Learning Learning 『学習の学習』 28(1): Mini Profiles

Mini-profiles: Sharing Your Learner Development Interests |ミニプロフィール：学習者ディベロップメントについての関心の共有… in which SIG members introduce themselves
briefly (just 50 to 100 words or more), and write
about what interests, puzzles, intrigues them about
learner development, and/or about a particularapproach or project, or research that they are doingor plan to do, or simply share a short reflection, todo with learner development ...
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Brennan Conaway
Email<brennan.conaway@temple.edu>
As an artist and educator, I havebeen studying how to use artwork inthe EFL classroom. I’m an instructor
at Tokyo University of the Arts andTokai University and, if all goes well, I will be awarded anM.S.Ed. diploma from Temple University Japan thisspring.
Naomi Fujishima
Email <naomikfuji@gmail.com>
My name is Naomi Fujishima, and I’ve
been teaching English on and off inJapan since 1987. My first teachingexperience was in the JET (JapanExchange Teaching) Program as an
Assistant Language Teacher where Itaught at various junior high schools
around Hiroshima prefecture. I enjoyedteaching so much that I decided to get a master’s degreein TESOL and went back to California to attend graduateschool. After I received my degree, I was lucky enough to
get a job teaching at a Japanese university. Since it was a
short-term contract, I was only planning on being inJapan for 2 ½ years, but I’m still here today! Now I teachfull-time at a university in Okayama, but my home baseis Hiroshima.
I first got interested in the Learner Development SIG
when a Hiroshima member, Jim Ronald, invited any JALT
member who was interested to join a local LD SIG
meeting. A few of us would meet at a local coffee shop
and talk about issues related to our students or activities
we’ve used in the classroom. Sometimes Jim would
prepare something for us to discuss, but mostly it was afriendly gathering of like-minded teachers sharing
stories. Unfortunately, the meetings dwindled away(even before COVID-19 hit), so instead I try to check theLD SIG and OTJ Facebook posts for helpful informationand ideas.
I am especially interested in how to maintainmotivation in students so that they can become lifelong
learners of English. At university now, I teach mostly
compulsory English classes, which means that manystudents are in the class only to get enough credit for
graduation. I am always thinking of ways to show them
how interesting and beneficial it can be to learn English.
It has become a bigger challenge during this pandemic
and with classes going online, as many students seem tolose the motivation to study at all. It’s very useful for me
to talk and chat with fellow teachers because I can findout what others are doing in their classes. I am looking
forward to joining more LD SIG events to improve myteaching and learning skills!
Ian Hurrell
Email <taffstar2003@gmail.com>
I have been a member of the LD SIG
for the last 8 years and I’m currently
working as an Adjunct Lecturer at
Rikkyo University’s Foreign Language
Education and Research department.
My current research interest is focused on thedevelopment of world Englishes and learner expressionof cultural identity through a foreign language. However,I am still in the early stages of trying to understand thisconcept. I am also one of the organizers of the LD SIG’sregular get-togethers, so I would love to meet with othermembers to share ideas about this concept, as well as
any other learner development issues that you would

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Learning Learning 『学習の学習』 28(1): Mini Profiles
like to discuss. I look forward to talking with you at oneof our meetings soon!
Ken Ikeda
Email <kodanuki@gmail.com>
After coming to Japan on the JET
Program in 1987, I entered theuniversity circuit after earning aCELTA and later a MA.TESL withTeachers College Tokyo in 1999. Ihave been teaching full-time at Otsuma Women’s
University in Tokyo in the Department of English
Language and Literature since 2009. I became activelyinvolved with the LD SIG co-authoring a study on
language learning strategies. I have been on a number ofLD admin groups: the Tokyo (now online) Get-Togethers(2012-), CCLT (2014-) and the Learning Learning editorial
team since 2018. What keeps me involved in LD is aiding
its learner-focused vision and community-building,which stem from my regard of learners as languageusers. I am interested in thesis writing, values-based
active learning, teacher equity, and narrative inquiry. I
co-authored a study on language accent trauma which
was published last year in the LD Journal Issue 4.
Judy Kambara
Email: <judith_kambara@ad.okapu.ac.jp>
Okayama Prefectural University
My name is Judy Kambara. I
discovered that I loved teaching
while working as a high school
special education aide in theUnited States. That love grew while teaching English
conversation to older adults in Okinawa. I am now a U.S.licensed teacher in 7th – 12th grade social studies andEnglish language arts, and I also hold an M.A. in applied
linguistics from the University of Massachusetts Boston.
I have taught social studies and language arts ininternational schools in Okinawa and Kyoto, and EFL at
Japanese universities in Niigata and Okayama. Thesevery different experiences have made my teaching
journey one of reinvention, discovery, and growth. Partof my research and classroom practice focuses onweaving social studies-based issues, such as equity,
human rights, and intercultural understanding into EFL
courses. I also strongly believe that allowing students to

