Learning Learning『学習の学習』 28 (1): Looking Forward

Looking Forward | 今後のイベント
Dates: May 14-16, 2021.
Venue: PanSIG 2021 will
be held online due toongoing concerns over
the COVID-19 situation.
Website:<pansig2021.eventzil.la>Conference Fees:
JALT Members: 3,500 yen•
non-JALT Members: 5,000 yen•
students: free (either JALT student members,•or full-time students with proof of student
status, such as a valid student ID)

LDSIG FORUM:
Challenges in Multilingual Learner
Development
Sat, May 15, 13:00-14:30 JS
Connecting with the theme of “Local and Global
Perspectives: Plurilingualism and Multilingualism,” weinvite proposals in which presenters explore thedevelopment of linguistic diversity in learners’ lives andenvironments, whether within formal education or in
the wider world. What affordances and constraints dolearners face in developing their linguistic repertoires
beyond a simple binary of first and second language?
What challenges do they face as multilingual learners
and users in participating in different communities andin becoming more autonomous? What peculiar
trajectories do learners’ language biographies take, andwhat dilemmas, questions, or puzzles do they have?
Why? In this Learner Development SIG Forum at PanSIG
2021, we would like to explore the challenges andbenefits of learning and using multiple languages fromdiverse perspectives. We welcome digital and poster
displays that engage with learner language biographies,
learning strategies, lingua franca, majority/minority
language use, content-based learning with more than
one language, CLIL, and other related topics and issues.

Our aim is for presenters and participants to engage in a
lively exploration of the challenges of multilingual
learning, use, and development. Depending on thenumber of presentations, the forum will feature timed
rounds of interactive presentations followed byreflective writing and discussion. Presenters andparticipants will also be invited to contribute writing andrelated multimedia resources to the LD SIG’s newsletter,
Learning Learning.

Other Sessions related toLearner Development:
As yet, the times of thesepresentation are yet to beconfirmed, please click the titles formore information.

Exploratory Practice in an L2 Genre Writing
ClassMatthew Miner
This presentation initially defines Exploratory Practice, astyle of practitioner research in response to Action
Research (Burns, 2003) that seeks to integrate classroom
research and empower students as co-researchers
studying language classroom quality of life (Allwright,2005). The presenters discuss implementation of EP intoa Japanese university freshman-level reading and writingclass that follows a genre approach. The presenters will
share results of an ongoing EP project which
contextualizes genre writing of academic research
papers by instilling concepts of autonomy, personalized
language-learning research topics, and teacher-student
collaboration. The presenters will end with reflections
and suggestions on the potential role and benefits of EP
in the language learning classroom.

Online Poster Sessions as a Student Activity
Malcom Swanson
Poster sessions, whether face-to-face or online, requirea different set of skills than presentations or speeches.
Presenters work with just one poster or slide, can only
give a brief explanation, and must then respond to a
constantly changing group of viewers. The interactiveT

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Learning Learning『学習の学習』 28 (1): Looking Forwardand dynamic quality of poster presentations can offer
university students useful opportunities to developthese explanatory skills in a very structured setting
without the pressure of large audiences or a set script.
In this session, I will describe our experiences of running
an online poster presentation event in our university inKyushu. The programme was intended as an opportunity
for our 4th-year students to showcase and share theirgraduation thesis findings to inspire younger students.
I'll explain the system we used, and some of the many
pitfalls we encountered - and how we intend to improve
the process for next year's event.

The Efficacy of Online learning: A Students’
Perspective Survey
Dr. Michael Greisamer
During the spring of 2020 Universities in Japan for thefirst time began either partially or fully to teach classes
online. This sudden change in the way students aretaught created a new style of learning, for them as muchas the teachers, and as such, initiated discussion about
the quality of learning and the effect on students. The
implementation of online learning has the potential tosubstitute or supplement traditional language teaching
far beyond the initial purpose; the safety of staff andpupils via social distancing during the Covid19
pandemic. The purpose of this research was to assess
student responses to the first semester of online
teaching and explore in what ways online education
enhances language education for university students. A
large number of university students (N=642) in theKansai area were surveyed. The data is collected from
University students in the Kansai area via an anonymous
survey with a sample set of 642. Questions focused on
their readiness to embrace online learning, theiranxieties and what effects learning online has had on
their learning in general. The results indicate that while
the students accept the situation they would rather getback to on-campus face-to-face (F2F) classes. As online
learning is now expected to continue at least for thenext semester, the presenter will discuss the results ofthe survey as well consider what effective strategies
students can use to manage their continued online
learning. Questions of student satisfaction and student
retention will also be considered.

