Learning Learning ʲָस͹ָसʳ 29(1) LOOKING BACK | ⫀⛙LOOKING BACK | ๅࠄ

Learner Development SIG
Identities
JALT Learner Development
SIG Forum
At JALT 2021: Reflections and New
Perspectives
Saturday, November 13, 2021
10:45-12:15

In this LD SIG forum, presenters looked at who the
LD SIG is as a special interest group. What does
learner development mean to SIG members? What
experiences have members valued? What research
have members embarked on? Where is the SIG
going? How is the LD SIG interpretation of learnerdevelopment evolving? The forum featured timed
rounds of interactive narratives highlighting
themes such as self-regulation, autonomy, learner
identities, and lifelong learning.

Presentation abstracts, followed byReflections by
Szabina Adamku, Meisei University, Tokyo
Tim Ashwell, Komazawa University
Blair Barr, Tamagawa University, Otsuma Women's
University
Tim Cleminson, Kawasaki University of Medical
WelfareRobert Moreau, Meiji University
Sakae Onoda, Juntendo University

Language and its role in learnerdevelopment
Gareth Barnes, Macquarie University, Ochanomizu
University, Tokai University
Abstract

How can 3rd Age language learner ecologies inform
our understanding of development throughout thelife course?
By adopting a bioecological perspective(Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Bronfenbrenner & Morris,2007), we can see the influence of time and social
context on developmental processes. Looking at
the narratives (Barkhuizen, Benson, & Chik, 2014)of 8 members of a community learner group, we
follow the influences of time, the economy,
education, family, and work, to see how language
has played and can continue to play a role indevelopment throughout the life course.
Barkhuizen, G., Benson, P., & Chik, A. (2014).
Narrative Inquiry in Language Teaching and
Learning Research. New York & London:
Routledge.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The Ecology of Human
Development. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard
University Press.
Bronfenbrenner, U., & Morris, P. A. (2007). The
Bioecological Model of Human Development.
Handbook of child psychology (Vol. 6, pp. 793828). Hoboken, N. J.: John Wiley & Sons.

Short Reflections
Robert Moreau - Very interesting context and age
group. On the PowerPoint, it would be useful tohave any sources cited on the slides as you go. I
know that I like to jot down the studies as I listen.
Tim Ashwell - What sparked your interest involuntary (community) language learning groups?
Blair Barr - Language development in informalgroups among older adults: cognitive reserve,
healthy aging, mobility, resiliency (makes thebrain stronger), culture (agency). I could relate toa lot of this presentation from my days working inan eikaiwa setting. A few older learners had a lotof motivation to learn to maintain connections,

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Learning Learning ʲָस͹ָसʳ 29(1) LOOKING BACK | ⫀⛙exercise their brains, or even just socialize in an
enjoyable community.
Kominkan: Community Centers
Political and Commercial influence is on theincrease. Why is the political and commercial
influence in kominkan worrying? Do you have any
examples? Gareth has followed up with me on thisand I am planning to read up on these concernssoon.
Szabina Adamku - Your topic is very relevant as
the development of LLL is targeted in many
countries with mixed results. I have taught a few
elderly EFL learners and I experienced difficulties
as well as success in this field. I hope yourresearch continues and reaches wider audiences.
Tim Cleminson - You're doing some reallyinteresting research into lifelong learning. Wouldbe great to hear more about how motivation
emerges from the relatedness of the learners.
There seems to be a renegotiation of agency andconnectedness that goes on through the laterstages of life. As people move on from work, theylose a massive part of their identity and social
network. So, they need to connect to new socialgroups and learn how to operate in new social
situations. The FL classroom is an environment
which necessitates social interaction andcommunication. So, it provides opportunities tobond and connect. But, it's also a 'foreign' arena
which facilitates more flexibility in the mode ofinteraction than Japanese conversation would. It
appears to me that this creates an affordance forthe renegotiation of agency and self as learners
pass from one stage of life to another.
Sakae Onoda - His research results andimplications were thought-provoking and offered
new perspectives on language teaching.
Additionally, his presentation gave an opportunity
for me to reflect on my own teaching andresearch.

Learner Development Researchthrough Autoethnography: With a
Critical Reflection
Aya Hayasaki, Waseda University

Abstract
This presentation takes an autoethnographic
approach to explore learning trajectories which I,DIHPDOH-DSDQHVHLQKHUHDUO\·VH[SHULHQFHG
both as a learner and teacher of the English
language. Autoethnography allows researchers to
WDNHRQWKH´GXDOLGHQWLWLHVRIDFDGHPLFDQG
personal selves to tell autobiographical stories
about aspects of their past and present
H[SHULHQFHµ (OOLV %RFKQHUS 
Having spent most of my formal school years inJapanese educational systems, I started my career
as a senior high school teacher in Japan, later
becoming a master's student in the UK, a volunteer
and corporate member in informal and non-formal
education, and currently a PhD student. This study
particularly sheds light on the process of shaping
my learner, teacher, and researcher identities. I
will also discuss the importance of criticallyreflecting on researcher reflexivity in conducting
an autoethnographic study.

Short Reflections
Robert Moreau - Thank you so much for this! I
particularly felt that being able to understand thecontext that students come from is very useful. As
teachers, it is easy to become absorbed in thecontent and skills that we would like to teach inour classes, but how that content engages thestudents as individuals is a point that is easy toforget. Also, being aware of the struggles thatstudents have, especially if they are far fromhome for the first time, can assist teachers inmaking their classrooms more "user friendly" forstudents.
Tim Ashwell - Is there any need for triangulation
when using autoethnography?

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Learning Learning ʲָस͹ָसʳ 29(1) LOOKING BACK | ⫀⛙Blair Barr - Gaps in motivation and access toEnglish learning are significant in Japan. I wasshocked by the differences between Tokyo, thatnational averagHDQG.DJRVKLPD·VSRVW-secondary
HGXFDWLRQHVSHFLDOO\DPRQJVWZRPHQ,KDYHQ·W
really been exposed to this teaching in the Kanto
region, so it was eye-opening for me.
Student learning history profiles are interesting(autoethnography). As a student of anthropology, I
find it really interesting to see how individual
profiles relate to the population as a whole.
Szabina Adamku - Thank you for sharing yourexperiences. It was very useful for me as I am newin Japan and students do tell me some of theirstruggles with their EFL development. I think itcannot be emphasized enough to raise and discussthese issues and I do hope that the results andimplementations reach students' levels and,
therefore, they can overcome these difficulties.
Tim Cleminson - I was really impressed by theidea that culture shock and burnout could become
catalysts for change. Resilience is central tolanguage development and your talk showed how
individuals turned uncertainty and challenges into
learning and development.

