Learning Learning 『学習の学習』 25 (2): Dedication: Naoko Aoki

DEDICATION | 賛辞
Remembering Naoko Aoki Together
On the morning of 11 July, we received the shocking and sad news that
Naoko Aoki, a co-founder of the SIG and a long-time friend to many of us,
had passed away on 8 July and that a small group of family, former
students, and friends held a private farewell ceremony for her. Naoko wasgone.
The remembrances that we share here come from colleagues andfriends here in Japan and around the world collected in the weeks that
followed. Now in November as we finish editing this issue of Learning
Learning it remains difficult for me to imagine not being able to share atable and a strong coffee with her. I hope that our collective memories of
Naoko – with a silk scarf ‘round her neck, an impish grin, a serious
question, and always a ready laugh – will help readers to join in honoring her memory, and seek out her
writings as we continue our learning journeys together. Hugh Nicoll

My heart cries love for how much Naoko supported learning as teachers and learners. I met Naoko
mostly in Japan or Hong Kong, without a scarf unlike Hugh, then the serious question came, so I knew what
to do if she gave me the huge-smile. I do not know how else to explain this, but she guided me when I was
suddenly without my mentor. Last night not knowing of Naoko’s passing, I bought all six books of theJapanese kanji drill test books for primary students to get better at writing Japanese because I kept onthinking I was missing something. An immaculate professor can impact. Naoko got me! We need Naoko’s
huge-smile, inquiry, then laughter for learning teaching moments for learners’ self-efficacy and agency.
The learning world is a better because of Naoko! I will emulate this connection between learning andteaching. Thank you Naoko! Stacey Vye

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Learning Learning 『学習の学習』 25 (2): Dedication: Naoko Aoki
I first met Naoko at an autonomy conference in UTS, Hong Kong as a PhD student. It was my first
conference, and my first presentation. During that conference, Naoko was sitting at a table outside, having
a coffee and had streams of people sitting down to have a chat. I sat down for a chat, and she gave me somuch support and feedback. I thought I had given the worst presentation ever, but Naoko just told me topick myself up and look ahead. And some years later, I was really fortunate enough to have worked with
her as co-convenor and co-editor. She was forever patient, insightful, generous, and I really appreciated
how she created spaces and opportunities to support younger researchers. A huge thank you, Naoko. Alice(Chik)
I’m very shocked and saddened to hear this news. Naoko did so much to advance the awareness oflearner autonomy in Japan and beyond. She was always very supportive of me, as a young researcher inthis area. She was both bubbly and calm, down-to-earth and gracious. Sara, Garold and I invited her to bea keynote speaker when we organised the ‘Exploring Theory, Enhancing Practice: Autonomy across theDisciplines’ conference in 2007. It was wonderful working with her for that event and her presentation was
inspirational. Lucy Cooker

I was so very sad to hear of Naoko’s passing. I had got to know her through meetings at IATEFL andworked with her in the context of the AILA ReN. I remember her as being so kind and positive. Her
knowledge of the field of autonomy (and beyond) was expansive and she was generous in sharing her
insights with others and offering support where needed. She never made you feel like you didn’t know
something (which I very often did not!). Instead, she had a wonderful way of including you, valuing yourcontribution, and making you feel welcome. She has made a huge impact on the field and has inspired
many scholars and teachers. She will be very sorely missed. Sarah Cotterall
Like everyone else, I was shocked to hear of Naoko’s passing. I first met her in 1994, at the first Hong
Kong conference on learner autonomy – we got to know each other doing pair work at one of theworkshops. Fairly soon after that she embarked on a Ph.D. under my supervision. We mostly communicatedvia email, but every summer Naoko came to Dublin for a week or two of intensive discussion. She usually
stayed with us, encouraging our son in his passion for first-generation Pokémon; her Thai curry wasNewsletter of the JALT Learner Development SIG <http://ld-sig.org/>

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Learning Learning 『学習の学習』 25 (2): Dedication: Naoko Aoki
something we always looked forward to. Others have talked about Naoko’s lively calm, and I know what
they mean. But I shall never forget the gasp of astonishment prompted by her discovery of a feminist tract
on my bookshelves, and the disbelief with which she shrieked: “Have you read that?” (As a matter of fact, Ihad.) It’s a privilege to have known Naoko. She was always good company, rarely predictable, andinvariably challenging. May she rest in peace. David Little

My last meeting with Naoko was at the Nordic Autonomy Workshop in Helsinki last August. Like so manyof us, I remember her lovely warm smile and the big hug she gave me when we met and when we parted. I
will always cherish the last smile, the last hug in Helsinki, on a cool and windy day in August. I was always
inspired by her research, by the courage and skill she showed when writing her wonderful stories. She wasone of the early narrative researchers in the learner autonomy field and she was fantastically insightful andinspiring, and also exceptionally creative. As a practitioner-researcher I always felt she gave me courage topursue on my chosen road. She herself was a writer who took risks and brought joy to her readers. Naoko’spresent for me when we met in Nordic Autonomy Workshop in Bergen in 2009 was a beautiful kaleidoscope:
Naoko, we can still meet when my hand turns the kaleidoscope. I will miss you. Leena Karlsson

