THE LEARNER DEVELOPMENT JOURNAL
学習者ディベロップメント研究部会誌
ISSN: 2433-5401
https://ldjournal.ld-sig.org

The Learner Development Journal Issue 6:
Learner Development Beyond The Classroom
Author: Jon Rowberry
Title: Agency in and Beyond the Classroom: Learners’ Selection of Resources for Self-Directed
Language Learning
Date of publication online: 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.37546/JALTSIG.LDJ6-4
Author contact: <jrowberry(at)m(dot)sojo-u(dot)ac(dot)jp>
Published by the Japan Association for Language Teaching
Learner Development Special Interest Group, Tokyo
https://ld-sig.org/
Copyright 2022 each respective author
This article can be cited as:
Rowberry, J. (2022). Agency in and beyond the classroom: Learners’ selection of
resources for self-directed language learning. The Learner Development Journal, 6, 51–66.
https://doi.org/10.37546/JALTSIG.LDJ6-4

This article is part of a collection of practitioner research on the theme of “Learner
Development Beyond the Classroom” for Issue 6 of the Learner Development Journal (LDJ6),
edited by Isra Wongsarnpigoon, Dominique Vola Ambinintsoa, Phillip A. Bennett, and André
Parsons. Published once a year, each issue of the Learner Development Journal follows a
Community of ractices approach over a period of approximately 18 months in which
contributors work together, under the guidance of the editors, to share, respond to, anddevelop their research and writing.
Articles are published in the Learner Development Journal under a Creative Commons Attribution
License (CC BY), of which CC BY 4.0 is the most recent version. Under this agreement, authors
grant users the right to unrestricted dissemination and re-use of the work. They ask only thatproper attribution is given to the work.

PAPER
Agency in and Beyond the Classroom:
Learners’ Selection of Resources for
Self-Directed Language Learning
Jon Rowberry, Sojo University, Japan; University of Reading, UK<jrowberry(at)m(dot)sojo-u(dot)ac(dot)jp>
This paper reports an investigation into how two Japanese EFL learners enacted and enhanced agency
through their selections of resources to support self-directed language learning� The research focused on ashort course offered at the university where I work, which aimed to serve as scaffolding for learning beyond
the classroom. In the course, learners were encouraged to take the initiative for their language study byidentifying needs and goals, implementing learning plans, evaluating methods and materials, and reflecting
on their learning. The project took the form of a practitioner research case study with two learners, Nanami
and Takumi, as they engaged in self-directed learning over a period of 5 weeks. Drawing on multiple sourcesof information, including direct observation, learner reflections, and stimulated recall interviews, the twocases illuminate the unique and complex ways individual learners enact agency as they select and use
resources for self-directed language learning� The data also forced me to question my own assumptions
about the learning behaviours and perspectives of learners in my classes and to reconsider what constitutes
professional expertise in the context of language learning beyond the classroom.
本論文では、2人の日本人EFL学習者が、自主的な言語学習を支援するためのリソースの選択を通じて、どのように学習者エージェン

シーを実現・強化したかを調査した結果を報告する。
筆者が勤務する大学で、教室外での学習のための足場かけとなることを目的とした短期コースに焦点を当てた。
このコースでは、学習者がニーズと目標を特定し、学習計画を実行し、方法と教材を評価し、自分の学習を振り返ることによって、言語学習のイニシアチブをとるよう奨励された。
このプロジェクトは、5週間に渡り、自主学習に取り組んだ
2人の学習者、
ナナミとタクミに焦点を当てた実践的なケーススタディという形で行われた。
この研究は、直接観察、学習者の振り返り、
回想法インタビューなど、複数の情報源を用いて行った。
この2つのケースでは、個々の学習者が自主的な言語学習のためにリソースを選択・利用する際に、どのように学習者エージェンシーを発揮するのか、独特で複雑な方法を明らかにするものであった。
また、
この
データは、
クラスの学習者の学習行動や視点についての著者自身の仮定に疑問を投げかけ、教室を超えた言語学習という文脈で専門的知識を構成するものを再考させるものであった。

Keywords
self-directed learning, learner agency, learning beyond the classroom, learning resources, case study
自主学習、学習者エージェンシー、教室を超えた学習、学習リソース、
ケーススタディWe live in a world which is positively saturated with potential resources for language
learning. However, as any teacher or learning advisor who has attempted to harness
that potential for specific learners or groups of learners well knows, the task of finding
materials which are accessible, stimulating, and personally meaningful is complex, timeconsuming, and often no more than partially successful. How much harder, therefore,
must this task be for those who are not language specialists and may be operating at
relatively low levels of proficiency in the target language? Yet, if we want to enable ourlearners to successfully direct their own learning beyond the classroom, there can be few
more important skills to develop than those of resource selection and evaluation.
For several years, I have worked with a group of colleagues to develop a subcomponentof our university’s EFL proficiency program for non-English majors, known as the selfdirected learning unit (SDLU). SDLU was devised as a bridge between classroom-based
language instruction and language learning beyond the classroom (LBC), and it aims topromote and nurture learner agency in order to sustain our students’ language learning
Learner Development Journal • Issue 6 • December 2022