How can learners be assisted in
becoming self-regulated?
Sakae Onoda, Juntendo University

Abstract
My presentation will discuss insights from myresearch on learner development, which was
inspired by Learner Development (LD) SIG groupmembers and their own studies. I will explicate
the effect of self-regulation on language learning,in particular the effects of self-regulation
strategies on L2 listening improvement and theirrelationship with self-efficacy and intrinsic
motivation. This work also suggested positive
results for self-regulated learners and revealed
that such learners mainly use metacognitive andeffort regulation strategies and abound in selfefficacy and intrinsic motivation. To examineinterrelationships between self-regulation
strategies, self-efficacy, willingness tocommunicate, and intrinsic motivation and L2
listening skills improvement, structural equation
modeling was performed using quantitative data.
Results showed that self-efficacy influences
intrinsic motivation and effort regulation strategy
use, which predicts metacognitive self-regulation
strategy use, which in turn influences L2 listening
skills improvement. These interrelationships shedlight on how learners can continue to learn L2
listening while being assisted in doing so.
However, several factors were shown not to
influence self-regulated learning, and pedagogicalinterventions for promoting self-regulated
learning, including how to improve and maintainvolition, remain poorly understood. At thesuggestion of LD SIG members, I plan to explore
pedagogical interventions to equip self-regulated
learners with volition and self-efficacy in the new
online learning environment.

Short Reflections
Robert Moreau - Well researched, and as was
mentioned, quite technical. The question focusing
on what to say to students was spot on, and theanswer was helpful. Thank you Onoda san!

Blair Barr - How can I simplify your message tohelp students with listening? (What can I say to
VWXGHQWV" 6DNDH·VDGYLFHWRVWXGHQWVLVWKDWWKH\should listen every day, concentrate on theinteractions they watch, listen to something thatinterests them, and students should haveconfidence (experience success in listening) by
doing extensive listening. This is great! I havebeen building a library of video quizzes thatstudents have helped build.
7LP$VKZHOODOVRDVNHG´:KDWDSSURDFKGR\RX
KDYHWRPDNHOLVWHQLQJUHODWDEOH"µ6DNDHVXJJHVWHG
having groups work on the listening tasks together.
I like this because students can actually talk about
the contents together, and they can help teachand learn together. I believe peer teaching can

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Learning Learning ʲָस͹ָसʳ 29(1) LOOKING BACK | ⫀⛙actually be a lot more meaningful to a lot of
learners.

opportunities to discover alternative teachingideas and thus evolve.

Szabina Adamku - The research is very relevant
and you have meaningful results. I wonder if andhow you are planning to continue, especiallyregarding the relationship between ETC andmetacognitive strategies. My research interest is
strongly connected to yours (self-regulated
vocabulary learning) and I also found a correlation
between self-efficacy and self-regulation. I hope
you will publish your results as I would like to citesome of them in my work.

If applicable, what brought you to join the
Learner Development Special Interest Group(LD SIG)?

Tim Cleminson - Thank you for your presentation.
As I said in my comment, I agree that relatedness
is really important in learning. As teachers, weneed to develop a learning environment thatencourages engagement and positive feedback. I
think that means we need to empower students toexpress their opinions and give them the resilienceto accept feedback and use it as a way to kickstart learning and development.

Sakae Onoda - The impetus for my joining was mystrong belief that the most important job language
teachers can do is to foster autonomous language
learners. Another strong and equally importantreason was my wish to improve my teaching andresearch by getting feedback on both activities
from LD SIG members, who share the sameacademic and research interests, as many heads
are better than one.

Sakae Onoda - I hope that what I talked about inmy presentation was meaningful for everyone.

If applicable, what experiences have wevalued as a member of the LD SIG?

What does Learner Development mean toyou?
Szabina Adamku - Facilitating learners' needs,
assisting them in their learning processes,
providing them with learning strategies,
monitoring their progress, and developing theiroutside-class, autonomous and self-regulated
learning.

Szabina Adamku - My research interest is selfregulated learning and it is in strong connection
with learner autonomy.
Tim Cleminson - The focus of education is learnerdevelopment, so it seemed a natural choice.

Tim Cleminson - Connecting - I always learn fromothers. And I have fun doing it.
Sakae Onoda - I have learned a lot from LD SIG
members about practical teaching approaches tofostering autonomous language learners, and thishas given me incentives to conduct research on
how to foster such learners.

What research, questions, or puzzles haveyou had as a member of the LD SIG?

Tim Cleminson - I see learning as emerging frominteraction with others. So, learner development
is about learning how to be yourself with others,
to learn from them and to help them learn.

Szabina Adamku - How can learner autonomy bedeveloped? How can leaner autonomy, selfregulation and learning strategies be developed inin-class instruction?

Sakae Onoda - Engaging in learner development
yields valuable opportunities for teachers toreflect on their teaching and generate

Tim Cleminson - How can I make people realize
how creative they are?

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Learning Learning ʲָस͹ָसʳ 29(1) LOOKING BACK | ⫀⛙Sakae Onoda - I have conducted research on
causal relationships between self-regulation
strategies (effort regulation strategies,
metacognitive self-regulation strategies, and peer
learning strategies), motivational variables (selfefficacy and intrinsic motivation), and L2
speaking, listening, and vocabulary skills. I have
not yet come across any L2 literature that posits
particular factors that may improve and maintain
OHDUQHUV·YROLWLRQ LHZLOOSRZHU LQ/OHDUQLQJ
All I know is what I learned from suggestions andanecdotal evidence from other teachers.