This was truly terrible news. Naoko was there
throughout my own career in autonomy and it’s hard to
imagine the community without her. I too first met her atthe 1994 autonomy conference in Hong Kong where I
tentatively gave my first presentation of the Helsinki
autonomy model (ALMS). Naoko and I started chatting on
a balcony on the beautiful HKUST campus overlooking
Clear Water Bay and this was followed by many wonderful
encounters at conferences all over the world, not least in
Helsinki last summer at the 13th workshop of the Nordic
Autonomy Group. Naoko then was as warm, bright andalive as ever. Her own work was always brilliant andinspiring and she offered incredible support to students,
researchers and teachers alike. I will never forget her
and feel fortunate to have known her as a friend andcolleague. Flis Kjisik

I was shocked and saddened to learn about Naoko’s
passing. I am deeply grateful to Naoko for her pioneering
work to promote learner autonomy in Japan. Through her
numerous contributions, she facilitated the efforts of
those of us who followed. I am especially grateful for theopportunities she created for my colleagues and I to haveour research published in the Japanese language. Her
death is a great loss for the learner autonomy community
in Japan and beyond. Garold Murray

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Learning Learning 『学習の学習』 25 (2): Dedication: Naoko Aoki
I first met Naoko in person in Brisbane, at the AILA World Congress 2014. Together with Hugh, she hadorganized the “autonomy party” in a Greek restaurant near the conference venue. She smiled and laughedand she welcomed me, as if we already knew each other. I will never forget it. Before this first meeting, I
was already inspired by her work. Her chapter “Affect and the role of teacher in the development oflearner autonomy” was for me a milestone and gave me the courage to address this topic in language
advising. I also treasure her “Can do statements for advisors”, read and read them again and let me inspire
for my advising practice.
Last time I met her was at the Nordic Autonomy Workshop in Helsinki, August 2017. As always, she was awonderful, magic presence, like a good fairy she had the right piece of advice for me, struggling with how
to motivate teachers to more autonomy. Her modesty, her brightness, her warmth and friendliness will bein my heart. Thank you, Naoko! Giovanna Tassinari

The news came so unexpectedly that I am still shocked and struggling to put together my thoughts
three days after I learned of Naoko's passing. I have to admit that I was not familiar with the concept oflearner autonomy when I agreed to be the 'English learner liaison' for a new newsletter called Learning
Learning (Richard invited me to get involved). I still remember the excitement I felt when its first issue
came out in 1994 mostly thanks to the joint coordinators' passion permeated in those pages. I also
remember how I loved it when Naoko quickly switched from Japanese to English (because she "could only
say that in English") at a conference in Tokyo (in 1994 or 1995?) to say, “We’re very proud of it [thebilingual newsletter].” I thought that was so charming! Since I sort of 'vanished' from Japan a few years
later and was out of touch, it was a nice surprise when Naoko contacted me about a book chapter totranslate after I returned to Japan. This time, I had the privilege of closely working with her and learned somuch - not only about the subject matter but also about scholarly sincerity and passion. Last time I met
Naoko was at a post-conference party in Nagoya in 2011. Although we had only seen each othersporadically over the years, I felt a sense of camaraderie that night, and I really appreciated it. Thank you,
Aoki-san. You will be sorely missed. Tomoko Ikeda
I first met Naoko in a crowded room at a party at the JALT
conference – probably in 1992 in Omiya. She was talking to a very tall
Englishman, maybe Tim Knowles, glass of wine in one hand, cigarette inanother, holding her own in a very animated fashion. I joined theconversation and started to argue with her myself, asserting the rights
of Japanese language learners to learn in Roman alphabet not inJapanese syllabary. We both stuck to our positions but I could see she
was at once a formidable intellectual opponent and very interested,
like I was, in language learners’ own perspectives.
(That’s how it began, then – our twenty-five years of off-and-on
collaboration – and that’s how it continued, full of radical challenge andfriendly argument but strong commitment to a common cause. At least
that’s how it was in the first three to four years I knew her, before wewent in different, though sometimes still-joining-up ways.)
In the same year, 1992, with Trevor Hughes Parry I started anewsletter for learners of Japanese in Japan (Learner to Learner) and,along with some other teachers of Japanese – Tomoko Ikeda included –Newsletter of the JALT Learner Development SIG <http://ld-sig.org/>

