LD SIG Realizing Autonomy Conference Proceedings

R I C H A RD P E M B E RT O N :HI S WO R L D O F WO R K A N D S E RV I C EAndy Barfield
Richard Pemberton died peacefully at home in Nottingham in the early hours of January 19th,
2012, just a few months after taking part in the Realizing Autonomy Conference, and barely 18
months after he had learned that he had metastatic prostate cancer that had spread to hisspine.
Richard was Associate Professor in TESOL in the School of Education at Nottingham
University. He taught at Nottingham from January 2006, after nearly 15 years at Hong Kong
University of Science and Technology, where he had been responsible for setting up andcoordinating the Self-Access Centre, and integrating self-access language learning into the firstyear course that he coordinated. Before that, he taught ESL for eight years at secondary levelin the UK and Zimbabwe and tertiary level in Papua New Guinea (University of Technology)
and did one year of Voluntary Service Overseas in Lesotho between school and university.
At Nottingham, Richard was Course Director for the MA in English Language Teacher
Development teaching a wide range of modules for the MA ELT/ELTD courses. He alsosupervised the PhD research of a large number of students. With Paul Meara as his supervisor,
Richard had done his own doctoral research on the spoken word recognition of Hong Kongstudents (Pemberton, 2004b). His own main research interests were to do with L2 vocabularyacquisition, L2 listening, learner autonomy, self-access/self-directed language learning,educational action research (changing one’s own practice and evaluating the process), andtechnology-assisted language learning (especially involving video or mobile devices). Thesewide-ranging interests were mirrored in the wealth of activities that he undertook atNottingham. He coordinated the Second and Foreign Language Pedagogy Group’s Language
Learning Research Seminars, which were held on a monthly basis in the School of Education
and aimed to give research students, faculty members and colleagues from other universities anopportunity to report progress, present findings, and raise problems in an informal andsupportive atmosphere. Richard also initiated with Jane Evison TESOL Talk from
Nottingham, a series of podcast discussions between Richard and Jane (http://portal.lsri.nottingham.ac.uk/SiteDirectory/TTfN/default.aspx) on diﬀerent TESOL topics intended
to engage graduate students and teachers on issues related to TESOL pedagogy and research.
TESOL Talk from Nottingham brought together several interests of Richard’s: hiscollaborative style of working, his devotion to using technology in innovative ways, and hisconcern for helping students and teachers develop new understandings of the world.
Richard similarly contributed to the learner autonomy field in many diﬀerent grassroots ways.
He had a profound eﬀect on the whole field, particularly as he was responsible for coSpecial Issue of Learning Learning, Volume 19, Issue 2, July 2012（学習の学習特別号）!

95LD SIG Realizing Autonomy Conference Proceedingsorganizing two landmark conferences: the 1994 Taking Control conference in Hong Kong andthe 2004 Maintaining Control conference in Hong Kong, co-editing the proceedings for bothconferences. In Hong Kong, Richard was also an active member of HASALD (Hong Kong
Association of Self-Access Learning and Development), and contributed regularly to
HASALD’s online newsletter (http://www.cityu.edu.hk/elc/HASALD/). Richard served asconvenor of the AILA Scientific Commission on Learner Autonomy from 2002 to 2005 (http://ailarenla.org/) and was a plenary speaker at the Inaugural Independent Learning Association
Conference in 2003 in Melbourne, Australia. In the UK, Richard helped organize SWAN
(Sheﬃeld, Warwick and Nottingham University) one-day conferences on learner autonomy, andfrom 2008 to 2010 he was also an active committee member of the IATEFL Learner
Autonomy SIG (http://learnerautonomy.org/). Richard also took part in the Nordic Workshops
on Developing Autonomous Learning for many years. More recently, Richard was active in The
British Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL), serving on its executive committee andworking, as usual, behind the scenes for his colleagues. Shortly after Richard’s death, and intribute to Richard’s work, BAAL created a new annual award, The Richard Pemberton Prize,
for the best student presentation at a BAAL conference.
Specifically in connection with JALT and the Learner Development SIG, Richard was aninvited speaker of the SIG at JALT2002 and astute contributor to Autonomy You Ask! (2003). He
also provided feedback and review comments for Realizing Autonomy (2012) and kept in regularcontact with members of the SIG. Richard was a familiar face to a great many people in theSIG, much loved for his good humour and sense of fun at diﬀerent conferences and events
where people would meet him. Some fond memories of Richard include:
Stacey Vye: Richard was so observant, caring, and damn funny! Because he could see
things in people that maybe others couldn’t? Well, he’d helped steer you where youneeded to be and was very supportive about that development for the whole team. ToRichard:
If this world represents
one drop of dew
then the radiant drop
presents itself
because of you

Never forget your impact, Richard.