Where are we going, or where should we begoing, as a SIG?
Szabina Adamku - I think we should work towards
ways of developing learners' outside-class learning,in view of post-Covid-19 experiences anddevelopments.
Sakae Onoda - We should think about how tofoster autonomous learners in the online teaching
setting, where teachers can take less control over
VWXGHQWV·OHDUQLQJWKDQLQWUDGLWLRQDOIDFH-to-faceteaching. In such an environment, fosteringlearner autonomy becomes critical.

much care of learners, they may end up depriving
students of opportunities to learn autonomously.
What will the future of learner development mean
to you or the larger community?
Szabina Adamku - I think research and discussion
should break geographical boundaries and the
topic of LD should reach beyond research circles
and involve educators and learners.
Tim Cleminson - I want to help build a communityof educators who support each other in work andlife. I believe everybody is capable of amazing
work once they realise what their own puzzle is,but they need time to find it in the first place andthe support to help them meet the challenges it
presents.
Sakae Onoda - As I say above, learnerdevelopment will be my lifework as a teachingprofessional. The ideal language teacher is one
ZKRFDQJDXJHVWXGHQWV·LQWHUHVWVSURILFLHQF\levels, and needs and then create materials thatsuit them, instruct them to use effective learning
strategies, encourage them to study on their own,
and reflect on their learning outcomes. I believe
this may be the lifework of LD SIG members, too.

How is your interpretation of learnerdevelopment evolving?
Szabina Adamku - The Covid-19-triggered ERT has
brought about a paradigm shift from face-to-face
instruction to the incorporation of outside-classlearning practices into learners' development.
Sakae Onoda - I hope I understand this question
correctly. Tangible evidence of evolving learnerdevelopment comes from situations in whichteachers do not prepare a lot of materials and do
not have to teach much. This is a situation inwhich students think about what and how theyshould learn and study on their own with minimal
guidance or instruction from teachers. This point is
FRUURERUDWHGE\-RKQ)DQVHORZ·WHDFKLQJ
philosophy: the more teachers do, the lessstudents do, which means when teachers take too

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Learning Learning ʲָस͹ָसʳ 29(1) LOOKING BACK | ⫀⛙Creating Community:
Learning Together
7 December 12th 2-5 pm(Online)Many thanks to all those that took part,either by organizing or participating in theconference or by preparing your students to takepart. Overall, the conference was a success, which
would not have been possible without the hard
work and effort that all those considered put in!

Discussing Personal Stories
and Puzzles

Reflections on CCLT7This year's CCLT was all about sharing andreflection. It was a chance for students andteachers from different colleges and universities
to share personal stories and puzzles about living
and learning through the last 6 months. Smallgroup discussions were held in English. In eachgroup, an LD SIG member acted as a facilitator andhelped the students speak as much as possible.
There were also Breakout Room(s) for teachers
who wanted to share their personal stories andpuzzles with other teachers.
After the short introduction and welcome
the participants were asked to go into theirbreakout rooms for the first round of the
discussions. These breakout rooms were grouped
via a set theme and an LD SIG member facilitatedthe discussion within. In each session a presenter
introduced their puzzle, which the participants
then interactively discussed for around 20
minutes, before moving onto the next presenter
until all presenters had described their puzzle.
These sessions were followed by a 20-minute breakfor reflection and note-taking before moving into asecond round. For the second round of discussion
the students were mixed into random groups,
which were not facilitated by an LD SIGmember.
The students were able to discuss and share theiropinions freely for 40 minutes, before moving to a
10-minute break. After the break they were put
into groups for a collaborative reflection for 30
minutes. At the end of the conference,
participants were invited to contribute theirreflections to Learning Learning, which you canread here.

Sungyeon Kim, Miyazaki International College
CCLT was a fantastic opportunity for me. Becauseeven though it was online, I could feel the heatand huge aspiration and passion of many people inthe conference. We were divided into several
groups share our personal stories and there werepeople from many different countries such as
Korea, Vietnam, China and Japan. We shared ourexperiences, and our goals and challenges that we
did and made presentations together. My title was´<RXFDQGRLWEHFDXVH,FRXOGGRLWµ,ZDQWHGWR
tell and share how and why I came to Japan to
study English and it was such a big challenge in mylife. And this challenge changed my view and grewme up. So, I wanted to share how this challenge
brings connection in spite of our differences andnew changes in myself and also wanted to give
power and courage to challenge something byshowing my past to others.
%HIRUH,FDPHWR-DSDQ,·YHQHYHUWKRXJKW
about living in other countries. And I was a very
weak and timid person who has lots of fear.
Therefore it took a lot of time and trouble todecide to study abroad in Japan, but this decision
greatly changed me. I could meet many people
and learn their cultures and feel them bycommunicating. And I was able to grow myself
stronger. In this conference not only sharing mystories, but I also learned a lot while listening to
the stories of others. I felt like we are all different
people from different nationalities but we could
feel and sympathize with similar difficulties andchallenges. For example, one friend shared herstories that her goal was to go on a diet on
vacation, and she had a very hard time, and we
could understand her feelings and cheer her up. I
feel like I could become friends in a short time soⷵ剡劔ኤኀ኶ዊኴኾዐእ䪣䴅捷↩ <http://ld-sig.org>

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Learning Learning ʲָस͹ָसʳ 29(1) LOOKING BACK | ⫀⛙it was an amazing time for us to talk about ourown stories.

CCLT7 Reflections:
To be a better English speaker<XNL.LQRVKLWD2WVXPD:RPHQ·V8QLYHUVLW\I participated in CCLT7 with the questionof what we can do to improve our English speaking
skills. The reason is that I would like to improve
my English by facing my speaking skills. In CCLT7, I
learned many ways to improve them. In my
opinion, there are two main things that we should
do to be a better English speaker.
First, it is important for learners who want
to improve their speaking skills to be interested in
English and to be willing to learn English. This isbecause many university/college students canparticipate in activities to improve their speaking
skills in class and extracurricular activities, butthey are not taking full advantage of theiropportunities due to feeling they are not good atspeaking English. For example, when practicing
conversation in class, many students hesitate toexpress themselves because they have theirthoughts but are not confident in their English
expressions and pronunciation. I came tounderstand this through discussions with the 1st
student speaking group at the CCLT7. In my
opinion, I want learners to actively try to express
themselves in English without fear of making
mistakes. I don't think it's embarrassing to makemistakes in pronunciation, words, grammar, etc.
As we make a lot of mistakes, we will be able tospeak English better and better.
Second, when Japanese speak English inactual situations, it is important to keep in mind
the attitude of knowing and understanding theother person. It is natural for people to live withdifferent common sense and customs, and each
person has different values and ways of thinking.
This is because if each person lives in a different
place, the education he/she receives and theenvironment in which he/she live will change
significantly. Furthermore, I think it is very
important to respect the other person regardlessof which community they are from. I came tonotice again this through discussions with the 2nd
student speaking group at the CCLT7. By sharing
the values of each other and accepting the valuesof the other person through repeated exchanges,
it is possible to build a friendly relationship. And if
you deepen your way of thinking through them, I
think you can grow significantly as a person.
In conclusion, I learned through CCLT that
it is very important to be willing to learn English
and to speak English while trying to understandothers. After CCLT, I wanted to be able to speak
English fluently like everyone who participated,and my motivation for learning English increased.
Currently, I enjoy actively watching foreign movies
and the BBC. Also, in CCLT, I heard that not onlyclasses but also participating in English cafes run
mainly by students and taking TOEIC and TOEFL
are motivations for learning English. I want to try
them too. I am glad that I participated in CCLT
and was able to interact with wonderful members.
Thank you and everyone for giving me a wonderfulexperience.

