be reviewed by the editors before publication.
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.
Thank you for those who came to the JASAL forum at JALT 2012 Hamamatsu! We had over 50 people join our forum this year! We will be updating our website with information about the Student Conference, photos of our forum, and with summary and PDFs of the presentations.
The Japan Association for Self-Access Learning 