21Working	  Papers	  in	  Language	  Education	  and	  Research	  Vol.	  2	  No.	  1.	  February	  2014	  February, 2014 Working Papers
in Language Education and Research
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Kanda University of International Studies

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Working	  Papers	  in	  Language	  Education	  and	  Research	  Vol.	  2	  No.	  1.	  February	  2014	  Yuki	  Hasegawa	  presented	  the	  following	  paper	  at	  the	  TESOL	  Spring	  Conference	  2013	  on	  February	  16th	  at	  University	  of	  Hawaii	  at	  Hilo,	  Hawaii.	  Her	  work	  was	  subsequently	  submitted	  to	  the	  Hawaii	  TESOL	  Proceedings.	  	  Students’	  experiences	  of	  autonomous	  English	  learning	  in	  high	  school	  and	  university	  	  Abstract	  	  It	  is	  common	  to	  hear	  freshman	  students	  at	  Kanda	  University	  of	  International	  Studies	  (KUIS),	  Japan,	  expressing	  their	  surprise	  or	  shock	  regarding	  English	  classes	  as	  they	  compare	  them	  to	  what	  they	  had	  been	  experiencing	  in	  their	  high	  schools	  before	  they	  enter	  KUIS.	  This	  may	  be	  due	  to	  the	  fact	  that	  KUIS	  promotes	  learner	  autonomy	  in	  its	  curriculum	  which	  Japanese	  learners	  have	  not	  experienced	  very	  much	  until	  they	  entered	  the	  university.	  Although	  some	  assumptions	  could	  be	  offered,	  little	  has	  been	  researched	  on	  how	  the	  English	  classes	  differ	  from	  the	  ones	  offered	  in	  high	  schools	  and	  at	  KUIS,	  and	  whether	  students	  had	  any	  experiences	  of	  autonomous	  English	  learning	  at	  high	  schools	  or	  not.	  This	  research	  was	  conducted	  by	  administering	  a	  written	  questionnaire	  to	  27	  freshman	  students	  who	  were	  studying	  two	  languages,	  English	  and	  another	  language,	  as	  their	  major.	  Follow-­‐up	  interviews	  were	  administered	  with	  5	  of	  the	  participants	  for	  more	  detailed	  answers	  to	  their	  answers	  on	  the	  questionnaire.	  The	  collected	  data	  were	  analyzed	  qualitatively.	  This	  paper	  presents	  the	  responses	  from	  students	  and	  portrays	  the	  English	  classes	  that	  they	  had	  been	  enrolled	  in	  as	  high	  school	  students.	  In	  addition,	  this	  paper	  also	  presents	  the	  students’	  experiences	  of	  autonomous	  English	  learning	  before	  entering	  KUIS.	  	  	  Tetsuko	  Fukawa	  presented	  the	  following	  poster	  at	  CamTESOL	  in	  February,	  2013.	  	  Her	  work	  was	  subsequently	  submitted	  to	  JALT	  MyShare.	  
Abstract	  	  This	  poster	  presentation	  will	  introduce	  English	  lesson	  ideas	  to	  allow	  students	  to	  actively	  participate	  in	  discussions,	  which	  enhance	  their	  critical	  thinking	  skills	  as	  well	  as	  decrease	  their	  anxiety	  over	  class	  participation.	  The	  curriculum	  was	  designed	  for	  Japanese	  university	  non-­‐English	  majors.	  The	  course	  goal	  is	  to	  become	  proficient	  at	  expression	  of	  self	  and	  students’	  own	  culture	  through	  expansion	  from	  their	  own	  knowledge.	  Lesson	  content	  focuses	  on	  mini	  presentations	  (i.e.,	  effective	  self-­‐introduction	  and	  sharing	  background	  information	  with	  a	  poster),	  how	  to	  introduce	  own	  culture	  from	  different	  perspectives	  (e.g.,	  history	  and	  attitudes	  towards	  tattoos),	  and	  final	  presentation.	  This	  framework	  can	  be	  applied	  to	  various	  teaching	  contexts	  with	  different	  cultural	  information.	   	   	   	  	  	  Working	  Papers	  in	  Language	  Education	  and	  Research	  Vol.	  2	  No.	  1.	  February	  2014	  	  Allan	  Nicholas	  presented	  the	  following	  paper	  at	  CamTESOL,	  in	  February	  2013.	  His	  work	  was	  recently	  submitted	  to	  the	  Pedagogies	  Journal.	  	  Developmentally	  sensitive	  assistance	  and	  development:	  Collaboration	  between	  Japanese	  EFL	  learners	  	  Abstract	  	  This	  study	  investigates	  the	  extent	  to	  which	  Japanese	  learners	  of	  EFL	  are	  able	  to	  offer	  assistance	  to	  their	  peers	  while	  engaging	  in	  pair	  work,	  and	  whether	  that	  assistance	  is	  sensitive	  to	  the	  needs	  of	  their	  partner.	  