Interesting online team activity tool´*RRJOH-DPERDUGµZKLFK,OHDUQHGDW
the 1st discussion group
Arisa Minami, 2WVXPD:RPHQ·V8QLYHUVLW\In the 1st group, I remember we discussed agood online study way which teachers and students
can connect online. Since we mainly focused on´(QJOLVK6SHDNLQJVNLOOµWKHWHDFKHU-DPHVDVNHG
us what kind of tool we use in online English´6SHDNLQJµFODVVHV There were three students
including me in my group. And one of them was astudent from a different university. And thestudent told us that she uses "Google Jamboard" inclass. She explained how to use the app briefly,
and the app looks convenient. I found it is good as
an online group discussion tool too. Because´*RRJOH-DPERDUGµLVVRPHWKLQJOLNHD
conventional whiteboard, but people (not only
students but also teachers) can write their ideas orcomments on Google Jamboard from everywhereat any time. I was curious but I didn't have a

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Learning Learning ʲָस͹ָसʳ 29(1) LOOKING BACK | ⫀⛙chance to know what kind of class style otheruniversity students take, so it was good to know.
And I felt it might be nice if my university
2WVXPD·V'HSDUWPHQWRI(QJOLVKFODVVHV ZRXOGtake in and use this idea too. Because when I tookSpeaking class last year, we used a whiteboard on
Zoom, but Google Jamboard has more convenient
IXQFWLRQVHVSHFLDOO\LQWHUPVRI´GHVLJQ YLVXDO µ
Google Jamboard can change the backgrounddesign, add images, and sticky notes. I feel it
makes our group work activities more interestingand enjoyable. I wish I could have met thestudents in my group, and discussed them inSHUVRQEXWLWFDQ·WEHKHOSHG,IZHPHHWQHZSHRSOHZHILQGQHZSHUVSHFWLYHV,I,GLGQ·WKDYH
a chance to talk with people from different
XQLYHUVLWLHV,ZRXOGQ WNQRZWKDWWKHUH·VDQRWKHU
effective way to discuss with classmates online.
:HGRQ·WJHWWKLVNLQGRIRSSRUWXQLW\WRPHHWDQG
talk to people from different countries,
universities, and faculties in English every day. So I
feel I was lucky to have this opportunity. Thankyou.

What I Thought after Joining CCLT7
Kaori Moriizumi, Komazawa University
It was my first time participating in CCLT. I
did not know much about CCLT, so I was worried
about how the conference would work before it
began. In addition, my concern was discussing
certain topics in English because I am not used to
explaining what I consider in English. At the sametime, I have never engaged in such a conference
before; I was excited as well.
In the first group, the topic was education andmethod. The other students were older than me
and they had a lot of knowledge, so I learned alot. When I shared my idea of my graduation
thesis, one of the students, who was from China,
told me that my idea was related to social
FRQWH[W,UHDOL]HGWKDWWKHZRUGV´VRFLDOFRQWH[WµZRXOGEHRQHRIWKHNH\ZRUGVIRUP\
graduation thesis. After that, we talked about why
many Japanese people do not have muchconfidence in speaking English, and what standardⷵ剡劔ኤኀ኶ዊኴኾዐእ䪣䴅捷↩ <http://ld-sig.org>

English is. Honestly, I like speaking English, but
GRQ·WKDYHPXFKFRQILGHQFHLQVSHDNLQJ(QJOLVK
so I believed that I am a typical Japanese person. I
had just learned in my seminar about social
GLDOHFWVVRWKHFRQWHQW´ZKDWVWDQGDUG(QJOLVKLVµ
was interesting. When I considered standard
English, it was very difficult to answer because
everybody has their own accent when they speak
English regardless of their first language even
WKRXJKZHVD\´$PHULFDQ(QJOLVKµRU´%ULWLVK(QJOLVKµ
In the second group, we shared ideas that I
learned in the first group. Also, we talked aboutcharacteristics of English classes in each
university, which was also interesting. We had alively conversation about some problems in English
FODVVHVOLNHVRPHVWXGHQWVGRQ·WWU\ to use English
and they use Japanese a lot. Particularly, many
students talk in Japanese in a break-out room
during online classes. Several reasons why they dothat could be considered. For example, somestudents are not enthusiastic about speaking
English. Other students do not have muchconfidence in their English skill. In addition, eventhough a couple of students would like to talk in
English the atmosphere of the group dissuades
them from trying. In my case, as I mentioned I likeusing English, but I often hesitate to speak English
among Japanese members who speak English as L2
and are in the same situation in terms of growing
up in Japan because I feel that my English as L2
would be judged by them. That means that it ismuch more comfortable for me to talk with native
speakers in English. We know that we should notthink about mistakes in theory, but most Japanesecare about them in practice. As a result, theyGHYHORSWKHSHUFHSWLRQWKDW´WKH\FDQQRWVSHDN(QJOLVKµ
In the first group, their level was high, andthey used various sophisticated expressions, so I
UHDOL]HG,GLGQ·WKDYHPXFKNQRZOHGJHDQG,ZDV
nervous a bit. At the same time, that inspired me,
and I had a great time among them. In the second
group, our age was close, and I could talk aboutfamiliar topics in English more comfortably.
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Learning Learning ʲָस͹ָसʳ 29(1) LOOKING BACK | ⫀⛙with other university students in English, so I wasvery glad of this opportunity.