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Learning Learning 『学習の学習』 25 (2): Dedication: Naoko Aoki
Naoko kept in touch about it, but we only really started to collaborate very intensively in about 1993, when
I shared the idea with her of forming a new JALT ‘Learner Development’ SIG which would provide a home
for Learner to Learner, and both formalize and take further the connections that we’d been developing
between our selves as reflective learners and as teachers of different languages. Naoko agreed tocoordinate the SIG with me and from the outset we set about ‘doing things differently’, for example byhaving bilingual meetings and newsletters, and ensuring there were joint Japanese and non-Japanese SIG
committee members for every position (JALT was at the time a very English- and Anglo-dominantorganisation). We valued trust and consensus over bureaucracy and we had some great local get-togethers,
conference panels and lively parties. We were riding on the crest of a wave of new thinking, bringing
together all sorts of people with different backgrounds and interests and influences, but all with a sharedcommitment within the broad field of what we were calling ‘learner development’.
At the same time, we were beginning to make connections internationally, firstly in 1994 at a large
conference on learner autonomy that Naoko and I attended in Hong Kong, which led to an invitation to the1995 Nordic workshop in Denmark. We felt we were outsiders in Copenhagen, coming from Asia, and feeling
uncomfortable with a certain rather cold rationality and irritation among participants that we sensed on
the first day. We spent all night talking in Peter Voller’s room, all three of us feeling hurt, and trying toclarify to one another what we saw as our more humanistic, affective, even ‘Asian’ approach. Our not very
sober consensus was that we would assert ourselves by ‘taking over’ the workshop the next day andintroducing a more affective, ludic dimension, which Naoko proceeded to do by jettisoning her own
planned presentation (she was the first on the programme in the morning) and facilitating the threeworkshop activities we had planned in the early hours: (1) forming groups according to colour of one’s
underwear; (2) trust exercises involving holding a partner’s head (thus, I got to know Ema Ushioda); and (3)walking like a member of the opposite sex (David Little performed this task with particular aplomb). This
all broke the Copenhagen ice admirably and we were even invited back to subsequent workshops. Naoko
had well and truly arrived on the international autonomy scene and she went on to do her PhD with David,
while I’ve been Ema’s colleague for 15 years now. It’s good to hear that Naoko was meeting friends at theNordic workshops right up until recently.
I’ve probably lingered over this particular, perhaps rather childish memory because it seems to me atime when we were closely on the same wavelength – or perhaps because it was even the last time wewere so completely on the same wavelength. We carried on coordinating the SIG together but I was
getting distracted and communicating less, while in retrospect I can see that Naoko was developing a newfound confidence and independence which also meant we saw less and less easily eye-to-eye. In 1996 we
gave a presentation together at the AILA conference in Finland about learner autonomy in cultural context,
reacting against some of the essentialist views we’d been hearing about its possible lack of appropriatenessin ‘Asia’. But by then the cracks were appearing and our ‘band was breaking up’.
So, 1993–1996: just three or four years – some of the most intense in my life for the amount of work we
did and the amount I developed as a person and as a professional – so much of it in response to Naoko’s
intellectual, radical, humanistic, increasingly feminist influence and challenge – all those qualities she
went on to share with the autonomy community worldwide, through her innovative publications andpresentations.
We did other things together – quite a lot, really, in the eyes of the autonomy community perhaps, likeco-convening the AILA Research Network on Learner Autonomy 2011–14, for the last three years together
with Alice Chik, culminating in a publication we co-edited with Alice which appeared quite recently, inJanuary 2018. But this was all at a relative distance (me in the UK, Naoko in Japan), and our interaction
was quite ‘distant’ too, quite professional – it never had the intensity of the trail we blazed together in
1993–1996.

