RESEARCH PAPER
One Year Later: Students’ Visualizations of“Independent-Mindedness” in the L2 University
Classroom
Tanya McCarthy, Kyushu Institute of Technology
Over the past two decades, Japan’s Ministry of Education, Sports, Science, Culture and Technology (MEXT) has
proposed several action plans for curricular reform which state that upon graduation from tertiary institutions,students should be able to function effectively, in English, in an international setting. Each year, there has been an
increased emphasis on “independent-minded learning.” This study examines whether students, after one year of
tertiary education, could reflect on their current situation, visualize changes in their development, and consider
what it meant to be “independent minded” in their approach to learning. An Independent Learning Scale (ILS) was
introduced to students as a horizontal line drawn across the whiteboard, with the numbers one to five evenlyinterspaced along the line. The number one represented a learner dependent on teacher instruction, while thenumber five represented a proactive, independent learner. Students were asked to choose the number which best
represented their perception of themselves. Data showed students’ perceptions at each of the five levels. Interpretation of the findings suggests that learners were indeed capable of reflecting on learning, but felt they needed
training in how to learn in order to become more “independent-minded.”
過去20年にわたり、文部科学省は、高等教育課程修了段階で、学生が国際的な舞台や状況において英語で不自由なくコミュニケーションがとれるようになることを明言したカリキュラム改革に対するさまざまなアクションプランを策定してきた。その中で、年々、高等教育レベル
での「主体的な学び」の必要性が高まりを見せている。本研究では、高等教育を１年間受けた学生が、現況を省察し、自己成長過程における変化を視覚化し、自身の学習の「主体性」の意味に関して考察できるかを検証する。調査手法として「主体的学習指標（Independent
Learning Scale: ILS）
」を用いた。ホワイトボードに描かれた横線に１から５までの番号を等間隔に振り、１は教師の指示への依存を示
し、５は自発的、自律的な学習者であることを説明した後で、学生には学習者としての自己について最もよく当てはまる番号を選ばせた結果、回答は５段階のレベルそれぞれに分かれた。本研究結果より、学習者は学習を省察する能力を身につけているが、より主体的になるために学習方法のトレーニングが必要だと感じていることが示唆された。

Keywords
learner autonomy, visualization, reflection-on-learning, independent-mindedness, EFL

キーワード
学習者オートノミー、視覚化、学習の省察、主体性、外国語としての英語学習

Being an independent learner assumes a readiness to be proactive about one’s learningor as Holec (1981, p. 3) defines it, “the ability to take charge of one’s learning”. In an
English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context, this idea of independence in the L2 classroom is considered to be beneficial in empowering learners by helping them to understandtheir stage of development, reflect on their capabilities, adopt strategies that would best suit
their specific skill-set and learning style, evaluate their progress, and visualize their future
selves based on their reflections. This is the kind of learning environment that many higher
education teachers strive to achieve; however, as is the case in many L2 situations, there are avariety of approaches to learning
Learner Autonomy (LA), or the idea of becoming a self-reliant learner, has its roots inwestern cultures and is in many ways in direct conflict with the Asian concept of collectivism(Wu & Rubin, 2000). Studies around the world have shown that there is a definite relationship between the mainstream cultural practices in a particular society and to what extent LA
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One Year Later: Students’ Visualizations of “Independent-Mindedness” in the L2 University Classroom