学習者ディベロプメント研究部会 <http://ld-sig.org>

pursue their interests and passions facilitates learning by
making the content that we study relevant to their
particular situations. I truly feel that my students aresome of my best teachers, and I hope to continuelearning with them for many years to come.
Mike Kuziw Email<mike.kuziw@gmail.com>
I have noticed a growing
implementation of child-centeredlearning during my more than 10years of work in public schools
for Fukui City. Furthermore, since
starting my work as an ALT in elementary school 7 years
ago, I have developed an interest in the development of
the child as it relates to language learning. Myobservations at the University of Fukui have mostly
occurred through action research, focused on inclassroom learning; however, I also have an interest in
why certain learners acquire language and others do
not. Motivation, self-efficacy, self-regulated learning andwell-being describe my focus, in addition to children’sbooks and storytelling. I’m curious to know more about
how communication through language learning
strengthens one’s identity. From April, I will begin a newposition as a lecturer at Jin Ai University, Fukui.

Tanya McCarthy
Email <mccarthytanya.m@gmail.com>
Hi everyone! My name is Tanya
McCarthy. I first joined the LD SIG in2008 when I had just begun working
as a learning advisor. At the time, I
was looking for a group to share myexperiences with. For years, I wasactively involved with meetings,conferences, and publishing, andthen life got busy. Over the years, I have kept up withlearner development theories and changes in the field
through different LD SIG publications (Learning Learning,various books, and The Learner Development Journal).
My research focus has changed from advising toteaching, but at the heart of it is still the idea of how tohelp learners become more involved with the learning
process. 2020 more than ever highlighted theimportance of learner autonomy. The question many are11

Learning Learning 『学習の学習』 28(1): Mini Profiles
asking now is, “Is learner autonomy the way forward orwill things return as they were?” As I find myself oncemore at the door of the LD SIG in 2021, I look forward tomeeting, sharing, and discussing the way forward withnewbies and oldies alike. Cheers!
Robert Moreau
Email <robertmoreaumandoman@gmail.com>
My introduction to the Learner
Development Special Interest
Group (LD SIG) took place when I
was still a graduate student atTeachers College Columbia
University in Tokyo. As part of mycourse work there, I had
researched, and completed
projects involving learner autonomy, as well as selfreflective practices. I felt immediately that these were
useful tools for students to boost their motivation, andtake their learning beyond the classroom. I also
discovered that self-reflection for teachers could play animportant role in the ongoing process of improving
classroom practices. In the years following graduation, I
have integrated reflective practices into each of myclassrooms and have found that they can provide mewith excellent insights into the students’ learning.
As a member of the LD SIG, I have had theopportunity to publish articles in Learning Learning. I
have also enjoyed presenting on reflective practices,
including at the Realizing Autonomy conference inNagoya, hosted by the LD SIG. More recently, myinterest in reflective practices has been combined withresearch into genre-based instruction. Puzzles I have
explored include; scaffolding with regards to how andwhen to leave control of a project in the students’hands. Also, how to best incorporate peer review
activities into the classroom in order to let students
build their own proficiency and confidence in using
various genres independently of the teacher.
Outside of my research interests, I am happy to haveheld the position of Publicity Officer for the LD SIG. Since
then I have continued to provide various graphic designsolutions, including book covers, as well as the logo andsignage for the CCLT conference each year.