Reflection of CCLT7
Makoto Namiki, Keisen University Graduate
School´+RZZHVKRXOGDGRSWWKHFXUUHQWZRUOGDQG
KDYHDEHWWHUOLIHµ7KLVLVWKHPDLQFRQWHQWZKLFKI learnt from CCLT7 held on 12th December 2021.
Before the conference, I could not have imagined I
would have this huge idea because the topic I
chose was mainly about English learning,
especially varieties of English including Japlish.
Through group discussion in the first round andanother discussion, I noticed everybody had
completely different topics to introduce, however,once we talked about them with our own words
and ideas, we were able to find some similar
points and ideas. Also, we could get many newideas to think about our own topics and they
helped to widen our sights. In this paper, I would
like to write what we talked about and what I
learnt from group discussions and this conference
especially focusing on my topic.
0\JURXS·VPDLQWRSLFZDV´(GXFDWLRQDQG
/HDUQLQJ0HWKRGµ:HWDONHGDERXWRXUODQJXDJH
learnings and struggles, learning style anddiversity and varieties of languages. My main topic
was about English learning and education,
especially focusing on how we have confidence in
our English and Japlish. As I learnt some theories
such as English as an international language andEnglish as Lingua Franca, I started wondering why
many Japanese do not have confidence in our
English. Also, I read that it is said that there areabout 1.3 billion people who use English and this isthe biggest population of all languages in 2021.
Approximately 370 million people are Native
English speakers and approximately 898 million are
Non-native English speakers but they use English as
their second language in the world (Encore!!!,2021). The number of people who speak English as
foreign language brings English as a world
language. According to Nagai (2015, p. 37), if we
see only the population of the mother language,

English is the third largest population in the world
and there is a larger population of speakers ofChinese and Spanish (Nagai, 2015, translated).
Also, Ono (2020, p.1) showed in her thesis that if
we have skills to communicate in English, it ispossible to communicate with one-fifth of people
in the world (Ono, 2020, translated). From thesefacts, I believe there is no one standard English
and we should respect many kinds of English.
However, we mainly learn American English at
Japanese schools and many people believe-DSDQHVH·(QJOLVKLVQRWJRRGEHFDXVHZHGRQRW
pronounce or use English as Native English
speakers. Then many people have troubles withlearning and using English. On the other hand, I
think Japanese English education has an advantage
because mainly, students learn English fromJapanese English teachers. Classrooms can be theplaces where students learn varieties of English
such as English as a Lingua Franca environment,
and Japanese English teachers can be models forstudents as non-Native English speakers. However,I think the way of teaching might be the problem.
Torikai (2011, p. 140) mentioned Japanese future
English education like this in her booN´,QIXWXUH
English education in Japan, we have to understandthat understanding American or British culture is
not the main aim. Also, using English like native(QJOLVKVSHDNHUVLVQRWQHFHVVDU\µ 7RULNDL
translated). I agree with this idea that if teachers
tell or give some experiences to their students
that they feel our English-Japlish is one of thevarieties. This book was published about 11 years
ago, however, I still feel that many JapaneseEnglish learners feel American or British English,
especially white people's, is the best. If students
have more opportunities to know or learn about
varieties of English, then students might haveconfidence in their English. For example, Ng(2018, pp.3-15) who teaches English with his
Singaporean English at Japanese University andwas complained by his students about his English
explained his teaching experiences in Japan and
VWXGHQW·VUHYLHZLQDERRN+HXVHGYLGHRVRI
students from China, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kongand Malaysia debating in their English to help his
Japanese students to have a positive attitude

Newsletter of the JALT Learner Development SIG <http://ld-sig.org>

24

Learning Learning ʲָस͹ָसʳ 29(1) LOOKING BACK | ⫀⛙towards their Japanese-accented English. Then,
one of his students commented in his journal in
WKLVZD\´,DPD-DSDQHVHVR,VKRXOGWU\WR
VSHDN´-DSDQHVH(QJOLVKµWRH[SUHVVP\VHOIZLWKconfLGHQFHµ 1JSS-12).
In our discussion, we found that even in Japan small island, have language hierarchy such as
Japanese spoken in Tokyo is standard and thebest, other Japanese with some regional accents(dialects/ Hogen /᪉ゝ) are not good as standard
Japanese. However, if people find there is no one
standard language in this globalized world, theway of language learning in Japan might change
positively.
Also, one of our members asked about using AI
translation machines such as Google translate or
DeepL. We all agreed that the machine translated
versions are really easy to understand, but thatthey don't reflect the speakers' own words. When
we communicate with others, we should focus on
sharing our feelings with others, and not dependon machine translations because we are afraid ofmaking grammar mistakes. On the other hand, we
also agreed that their sentences are not our own
words and when we make communication withpeople, we should use our words to tell our
feelings, not mechanical words. This was very
interesting because many people including myself
always worry about our English mistakes but weare thinking using our own English is more
important. Machine translated English might be
one of the varieties of English as well but I think
our opinions through the discussion meant
everybody in my group was sure that adapting andunderstanding the varieties is the key to develop
our (English) communication skills.
In the second round, it was interesting because
we had to explain well what we talked about inthe first round because each group had completely
different topics but at the same time, we foundsome similar points while we were making our
mind map. One student talked about international
food and with that perspective, she learnt there
are many lifestyles in the world and we can learn
about the world even though we cannot go there
through online materials. Another student saidⷵ剡劔ኤኀ኶ዊኴኾዐእ䪣䴅捷↩ <http://ld-sig.org>

that she talked about how to keep our positivemind with this COVID-19 situation. For example,
some students learnt the importance of listening
to other people through their online studying
abroad experience. They gave up traveling toother countries but could get new friends throughonline learning and felt they were not alone. Thatexperiences keep their minds positive andmotivate them to learn. From these talks, I learnt
that knowing and trying to understand that people
have different ideas and values and we cannot
give superiority or inferiority. This is one of thekeys to adopt the current world and make a betterlife.
In conclusion, I strongly felt that we cancommunicate easily with our own English. I think
many of us made many English mistakes but
nobody cared because we tried to understand it
and more than anything, we learnt varieties and
GLYHUVLW\)RUP\PDLQWKHPH´+RZZHVKRXOGDGRSWWKHFXUUHQWZRUOGDQGKDYHDEHWWHUOLIHµ,am confident to answer in this way; sharing our
thinking and feeling with other people andknowing many people have many ideas to makeour society and life better. The CCLT conference
gave me this opportunity and for my topic for thisconference, English varieties, I am more confident
to say that not only English but also in many
categories, varieties are important.
Lastly, I would like to say a big thank you to all thefacilitators (teachers) who organised thiswonderful conference for us students and making
connections, especially Professor Andy Barfield
who led our group discussion and made a warm
atmosphere for us to talk freely, and Professor
James Underwood who help my writing this review
and gave me a lot of advice. I am sure thisexperience will give me more confidence in myfuture studying.
References
What is the most spoken language in the world in
2021. Encore!!! (2021, May 7). Retrieved January
22, 2022, from https://gurmentor.com/what-isthe-most-spoken-language-in-the-world/