is accepted as a part of institutional culture (see Palfreyman & Smith, 2003). After working for several years as a teacher in various secondary institutions in Japan, I found that theconcept of “taking charge of one’s learning” was largely non-existent at the secondary level,
due to teachers preparing students (typically using a grammar-translation methodology) forthe competitive university entrance exam tests rather than engaging learners in practices ofself-efficacy. Participants in this study also mentioned the lack of training in learning how tolearn while in high school Students further reported that trying to cope with this new expectation of independent-mindedness in university was not only difficult in their language
learning classes, but also a challenge in their Math and Physics classes
Over the past decade, Japan’s Ministry of Education, Sports, Science, Culture and Technology (MEXT) has proposed several action plans for curricular reform. With regard to English
education, MEXT (2013, 2014a, 2014b, 2015) states that upon graduation from tertiary institutions, Japanese students should be able to function effectively, in English, in an international environment Each year, there has been an increased emphasis on independent-mindedlearning. In MEXT’s 2015 Basic Plan for the Promotion of Education, they state:what is truly needed in Japan is independent-minded learning by individuals in orderto realize independence, collaboration and creativity. (MEXT, 2015)
As a result, institutions have been charged with adapting curricula to reflect MEXT guidelines In order to facilitate this change, tertiary institutions have tried to adopt new measuresin the L2 classroom—but with mixed results
The notion of being an independent learner has been around for decades, but it is still a novelidea within many Japanese institutions I became interested in understanding this phenomenon
after changing jobs from an advising position in a private university to a teaching position at aprestigious national university in Japan At the time, the university was undergoing extensive
curriculum reform which saw Learner Autonomy in the classroom as one of three main principles underpinning the new curriculum The underlying philosophy was that students would
take ownership for their learning by making decisions about their study plans, plan their learning, monitor progress, and evaluate outcomes (Yasuda, 2015). Interviews with instructors at theinstitution post-curricular change found that, in particular, older instructors who had researchexperience and training in fields outside of TEFL methodology struggled somewhat with not
only the new concept of “independent learning,” but more so, with how to incorporate it into
their current teaching practices On the other hand, the instructors who had recently completed
a degree in TEFL, and therefore had some training in and knowledge of current TEFL theories,
found it less challenging to adjust their teaching to fit within the new curriculum. As such,
efforts to assist learners in becoming more active participants in their learning were varied, depending on teacher training and practices Thus, one of my aims in doing this research was tocreate a snapshot of students’ visualization of their stage of learner development so that I could
form a clearer picture of the degree of autonomy that students were realizing under the current
curriculumContextual Overview
Prior to this study, I had disseminated a questionnaire (see Appendix A), which sought specifically to identify transitional difficulties between the high school and university L2 classroom,
to approximately 400 non-majoring English freshman students (135 females and 268 males)at the end of their first semester as freshman students. Students across eight departments(Agriculture, Design, Economics, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, AeronauticalEngineering, Literature, and Medical Sciences) participated in this study. Based on student
responses, I perceived the three main adjustment difficulties to be:

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1

Poor language skills to cope with university-level classes (45.35%)

2

Lack of independent learning skills (30.52%)

3

Lack of ability to reflect on learning (20.93%).

In this current study, students in each language class were of mixed-proficiency levels andtook two mandatory 90-minute English courses per week: A Writing/Speaking class and a
Reading/Listening class over a 15-week semester for a total of 22.5 hours of teaching instruction per semester Students changed English instructors each semester as a way of exposing
them to different teaching styles, accents, and nationalities. Although there was a core curriculum, creating a culture of autonomy in which each teacher introduced a centralized concept of independent-mindedness proved to be challenging In essence, this was because timely meetings between faculty members and the mainly adjunct instructors could not be easilyorganized as adjunct instructors were each teaching on different days and times during theweek.
The current study thus follows up on the earlier questionnaire-based research and examines whether students, after one year of tertiary education, could reflect on their current situation, visualize changes in their development, and consider what it means to be “independent-minded” in their approach to learning

Methodological Framework
Participants in this study were 125 male and female freshman students at the end of theirfirst year of tertiary education. The participating students were purposefully selected as they
had already been involved in a study I had conducted previously In the previous study, they
had identified Learner Autonomy as one of their major challenges in transitioning from highschool to university. As participants came from different faculties, had learned from various
language instructors with varying teaching styles, and had mixed levels of English proficiency
and attitudes towards language learning, I was able to get a wide cross-section of views
Students were asked to take part in a reflective activity in their final English class of theirsecond semester The aim was to identify to what extent students’ understanding or personalvisualizations of learner autonomy had developed at the end of one year in a tertiary L2 environment. As the collected data were to be used for research purposes, I asked the students not
to write their names or any other personal information that could be used to identify themselves. The three questions the students reflected on were:ʶ

What knowledge have you gained in your language learning after one year at university?

ʶHow do you visualize your development as an independent learner?

ʶ

What action can you take to be a better learner in your second year?

Students answered the first question in the format of an open-ended written response andthen compared responses in groups The third question was answered as a whole class activity
to raise awareness of the various services and resources that students could access for self-directed learning. For the second question, students were first given a worksheet (Appendix B)
with examples of a Level 1 student and a Level 5 student transcribed from interviews in theprevious research in order to clearly understand what was expected of them. Students first responded to the prompt in written form in English on the worksheet before participating in theteacher-facilitated discussion The discussion was prompted by using a student-centred Kanban Board Technique (KBT).