Yoshio Nakai
Email <uminchufunto@gmail.com>
I have been supporting learners ofJapanese as a second language formore than 20 years. First, I wasinterested in second language
writing, but after becoming familiar
with qualitative research, my research interest started tofocus on using a narrative approach to explore my own
situation of CODA (Child of Deaf Adults) as a cultural
minority. Now I’ve found the reason why I have been alanguage teacher who is aiming to support foreigners inthe same position in Japan. Recently, I have been
conducting research on minority agency and second
language education to promote DEI (Diversity, Equityand Inclusion) in Japanese society.
第二言語としての日本語教育に携わってもう20年近

くになります。日本語教育に関わり始めた当初は作文教育に関心を持っていたのですが、質的研究を知ってからは、ナラティブを用いた研究を通して、自身の研究の関心がCODA（ろう者の親を持つ子ども）という文化的そマイノリティである自身の環境に向かっていくようになりました。今になってようやく、私が外国人と同じ立場に立ってサポートをする言語教師でいようとしてきた理由にたどりつくことができました。最近ではマイノリティの行為主体性に関する研究と日本社会にDEIが根付くような第二言語教育に取り組んでいます。

Sakoda Namiko 迫田 奈美子
Email <nm-sako@hue.ac.jp>
I have been teaching English for about
20 years at Hiroshima University ofEconomics. My recent research has
focused on building, improving, andverifying the effectiveness of the cycle of English peer
tutoring. Such tutoring involves students teaching otherstudents outside of regular curricular activities. I aim tosupport the autonomous learning of English for both thetutee who needs remedial education, and the student
tutor who supports the tutee’s learning.

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Learning Learning 『学習の学習』 28(1): Mini Profiles
Akiko Takagi 髙木 亜希子
Email<atakagi@ephs.aoyama.ac.jp>
I have taught education-major
freshman and sophomore students
in a required English class at
Aoyama Gakuin University since 2010. I have long
wondered how I could develop low proficiency level
students’ intercultural communicative competence (ICC)so that it is fully integrated into the language classroom
using the target language. I had an opportunity toinvestigate this topic during my sabbatical year at theUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2020. I learned thatthe “NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements for InterculturalCommunication,”* published in 2017, can be applied in aJapanese context. I am excited to introduce ICC tasks tomy classes and to conduct an action research case study
this year.
* NCSSFL = National Council of State Supervisors forLanguages; ACTFL = The American Council on the
Teaching of Foreign Languages

affective factors, self-evaluation, learning beyond theclassroom, identity, successes, and challenges related toeach language. In my own experience, those aspects canbe quite different from one language to another. I havestarted to do some self-reflection and gather some
information about these aspects in myself and would
like to investigate other multilingual learners and towrite a few case studies. I would love any ideas on
possible theoretical framework and any potential
collaboration on this project.
For the 2021 Autumn issue of Learning Learning
please send your mini-text or mini-profile (just 50 to100 words or more!) to <lleditorialteam@gmail.com>
by 28th August. Many thanks.
Learning Learningの2021年秋号に向けて、みなさまの短いメッセージやミニプロフィール（50〜100語程度）を募集します。8月28日までに<lleditorialteam@gmail.com>宛にお送りください。よろしくお願いいたします。

Dominique Vola Ambinintsoa
Email<razafindratsimbad@kanda.kuis.ac.jp> or<dvolaamb@buffalo.edu>
I am from Madagascar, and I am nowa learning advisor at Kanda Universityof International Studies in Chiba, Japan. I hold a PhD inapplied linguistics, focusing on fostering learnerautonomy in a Malagasy EFL context (Victoria Universityof Wellington, New Zealand) and a Master of Educationin TESOL (State University of New York at Buffalo, US). I
taught English as a Foreign Language (EFL) inMadagascar for 8 years, and English as a Second
Language (ESL) in the US and in New Zealand for 2 years.
I have a particular interest in language learnerautonomy, self-access language learning, advising inlanguage learning, and positive psychology in education.
I am part of The Learner Development Journal 6 (LDJ6)
editorial team, focusing on learning beyond theclassroom.
Having learned 4 languages apart from my firstlanguage, I have also recently developed interest in
learner development in multilingualism, including goals,

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