25

Learning Learning ʲָस͹ָसʳ 29(1) LOOKING BACK | ⫀⛙Houghton, S. A., & Hashimoto, K. (2018). Towards
post-native-speakerism: Dynamics and shifts.
Springer. - Chapter 1 Ng, P.C.L., Overcoming
Institutional Native Speakerism:The Experience of
One Teacher.
Ọ஭ᛅᏕ. (2015). ⱥㄒࡢᐖẘ. ᪂₻♫. (Nagai, T.
(2015). Eigo No Gaidoku. Shinchosha. )ᑠ㔝ᑦ⨾. (2020). World Englishes ᫬௦ࢆ⏕ࡁᢤࡃ㸸᪥ᮏࡢⱥㄒᏛ⩦⪅ࡀ┠ᣦࡍⱥㄒࢥ࣑ࣗࢽࢣ࣮ࢩ
ࣙࣥ⬟ຊ. ᡂ㋣኱ᏛᩥᏛ㒊⣖せ, 55, 1²21.
Retrieved on March 26, 2022
http://54.64.109.41/dspace/bitstream/10928/127
0/1/bungaku-55_1-21.pdf(Ono, N. (2020).World Englishes jidaiwo ikinuku:
Nihonno eigo gakusyushagamezasu eigo
comyunikeshion nouryoku)㫽㣫⋪⨾Ꮚ. (2011). ᅜ㝿
ඹ㏻ㄒ࡜ࡋ࡚ࡢⱥㄒ. ㅮㄯ♫⌧௦᪂᭩. (Torikai, K.
(2011). Kokusai Kyotsugo toshiteno eigo.)

Reflection of CCLT7
Saki Ogawa, Otsuma :RPHQ·V8QLYHUVLW\CCLT was very meaningful for me because I
could talk about changing lifestyles in English at
the 1st group discussion with a teacher.
There were many thoughts about lifestyles
due to coronavirus. As I expected, 2 students werebored because we cannot go on a trip. On theother hand, other students enjoy spending muchtime at their house. Many lessons' styles changed
on-demand and on Zoom so I guess many students
GRQ·WQHHGWRJRWRWKHLUXQLYHUVLW\7KDWPHDQVZHGRQ·WVSHQGWLPHJHWWLQg on the train. We had
more free time, compared to face-to-face lessons.
One of my group members, who answered that she
enjoys spending much time at her house, talked
about enjoying reading books and watchingmovies. After I listened to their stories, I thoughtthat it's important to find a way to enjoy the
online lessons more. For example, I can see all
VWXGHQW·VIDFHVDQGWDONZLWKPDQ\RIWKHPLQDlesson on Zoom, compared to face-to-facelessons. In addition, I guess that online lessons
make many people improve their PC skills andclean their room because other people may see itthrough Zoom. Many people tend to think that

coronavirus makes them troubled or bored. Butchanging the thoughts into positive ones leads to a
happy life. I'm trying to think not negative things
but positive ones.
In addition, students from Korea and China
have influenced me. They can speak not only
Korean or Chinese but also Japanese and English. I
respect them. I'm spending a lot of time justspeaking English well. But I should learn English
more and try other languages.
This is a part of my memories about CCLT.

Learning various experiences andsharing similar feelings throughinteraction with students of different
backgrounds in CCLT
Izumi Sekiguchi, Otsuma :RPHQ·V8QLYHUVLW\
About the 1st student speaking group (withteacher)
In our group, we had many international
students from Korea, Vietnam, China and Japan,
so we could talk about a wider topic and learn
from more various points of view than I expected.
For example, I prepared the discussion topic about
what are the interesting reasons for you to visit
and experience different cultures before CCLT.
When we introduced each other in the group, I
found many of our group members wereexperiencing different cultural aspects in Japan
exactly at that moment, so we could actively
discuss the good points and difficulties of living indifferent cultures mainly based on their actual
experiences in Japan. I could also ask the groupmembers about foods in their countries. I just took
a class about Asian culture at college before
joining CCLT and got interested in Asian foodculture and local dishes, so they explained about
their favorite foods in their countries and theirfeatures of them. It was such a great opportunity
to learn about new things directly from people
from the country.
(YHU\RQHLQRXUJURXSZDVQ·WQDWLYH(QJOLVKspeaker, so we encouraged each other to sharepersonal experiences and stories. One of ourmembers said to the other member who didn't

Newsletter of the JALT Learner Development SIG <http://ld-sig.org>

26

Learning Learning ʲָस͹ָसʳ 29(1) LOOKING BACK | ⫀⛙have coQILGHQFHLQKHU(QJOLVK´7KDW VRNWKDW·V
ZK\\RXDUHKHUHµ,·YHVRLPSUHVVHGE\WKDWZRUG
and totally agreed with him. It was such an
enjoyable time that I could experience
understanding different cultures in that group.

me. They have various reasons for attending, but I
felt they all had motivation for studying English
and communicating with various people, so I could
communicate with them very comfortably thewhole time.

About the 2nd student group (no teacher)In this session, we started by sharing our
background and why we decided to join CCLT. We
were soon able to open up to each other, so we
could build a good relationship for discussing andworking together to make a presentation. We
announced that we could spend time and create
slides as we liked, so we decided to create apresentation whose main topic was´JOREDOL]DWLRQµZKLFKZDVWKHFRPPRQXQGHUO\LQJ
feature of each 1st round group's discussion that
we found through the discussion in that round. At
first, as we all came from different groups thateach discussed diversity, English learning
environment, and experience abroad, we
wondered what was the best way to make one
presentation from three different topics. However,for deciding our presentation topic we consciously
had a chance for each of us to express equallywhat we found and wondered about each topic,
based on each reflection from the 1st round, andthe other member responded to the idea andconsidered the ideas together. Also sharing eachlife under the Covid-19 situation that our college
lives were restricted, including fewer options for
the English learning environment, experiencing
new cultures, or interacting with various people inperson was an important process.Through these
GLVFXVVLRQVZHIRXQGWKHZRUG´JOREDOL]DWLRQµ
and then we discussed more deeply both good andbad aspects of globalization. Thanks to theseaggressive activities, we could make apresentation smoothly and creatively. It was areally interesting and stimulating time for me.