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Learning Learning 『学習の学習』 25 (2): Dedication: Naoko Aoki
I don’t really know how she thought about those years, but for me they were ‘golden years.’ I sensed
they were at the time, but I also know that much more now, as I write this remembering Naoko. And
perhaps she did feel that too. Once, quite early on, Naoko told me that our co-creation and nurturing of
Learner Development SIG had brought her out of a ten-year period of professional stagnation, and that wasgood to hear. And when I once (fifteen years ago?) plucked up (Dutch) courage to ask her how she felt
about me, given quite a few critical judgments she’d previously shared, she simply said – ‘like a wayward
younger brother’. Finally, when we met for what was to prove the last time, at Learner Development SIG’s
20th anniversary conference in Tokyo in 2013, she seemed to commend me for having shared a ‘secret story’(i.e., affectively true, usually hidden story?) in my talk about our early collaboration. Her opinion always
counted for me even when I pretended not to care, and it was a relief to feel unjudged – perhaps evenforgiven – by Naoko again, as if I’d finally grown up.
So, with this further secret story, this is how I miss and honour Naoko – my older sister, radical,
innovative, assertive, fragile, caring, brittle, unbelievably gone. Richard Smith
Naoko Aoki? Wow, there’s a name that brings back memories. I think the first time we met was back inthe eighties when we were two of only three people to turn up in a rainstorm to a Tokyo JALT meeting. I
think it was about the Silent Way and Cuisenaire rods. We talked over beer after that and then met often
at teacher meetings. Richard Smith mentions me above, and I can well imagine the conversation we might
have been having. We were both enthusiastic about teaching and trying new things, and in those bubbledays, there was a lot of opportunity. Jobs were not scarce, and schools openly appreciated teachers withenthusiasm and ideas.
In those days, there were not many Japanese people who were ‘trained’ language teachers (I mean
‘trained’ in the conventional career/certification sense of the word). Naoko was one of the few, and she
provided our rather drunken ‘academic’ discourse with a refreshing insight into language learning from thepoint of view of a Japanese person. I admired her enthusiasm at the births of quite a few SIGs, particularly
the Teacher Education and Learner Development SIGs, and I remember a group of us, including Naoko and
Neil Cowie, belting the songs out at our very academically inclined karaoke meetings.
Unfortunately, our paths have not crossed much this century. I think Naoko moved on. I moved
sideways. Tim Knowles
I received word of Naoko’s passing just two weeks after losing my father. The dreadful news about
Naoko came to me from a Japanese family friend in Ireland who had attended my dad’s funeral and who
also happened to know Naoko (through meeting some years ago at one of the events organised by the
Association of Japanese Language Teachers in Europe, I think). I didn’t want to believe the news and,because I was still dealing with my own personal grief, I found it almost impossible to process … and still
do. My final memory of Naoko is from last September. We were both invited speakers at a symposium in
Cardiff on Applied Linguistics and Japanese Language Pedagogy. Perhaps because the event was focused onJapanese language teaching, we ended up conversing with each other mostly in Japanese rather thanEnglish … even when we went out to have coffee together at a local Costa. Interestingly, I always found myinteractions with Naoko to be quite different, depending on whether we chatted in English or in Japanese.
In English, I think she liked to be a bit provocative in what she said to me and to challenge my thinking attimes. In Japanese, however, she would adopt a much more intimate and informal tone with me, like twosisters sharing private conversations and secrets and looking at the world together. I will always treasure
those conversations and memories. Ema Ushioda

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Learning Learning 『学習の学習』 25 (2): Dedication: Naoko Aoki
Richard Pemberton introduced me to Naoko at my first international conference in Tokyo. I was awed
and inspired by the work going in Autonomy and Language Learning and not least a little star struck tomeet the authors of work I'd read. Naoko was immediately welcoming, so insightful and such an inspiration.
I was over the moon when she agreed to be a keynote speaker at our ‘Maintaining Control’ conference at
UST and HangZhou in 2004. She was brilliant, kind, funny and had such a beguiling smile. She will always bea shining light and inspiration to me. I had been in email contact with her over a project she was working
on and was wondering recently about the radio silence… When I saw Hugh and Fumiko’s email about
Naoko’s passing, shock and sadness left me cold and unable to quite process the loss of such a shining star.
Heartfelt condolences to all who love and miss her. I hope you are hanging out somewhere nice having agood time with Richard P., Naoko! Your smile and brilliance lives on and will always be an inspiration.

Sarah Toogood

It is still hard for me to believe that Naoko has passed away. It was 2005 when I met Naoko. At thattime, I was a graduate school student and at the same time I worked for a private Japanese language
school in Japan. I took her classes for research on second language learning and teaching. During herclasses, she changed my perspective of language learning and teaching through conducting qualitative
research she had been doing a lot of work on. Since I met her, she has guided me, first as a student andlater as a colleague, and helped me to find the best direction for me by giving me a chance to open new
avenues for research and teaching. There are still so many things I need to ask her and want to talk to her
about, but I trust that her smiling face will stay with me and she will keep guiding me in my heart. Yoshio

Nakai
Naoko was the person who asked me, “What’s going right with your teaching? Why do we always talkabout the mistakes, what’s going well?” I met Naoko at JALT in 2001 or so, when she was doing a workshop
about teachers’ stories of language learning. It was a revelation to me that I could be part of theconversation about my own professional development. Naoko was so tender and also so sharp. I mean in agood way, academically sharp but also kind. I visited her place for dinner just once in 2012 with a few
friends from LD SIG and she made us dessert with rose-water. I am always going to wish I could just haveone more conversation and one more hug. Ellen Head

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Learning Learning 『学習の学習』 25 (2): Dedication: Naoko Aoki
It is going to be almost a month since Naoko has passed away. It was a day after her passing that I heard
this dreadful news, and I am still trying to come to terms with it. Tears trickles down my face as I write
this….. The first time I met Naoko was, I think, at one of LD SIG meetings in Tokyo many years ago. It was
my first LD SIG gathering, didn’t know anyone, and was a bit nervous. Well, guess who approached me yes - Naoko ! Till this day, I still remember her gentle, friendly and supportive demeanour. Ever since she
has been my ‘guide’, especially, in my professional life as a teacher and researcher. She has given me
advice on my research by kindly making trips to Tokyo, and a few years back, she was one of the plenary
speakers at a symposium that I had organized with my research partners. She has never failed to give me
the appropriate guidance and support, but there are still so many things that I need to ask her and talk toher. I was fortunate to meet up with her this past March in Kobe. When she found out that I had only visited
Kobe on business, she picked me up at the station in her bright green beetle, and gave me a tour around
Kobe….. .. I miss her very, very much…. Thank you so much, Naoko! Masuko Miyahara