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One Year Later: Students’ Visualizations of “Independent-Mindedness” in the L2 University Classroom

The KBT (Ohno, 1978) emerged early in the 1940s as the Toyota brand restructured theirapproach to their manufacturing and engineering production systems. The KBT was intended
to help employees visualize their work (using coloured paper to differentiate task importance),
work effectively in their limited time, focus on flow, and practice continuous improvement. I
decided to use the KBT style of data collection as visuals (such as charts, graphs, mind maps,
photos, drawings or diagrams) have typically been used in research to represent concepts thatare difficult to explain. Students were thus asked to visualize their thoughts about their feelingsof autonomy in language learning
Due to its highly visible nature and ability to facilitate communication, the modified KBTworked as a quick and effective method to help students:
1

understand the meaning and importance of learner autonomy in learning2

reflect on what it means to be an autonomous learner3

become aware of how each student is unique in his/her visualization of themselves as
autonomous learners

4visualize their current situation and future goals

5think about how to take action to improve their current or future situation based onshared experiences

Using the visual format of the KBT, an Independent Learning Scale (ILS) was then introduced to students to gauge their developmental level In practice, a horizontal line was drawn
across the board, with the numbers 1 to 5 evenly interspersed along the line (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. Independent Learning Scale
The number 1 was representative of a learner who perceived himself or herself to be largely dependent on teacher instruction, while the number 5 represented a learner who considered

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himself/herself to be a proactive, independent learner. The students were then asked to choose
the number which they felt best represented their perception of themselves as an independent
learner. They were given Post-it notes in different colours representing the five numbers, asked
to write the reasons why they had chosen the particular number, and then place it next to thenumber on the board. This exercise worked as a meaningful visualization tool for students’
perceptions of what it meant to be an independent-minded learnerStudents were given time to walk to the board and read the other students’ ideas and thenreturn to their groups to discuss the results with the following prompts:
1

Which number were you on the Independent Learning Scale?

2

Why did you choose that number? Give examples.

3

How do you think you can improve your English in the future?

Visualizing these insights was a critical step in order for students to deepen their reflections
about their current developmental state as well as their progress as independent-mindedlearners ILS data were collected and compiled in a table format to identify students’ perceptions of Learner Autonomy at each of the five levels. Results are discussed below.

Students’ Personal Visualizations of an Autonomous Language LearnerStudents’ personal visualizations of themselves as autonomous language learners were separated into five distinct levels ranging from one to five. For each level, it was found that students were indeed capable of reflecting on their learning. Level 1 learners tended to be more
self-deprecating of their language skills and write surface reflections (McCarthy, 2013), while
Level 5 learners, although critical of some aspects of their learning, had a more positive outlook for the future and concrete ideas of how to improve their language skills. For all learners,
it appeared that more support and training from teachers were needed to see further development
The following descriptions indicate how students rated themselves in each category during
the reflective activity.

Level 1
A Level 1 learner showed characteristics of a learner lacking confidence. Of the 125 participants, there were seven students who considered themselves to be lacking independence intheir language learning. Specifically, students showed negativity through the vocabulary theychose to express themselves:
I do not study outside of class
I only do homework
I only want credit
I think that I do not need English in my future. I regret now.
Words such as “do not,” “only” and “regret” are a good illustration of stereotypically unengaged students. For a few, there was little effort to do more than simply the basics to gain
the course credit Others felt a sense of frustration that they did not possess the required
skills to participate actively on their own in class. Level 1 students in general thus showed apreference for full teacher instruction
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One Year Later: Students’ Visualizations of “Independent-Mindedness” in the L2 University Classroom

