Learning Learning 学習の学習 20 (2): Local Get Together Reports

Getting Connected: Local Get Together Reports
from Kansai, Hiroshima, and Tokyo
つながりを求めて：関西・広島・東京
LD Get-together Report: Kansai
Gretchen Clark
Our summer Get Together was held as part of theKansai University of International Studies’ Summer
Seminar on July 20, 2013. We had a small but
enthusiastic group of 7 including Gretchen Clark,
Michael Wilkins, Ellen Head, Ann Flanagan andShuji Narita. We welcomed two new faces, 2013
Grant Winner Brandon Kramer and MayukoYamamura. Like the March session, this workshop
also focused on the theme of action research whereparticipants discussed their own LD-related
problems such as ‘how to encourage teachers toparticipate in professional development
workshops’ and ‘what to do when students havetrouble completing their homework’. These ideas
were discussed in small groups and then by thewhole with everyone brainstorming possible
solutions. It was a productive hour of idea
exchange!
"
As an off-shoot, later that day Gretchen
Clark presented on an action research project thatshe developed with Ellen Head at the March Get
Together. Entitled ‘On Learner
Development: Perhaps it is TEACHERS whoshould be taking risks’, her presentation explored
overcoming fears and taking risks in the classroom
as a teacher. For this project, instead of conducting
student-large group presentations, she asked her
students to present individually for small
groups. As it is an unconventional method ofhandling the student presentation, she wasapprehensive of negative feedback from colleagues
and/or students regarding the level of formality
and lack of central teacher role in the new process
but after experimenting with this small group style
enjoyed several positive results including: highstudent motivation, enjoyment and increased L2interaction.

学習者ディベロプメント研究部会 <ld-sig.org/>"Our autumn Kansai Get Together was heldon September 28 as part of the Osaka Tech Day+Plus one-day conference at Otemae University inItami. The theme of Osaka JALT Tech Day was
Learner Autonomy, with keynote speaker Thomas
Robb’s plenary entitled: ‘Considerations for theEffective Use of Technology for Language
Learning.' With all the apps, games, blogs, wikis
which have proliferated in the last few years, thepower of technology to entrance students is selfevident, and there are many ways of harnessingthat for autonomous language learning. LD SIG
members and friends met informally over lunch totalk shop about classes, their learner development
projects, and reflect on what they learned at theTech Day.
"The Kansai Get Together team: Gretchen Clark,
Michael Wilkins, Ellen Head, and Ann Flanagan
Kansai Get-Together Facebook group http://
www.facebook.com/groups/ 126518854184011/
LD Get-together Report: Hiroshima
Jim Ronald
The Hiroshima Learner Development get-togethers
continue to happen. We meet most months of theyear, and there are typically between five and tenpeople at any get-together. Altogether, over theyear, we have a total of 20 to 30 people joining us,with many get-together regulars also active in
JALT’s Hiroshima chapter.
"Topics we’ve focused on over the past few
months have included the following: Moodle,
learner reflection, English camp, cross-culturalawareness, learner advising, autonomy-readiness,out-of-class events, and extensive reading. While I
continue to be the main manager of the Hiroshima
LD get-togethers, more and more of us are involvedin contributing to the get-togethers in some way:

8Learning Learning 学習の学習 20 (2): Local Get Together Reports
finding pre-reading materials (thanks MathewPorter!), arranging a CALL room for one session(thanks Monika Szirmai!), bringing things to showor things to ask, and sparking ideas off each other.
"One aim has been for the Hiroshima gettogethers to be a launch pad for new projects,
initiatives, or teams. In a way, hearing about what
has been happening in Tokyo, we may feel that wehaven’t achieved this (yet!). The get-togethers have,
however, provided sparks for new topics orperspectives to investigate, have served assounding boards for new research, materials oractivities, and have been receptive, fertile groundfor developing ideas or new projects.
"
The group aims to keep flexible, towelcome people with different schedules. However,
we are almost all university teachers and have notyet done much reaching out to elementary school orhigh school teachers, or teachers at language
schools. This is something we need to address.
"
As we meet at the get-togethers, we areoften reminded that we are all learners, and how
valuable this social, supportive gathering is for us
as we develop in our understanding and practices
in our striving to become more able to assist ourstudents’ development as language learners.
"I’ll finish with comments from two
regulars at Hiroshima Learner Development gettogethers: one from Akiko Awa, our model, vocal,
lifelong language learner, and one from Naomi
Fujishima, whose reasons for joining the gettogethers may be echoed by us all.
"It is the best place to speak out my opinionsfrom the view point of students. I have learned English
mostly on my own. However, I needed a lot of help fromEnglish teachers from time to time. Sometimes I couldn't
agree with their teaching method or style, so LD gettogethers are also helpful to deal with my frustration.
Akiko Awa"
Attending the Learner Development gettogethers in Hiroshima gives me a chance to share ideas
with teachers from other universities. It's refreshing forme to hear what goes on in other schools, and I feel asense of camaraderie with my colleagues there. I'veknown a few of the regular members for many years, soit's another good reason to go!
Naomi Fujishima