51

Agency in and Beyond the Classroom: Learners’ Selection of Resources

after they have completed their required EFL classes. One of the biggest challenges formyself, my colleagues, and my learners during the approximately 5 years since SDLU was
initially devised and implemented has been that of finding resources that are appropriate
for the needs, interests, and abilities of individual learners.
This paper reports a practitioner research (PR) case study which investigated how
two of my students, Nanami and Takumi (pseudonyms), enacted agency through theirchoices and uses of learning resources during SDLU. My practitioner status encompassed
my role as curriculum coordinator, responsible for the development and evaluation of
SDLU, and classroom teacher, responsible for implementing SDLU with a particular groupof learners� As well as generating important insights into how and why learners selectparticular resources to support their language learning, analysis of the data forced me toquestion some of my own assumptions and preconceptions about which materials are
suitable for particular people and particular purposes.

Learners’ Selection of Materials

Increased choice in relation to learning materials has long been associated with higher
levels of motivation, enhanced agency, or the fostering of learner autonomy (Ellis &Sinclair, 1989; Grabe, 2009; Mercado, 2015; Nunan, 1999; Reinders, 2010). Despite this,practical constraints of traditional classrooms often made it challenging for teachers tohand over responsibility for choosing learning resources to their learners. More recently,
however, the growth of the internet and widespread availability of electronic devices withwhich to access it, as well as the move towards individualised learning approaches withinmainstream education, have enabled learners to become more involved in decisionmaking. Meanwhile, LBC, in which language learning is associated with a wide variety ofboth physical and online environments, has emerged as a subfield of applied linguistics(Benson, 2017; Reinders & Benson, 2017).
In this emerging context, one of the biggest challenges for learners is the selection of
appropriate learning resources. In addition to materials specifically designed for language
learning such as textbooks, apps, graded readers, and websites, learners also have at theirdisposal a limitless array of materials, conventionally referred to as authentic materials,
which are not specifically designed for language learning but can readily be utilised forthat purpose (Larimer & Schleicher, 1999). These include music, movies, videos, podcasts,
news, and social media and can be freely accessed via personal electronic devices.
The importance of selecting materials which are interesting and personally relevant
has been highlighted in LBC literature. For example, Lin and Siyanova-Chanturia (2015)
suggest that “when EFL learners select Internet television programmes, their individualinterests should have priority over other factors” (p. 154). Meanwhile, Day and Bamford(1998) highlight freedom to choose one’s own materials as a core principle of extensive
reading, Lynch (2009) claims that learners with free choice over listening materials are
more likely to continue learning in their own time, and Chik (2014, 2015) links independent
decision-making in the context of gaming with both autonomy and community. However,other criteria such as the lexical complexity or applicability to real-world contexts are also
important to consider (Lin & Siyanova-Chanturia, 2015; Webb, 2015), and inappropriate
choices of content can have detrimental impacts on learning. For example, Chik (2015)
notes that choice of game genre may severely limit opportunities to acquire vocabulary,
while Lyon and Barr (2019) highlight how learners struggle to select graded readers thatmatch their learning expectations�
52

Learner Development Journal • Issue 6 • December 2022

Jon Rowberry

Language Learner Agency

Language learner agency is an important construct in LBC environments, such as SDLU.
Defined by Ahearn (2001) as “the socioculturally mediated capacity to act” (p. 112), agency
is a multifaceted and complex construct, generally associated with choice and action, butalso encompassing non-visible behaviours, beliefs, thoughts, and feelings (Mercer, 2012).
Benson (2007) suggests that agency be viewed as “a point of origin for the developmentof autonomy” (p. 30), while Gao (2013) emphasises the importance of learners’ reflecting
on language learning choices and processes in order to enhance their agency and develop
autonomy. Therefore, for learning to become truly self-directed rather than, say, mere
homework, it is important to provide opportunities for learners to act agentively andengage in reflective thinking.

Research Objectives

SDLU was devised as an open but supported learning environment which would enhanceagency by encouraging learners to make and reflect on choices about what to learn, as
well as what resources to use and how to use them. However, the extent to which thisobjective is actually realised with our population of learners is difficult to ascertain without
close and careful analysis of particular cases. Therefore, I decided to design a researchstudy specifically to explore how agency was enacted by the students in my classes
through their selection and utilisation of resources�
In attempting to link agency to resource selection, it is important to consider bothlearner reflexivity, that is, learners’ reflective evaluations of the materials, and learner
flexibility in response to the materials, that is, how this thinking influences subsequentchange in actions and beliefs. Thus, the investigation was less concerned with what
resources participants initially selected than with why they chose them, how they utilised
them, and whether they embraced, rejected, or appropriated them for their own goals
and purposes. I hoped that insights into these processes would enable the curriculum
development team to better target SDLU orientation materials and allow teachers toprovide more effective support and advice for individuals and groups of students.