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Steve Brown: I am in shock. But I consider myself honoured and privileged to have
known Richard as a friend and colleague … A man who was an inspiration and support
to many, but who never had a bad word to say about any.
Kay Irie: Although I never met him in person, I am grateful I had the opportunity to get
to know him via emails and work for the Realizing Autonomy conference. His presenceand contribution were an integral part of the conference and, of course, of the field.
Jackie Suginaga: Richard is in my thoughts and prayers.
Greg Rouault: Maybe one of the SIG’s scholarships or travel grants could be named inRichard's honor and bestowed on a candidate who best displays the way in which
Richard lived his life, creating with the award a perpetual link between reflections on
who and how he was.
Bill Mboutsiadis: After you mentioned him to me two weeks ago and the great work
you've done together, I started reading more of his work and writing about it for myAutonomy class. He is truly an inspiring scholar and educator. I’m honored to bearound those who knew him as a scholar, educator and good friend.
Steve Paydon: I second Bill’s sentiments. I didn’t know Richard at all, but I am very
moved by the respect you all show for him.
Robert Moreau: I didn’t get a chance to meet Richard, but I remember his keynote
contribution to the realizing Autonomy Conference. Reading the words to theintroduction to that address again, it is easy to see how much he was a friend to the LD
SIG and how important his contribution was to what we all work towards in our classes.
My thoughts and prayers go out to his spirit and his family.
Alison Stewart: I met Richard at a number of conferences around the world, then had
the privilege to work with him in planning a plenary talk that he gave in October in
Nagoya, Japan. Particular memories: a dinner in Hong Kong, gales of laughter comingfrom the next table where Richard was sitting, much to the envy and curiosity ofeveryone on my table; walking back from a pub in Swansea, appreciating Richard’s
kindness and warmth as we talked; skyping about the plenary, admiring Richard’scommitment and devotion of his precious time to the event; inspiration from his blog
and from the haiku he loved. My deepest sympathies to Richard’s family, friends andcolleagues.
Rich Silver: I’m very sorry to hear the news and my feelings echo those of others.
Masuko Miyahara: I never had the pleasure to meet Richard personally, but I haveread some of his work which were a great inspiration for me. Come to think of it now,