What you decided to do about your English
learning after CCLT
After CCLT, I could get more motivation forlearning English, and I got a lot of inspiration frompeople in the CCLT like I should be more active
and try more new things for interacting withvarious new people. The whole time of the CCLT
was so exciting because I could communicate a lot
with motivated English learners. Then, I realizedagain that I love to communicate with various
people in English, learn new things or perspectives
and build friendly relationships throughconversations. Therefore, I could recognize againthat the purpose for learning English for me is tohave more opportunities and have a more exciting
life.

What topics, and interesting discussion
For me, talking about why we decided tojoin the CCLT was most interesting andstimulating. In both 1st and 2nd speaking groups,
almost everyone came from different colleges to

CCLT7 Reflection
Ririka Takami, 2WVXPD:RPHQ·V8QLYHUVLW\
I learned in CCLT that I can make friends
with many people who have different cultures byknowing cultures which I never knew. This culture
contains country, prefecture, gender, values andVRRQ,·PIURP0L\D]DNLCLW\DQGQRZ,·POLYLQJLQ
Tokyo because my university is located in Tokyo.
Miyazaki is far from Tokyo and has a different
culture from the big city. So when I was talking
about my hometown to my college friends who arefrom urban cities, they were surprised by some
topics. For example, food and fashion. These two
topics exist every time so I feel that I must know
about them. Fashion culture impresses me because
when I belong to a women's college in Tokyo, I
have many opportunities to feel the aesthetic
sense of women. I sometimes feel anxious about
the difference between my hometown dialect andTokyo dialect. However, I learned that thisconcern is also necessary for interacting. By
listening about some cultures, I could have fun andⷵ剡劔ኤኀ኶ዊኴኾዐእ䪣䴅捷↩ <http://ld-sig.org>

27

Learning Learning ʲָस͹ָसʳ 29(1) LOOKING BACK | ⫀⛙study about methods of communication.
Communication is important for our growth. So
CCLT was a very meaningful time for me.
Even I feel that the difference is the barrierof communication between people. Everytime I
find the same conversation point, both I and otherpeople and I talk about the same point, forexample our birthplace. Although we havedifferent cultures as CCLT group members, wewere able to enjoy talking with each other.
Learning about different cultures could give me
new knowledge. For instance, The members of thefirst group came from different countries.
Members were from Vietnam, South Korea, China
and Japan. I was able to listen to some countries'
food. One Japanese student said "I have eaten
summer rolls". This food came from Vietnam so wewere talking about Vietnamese food at that time.
There was a Vietnamese student. He said that
Vietnamese food eaten in his homeland andVietnamese food eaten in Japan have different
tastes. From this experience, I found that knowing
what I did not know was a lot of fun and a catalyst
for curiosity about others. In my first group, I
could learn it.
However, when we discover new knowledge,
sometimes we may have doubts about it. People
almost feel uncomfortable I think. Because wecreate stereotypes in our lives. This fixed concept
disturbs the communication of people fromdifferent cultures. I was in trouble. However, I wasable to understand the importance of different
cultures in the second group. Second groupmembers have different birthplaces and we belong
to different colleges. One student belongs to auniversity which is located in Miyazaki City, andanother student belongs to a university which islocated in Tama City, Tokyo. For the first time, we
could not throw off reserve. But we could speak
about ourselves by talking for a long time. If weunderstand completely, we have to retain posture.
That's why we can make the first step offriendship. So I found that people must talk for along time. I don't know exactly how many minutes
to speak. However, I felt through the exchangethat if I made an attitude to understand eachother, I would have a longer discussion. For that
purpose I will study English more.
Throughout this CCLT experience, I could
find the true reason why I learn English. In order
to communicate with many people and understandvarious values. From now on, I will try to talk withmy university friends deeply. Perhaps I don't know
my friends well because we didn't talk for a longtime. Effect of COVID-19 is an obstacle between
students' communication I think. So I rethink myrelationship with present friends. I consider
finding the difference creates a new dimension fora person. Also, I want to show my new aspect bysharing something different from other people.
Actually, I could talk about my favorite part of myhometown and I was able to tell that I like cities
like Tokyo but I also like the countryside like myhometown. It is a new challenge for me and I'm alittle scared. However, I think that new values canbe created only by overcoming this fear. So I will
try it. CCLT gave me a chance to rethink my way
of interacting

Reflection: CCLT 7
Huiyan Zheng, Miyazaki International College´7LPHDQGDWWHQWLRQLVWKHEHVWJLIWµ7KLV
was the opening message for the event, and I
really like it. Born in a society filled with theoverconsumption of symbols and goods, free timeand attention are the true scarcity with
irreplaceable value. This form of giving is the mostworthwhile return for another giver, it isreciprocal. Therefore, it is very nice to have this
NLQGRIWDONFRPELQLQJVRPDQ\SHRSOH·V
contributions, especially given the background ofsuch a stress-inducing pandemic.
The first round and second round of group
discussions were mainly on the topics of challenges
in standard English teaching and learning. During
these exchanges, I came to be more and more
confused about the role of language and how it
was being used. Is language itself an element for
identity building? Is language originally, borrowing
from the concepts from Pierre Bourdieu, in theend cultural capital, symbolic capital, social