Research Design

Practitioner Research (PR) is defined by Borg (2013) as professionals’ systematicinvestigation of their own practices. PR is ideal for investigating the lived complexities ofparticipants in language learning classrooms (Pinner & Sampson, 2020), and it tends tobe pragmatic and goal-orientated (Baumann & Duffy, 2001), potentially leading directly
to changes in practices. Consequently, PR is consistent with an ecological approach toclassroom research, in which context is viewed as integral to, and inseparable from, theinvestigation (van Lier, 2002). An important term for conceptualizing the interrelationshipbetween individuals and the environment in ecological research is that of affordance(Gibson, 1979). An affordance can be conceptualised as an “action potential” (van Lier,
2004, p. 92), which emerges as we interact with the physical and social world. In thecontext of SDLU, a specific resource such as a book or app, or a particular way of using a
resource, might provide such an action potential. SDLU procedures and materials havebeen designed to create a learning environment which is rich in affordances. However,
not every learner will perceive or act on such affordances, while other unexpected or
unplanned affordances will emerge organically for each learner as they interact with theunit. The goal of this study, therefore, was to track how Nanami and Takumi enacted
Learner Development Journal • Issue 6 • December 2022

53

Agency in and Beyond the Classroom: Learners’ Selection of Resources

agency as they identified and manipulated specific resources as affordances for language
learning in the context of SDLU.

Research Participants

The research site is the university in Japan where I work. The participants for the study
were members of two different second-year classes that I taught during the first semesterof the 2021–2022 academic year. Nanami and Takumi approached the task of choosing
and using resources for self-directed language learning very differently, and I chose tofocus on them partly for this reason. The selection of clearly contrasting cases is a viablesampling strategy in case study research (Duff, 2008), which acknowledges that eachcase offers unique insights. However, it is important to acknowledge that the approaches
adopted by Takumi and Nanami are just two of an almost limitless range of possibilities
and they are not necessarily representative of larger samples of learners�

The Self-Directed Learning Unit

SDLU occupies ten 90-minute sessions, approximately one-third of a compulsory blended
learning EFL class for non-English majors. Originally conceived as a classroom-based,
face-to-face intervention, drawing on the rich technological and physical resources of thebuilding in which the classrooms and self-access learning centre (SALC) are housed, SDLU
had to be reconfigured in a blended learning format due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For
the 2021 iteration of the unit, some sessions were conducted face-to-face, in compliancewith social distancing measures, while other sessions took place asynchronously online.
During the sessions on campus, it was possible for students to borrow materials from theSALC. I conducted a short meeting with each member of the class individually towards
the start of the unit to check whether they understood SDLU procedures and to provide
feedback and support.
The weekly structure of SDLU is shown in Figure 1. At the heart of the unit are fiveplanning-action-reflection cycles, a term taken from Ohashi (2018), who describes a similar
self-directed learning program at another Japanese university. For each of these cycles,
learners spend 15 minutes setting goals, planning what to study, and searching forsuitable materials; 60 minutes implementing their plan; and finally, 15 minutes evaluating
the resources used and writing a learning reflection focusing on the effectiveness of theirplan. Each learner records details of work done in SDLU in their self-directed learning
portfolio alongside their learning plans and reflections. The format of the self-directed
learning portfolio is shown in the Appendix�
After the third cycle, learners have an opportunity to exchange information and ideas
about their self-directed learning with peers. This includes an activity in which they choosea resource or study method that they found particularly interesting or useful and preparea short slideshow video to introduce it to their classmates. Subject to student consent,
these videos also become key sources of information for future cohorts of learners, since
they can be used to orientate incoming students to SDLU. This ensures that suggestions
for resources and how to use them come directly from peers, not just from teachers
or curriculum designers. In addition to these learner-generated materials, further
suggestions for resources are provided via an online space, called Learn Independently, in
our institutional Moodle. During orientation to SDLU, learners are encouraged to explore
these and other resources and to utilise whatever they feel is most appropriate to theirlearning needs and personal preferences�
54

Learner Development Journal • Issue 6 • December 2022

Jon Rowberry

Figure 1. Weekly structure of SDLU

Data Collection

Data collection combined direct observation of class procedures and learner behaviours
with analysis of learners’ self-directed learning portfolios. In addition, stimulated recall
interviews were conducted using the portfolios as the stimulus. Students’ self-directed
learning portfolios are an integral part of SDLU, since they provide a record of work done
and materials used, along with written reflections on each self-directed learning session.
Students are encouraged to write their reflection in Japanese, their L1, although they are
free to use English, or a combination of both languages, if they prefer. Portfolio entries
are submitted electronically via a Microsoft OneNote Class Notebook housed within
Microsoft Teams. The OneNote format allowed students to upload recordings, images,
and documentation, as well as to insert direct links to online resources. Since access toeach student’s OneNote notebook is shared with the teacher, I could access and monitor
their self-directed learning portfolios at any time. A teacher-researcher journal was used
to record my observations, thoughts, and feelings as they arose.
Learner Development Journal • Issue 6 • December 2022

55

Agency in and Beyond the Classroom: Learners’ Selection of Resources

In addition to the data collected naturalistically via observation and learner portfolios,
stimulated recall interviews were conducted to shed further light on participants’ choicesof resources. Interviews were conducted in person at the research site by a Japanesecolleague who is a trained and experienced language learning advisor� Learning advising
typically takes the form of individual interviews in which advisors employ elicitation
techniques adapted from counselling (Mozzon-McPherson, 2007) to encourage learners
to engage in reflective dialogue (Kato, 2012; Kato & Mynard, 2016). Therefore, anexperienced learning advisor is ideally placed to elicit students’ decision-making processes
and perspectives in a non-threatening and productive manner� The participants’ selfdirected learning portfolios served as stimuli for the interviews, with participants asked
to elaborate on their reasons for selecting particular resources and their experiences ofusing them�

Data Analysis

Preliminary analysis of the data was conducted during SDLU even as the data was being
collected. I carefully observed SDLU sessions and wrote memos in my teacher-researcher
journal after each class, as well as while reviewing the self-directed learning portfolios.
This initial analysis of the data allowed me to target specific learners to participate
in interviews. Interview recordings were transcribed in Japanese and translated into
English, then coded in MAXQDA 2020 (https://www�maxqda�com) alongside other data,
including participants’ learning plans and reflections, records of learning resources used,
and written responses to classroom-based tasks associated with self-directed learning.
Although the bulk of both the spoken and written data was originally in Japanese, data
extracts in the sections below have been rendered in English.
In order to operationalize the construct of learner agency, I drew on indicators ofagency proposed by van Lier (2008) and subsequently employed in a study by Vandergriff(2016), such as the ability to initiate learning, formulate personal goals, self-regulate thelearning process, and seek help when needed. For example, I considered the extent
to which participants’ selections of resources were related to their expressed learning
goals, the extent to which they sought out novel resources rather than merely selectingfrom options presented to them, and the extent to which they adjusted their resource
selections based on their experiences and reflections.

Case Description

In this section I will describe Nanami and Takumi’s cases separately, focusing on how they
selected and used resources, and how their self-directed learning behaviours evolved
over the five sessions. Then, in the following section, I will discuss new understandingsthat arose through my consideration of these cases and what implications these have for
LBC-supportive teaching practices�

Nanami

Nanami was a student from the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and, according
to the placement test she took when she entered the university, her proficiency level
for listening and reading was upper A2 of the CEFR (Council of Europe, 2001), slightly
below average for her department, but above average for the university as a whole.
Pharmaceutical science students tend to be highly conscientious, and Nanami was no
exception. Although she described herself in the interview as “not very good at English to
56

Learner Development Journal • Issue 6 • December 2022

Jon Rowberry

begin with,” she attended classes regularly, diligently completed assignments, and wrote
thoughtful and detailed learning reflections.
For the first of the five self-directed learning cycles, Nanami struggled to formulate
learning goals and to decide what materials to use: “At first, I felt it was quite difficult tomake a plan and do it by myself because I’m not good at English.” Following suggestions
given in the Learn Independently Moodle site, she was directed to YouTube as a potential
resource. However, the idea of watching videos on YouTube on her own computer duringclass time ran completely counter to her notion of how students behave in language
classes. She told the interviewer, “If I had a bad attitude there would be nothing to stopme watching other things if I wanted to. I wondered if I should really be using YouTube
in class. I couldn’t do it at first.” In fact, she spent so much time in this first cycle trying toformulate learning goals and find appropriate materials that there was very little time left
for actual study, and it was clear from her self-evaluation and reflection comments thatshe felt the session had gone badly.
Prior to the second planning-action-reflection cycle, I briefly met with each student
in case they needed support. In this meeting with Nanami, I was able to reassure herthat it really was acceptable to use YouTube for self-directed learning. She reported in
her interview, “When I didn’t know what to do, I had a meeting with Jon, and he gave mesome advice about using movies, so I started looking for movies that I liked and using
them for self-directed learning.” Subsequently, Nanami persevered with her focus onaudio-visual resources, and her learning objectives for the second and third self-directed
learning cycles were carefully formulated according to the guidelines for SMART (Specific,
Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals recommended during SDLU
orientation. For example, for Cycle 2 she decided to use English Listening Lesson Library
Online (ELLLO; https://www�elllo�org) to develop her communication skills with the goalof identifying “five phrases that I can use on a daily basis,” then for Cycle 3 she decided
to use the Cake app (https://mycake.me/) to “watch Disney movies and learn words andsentences about different emotions.” In addition to ELLLO and Cake, she experimented
with the Movieclips YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/movieclips), as wellas LyricsTraining (https://lyricstraining�com/), a site for developing listening skills throughEnglish song lyrics, and she evaluated her progress more positively than she had for Cycle
1. However, in her third reflection, she indicated that she was uncertain of the usefulnessof the phrases she had picked up from the source videos, and she again expressed adesire in future cycles to avoid spending too much time searching for suitable resources.
After the third planning-action-reflection cycle, students present resources they haveused to support their self-directed learning in the form of slideshow videos. For Nanami,
watching her classmates’ videos turned out to be a pivotal experience because she wasintroduced to resources which reconciled her desire to use video materials with herneed for a more structured approach to learning than that provided by Cake, ELLLO, orMovieclips. She found the YouTube channel Rupa-sensei (https://www.youtube.com/c/
Rupasensei) particularly useful and used it extensively in the fourth planning-actionevaluation cycle, commenting in her reflection that this session was by far the mostsuccessful yet. However, Rupa-sensei turned out to have been a mere stepping stone
on her learning journey, because for her fifth and final session she moved away fromentertainment media altogether and settled on YouTube content specifically targeting
English for pharmaceutical science. What she seemed to have arrived at, via a rather
circuitous route, was a resource which in many ways resembled the textbook materials
Learner Development Journal • Issue 6 • December 2022

57

Agency in and Beyond the Classroom: Learners’ Selection of Resources

she had grown up with but was delivered in an audio-visual format. In her final reflection
she commented,
In this session, I focused on English words and sentences that I might be able to use
when I work as a pharmacist in the future. This time, I think I was able to plan well andthink about which resources to use. In addition, I learned things that I will be able touse in the future, so I feel that I had a fulfilling learning experience.