Grounded	  in	  sociocultural	  theory,	  the	  study	  assesses	  the	  extent	  to	  which	  the	  study	  participants	  identify	  and	  respond	  to	  a	  partner's	  developmental	  level,	  offering	  appropriate	  help.	  Further,	  evidence	  in	  the	  data	  of	  learner	  development	  is	  examined.	  Six	  first	  grade	  university	  learners	  of	  EFL	  participated	  in	  the	  study,	  and	  were	  placed	  in	  to	  three	  pairs.	  Each	  pair	  was	  given	  a	  set	  of	  pictures	  in	  random	  order,	  and	  was	  asked	  to	  construct	  a	  story	  from	  the	  pictures,	  first	  orally,	  then	  in	  writing,	  working	  together	  closely	  with	  their	  co-­‐participant.	  The	  audio-­‐recorded	  sessions	  were	  transcribed	  and	  analysed	  for	  instances	  of	  developmentally	  sensitive	  peer-­‐peer	  assistance,	  as	  defined	  by	  Aljaafreh	  and	  Lantolf	  (1994).	  Numerous	  examples	  were	  found	  throughout	  the	  data	  showing	  all	  study	  participants	  being	  capable	  and	  willing	  to	  offer	  such	  assistance	  to	  their	  peers.	  Further,	  evidence	  was	  found	  of	  the	  assistance	  leading	  to	  development	  in	  task	  performance.	  	  	  	  James	  Owens	  presented	  the	  following	  paper	  at	  the	  ACE	  conference	  in	  Osaka	  23-­‐27th	  October,	  2013.	  	  His	  paper	  was	  published	  in	  the	  ACE	  proceedings.	  	  Designing	  a	  Curriculum	  for	  the	  Advanced	  Stream	  of	  a	  Foundational	  Literacies	  Course	  	  	  Abstract	  	  Originally,	  members	  of	  the	  Basic	  Skills	  project	  at	  Kanda	  University	  of	  International	  Studies	  were	  given	  the	  task	  of	  developing	  a	  new	  curriculum	  for	  the	  Basic	  Reading	  course.	  Recent	  developments,	  however,	  have	  complicated	  this	  task.	  The	  new	  course	  being	  designed	  has	  been	  renamed	  ‘Foundational	  Literacies’	  to	  better	  reflect	  the	  move	  away	  from	  traditional	  thinking	  about	  teaching	  literacy	  and	  cognitive	  skills,	  and	  instead	  focus	  on	  what	  is	  called	  a	  'Multiliteracies'	  pedagogical	  approach.	  A	  Multiliteracies	  pedagogy	  suggests	  a	  new	  way	  of	  looking	  at	  the	  idea	  of	  'literacies'	  that	  is	  more	  compatible	  with	  the	  modern	  world,	  a	  move	  away	  from	  the	  traditional	  one-­‐dimensional	  view	  of	  literacy.	  It	  means	  providing	  access	  to	  what	  learners	  really	  need	  in	  order	  for	  them	  both	  to	  empower	  themselves	  and	  to	  become	  functional,	  effective	  and	  successful	  Working	  Papers	  in	  Language	  Education	  and	  Research	  Vol.	  2	  No.	  1.	  February	  2014	  members	  of	  what	  is	  now	  often	  labelled	  a	  'post-­‐Fordist'	  world	  of	  'fast	  capitalism’.	  	  In	  such	  a	  society,	  a	  much	  larger	  range	  of	  skills	  and	  the	  capacity	  to	  interact	  in	  many	  different	  ways	  with	  many	  different	  people	  are	  essential.	  	  Older,	  simpler	  models	  of	  teaching	  literacy	  are	  no	  longer	  relevant.	  The	  paper	  will	  describe	  the	  process	  we	  have	  used	  so	  far	  to	  begin	  designing	  a	  completely	  new	  course,	  intended	  for	  an	  advanced	  stream	  of	  learners,	  and	  a	  justification	  for	  some	  of	  the	  decisions	  we	  have	  made	  in	  this	  process.	  The	  project	  is	  as	  yet	  unfinished,	  and	  is	  undergoing	  constant	  re-­‐evaluation,	  but	  reading	  about	  our	  process	  and	  decision-­‐making	  may	  prove	  useful	  for	  other	  teachers	  and	  course	  designers	  who	  currently	  find	  themselves	  in	  similar	  situations,	  or	  for	  those	  who	  are	  curious	  about	  what	  a	  Multiliteracies-­‐focused	  curriculum	  may	  look	  like.	  	  	  	  Luke	  Rowland	  presented	  the	  following	  paper	  at	  CamTESOL,	  February	  2013.	  	  His	  work	  was	  subsequently	  published	  by	  the	  System	  Journal.	  