It is some weeks since Hugh emailed me with the news that Naoko had passed away. We met for what I
now know was the last time at the Serpentine cafe in Hyde Park in summer 2016, having met in themaelstrom of Speakers' Corner, listening to the committed trying to influence an at best skeptical public of
the validity of their beliefs. We retired to a bench and table by the lake to drink tea and eat cake. Naokogave me a packet of new crop green tea from Shizuoka, and promised to visit me in my new home in
Dulwich on her next visit to London. Well, now I am living in the Dulwich Kennel, and I feel so bereft that
she will never share this small space as my guest and friend. I still have some of that tea, now well past its
novelty, but still good to sip to remind me of her.
Thanks to Richard Smith for his memories of that Nordic workshop when Naoko, he and I disrupted inorder to connect and construct something that opened new possibilities for those of us who think that one
learns another language best by being autonomous, and understanding what that means. They were very
good years, those mid-90s ones, for understanding what learner autonomy could mean.
We met regularly after that, Naoko and I, at various autonomy conferences, and she got me through theediting of the Mapping the Terrain book, another example perhaps of disruption and construction, when I

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Learning Learning 『学習の学習』 25 (2): Dedication: Naoko Aoki
was feeling that I had little left to contribute to the autonomy debate. It contains that wonderful paper by
Naoko about the experiences of immigrants in Japan, full of humanity, and hope and sadness at the humancondition. Meeting you, Naoko, made me a better person.
The scent of green tea
Sipped with one who shares and cares
Sharpens the senses

Peter Voller

The news was utterly shocking and saddening for me. My last email contacts with Naoko were in
January, February, and April this year, and they were short but nothing unusual. She mentioned that she
was busy but would be a reader for the ILA2018 conference, putting her areas of interest as “collaboration,community, exploratory practice, identity, learning advising, learner autonomy, narrative, research, study
abroad, teacher autonomy/learning advisor autonomy, virtual learning spaces, voice.” What a wonderfulrange of interests! I can't say I knew Naoko in any way well, as she was a such a private person, but I'm
surprised at how what she wrote or said has stayed with me and had a significant impact. I am so gratefulto her for that, and I will always remember her smile, her playful laughter, and her thought-provoking - andthoroughly infectious – delight in learner development. Andy Barfield

I knew of Naoko long before I met her. People I knew always seemed surprised that I didn’t know her,and so when I did meet her, it felt like she was an old friend. I warmed to her instantly: she was so funny
and quirky and kind. I loved listening to her and reading what she wrote, and even if I didn’t always agreewith her, I was often inspired and stimulated by what she said. I realise that for each of the two
conferences and one symposium that I’ve been involved in organising, Naoko was a keynote speaker. I’m
grateful that she was always so accommodating and enthusiastic—such a pleasure to work with.
My brightest, fondest memories of Naoko: in Beijing in 2011, ordering food for a large group of fellow
conference-goers with her basic Mandarin and fluent body language; working with her in Japan and New
Zealand in 2012 to put together a colloquium on learner autonomy/personal autonomy with three of her
doctoral students, her tenderness with one of our participants who burst into tears during her talk; heradmission that she likes to say and write things that she believes will bring a smile to the faces of her
mentors, David Little and Phil Benson. Believes, believed. It’s so difficult to write of Naoko in the pasttense. Alison Stewart