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one of Richard’s articles that I read almost a decade ago was how I got interested in theidea of autonomy! My deepest condolences to his family and friends.
Richard Pemberton’s Major Publications
Pemberton, R., & Cooker, L. (2012). Self-directed learning: Concepts, practice and a novel
research methodology. In S. Mercer, S. Ryan, & M. Williams (Eds.), Psychology forlanguage learning: Insights from theory, research and practice (pp. 305-27). Basingstoke,
U.K.: Palgrave Macmillan.
Pemberton, R., & Nix, M. (2012). Practices of critical thinking, criticality and learnerautonomy. In K. Irie & A. Stewart (Eds.), Learning Learning, 19(2), Special Issue:
Proceedings of JALT LD SIG Realizing Autonomy Conference, 79-94.
Pemberton, R., Toogood, S., & Barfield, A. (Eds.). (2009). Maintaining control: Autonomy andlanguage learning. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
Pemberton, R., Toogood, S., & Barfield, A. (2009). Maintaining control: An introduction. In R.
Pemberton, S. Toogood, & A. Barfield (Eds.), Maintaining control: Autonomy and language
learning (pp. 3-10). Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
Pemberton, R., (2009). Acting on a hunch: Can L1 reading instruction aﬀect L2 listening
ability? In T. Fitzpatrick & A. Barfield (Eds.), Lexical processing in second language learners(pp. 141-153). Clevedon, U.K.: Multilingual Matters.
Toogood, S., & Pemberton, R. (2007). Support structures for self-access learning. In A. Barfield& S. H. Brown (Eds.), Reconstructing autonomy in language education: Inquiry and innovation(pp. 180-195). Basingstoke, U.K.: Palgrave.
Toogood, S., & R. Pemberton (2006). Scaﬀolding for self-access learning and the FocusedTransfer-General Practice Model. In T. Lamb & H. Reinders (Eds.), Supporting independent
language learning: Issues and interventions (pp. 171-202). Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
Pemberton, R., Noakes, N., & Lee, J. (2005). Through other eyes: Job interviews in English.
Retrieved July 1, 2012 from http://lc.ust.hk/TOE
Toogood, S., Pemberton, R., Ho, S., & Chan, R. (2005). Virtual English Language Adviser(VELA). Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Retrieved from http://vela.ust.hk/
Pemberton, R. (2004). Spoken word recognition in a second language: An investigation of the ability ofHong Kong learners to recognise the most &equent words of English when listening to news
broadcasts. Hong Kong: Language Centre, Hong Kong University of Science andTechnology.
Pemberton, R., Carmichael, S., & Lam, M. (2004). Developing learner motivation throughcurriculum innovation. In O. Kwo, T. Moore, & J. Jones (Eds.), Developing learning
environments: Creativity, motivation and co'aboration in higher education (pp. 105-136). Hong
Kong University: Hong Kong University Press.
Pemberton, R. (2004). [Review of the book Teaching and researching listening by M. Rost]. System,32(1), 125-128.
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Pemberton, R. (2003). Learning and remembering vocabulary: A case study in spacedrepetition. In L. Miyares, C. Moreno, & M. Silva (Eds.), Actas do VIII Simposio
Internacional de Comunicación Social, Volume 1 (pp. 251-254). Santiago de Cuba: Centro deLingüística Aplicada.
Nix, M., & Pemberton, R. (2002). Grading, evaluation and autonomy. Learning Learning, 9(2),20-27.
Toogood, S., & Pemberton, R. (2002). Integrating self-directed learning into the curriculum: Acase study. In P. Benson & S. Toogood (Eds.), Learner autonomy 7: Cha'enges to research andpractice (pp. 65-84). Dublin: Authentik.
Pemberton, R., & Lee, J. (2002). Looking at others to see yourself: Promoting reflection
through video materials. In A. Jyu & M. Megan (Eds.), Reflecting teaching: Reflection andinnovation in language teaching and learning (pp. 189-206). Hong Kong: Hong Kong
University of Science and Technology Press.
Pemberton, R., & Toogood, S. (2001). Expectations and assumptions in a self-directedlanguage-learning programme. In M. Mozzon-McPherson & R. Vismans (Eds.), Beyond
language teaching: Towards language advising (pp. 66-83). London: Centre for Information on
Language Teaching and Research.
Pemberton, R., Toogood, S., Ho, S., & Lam, J. (2001). Approaches to advising for self-directedlanguage learning. In L. Dam (Ed.), AILA Review 15. Learner autonomy: New insights (pp.
16-25). Huddersfield, UK: Catchline. Retrieved July 1, 2012 from http://www.aila.info/download/publications/review/AILA15.pdf
Pemberton, R., Toogood, S., Ho, S., & Lam, J., (2001). Enhancing the quality of adviser support
for self-directed language learning. In D. Kember, S. Candlin, & L. Yan (Eds.), Case studiesof improving teaching and learning &om the Action Learning Project Volume 2 (pp. 143-160).
Hong Kong Polytechnic University: Action Learning Project.
Pemberton, R., & Kasten, K. (1996). Language learning in language exchange partnerships: anexploratory study. In R. Berry, B. Asker, K. Hyland, & M. Lam (Eds.), Language analysis,
description and pedagogy (pp. 218-234). Hong Kong: Hong Kong University of Science andTechnology.
Pemberton, R., Ho, S., Lam, J., & Toogood, S. (1999). Developing a self-directed languagelearning programme for postgraduate students (pp. 1-24). In B. Morrison (Ed.),
Experiments and evaluation in self-access language learning. Hong Kong: HASALD.
Pemberton, R., Li, E., Or, W., & Pierson, H. (Eds.). (1996). Taking control: Autonomy in language
learning. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
Pemberton, R., & Tsang, E. (Eds.). (1993). Studies in lexis. Hong Kong: Language Centre, Hong
Kong University of Science and Technology.
To cite this article: Barfield, A. (2012). Richard Pemberton: His world of work and service. In K. Irie &A. Stewart (Eds.), Proceedings of the JALT Learner Development SIG Realizing Autonomy Conference,[Special issue] Learning Learning, 19(2), 95-99. Retrieved from http://ld-sig.org/LL/19two/rp-work.pdf

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