	  Rowland,	  L.,	  Canning,	  N.,	  Faulhaber,	  D.,	  Lingle,	  W.,	  &	  Redgrave,	  A.	  (2013).	  A	  multiliteracies	  approach	  to	  materials	  analysis.	  	  	  Abstract	  	  This	  study	  reports	  the	  results	  of	  a	  materials	  analysis	  project	  carried	  out	  using	  the	  Knowledge	  Process	  framework	  as	  a	  guide.	  The	  knowledge	  processes	  –	  experiencing,	  conceptualising,	  analysing,	  and	  applying	  –	  are	  four	  ways	  in	  which	  people	  interact	  with	  the	  world	  and	  create	  new	  knowledge	  for	  themselves.	  The	  processes	  are	  recognized	  as	  important	  within	  multiliteracies	  pedagogy,	  which	  is	  an	  approach	  to	  literacy	  education	  emphasizing	  the	  diverse	  ways	  that	  people	  make	  meanings	  and	  communicate	  their	  understandings	  to	  others	  in	  accordance	  with	  their	  individual	  and	  shared	  identities,	  histories,	  motivations	  and	  sociocultural	  affiliations.	  The	  results	  of	  the	  materials	  analysis	  project	  reveal	  that	  the	  majority	  of	  the	  analysed	  English	  language	  teaching	  materials	  at	  a	  Japanese	  foreign	  languages	  university	  target	  the	  knowledge	  process	  of	  experiencing,	  while	  very	  few	  materials	  require	  students	  to	  conceptualise	  or	  analyse	  information.	  
Through	  a	  discussion	  of	  these	  results,	  the	  authors	  contend	  that	  the	  Knowledge	  Process	  framework	  represents	  a	  novel	  and	  useful	  materials	  analysis	  instrument	  for	  determining	  how	  teaching	  materials	  encourage	  students	  to	  engage	  with	  lesson	  content	  in	  EFL	  literacy	  lessons.	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  Working	  Papers	  in	  Language	  Education	  and	  Research	  Vol.	  2	  No.	  1.	  February	  2014	  Satsuma	  Yamaguchi	  presented	  the	  following	  paper	  at	  Hawaii	  TESOL	  Conference	  2013.	  	  	  	  Yamaguchi,	  A.	  (forthcoming).	  Evidence	  of	  learner	  autonomy	  in	  a	  self-­‐directed	  learning	  course.	  In	  J.	  Mynard	  &	  C.	  Ludwig	  (Eds.),	  Autonomy	  in	  language	  learning:	  Tools,	  tasks	  and	  environments.	  Canterbury,	  UK:	  IATEFL.	  	  	  	  Abstract	  This	  study	  examines	  university	  freshman	  students’	  development	  of	  learner	  autonomy	  in	  the	  context	  of	  a	  private	  university	  of	  foreign	  studies	  in	  Japan.	  	  An	  exploratory	  case	  study	  takes	  place	  in	  an	  innovative	  eight-­‐week	  self-­‐directed	  learning	  course,	  called	  the	  Learning	  How	  to	  Learn	  (LHL)	  module	  investigates	  their	  development	  of	  learner	  autonomy.	  	  The	  analysis	  draws	  on	  Holec’s	  (1981)’s	  definition,	  “the	  ability	  to	  take	  charge	  of	  one’s’	  own	  learning”	  (p.	  3).	  Meanwhile,	  O’Malley	  and	  Chamot’s	  (1990)	  model	  of	  learning	  strategies	  was	  employed	  given	  that	  learner	  autonomy	  could	  be	  promoted	  by	  an	  appropriate	  set	  of	  strategies	  (cf.	  Wenden,	  1991;	  Benson,	  2001).	  In	  a	  search	  for	  evidence	  suggesting	  learner	  autonomy,	  reflections	  written	  by	  nine	  students	  who	  took	  the	  LHL	  were	  investigated	  under	  a	  content/	  thematic	  analysis.	  There	  was	  evidence	  pointing	  to	  cognitive,	  metacognitive,	  and	  affective	  awareness	  as	  well	  as	  students’	  willingness	  to	  take	  charge	  of	  their	  learning.	  This	  article	  concludes	  with	  suggestions	  for	  further	  investigation	  on	  self-­‐
evaluation	  in	  the	  context	  of	  Japanese	  learners	  of	  English.