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Learning Learning 『学習の学習』 25 (2): Dedication: Naoko Aoki
I can’t remember how and when I met her in person. But I do remember how I learned about her andwho she was within JALT LD SIG. It was on the ld-comm mailing list for the SIG officers when I took theposition of the co-publication officer with Alison Stewart around 2006. There was a discussion on the needto keep the newsletter bilingual as getting the translation done from English to Japanese was a burden on
some SIG members. At this point, Naoko was no longer the SIG member, but she expressed her opinion on
the mailing list. It was then I learned who Naoko was and the spirit of LD SIG to welcome anybody who isinterested in learning a language on their own initiative and supporting the development of learnerautonomy. And the policy of bilingual publication is to show that spirit of inclusiveness which made me
proud to be part of the SIG. I was also encouraged to carry that tradition despite the difficulty I was havingwith translation.
Since then I met Naoko and saw many times mainly at conferences overseas and was even fortunate tohave her write a preface to the book I co-edited. But my fondest memory of her was the dinner with her in
Beijing 2011 where we were there for AILA. She took a group of people from the conference including me
to a local restaurant near the conference venue. As soon as we sat down, she left the table to check out
what the local people were having. She ended up returning to the table with a customer who spoke English
and ordered everything for us. Naoko was so charming, friendly, and skillful all at once. And thanks to her,
we had a fabulous authentic Chinese dinner. She showed us the basics of language learning – the simple
desire to communicate and the fun of doing it.
Thanks, Naoko. I learned so much from you and wish I had more chances to work with you. I hope thechapter you requested me to write last year will be what you had in mind… 期待に沿えるようがんばります。Kay Irie******In Memory of Naoko Aoki, Inspiring
Andy Barfield & Hugh Nicoll
Note: We wrote this tribute to Naoko for the ILA2018 conference handbook and would like to share thiswith you in Learning Learning too.
“I am a teacher educator of Japanese as a second language and have been writing on topics related tolearner autonomy for the past 10 years or so….” is how Naoko introduced herself in 2003. Ten years later,
she wrote: “I currently work with pre-service and in-service teachers of Japanese as a second language at
Graduate School of Letters, Osaka University. I started writing about learner autonomy after the legendary
Taking Control conference in Hong Kong in 1994. At that time many people argued that learner autonomy
was not appropriate for Asian students. I was not happy with this trend because I personally didn’t want tohave the stereotypical image of Asians imposed on me. I wanted to refute this argument. Teacher
autonomy has also had personal meanings for me. I started off my career as a language teacher and landeda job in a university faculty. I had to forge a new identity, but doing traditional research didn’t seem right.
Expecting classroom teachers to carry out action research in order to get their work recognized also
seemed problematic. I spent some time to build an argument that teacher autonomy and action research
do not automatically connect with each other. Through that process I came to realize the value of narrative
for practicing teachers. I now think that to be allowed to think, talk and write narratively is an importantpart of teacher autonomy.”

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Learning Learning 『学習の学習』 25 (2): Dedication: Naoko Aoki
Through her original work and research, Naoko became a leader in the field and developed a supreme
capacity for writing plainly about her work through narratives. She made her points and raised provocative
questions with a smile and light-hearted laughter, encouraging (sometimes demanding) a fierce
attentiveness – of herself as much as asking others – in working for change, always optimistically, learning
how to feel, think and act differently.
Feeling. Voice. Narrative. Identity.
Naoko died on July 8th this year.
Neither of us ever expected that we would be writing an “In Memoriam” for her. We both knew her fornearly 25 years, and the news hit us with jolting unexpectedness. Earlier this year Naoko had been part of
the reading committee for ILA 2018 and was planning to present at the conference with her researchcollaborators. We all expected to see her here.
Whether as readers, seasoned conference participants, language advisors, graduate students orteachers new to inclusive research, we have lost an inspiring mentor, friend and colleague. We will,
however, continue to be inspired by Naoko in our own learning long into the future. In reflecting on her
lifework, we realize how much each of us has to thank Naoko for - enriching our journeys of learnerdevelopment, helping us imagine the world more compassionately but more critically, and encouraging us
to smile together now in sharing stories even though we shed quiet tears of sadness at her passing.
******

Naoko’s Academic Profile
Naoko was Professor in the Graduate School of Letters, Osaka University, from 2004 to 2018 where she
worked with pre-service and in-service teachers of Japanese as a second language (JSL). She had previously
been an Associate Professor at Osaka University from 1997. Before that, Naoko worked as an Associate
Professor in the Faculty of Education at Shizuoka University for 7 years from 1991. She completed her PhD
in 2003 at Trinity College Dublin on Learner autonomy, teacher autonomy and the process of becoming a
pro-autonomy teacher: Theoretical perspectives and life stories of six teachers of Japanese as a second
language. Her Master’s degree was in Applied Linguistics from Sophia University (1981-1983), and as anundergraduate she was awarded a BA in French Literature from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies in 1977.
Naoko was a co-convener of AILA’s Learner Autonomy Research Network from 2011 to 2014. Twenty
years earlier from 1991 to 1994 she had served as Japanese language editor for JALT’s The Language
Teacher. Members of the Learner Development SIG will always remember Naoko as the founding cocoordinator of the Learner Development SIG in 1994, and as an inspiring mentor, friend and colleague.

Naoko’s writing
Chik, A, Aoki, N., & Smith, R. C. (Eds.) (2018). Autonomy in language learning and teaching: New research agendas.
London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
Aoki, N. (2017). 教えるのをやめる―言語学習アドバイジングというもう一つの方法― [Stop teaching: Language advising
as an alternative way]. 小出記念日本語教育研究会論文集 [Koide Memorial Japanese Education Workshop Papers],

25, 66-75.
Aoki, N., Rong, M., Guo, F., Liu, S., Wang, J., & Chung, A. (2017). 対面式タンデム学習における学び : 日本語学習者と日本語話者のやりとりにおけるLREを手がかりに [Language learning in face-to-face tandem learning : Looking at