Level 2Of the 125 participants, 50 students considered themselves to be Level 2 learners on the ILS
This was the largest grouping These students showed some aspects of negativity Like the Level 1 students, some were concerned mainly with passing tests or doing only enough to gain thecredit required to graduate. Lack of interest in learning English or using any English-relatedresources was also a point raised by several students However, underlying the negativity, there
were usually some ideas of how to improve specific aspects of their language learning:
I can’t speak, listen or read, but I enjoyed presentation
I am not good at English, but I study at home and look back after class
It was difficult for me to write an essay, but after the teacher taught me structure, I was able to
make it.
I am not interested in English, but I think I can learn English very well through watching movies.
I cannot communicate with anyone, however, I visited SALC and listened to English songs. I
don’t have English skills, but I will make effort in the future.
Looking at the language itself, many students added “but” or “however” as a way of showing that they were aware that they had the capacity to develop further In many instances,
there was the realization that they should study, but there was no concrete action planningeven though they had some idea of their future goals. As such, these students found it difficult to make improvements in their language learning:
I should study more
I should have done new things and been more active
I have a plan that I want to do in the future, but I do not try to achieve it
I want to study with more potential
Although I know to speak English is advantage in the future, I reject learning English.
Learning how to learn seemed to be the biggest challenge for Level 2 students as they hadreceived little training during their first year as freshman students:
I want to learn but I don’t know what to do
I think we can learn “how to study” and “what to study” from our teachers
One of the main problems identified was students’ anxiety in and outside of the language
learning classroom, which affected their participation and overall performance:
I don’t like English class. I feel painful in English class. I have a sleeping disorder so I can’t wakeup. I’ll try more.
I do my homework certainly, but I always don’t study by myself. I want to go to SALC but I
couldn’t go there.
Trying to speak I get upset and can’t say anything.

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Having worked with Japanese students for over a decade, I have learned that talking to theteacher was found to be a cause of anxiety for some students (mainly due to the language
barrier), thus opportunities during class time and also in the final 10 minutes were always
provided for students to communicate with friends in their L1 The social-interactive dimension of LA has been explored extensively by Dam (1995), Brown (2001), Richards (2006), Little(2007), La Ganza (2008), and Benson and Cooker (2013). They suggest that the learner’s capacity, as well as willingness to be an active participant in their learning, depends not only on
individual-cognitive thinking, but interdependence through cooperation with others. I foundthat whereas only a few students in each class chose to work alone, most students considered
their friends as a major source of academic and emotional support:
I don’t ask the teacher or friends for help
I often ask my friends to tell me the contents of the class
I am not good at speaking, but I am able to notice my mistakes in my presentation when myfriends listen to it and tell me.
Despite many students mistakenly believing that becoming an independent learner meant
studying alone (an idea reinforced by being instructed to complete the independent learning
CALL course in isolation), student reflections illustrated the importance of having some formof support on the road to becoming an independent learner
In essence, Level 2 learners, although showing a preference for teacher instruction, expressed an interest in receiving some guided instruction as well as learner training in how to
be more autonomous rather than simply being told what to do

Level 3
Level 3 was the third largest grouping on the ILS behind Level 2 and Level 4 respectively Of
the 125 participants, 29 considered themselves to be Level 3 learners In this group, student
motivation for language learning was higher and there was some recognition of the necessityof improving English skills for future purposes as well as efforts to set goals and make plansto achieve them:
I do English for a long time however I cannot speak English well. I have a little plan that I want
to do in the future. I am going to clarify my plan.
I think my language skills are not good. I know I should learn English for my future so I startlearning these days
In the future I will need English skills, so I want to learn English now and in the future.
Having a future goal was thus important in helping such students to become more passionate and responsible about their learning (McCarthy, 2011). Personal responsibility in completing assignments on time and asking others for help when needed also played an importantrole in helping students become more independent-minded in their thinking:I often have my homework done before the deadline
I can communicate at the minimum. I often ask teachers only when I cannot find the answers bymyself such as specific vocabulary
I study for tests, presentations and essay in English by myself. I also study points I cannot underLearner Development Journal • Volume 1: Issue 1 • November 201713

One Year Later: Students’ Visualizations of “Independent-Mindedness” in the L2 University Classroom