Takumi

Takumi was a student in the Department of Nanoscience. According to placement testscores, the English proficiency of nanoscience students is below average for the university
as a whole, but in my experience of working with these students, they do not necessarilylack interest in English or motivation to study it. Although Takumi had been studying
English since the fifth grade of elementary school, his test score placed him at only CEFR
A1 level, and his grades for previous English courses at the university were relatively
low. However, although he occasionally neglected to submit assignments, he attended
regularly and participated actively in class activities�
Unlike Nanami, when it came to self-directed learning, Takumi seemed to have a clear
idea from the outset what he wanted to do, and he wasted no time in applying himself
to it. His portfolio entry for the first planning-action-reflection cycle indicated that hehad spent the first part of the session using Quizlet (https://quizlet.com/) to review
vocabulary related to chemistry before shifting his focus to reading. I was impressed, butalso rather surprised and concerned, to find that he had chosen an extremely technicalarticle from the journal Nature (https://www�nature�com/) entitled “Aziridine Synthesis by
Coupling Amines and Alkenes via an Electrogenerated Dication,” which he had linked tohis portfolio. On reading the article’s abstract I found the text fairly impenetrable. It wascertainly not the sort of material I would expect or encourage elementary level students
to select, and I assumed Takumi would quickly abandon it and look for something moreaccessible. However, when I met with Takumi briefly at the end of the class, it was clearthat he had not given up. In fact, he talked about the article with such enthusiasm that
I soon abandoned my own attempt to guide him towards materials that seemed moresuited to his level�During his stimulated recall interview, Takumi acknowledged that this kind of
academic text was very difficult for him to comprehend and well beyond the scope of therecommended reading materials or anything his classmates were attempting. However,
he persevered with the same article all through the first three planning-action-reflection
cycles, demonstrating in the process a range of sophisticated reading strategies, including
identifying key vocabulary, summarising the main points in Japanese, and making
judicious use of online translation tools to aid text comprehension combined with use of
the Internet to supplement his knowledge of the content.
Takumi explained to the interviewer that, prior to SDLU, he had not really considered
his goals for studying English and had studied simply to improve his scores in English
tests, an endeavour that had been largely unsuccessful. He noted that the texts hehad used were decided by the teacher and were often either too difficult for him toaccess or were too easy to interest him. He reported that, during SDLU, he felt greatly
empowered by being able to choose the article for himself, and while engaging with thetext, he noticed that he was able to maintain his concentration for far longer than usual.
He also described experiencing a strong sense of accomplishment when he was able to58

Learner Development Journal • Issue 6 • December 2022

Jon Rowberrycomprehend the text: “What I chose was above my level so I had to work really hard, but it
gave me a real feeling of satisfaction when I was able to make sense of it.”As described above, there is a break after the third planning-action-reflection cycle,
in which learners exchange their experiences of SDLU with their classmates. For many
students, including Nanami, this prompted a shift in trajectory as they experimented withmaterials and approaches recommended by peers. In Takumi’s case, however, there wasno such shift. In fact, he failed to submit a slideshow video of his own, though he claimed
this was simply due to forgetfulness rather than reluctance to engage with the task.
In the fourth self-directed learning cycle he did not try out any of his peers’ suggested
resources or approaches, but instead selected a second chemistry article from Nature�
Although the linguistic content of this paper was just as challenging as the previous one,
he reported in his final reflection that he had become less reliant on translation tools
and Internet searches to support his reading. As a result, he was able to make sense of
the text within the two planning-action-reflection cycles, further enhancing his feeling ofaccomplishment�

Discussion

These cases richly illustrate ways in which two learners enact their agency through theirselection of learning materials for self-directed learning. The first thing to note is how
assiduously both Nanami and Takumi applied themselves to the task of finding suitable
resources for their self-directed learning. As their teacher, I was rather humbled by thissince, on reflection, I believe I had tended to underestimate how seriously students in myclass engaged with SDLU. Neither Nanami nor Takumi settled for the recommendations
listed in the SDLU orientation materials; instead, they proactively sought out resourcesthat were personally meaningful and related to their expressed learning goals�
For Nanami, this process was tentative and exploratory as she tried out a wide variety
of different materials and gradually refined her selections. At first, lacking self-confidence
in her English abilities and uncertain about the expectations and procedures associatedwith SDLU, Nanami seemed largely unable to enact agency. Although she later came tovalue the planning-action-reflection process and apply it to other areas of her study, she
was initially rather paralysed by this entirely novel approach. She seemed to agoniseover decisions relating to her learning and was tentative in her selections of materials,
experimenting with various resources without appearing to settle on any of them. She
was immediately drawn to music and movies, but she struggled to find resources thatsuited her learning style or met her learning goals. Her expectations about what learning
entails, perhaps influenced by her previous experience of teacher-directed learning, werein conflict with her desire to use audio-visual materials to address the learning goals she
had formulated. Moreover, as someone who claimed to particularly enjoy studying withfriends, her problems were compounded by limited access to peer support because ofsocial distancing constraints. Consequently, she was initially dependent on resourcessuggested by me or the SDLU support materials, even though she did not feel they werequite right for her. It was only after she had been introduced to the resources that her
peers were using that she was able to enact and enhance her agency.
One of these resources, Rupa-sensei, appeared to serve as a bridge between her desire
for video-based input and her need for a structured approach to learning. Rupa-sensei is
a YouTube channel targeting Japanese learners of English with over 500,000 subscribers.
Rupa himself is an Australian teacher based in Japan with an enthusiastic style ofLearner Development Journal • Issue 6 • December 2022

59

Agency in and Beyond the Classroom: Learners’ Selection of Resources

presentation, and his videos present a wide range of content, including tips for studying
English, clips from movies with useful words and phrases highlighted, and dialogues of
conversations with people Rupa meets on the street. It is not difficult to infer why Nanami
might have been drawn to this material. The video content and style of presentation are
engaging, and Japanese support is provided throughout in the form of subtitles. Also, in
his role as “sensei” [teacher], Rupa is very much directing the learning by focusing on key
words and phrases and highlighting pronunciation and other linguistic features�One might argue that rather than directing her own learning, Nanami had merely
replaced one teacher with another, but even if so, at least it was a teacher of her choosing
rather than one chosen by the institution where she studies. In any case, Nanami did
not settle on this resource for long but further enacted her agency by seeking out more
personally meaningful YouTube content with a specific focus on English for pharmacists.
Again, the videos she chose were highly scaffolded and specifically aimed at Japaneselearners, and as her teacher, I could not help wondering whether this approach wasleading her towards or away from independent learning. Nonetheless, she seemed finallyto have achieved success in aligning goals, resources, and learning behaviours.
Like Nanami, Takumi was motivated by a desire to improve his competence in using
English related to his academic field. At the start of SDLU, he formulated a long-term goal
to improve his ability to read, and ultimately to write, academic texts related to chemistry.
Although operating at a lower level of proficiency than Nanami, he was clearly willing
and able to enact agency as a language learner. He required no reassurance from me orfrom his classmates about the suitability of his selected materials; on the contrary, hechose them knowing that such reassurance was unlikely. However, as he explained in his
interview, he invested considerable time and attention to his search for suitable articles
using keywords and then skimming titles and abstracts to find familiar and interesting
topics�
Having settled on a specific resource genre, Takumi never wavered in his approach. The
fact that he did not seriously consider alternative learning approaches made him seemstrong-willed, if not rather stubborn, but his determination, enjoyment, and tremendous
sense of achievement clearly justified the approach he had taken. It was almost as if he
had long been primed for such a chance to enact his agency and had enthusiasticallygrasped the opportunity. Moreover, while Takumi was unequivocal in his approachto resource selection and did not take up any of his classmates’ suggestions, he was
highly reflective about his learning. For example, he soon noticed neither knowledge ofchemistry, nor English ability alone were sufficient for decoding the texts he had chosen: “I
think it’s important to know the English terminology first, but if you don’t study chemistry
properly, you won’t be able to understand what’s going on when you read.” Consequently,
investment in both these areas simultaneously was key to understanding the articles.
He also said that following the first SDL cycle, he had realised that studying chemistryrelated vocabulary in isolation was time-consuming and of limited value since he rarely
encountered the words he had studied:
In SDL 1, I started out by studying vocabulary first, but this was not efficient because
the vocabulary study took so long that I had little time left over for reading, and few ofthe words I had studied appeared in the text. So next time, I decided to start with thereading and only look up the vocabulary that I needed to understand the text.

60

Learner Development Journal • Issue 6 • December 2022

Jon Rowberry

With this shift in approach, Takumi took control of his learning by deciding for himself
which words were important rather than deferring to the predetermined selections
presented in the course materials�

Implications and Realisations

This study has shown how Nanami and Takumi enacted agency through their selection
and use of learning resources for their self-directed language learning in the context
of SDLU. Both were able to identify affordances for learning in the SDLU environment
and used them to enact agency. If, as Benson (2007) and Gao (2013) argue, agency isa precondition of learner autonomy, it seems that both Nanami and Takumi are wellprimed to become autonomous language learners. This is a positive finding for colleagues
responsible for developing and implementing SDLU since it aligns closely with the unit
objectives.
However, a clear implication from Nanami’s case is that, for many learners, theselection of resources for self-directed language learning is tremendously complex andchallenging, even within a supported learning environment such as SDLU. Teachers,
learning advisors, and course designers must tread a fine line between, on the one hand,guiding learners towards particular resources and approaches, and on the other hand,ensuring they do not exacerbate existing learning dependencies, or create new ones. To
make matters even more challenging, the right balance is different for each learner—while
Nanami needed a high degree of support and reassurance, Takumi needed very little.
For many learners, the most productive means of providing such support may bethrough other learners rather than, or at least in addition to, teachers. For Nanami,
watching her classmates’ slideshow videos was integral to her own subsequent
success, even though many of the resources they highlighted, such as Rupa-sensei,
were already listed in the Learn Independently Moodle site. Following the coronavirus
pandemic, SDLU became a rather individual experience mediated primarily by computer
screens rather than by other people and physical objects. However, especially underthese circumstances, opportunities to interact with real or imagined communities oflearners seem extremely important. Such opportunities can be realised in various ways
including presenting orientation materials and procedures in the voices of near-peer
students, encouraging learners to exchange learning resources or strategies, providing
opportunities for learners to troubleshoot problems, and having learners consolidate
their experiences of self-directed learning by producing information to support futurecohorts of learners in the form of videos, webpages, or handouts.
Finally, the data suggests that an intervention such as SDLU can be highly facilitativeof language learner agency in Japanese EFL environments, even for low-level and nonEnglish-major learners. This has important implications for traditional teacher-learnerroles and suggests that we may need to reconsider what it is that constitutes teacher
expertise. In fact, analysis of the data made me realise that I was guilty of holding a
number of preconceptions about my learners that did not stand up to scrutiny. For
example, the quality and depth of reflections written by students such as Nanami and
Takumi, as well as the comments they made during the interviews, made me realise I had
been guilty of underestimating our learners’ engagement and investment in their selfdirected language learning. Furthermore, Takumi’s case forced me to question my beliefs
about which texts are appropriate for which learners. It could be argued that Takumi was
successful in his self-directed learning in spite of, rather than because of, his teacher’s
Learner Development Journal • Issue 6 • December 2022

61

Agency in and Beyond the Classroom: Learners’ Selection of Resources

advice and expectations about text selection. While I had assumed that dense texts
with complex grammar and vocabulary would be poorly understood and demotivating,
Takumi’s case shows that text complexity need not be a barrier to comprehension,
particularly given the scaffolding that is now readily available in the form of web-based
tools. Provided they are personally meaningful, engaging with such texts can enhancerather than stifle learner agency.

Limitations and Future Research

One limitation of the study is that it tracks Nanami and Takumi over a relatively shortperiod of just a few weeks and only five planning-action-reflection cycles. The analysis
suggests that both of them are well primed to become autonomous language learners,
but from the point of view of the LBC research community, it is what happens to Nanami
and Takumi after SDLU that is likely to be of particular interest. Investigation of whether,and how, this process occurs would warrant a larger-scale, longitudinal study. Moreover,a further limitation of the study is that it describes the cases of only two learners, andthe differences between them clearly highlight the fact that each learner’s experience isunique. The study would therefore be considerably enriched by including more cases.
In fact, I am currently engaged in a larger-scale doctoral research project which aims toaddress these limitations by focusing on a larger number of cases over a longer period oftime�
Another potential avenue for research would be an investigation of how specific audiovisual resources function as affordances for learning beyond the classroom. YouTube isextremely popular with Japanese students and young people, and the success of channels
such as Rupa-sensei suggests that it has become a productive resource for language
learning beyond the classroom, as well as for entertainment. Studies investigating how
interaction with specific YouTubers or YouTube channels serves to enhance or constrain
language learner agency may contribute significantly to our wider understanding of LBC.
Finally, the current study has highlighted the importance of social interaction, evenin the context of socially distanced or computer-mediated classes. Therefore, researchtargeting how learner agency is enhanced through interactions with a community of(actual or imagined) peers is another promising avenue for future investigation�

Acknowledgements

As well as Nanami and Takumi themselves, I would like to express sincere thanks to mycolleague, Kayoko Horai, who conducted the interviews and whose own reflections on thecases proved invaluable in analysing and interpreting the data.

Author Bio

Jon Rowberry is director of the Sojo International Learning Center at Sojo University in
Kumamoto. He has taught English at schools, colleges, and universities in Japan and the
UK . He has an MA in TESOL from the Institute of Education (University College London)and is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Reading. His research focuses on
language learner agency, self-directed learning, and learner variables.

62

Learner Development Journal • Issue 6 • December 2022

Jon Rowberry

Review ProcessThis paper was open-reviewed by Louise Ohashi and Katherine Thornton of the Learner
Development Journal Review Network and by the Journal Steering Group. (Contributors havethe option of open or blind review.)