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Learning Learning 『学習の学習』 25 (2): Dedication: Naoko Aoki
LREs in an interaction between a Japanese language learner and her Japanese-speaking partner]. 阪大日本語研究[Osaka University Japanese Studies], 29, 19-41.
Aoki, N. (Ed.). (2016). ことばと文字 [Language and Letters] Special issue on learner autonomy practice in thecontext of Japanese as a second/foreign/heritage language, 6. Tokyo: Kuroshio Shuppan.
Aoki, N. (2016). 21世紀の言語教育：拡大する地平、ぼやける境界、新たな可能性 [Language Learning in the 21stCentury: Expanding Horizons, Blurring Boundaries and Emerging Possibilities] Journal CAJLE, 17, 1-22.
Aoki, N., Wakisaka, M., & Kobayashi, H. (2013). 日本語教育と芸術学のコラボレーション：大阪大学文学部におけるCLILの試み [Collaboration of art and language teaching: A CLIL programme at Osaka University]. 第二言語としての日本語の習得研究 [Acquisition of Japanese as a Second Language], 16, 91-106.

Aoki, N. (2013). 外国語学習アドバイジング [Language advising: Designing your personal learning plan with advice fromexpert]. Kindle book.
Aoki, N. (2013). Learner autonomy for personal autonomy. In K. Dofs & M. Hobbs (Eds.), ILA Selections 2012 (pp.
165-167). Independent Learning Association.
Stewart, A., & 青木 直子 (2103). Interview with Naoko Aoki, Learner Development SIG co-founder.
Learning
Learning, 20(1), 52-59. Retrieved from http://ld-sig.org/LL/20one/AokiNaoko.pdf
Course, S., Lamb, T., & Aoki, N. (2013). Promoting teacher/learner autonomy and improving praxis. In A. Barfield & N.
D. Alvarado (Eds.), Autonomy in language learning: Stories of practice (pp. 140-149). Canterbury, England:
IATEFL.
Aoki, N. (2012). The role of stories in teacher development. In W. M. Chan, K. N. Chin, S. K. Bhatt & I. Walker (Eds.),
Perspectives on individual characteristics and foreign language education (pp. 241-254). Boston, MA: De Gruyter
Mouton.
Aoki, N. (2012). Can-do statements for advisors. In C. Ludwig & J. Mynard (Eds.), Autonomy in language learning:
Advising in action (pp. 154-163). Canterbury: IATEFL.
Aoki, N. (2011). Teacher stories to improve theories of learner/teacher autonomy. In C. J. Everhard & J. Mynard with
R. Smith (Eds.), Autonomy in language learning: Opening a can of worms (pp. 33-36). Canterbury, England:
IATEFL.
Aoki, N., & Nakata, Y. (Eds.). (2011). Gakushuusha autonomy: Nihongo kyooiku to gaikokugo kyooiku no mirai no tameni [Learner autonomy: For the future of Japanese language education and foreign language education]. Tokyo:
Hitsuji Shobo.
Aoki, N., & Osaka University Students (2010). A community of practice as a space for collaborative student teacher
autonomy. In B. O’Rourke & L. Carson (Eds.), Language learner autonomy: Policy, curriculum, classroom (pp.
63-79). Bern, Switzerland: Peter Lang.
Aoki, N. (2010). Gakushuusha autonomy gairon (An introduction to learner autonomy). In A. Nakajima & Y. Kito (Eds.),
Tout change! CECRL et autonomie de l'apprenant (pp. 61-77). Association des enseignants de japonais en France.
Aoki, N. (2010). Gakushuusha autonomy, jikoshudoogata gakushuu, Nihongo Portfolio, advising, self-access. Nihongo
Kyooiku Tsuushin, 38. The Japan Foundation.
Kjisik, F., Voller, P., Aoki, N., & Nakata, Y. (Eds.). (2009). Mapping the terrain of learner autonomy: Learning
environments, learning communities and identities. Tampere, Finland: Tampere University Press.
Aoki, N. (2009). Where learner autonomy could fail a second language user: Three-level analysis of social context. In
F. Kjisik, P. Voller, N. Aoki, & Y. Nakata (Eds.), Mapping the terrain of learner autonomy: Learning environments,
learning communities and identities (pp. 236-261). Tampere, Finland: Tampere University Press.
Aoki, N. with Kobayashi, H. (2009). Defending stories and sharing one: Towards a narrative understanding of teacher
autonomy. In R. Pemberton, S. Toogood, & A. Barfield (Eds.), Maintaining control: Autonomy and language
learning (pp. 199-216). Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
Aoki, N. (2008). Nihongo o manabu hitotachi no autonomy o mamoru tame ni [Defending autonomy of learners ofJapanese]. Nihongo Kyouiku, 138, 33-42.
Aoki, N. (2008). Toojisha no iibun kara shuppatsu suru curriculum [A curriculum based on what learners claim]. In
Communica Institute (Ed.), Seikatsusha to shite no gaikokujin no tame no module gata curriculum no kaihatsu to
gakushuu tuuru no sakusei [Developing corriculum modules and learning tools for for foreigners living in Japan](pp. 111-126).
Aoki, N. (2008). Teacher stories to improve theories of learner/teacher autonomy. Independence, 43, 15-17.