Making classes 'SMART' to boost
motivation and achievement
Stephen Harris / Robert StroudSelf-Determination Theory states that all humans
possess the motivation to improve and feel a resultantsense of achievement (Reeve, Deci & Ryan, 2004). One
problem which can hinder such motivation and progressfor students studying English is a lack of clarity of theexpectations for their oral performance. Research showsthat students will make greater efforts if they are shown
where their performance 'is', where it should 'go' and'how' to get it there (Atkin, Black, & Coffey, 2001). In
addition, clarifying the purpose of the learning for realworld use beyond the classroom will further motivate
students to improve. This presentation explains how
such theories of learning and human psychology can beapplied to language learning classrooms by using original'SMART' checklists, designed specifically for second
language oral tasks. These checklists better define anddirect students’ efforts so that classes demonstrate
higher levels of motivation and resultant achievement inlearning English speaking skills. By clarifying oral task
Skills, Measures, Actions, Reasons and Time, students
become more focused on and confident at improving
their speaking skills over time. The presenter will give
clear examples of how to create and apply these SMART
checklists to existing oral tasks to motivate and engage
students.

Motivation and meaningful connection in
the changing classroom
Andrew Reimann
The main goal of language learning is undoubtedlysocial. We all have a strong desire to connect with others
in meaningful ways, sharing experiences, exchanging
information, or collaborating. Apart from language skills,
connecting with others in meaningful ways requires
intrinsic motivation, self efficacy, social and emotional
intelligence as well as other traits or states that make upinterpersonal competence (Spitzberg, 1989; Goleman2006). This presentation will discuss key issues affecting
relationship building and communication in the modern
classroom through demonstrating activities andstrategies for improving interpersonal skills andmeaningful connections in both early and higher
education contexts. These include storytelling,

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Learning Learning『学習の学習』 28 (1): Looking Forward
collaborative video projects and interactive
presentations, all of which can help to provide learners
with opportunities to develop empathy, self-awareness,
active listening, critical thinking, assertiveness,sensitivity, and tolerance of differences. With the rise of
online learning, social media-based interaction, andsocial distancing norms, making ‘real’ connections withothers is becoming increasingly rare and difficult. By
using relationship-building strategies to become better
communicators, learners can develop multiplecompetencies and a multilevel awareness needed formaking meaningful and interpersonal connections.

The evolution of a four-dimensional EFL
classroom
Adrianne Verla Uchida
Teaching students only English is not enough these days.
While students do need to master the four skills ofreading, writing, speaking, and listening, they also need
the skills known as the 4Cs: critical thinking, creativity,collaboration, and communication. Additionally, there isa need to foster students' character and metacognitiveabilities. The Center for Curriculum Redesign’s FourDimensional Education Framework (Fadel, Bialik, &Trilling, 2015) is designed to foster all of those traits instudents. The framework emphasizes the importance offour dimensions that are essential to learners in the 21stcentury: knowledge, skills, character, and metacognition.
A flipped learning approach was used to assign thegrammar drills as homework and class time was spentparticipating in group tasks and projects that utilized thehomework and integrated various dimensions of theframework. This study examines student perceptions
about their growth as English language learners over asemester-long, first-year required EFL course with afocus on grammar. The course was held in the springsemester each year. Data were collected over threeconsecutive years from three different groups ofstudents by analyzing the instructor’s syllabi, student
reflection sheets and a voluntary post-course survey.
How the tasks and projects were designed andimplemented over each semester to engage students
with the traits from the framework will be discussed.
Additionally, ways that other educators can implement
the framework and the various tasks and projects will beshared.

Every language learner is different: A
personal perspective
Dominique Vola Ambinintsoa Razafindratsimba
As a learning advisor (LA), I often reply, “It depends.
Everyone is different” to my advisees’ “how-to”
questions, before engaging them into what is referred toas an "intentional reflective dialogue” (Kato & Mynard,2016). My role as an LA and my research on learnerautonomy have enabled me to understand and accept
the uniqueness of each learner’s experience with theirlanguage learning. The latter involves internal factors
such as personality, motivation, agency, and feelings
about the language. These factors can be influenced byexternal factors such as the learning environment,
including the geographical location (Benson, 2020), thesociety and the culture to which the learner belongs(Little, 1999). The frequent “how-to” questions from myadvisees prompted me to reflect on my own language
learning journey, including the struggles, the successes,
and the fluctuation of emotions related to each of thefive languages I have learned. I used some advising tools
to help me with my self-reflection, and then, writing as a“method of inquiry, a way of finding out about [my]self”(Richardson, 2000). In this presentation, I will discuss myself-reflection and the self-awareness resulting from it. I
will then suggest some implications for language
teaching, mainly highlighting the need to promotelearners’ self-reflection.