stand in my house
I am sometimes dependent on my friends, but I always finish by myself
I cannot speak English well and have little time to study English, but I submit my reports on time.
I can achieve with effort.
In this way, Level 3 students demonstrated a good understanding of their language learning
strengths and weaknesses, which can be taken as evidence of having the capacity for autonomous learning. Not only did they recognise areas of weaknesses, they also had concrete ideasof how to learn, knowledge of useful resources connected to their interests and motivation to
be more active in their learning:
I don’t like to read English, but I like to watch movies in English
I like to read books for example Harry Potter, so I sometimes read such books that are not directly
concerned with English classes. However, I don’t speak English good so I do not practice it.
I cannot speak with foreign students but I like to watch TED videos every week
I’ve been interested in English for several years, but my English skills still leaves much to do.
However, my friends and I enjoy talking in English in LINE so it helps us to get accustomed toEnglish.
Here again we see a level of anxiety about communicating with others At the same time,
being able to use applications such as “LINE” (a free social networking application) was
viewed as a means through which students could experience authentic English with peers
This idea of encouraging out-of-class learning that is directly connected to students’ realworld interests is an area that the researcher felt could help to foster a culture of autonomy
within the institution
Students at this level, although having some feelings of anxiety about their lack of language
skills, were in general somewhat active in their language learning and were in most cases
willing to ask friends and the teacher for support:
I can communicate at the minimum. I often ask teachers only when I cannot find the answers bymyself
I couldn’t ask the teacher for help before I started university, but now I can ask the teacher forhelp.
For Level 3 learners on the ILS, although they were motivated to do some self-study andhad a learning goal and ideas of how to achieve their goal, similar to Level 2 learners, they
seemed to need teacher instruction on specific areas to complement their self-study:
I cannot speak English well so my homework is very hard, but my English teacher is friendly andexplains good. I want to be better so I need my effort and teacher’s advice
I think advice of the professor and professionals is necessary to acquire a right scientific learning
method, but I think that to learn by the method of talking with foreign student in English byoneself is also important
I would like to study at my own pace. However, I can’t understand contents of class for example
Philosophy and I don’t know where I make mistakes in essay. Therefore I need my teacher’s help.

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Level 3 students thus showed a preference for a balance between taking responsibility for
their own language learning and relying on the teacher for specific training.

Level 4The second largest grouping on the ILS was Level 4 students at 34 of 125 students In thisgroup, students had a strong awareness of language strengths and weaknesses and showed
more effort and motivation in trying to achieve goals. Like Level 3 learners, there was recognition of the necessity of improving English skills for future goals, however for these students,
there was a stronger connection between future goals and motivation to learn (McCarthy, 2011):
I study for what I want to do in the future. Sometimes the teacher advises me about subjects or
how to study, but usually I plan my schedule and study by myself
When I entered university, I made some goals. First, doing my best at learning English. Second,
communication with many people. Third, having my own opinion about every event. I achieved
these goals.
In addition, class participation for Level 4 learners was quite strong and students actively
tried to learn outside of the classroom:
Before and after class I review work to become interested
I am independent from teacher’s support I think. For example, I find interesting areas myself andresearch
My English level may be average but I got able to speak English words more exactly. These days
I care about overseas news not only Japanese news. I want to be more active to English movie,
TV, music.
My English skill is not high however I did my homework hard. Of course I faced many problems
at home, but I achieved my task by myself. I got confidence.
Although Level 4 learners in many cases considered themselves to be lacking in English
ability, they had a positive attitude to language learning and were thus able to improve For
many of these students, the idea of being an independent learner was a novelty which they
tried to embrace:
I study liberal arts more harder now, not enforced by teacher or parents than when I was a highschool student. Now I haven’t become a completely independent learner because I’m lazy andnot active. Recently I speak what I should do in order to improve myself, so I am becoming more
independent
I can learn Physics very efficiently when I realize theories of it. It is true that you listen to theteacher, however I think the most important thing is realization by myself in learning
In my high school, my homeroom teacher told me everything we should do. I don’t like to be told
to study so I was frustrated by the system. In university, there is no homeroom teacher, so I canmake my schedule on my own and study the things I want. It is a good situation for me now.
This self-awareness, reflected in the students’ abilities to make plans and find appropriate
resources to achieve learning goals, is indicative of a good independent learner The comments below are examples of how students participated actively in the learning process:Learner Development Journal • Volume 1: Issue 1 • November 201715

One Year Later: Students’ Visualizations of “Independent-Mindedness” in the L2 University Classroom