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Learning Learning 『学習の学習』 25 (2): Dedication: Naoko Aoki
Aoki, N. (2008). Gakushuusha autonomy o sodateru kyoushi no yakuwari [Teachers' roles to develop learnerautonomy]. Eigo Kyouiku [The English Teachers' Magazine], 56(12), 10-13.
Aoki, N. (2006). Kyoshi ni totte no sei no shitsu (Quality of life for teachers). In Nihongo Kyoiku Gakkai (Ed.), 2006
Nendo Shuki Taikai Yokoshu [2006 Autumn Conference Preceedings].
Aoki, N. (2006). Kyoushi autonomy (Teacher autonomy). In K. Haruhara & S. Yokomizo (Eds.), Nihongo kyoushi noseichou to jikokenshuu [Development and Self-Training for Teachers of Japanese] (pp. 138-157). Tokyo: Bonjinsha.
Aoki, N. (2006). Teacher autonomy, commitment to the profession, and teacher's personal autonomy. In L. B. Wolff &J. L. V. Batista (Eds.), The Canarian Conference on Developing Autonomy in the Classroom: Each Piece of the
Puzzle Enriches Us All (CD ROM). Canarias: Gobierno de Canarias.
Aoki, N. (2006). 学習者ディベロプメント研究部会が二言語を併用することになったいきさつ. A brief history of thebilingual policy. Learning Learning, 13(2), 6-7. Retrieved from http://ld-sig.org/LL/20one/AokiNaoko.pdf
Aoki, N. (2005). Jiritsu gakushuu [Autonomous learning]. In Shinban Nihongo Kyouiku Jiten [Dictionary of Japanese
Language Education, New Edition] (pp. 773-775). Tokyo: Taishuukan Shoten.
Aoki, N. (2003). Expanding space for reflection and collaboration. In A. Barfield & M. Nix (Eds.), Autonomy you ask!
(pp. 189-196). Tokyo: JALT Learner Development SIG.
Aoki, N. with Y. Hamakawa (2003). Asserting our culture: teacher autonomy from a feminist perspective. In D.
Palfreyman & R. C. Smith (Eds.), Learner autonomy across cultures: Language education perspectives (pp.
240-253). Basingstoke, England: Palgrave Macmillan.
Aoki, N. (2002). Aspects of teacher autonomy: capacity, freedom, and responsibility. In P. Benson & S. Toogood (Eds.),
Learner autonomy 7: Challenges to research and practice (pp. 110-124). Dublin, Ireland: Authentik.
Aoki, N. (2002). Teachers' conversation with partial autobiographies. Hong Kong Journal of Applied Linguistics, 7(2),152-168.
Aoki, N. (2001). Kyooshi no yakuwari [Teacher's roles]. In N. Aoki, A. Ozaki, & S. Toki (Eds.), Nihongo Kyooikugaku oManabu Hito no tame ni (For students of JSL pedagogy) (pp. 184-199). Kyoto: Sekaishisoosha.
Aoki, N. (2001). The institutional and psychological context of learner autonomy. The AILA Review, 15, 82-90.
Aoki, N. (1999). Affect and the role of teacher in the development of learner autonomy. In J. Arnold (Ed.), Affect inlanguage learning (pp. 142-154). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Aoki, N., & Smith, R. C. (1999). Learner autonomy in cultural context: the case of Japan. In S. Cotterall & D. Crabbe(Eds.), Learner autonomy in language learning: Defining the field and effecting change (pp. 19-28). Frankfurt am
Main, Germany: Lang.
Aoki, N. (1998). Examining definitions of learner autonomy. Handai Nihongo Kenkyuu [Osaka University Japanese
Language Research], 10.
Aoki, N. (1997). Doing and feeling autonomy. Learning Learning, 4(2), 2-3.
Aoki, N. (1996). Mirai no kyooshi no enpawaamento: gakushuusha to shite no jiritsu o mezashite [Empowering
future teachers: towards development of learner autonomy]. In O. Nakajo (Ed.), Ronshuu kotoba to kyoiku[Papers on language and education] (pp. 251-265). Osaka: Izumi Shoin.
Aoki, N. (1995). Empowering future teachers: a humanistic approach to developing learner autonomy. A reportsubmitted for the fifth Nordic Workshop on Developing Autonomous Learning, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Aoki, N. (1994). Introduction of self-directed learning to learners of Japanese language - Chihiro Kinoshita
Thomson, University of New South Wales. Learning Learning, 1(4), 6-8.
Aoki, N. (1994). Autonomy in Asia. Learning Learning, 1(4), 9-12.
Aoki, N., & Smith, R. (1994). “Welcome to the first issue of Learning Learning.” Learning Learning, 1(1), 1.
Retrieved from http://ld-sig.org/LL/1994a.pdf

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