Multilingualism in self-access learning
centres in Japan
Katherine Thornto
Self-access centres, non-classroom language learningspaces which promote learner autonomy and provide an
informal setting for extra-curricular language learning,are now common facilities at campuses across Japan.
While some of these centres are multilingual, others
promote only one foreign language (usually but notalways, English). On establishing and subsequently
operating such a facility, language policy and how target
languages are promoted and supported are important
aspects to be considered, which will determine how
potential users interact with and in the space.
This presentation will present some of the main
findings from a KAKEN project investigating language
policy and language use in self-access learning centres

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Learning Learning『学習の学習』 28 (1): Looking Forward(SALCs) across Japan. Several institutions were chosen ascase studies. Through surveys, interviews and focus
groups, data was gathered from SALC directors andadministrators, learning advisors, instructors andstudents about attitudes to policy and how language isused in these semi-naturalistic language learning spaces.
Issues arising from the data include the roles ofmotivation, identity and autonomy in student language
choice, the dominant role of English, and how attempts
are made to make space for multilingualism.

Exploring a Full-Time Learning Advisor’s
Autonomy
Andre Parsons
In self access, there has been much research on learnerautonomy (Benson, 2007; Benson & Voller, 1997; Dam,1995; Holec, 1981; Little, 1991,1999, 2007; Sinclair,1999). Nevertheless, to our knowledge, there have been
few to no inquiries into learning advisor autonomy (cf.
Shirakawa, 2018). Having proposed a model forunderstanding learning advisor autonomy via teacher
autonomy (Warrington & Parsons, 2019) andsubsequently applied it to ourselves to test its feasibility(Warrington & Parsons, 2020), this presentation stands
as an attempt to further address the aforesaid gap in the
research literature. Discussion will first focus on what
learning advisor autonomy looks like through the lenses
of professional freedom (Pearson & Moomaw, 2005;
Vieira, 2006), continuing professional development(Huang, 2005; Smith & Erdoğan, 2008), and thephenomena of the interconnectedness between teacherand learner and their mutual and simultaneousdevelopment (Jiménez Raya, Lamb, & Vieira, 2007; Little,2007). Thereafter, attention will be turned to a casestudy which examined one full-time learning advisor’s
autonomy using these lenses and the implications andfuture directions of this for his ‘learning advisor self’ andthe underlying identities within it.

Dates: June 4-6, 2021.
Venue: Hirosaki Gakuin University, Hirosaki, Aomori& <https://jaltcall2021.eventzil.la>More information: see here: <https://jaltcall2021.eventzil.la> or here <https://jaltcall.org>

Call for presentiners: LD Forum at JALTCALL
Reimagining Learning Communities Online
Submit proposal here (Deadline April 23, 2021)
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/
1FAIpQLSd9qr6VVoORvWdZk3PJIfZTKAY2emQf0UUl__FKdjxRx
1oEdg/viewform?usp=sf_link

Connecting with the theme of the last year withemergency remote teaching, we invite proposals inwhich presenters explore the development of language
learning communities during online classes. In the springof 2020, we were all suddenly faced with the challenge
to bring our institutions of learning to a fully online
environment. This undoubtedly challenged the way weinteracted, worked, and learned. How did learners andteachers first respond to the emergency? Whatchallenges and questions were encountered? How didlearning evolve into a “new normal”? What aspects ofthis new normal will affect the ways the community will
return to classroom learning? In this Learner
Development SIG Forum at JALTCALL 2021, we would
like to hear what tools were used to navigate the newnormal, and what were the challenges and benefits ofthese tools for the learning community. We welcomedigital presentations that explore the use of particularapplications or websites with learning groups orindividuals. In addition, narratives, interviews, and otherexplorative research into the social constructs thatdeveloped with online learning will also be accepted.
Our aim is for presenters and participants to share both
the rewards and challenges that we encountered in thisperiod of online teaching and to discuss ideas about how
this could challenge future directions to learning andlearner development. Depending on the number ofpresentations, the forum will feature timed rounds ofinteractive presentations followed by reflective writingand discussion. Presenters and participants will also be
invited to contribute writing and related multimedia
resources to the LD SIG’s newsletter, Learning Learning.

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