学習者ディベロプメント研究部会 <ld-sig.org/>LD Get-together Report: Tokyo (September)Andy Barfield
This was the fourth get-together of the new school
year, and the first since the summer, and 23 people
took part in get-together. We started off by taking
the first 15 minutes to mix and mingle and talk inpairs with someone we didn't know so well about
our working contexts and our learner development
interests. Huw, Mayumi (Abe) and Sami Yoshimutathen led the next hour by taking us through a series
of workshop tasks and discussions around the 'The
Strategy Tree for Language Learners' that they havedeveloped together in their collaborative
practitioner research project. The tree is based on
Rebecca Oxford's model in 'Teaching andResearching Language Learning
Strategies' (Oxford, 2011), and features four mainareas of focus: (a) the four skills + grammar,
vocabulary & pronunciation, (b) affective strategies,(c) cognitive strategies, and (d) socioculturalinteractive strategies. Huw, Mayumi and Samipresented the model and then invited us to draw on
A3 paper our own trees as language learners. We
happily did this and informally talked through ourdifferent experiences as we drew, before moving
round and talking about our trees with different
participants at the get-together.
"In the second half of the workshop, Huw,

Mayumi and Sami asked the whole group for
feedback and comments around these threequestions: 1. How can this be used in a classroom?
2. How helpful was it for you as a learner? 3. How
can the model be improved? The discussion that
followed ranged over a number of areas, both forour ourselves as learners and for our learners too.
'The Strategy Tree for Language Learners' could be
used in parallel with Language Learning Histories
and as a tool for discussing specific areas ofdevelopment with learners. Learners could be

9Learning Learning 学習の学習 20 (2): Local Get Together Reports
asked to draw their 'current state' tree and their* Collaborative learning: Debjani Ray, Joel Laurier,'imagined ideal tree' to map possible pathways for

Stacey Vye, and Tim Ashwell

their own development, as the tree helps bothlearners and teachers to conceptualise and* Developing autonomy: Billy Hassett, Fumiko(Kurosawa), John Garrett, Mayumi (Takizawa) andrepresent language learner development in specific

Rob Morelterms. Metaphorically, the tree could help learners* Learning journals/diaries: Caroline Ross &shift from a metaphor of success/failure/struggle

Stephanie Corwin

in terms of test scores to a growth/(learner)
development/ecological understanding of their* Pedagogies for social justice: Alison Stewart, Andy
Barfield, Huw Davies, Ken Ikeda, and Sami

learning and language use. The tree might also

Yoshimuta

have applications for self- and peer- assessment.

* Reading review: Chris Fitzgerald, Fumiko"Murase, Ian Hurrell, James Underwood, andAs for improvements for the model, peoplesuggested:
1. It could include some kind of 'meta' focus (meta-Natacha Piederriereaffective, meta-cognitive, meta-sociocultural/"interactive).

and then went through to 16.55 or so in small-

2. It could be developed with a self-ranking

group discussions. More detailed reports from eachsoftware tool to generate computer images of trees.
3. Different types of tree (including moregroup will be posted on the Tokyo LD blog – just go
to <http://tokyogettogethers.blogspot.jp>

abstracted versions) could be presented to learners"

so that they are encouraged to visualize theiron Sunday December 15 from 14.00 to 17.00 at

learning in different, alternative ways.

Otsuma Women's University, to be followed by an

4. The (represented) relationship between the four
skills and grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation

LD SIG 'bonenkai' in the Ichigaya area.

We took about 10 minutes to form groups

The next get-together in Tokyo takes place

could be re-worked in different ways.
This was a full-on, wide-ranging and stimulating
discussion which went through to 14.25, and wewere all grateful to Huw, Mayumi and Sami forleading such an interesting workshop.
"

Before the 10-minute break, Andy

mentioned that we would be dividing into learnerdevelopment groups in the second part of theafternoon. He also invited participants to make asmall donation of 500 yen to cover room rental costs
at Otsuma. (10,250 yen was donated in total: thiswill be paid into the SIG's bank account and thenused for paying the university.) After the break, were-started by checking which areas of focus people
would like to have in the second half of the gettogether. Five groups then formed:

学習者ディベロプメント研究部会 <ld-sig.org/>

10