References

Ahearn, L. (2001). Language and agency. Annual Review of Anthropology, 30, 109–137.
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.anthro.30.1.109
Baumann, J. F., & Duffy, A. M. (2001). Teacher-researcher methodology: Themes,variations, and possibilities. The Reading Teacher, 54(6), 608–615.
Benson, P. (2007). Autonomy in language teaching and learning. Language Teaching, 40(1),21–40. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444806003958
Benson, P. (2017). Language learning beyond the classroom: Access all areas. Studies in
Self-Access Learning Journal, 8, 135–146. https://doi.org/10.37237/080206
Borg, S. (2013). Teacher research in language teaching: A critical analysis. Cambridge
University Press.
Chik, A. (2014). Digital gaming and language learning: Autonomy and community.
Language Learning and Technology, 18(2), 85–100. http://dx.doi.org/10125/44371
Chik, A. (2015). I don’t know how to talk basketball before playing NBA 2K10: Using
digital games for out-of-class language learning. In D. Nunan & J. C. Richards(Eds.), Language learning beyond the classroom (pp. 75–84). Routledge. https://doi�
org/10.4324/9781315883472
Council of Europe. (2001). Common European framework of reference for languages:
Learning, teaching, assessment. Cambridge University Press.
Day, R. R., & Bamford, J. (1998). Extensive reading in the second language classroom.
Cambridge University Press.
Duff, P. (2008). Case study research in applied linguistics� Routledge� https://doi�
org/10.4324/9780203827147
Ellis, G., & Sinclair, B. (1989). Learning how to learn English: A course in learner training�Cambridge University Press.
Gao, X. (2013). Reflexive and reflective thinking: A crucial link between agency andautonomy� Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 7(3), 226–237. https://doi�org/
10.1080/17501229.2013.836204
Gibson, J. J. (1979). The ecological approach to visual perception. Lawrence Erlbaum.
Grabe, W. (2009). Reading in a second language: Moving from theory to practice. Cambridge
University Press.
Kato, S. (2012). Professional development for learning advisors: Facilitating the intentionalreflective dialogue. Studies in Self-Access Learning Journal, 3(1), 74–92. https://doi�
org/10.37237/030106
Kato, S., & Mynard, J. (2016). Reflective dialogue: Advising in language learning� Routledge�
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315739649
Larimer, R. E., & Schleicher, L. (Eds.). (1999). New ways in using authentic materials in theclassroom. TESOL Publications.
Learner Development Journal • Issue 6 • December 2022

63

Agency in and Beyond the Classroom: Learners’ Selection of Resources

Lin, M. S., & Siyanova-Chanturia, A. (2015). Internet television for L2 vocabulary learning. In
D. Nunan & J. C. Richards (Eds.), Language learning beyond the classroom (pp. 149–158).
Routledge� https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315883472
Lynch, T. (2009). Teaching second language listening. Oxford University Press.
Lyon, P., & Barr, A. (2019). An investigation into the criteria students use when selecting
graded readers. Studies in Self-Access Learning Journal, 10(3), 258–281. https://doi�
org/10.37237/100304
Mercado, L. A. (2015). Integrating classroom learning and autonomous learning. In D.
Nunan & J. C. Richards (Eds.), Language learning beyond the classroom (pp. 190–210).
Routledge� https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315883472
Mercer, S. (2012). The complexity of learner agency. Journal of Applied Language Studies,
6(2), 41–59. https://apples.journal.fi/article/view/97838
Mozzon-McPherson, M. (2007). Supporting independent learning environments: An
analysis of structures and roles of language learning advisers. System, 35(1), 66–92.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2006.10.008
Nunan, D. (1999). Second language teaching and learning. Heinle & Heinle.
Ohashi, L. (2018). Self-directed learning and the teacher’s role: Insights from two
different teaching contexts. In P. Taalas, J. Jalkanen, L. Bradley, & S. Thouësny (Eds.),
Future-proof CALL: Language learning as exploration and encounters—Short papers fromEUROCALL 2018 (pp. 236–242). Research-publishing.net. https://doi.org/10.14705/
rpnet.2018.26.843
Pinner, R. S., & Sampson, R. J. (2020). Humanizing TESOL research through the lens ofcomplexity thinking. TESOL Quarterly, 55(2), 633–642. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.604
Reinders, H. (2010). Towards a classroom pedagogy for learner autonomy. Australian
Journal of Teacher Education, 35(5), 40–55. https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2010v35n5.4
Reinders, H., & Benson, P. (2017). Research agenda: Language learning beyond
the classroom� Language Teaching, 50(4), 561–578. https://doi.org/10.1017/
S0261444817000192
Vandergriff, I. (2016). Second language discourse in the digital world: Linguistic andsocial practices in and beyond the networked classroom. John Benjamins. https://doi�
org/10.1075/lllt.46
van Lier, L. (2002). An ecological-semiotic perspective on language and linguistics. In C. J.
Kramsch (Ed.), Language acquisition and language socialization: Ecological perspectives(pp. 140–160). Continuum.
van Lier, L. (2004). The ecology and semiotics of language learning: A sociocultural perspective�Kluwer Academic Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-7912-5
van Lier, L. (2008). Agency in the classroom. In J. P. Lantolf & M. E. Poehner (Eds.),
Sociocultural theory and the teaching of second languages (pp. 163–186). Equinox.
Webb, S. (2015). Extensive viewing: Language learning through watching television. In D.
Nunan & J. C. Richards (Eds.), Language learning beyond the classroom (pp. 159–168).
Routledge� https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315883472

64

Learner Development Journal • Issue 6 • December 2022

Jon Rowberry

Appendix

SDLU Portfolio Entry (Submitted via Microsoft Teams After Each of the Five Planning-ActionReflection Cycles)

Learner Development Journal • Issue 6 • December 2022

65

Agency in and Beyond the Classroom: Learners’ Selection of Resources

66

Learner Development Journal • Issue 6 • December 2022