Newsletter of the JALT Learner Development SIG <http://ld-sig.org>

28

Learning Learning ʲָस͹ָसʳ 29(1) LOOKING BACK | ⫀⛙capital, and financial capital? Across the different
learning environments I have studied in there is atension. On one side we are praising the diversityof English or culture, and on the other, we lookdown on non-standard language users or nonmainstream cultures. At this level language itself
can be viewed as an element for identity crisis orbuilding dominance over another speaker.
The processes described in the work of
Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw happen not
only in a native language context but also insecond language learning and teaching. For
example, the idea that language is a game withthe fallacy called either A or B, either correct or
not - the world of antonym sets. The correct
choice is always judged and made by authority.
The other side of correct is incorrect which should
be looked down on or punished by those who havethe authority to decide the rules ofcommunication, the rulers. In this way, rulers cansolidify their power to control the majority.
Recalling my language learning experience,
what has frustrated my learning is not criticism
from native speakers but attempted depreciation
by non-native speakers. So-FDOOHG´IHHGEDFNµIURP
my classmates and teachers, like I use improper
grammar, that my pronunciation is never native
enough and my spelling is incorrect, have beenpart and parcel of my language learning. It makes
me question if it is a kind feedback or it is adualist learning environment in which the powerKROGHUVEXLOG´ULJKWµDQG´ZURQJµDVDZD\RI
strengthening their hold on power. However,during conversation with native English speakers, I
always receive positive feedback. At the sametime, native speakers make mistakes in theirnative language as well, just as we do, since it ishard to maintain accuracy and fluency
simultaneously.
The amazing thing about language is thepower of co-creation. The gap between
communication is where creative tension emerges
and thrives. Tim stressed that CCLT is about
having conversations rather than making
presentations, which reminds me of Hellenistic
teaching. Conversation is dialogic, the interactionⷵ剡劔ኤኀ኶ዊኴኾዐእ䪣䴅捷↩ <http://ld-sig.org>

between at least two participants, similar to theform of an echo. However, presentations are oftenmonologic, they build the singular authority that
greatly weakens the effectiveness of realexchange of ideas. Co-creation requires acomparatively equal position to reconfirm or
rediscover a certain topic through dialogue. From
this CCLT, I was able to learn the invaluable roleof talk as a process in learning and identity
formation.

Online LD SIG Get-together Report
Tim Ashwell, Ken Ikeda, and James Underwood
For 2022 we aim to build on the groundwork
laid in the previous years of the online gettogethers. One advantage of having the gettogethers online is that more people can attend
due to the get-togethers not being constrained
geographically; one disadvantage is that people
are more easily able to drop in and out andkeeping consistency in attending members
between each becomes a problem. Although it isgreat to see new faces, we all agreed that it
sometimes felt that we were caught in limbo andnot progressing to the next stage, where after the
introductions and catching up, we collaborated ona shared theme that would help us to develop
further as teachers. After a few meetings together
between us the organizers, Tim Ashwell came up
with the idea of reading groups, which we all
agreed would focus on the get-togethers and might
result in a publication, much like the CLiLD
project (https://ld-sig.org/collaborative-learningin-learner-development-clild/).
Before we get ahead of ourselves with talk of
possible publications at the end of the year, it iscertainly exciting to think about what is possible
when we utilize the full potential of the vibrant LD
SIG community. If you have not yet attended andare thinking of joining, please come along! If you
have attended before and wonder what we are up
to, you are always welcome. Here is what we havedone so far:

29

Learning Learning ʲָस͹ָसʳ 29(1) LOOKING BACK | ⫀⛙January 23
We started the year with a bang, and 11
members joined. Thank you to Szabina Adamku,
Anita Aden, Lee Arnold, Andy Barfield, Ellen Head,
Jenny Morgan, Jim Ronald, and Eileen Yap with asurprise attendance by a long-serving LD
SIGmember: Alison Stewart. At first, we split up
into smaller groups and went into breakout rooms
to catch up and meet new people. We then cameback into the main session and Tim Cleminson gave
an overview of the various LD SIGprojects for theyear (more details of which can be found here:<https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/114HU6UhaXDN8IEZdEEuGqbrbIU1NBD4R/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=104678131013580289685&rtpof=true&sd=tru
e>. Alison Stewart then announced her retirement
and that she was moving back to the UK in the
Spring, we all wished her the best of luck. After
that, we went back into breakout rooms to focus
on the upcoming LD SIGforums that will be at
JALTCALL (17-19 of June), PanSIG (8-10 July), andthe JALT International Conference (11-14
November) and share our ideas for these.
February 27
Ten of us met online on February 27th for
the LD SIG Get-together. Thank you to Andy
Barfield, Ellen Head, Emily Choong, Jenny Morgan,
Kayoko Horai, Lee Arnold, Sayaka Karlin andSzabina Adamku. In this meeting we discussed
possible topics that we could continue to explore
together in groups over the coming months. Below
is a link to the Google Doc we set up<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1afJg4dA5LBAlRah8HJDyYAr_g2Qbsa5UQM4O9w8iuM/ed
it?usp=sharing> which contains our initial thoughts
and interests.
March 27th 2022
$WWRGD\·VRQOLQH*HW-together we discussed
our learner development interests as we search forcommon themes around which we can form
discussion groups. The following people attended:
Andy Barfield, Cecilia Smith,Ellen Head,
Emily Choong, Ian Hurrell, Ken Ishida, SzabinaÁdámku, Tim Ashwell, Tim Cleminson (Jenny
Morgan sent her apologies).

Below are the notes people have written
about the meeting. For the next meeting on April
24th, we wondered whether we could help makeour LD interests more concrete for ourselves andothers if we prepared to do the following:
1. Share stories about students who have
LQIOXHQFHGXVLQVRPHZD\ ¶VLQJOHFDVHPRGHOV· DQGWKHVWRULHVVWXGHQWVKDYHWROG
about themselves that have triggered ourown development;
2. Share student work to illustrate the ways inwhich we have been affected and how thisconnects to our teaching practice;
3. Share examples of our own teachingmaterials which again exemplify our
teaching approaches and attempts tofacilitate LD;
4. And, arising from 1-3, share our questions,puzzles, and knots regarding our future
practice as we implement LD practices.
:HPD\DOVRWU\RXW¶UHIOHFWLYH
dialRJXH·GLVFLSOLQHGOLVWHQLQJLQEUHDN-out groups
as we attempt to clarify puzzles for ourselves andothers. For more information see here:<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1afJg4dA5LBAlRah8HJDyYAr_g2Qbsa5UQM4O9w8iuM/ed
it?usp=sharing>Dates for the next online
Online LD SIG Get-togethers(All Sundays, from 14:30-17:00)
x

April 24th,x

May 29th,xJune 26th,x

September 25th,x

October 23rd,x

November 27th

Around 2 weeks before each get-together areminder will be sent, so please keep an eye on
your inbox.

Newsletter of the JALT Learner Development SIG <http://ld-sig.org>30