I watch TED during my part-time job. Although I don’t understand it all, I can scan it
I am learning German and I enjoy comparing the grammar and pronunciation to English
I think my style is independent learning because I know how to do “active learning.” Active
learning focuses on “metacognition” which is for example writing a mindmap
I watch TED and listen to podcasts. If I improve my skill more and more, I can go abroad by myself! It has been 10 months since I have entered this university and I think I have become more
independent. For example I research the meaning of words, listen to music and study IELTS bymyself.
Part of these learners’ success was actively seeking help from others or offering help to those
who needed it This is a crucial point to note when trying to create a culture of autonomy within an institution In situations where the learner could not get assistance, it sometimes led tofrustration:
My problem is Mathematics. Almost all teachers consider it as independent study and I get nohelp at all
I always know what I should do, but I sometimes need others’ help and advice. For example,
I want to be an engineer. Although I should study Math and Physics, it is difficult for me to dothese subjects by myself. I need others’ help for theseI teach my friends about how to write an essay in English
When I do my homework, I do it by myself, but sometimes when I don’t know how to do it, I ask
the teacher or my friends for help
When I can’t solve the problems, I searched websites, asked my seniors at club and emailed theteachers. I don’t like to leave questions unsolved. I sometimes meet with my friends to study.
To see evidence of these behavioural attributes in students who state that they have experienced little or no learner training (Ellis & Sinclair, 1989; Sheerin, 1989; Dickinson, 1992) is agood argument for encouraging peer-support, active learning and knowledge-sharing.
Examining the language of Level 4 learners, we can see a more critical awareness of various aspects of language learning, including not only linguistic but also affective and social
concerns Level 4 students thus recognised the necessity of applying themselves more rather
than depending solely on the teacher In general, they showed a preference for teacher-facilitated instruction in that they would take on more responsibility for their learning with timely
teacher feedback.

Level 5
As might be expected with a group of freshman students still in their first year of tertiary education, only 5 students of the 125 participants rated themselves at Level 5 on the ILS Thesestudents had the most confidence and for them, the key points were similar to Level 4 learners in the effort they put in to improve their skills and in having a clear goal for their future.
What distinguished these students most from the others was their interest and curiosity inlearning new things:
For the first time I wrote an academic essay and was able to learn many new things

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My goal is to become a diplomat. To achieve my goal, I try to put in my maximum effort into
English work. To improve my English work, I always try to fix every problem that was pointed
out by my teacher
I entered this university because I wanted to study by myself. If I need a teacher individually, I
will contact with someone who can advise me
University itself is not how we only get education. I am an active learner because I am inquisitive
about everything.
This intrinsic motivation in their learning led to social and academic empowerment as students could find enjoyment, interest and relevance in their learning activities. By satisfying
these three needs, students were able to create meaningful connections with their language
learning and social grouping in class as well as feel comfortable in the knowledge that they
were able to self-regulate their learning In essence, Level 5 students had developed the capacity to work both independently and interdependently depending on the situational context.
Table 1 summarizes students’ personal visualizations of what it meant to be an autonomous learner

Goal-setting
planning

Asking for
supportSelf-control

How to learn

Be active /effort

1

o

50

2

o

o

29

3

o

o

o

o

34

4

o

o

o

o

o

o

o

5

5

o

o

o

o

o

o

Curiosityand interest

Anxiety(affective
issues)7

Knowledgeof resources

Total
N=125

Level

Table 1. Summary of Students’ Personal Visualizations of an Independent LearneroDiscussion
As the notion of learner autonomy continues to play a major role in MEXT discussions, it isimportant that studies continue to be conducted to show whether training students to be
more reflective and goal-oriented about their future is beneficial or not. My interpretation of
the findings indicates that learners were indeed capable of reflecting on learning, some morecritically than others, but there was a general consensus that some level of training in learning how to learn was required in order for students to become more “independent-minded ”
This idea is in line with a previous study conducted by the author (McCarthy, 2013).
In this study, students reflected on their independent-mindedness using the simple
prompt:How do you visualize your development as an independent learner?
Because students had been taught by a variety of teachers during their first year, exposure to autonomous principles differed. As such, it was difficult to know how much influenceprevious instructors had had on student development Interestingly, student ideas about what
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One Year Later: Students’ Visualizations of “Independent-Mindedness” in the L2 University Classroom

constitutes an autonomous learner were similar to concepts found in widely-read research
articles about LA from the last 30 years or more:ʶ

Recognizing strengths and weaknesses, setting goals and/or achievable targets andmaking plans to achieve targets (Holec, 1981)

ʶ

Understanding language learning styles and strategies and selecting appropriate materials (Skehan, 1989; Oxford, 1990)

ʶ

Working individually, without supervision (Geddes & Sturtridge, 1982; Brookes & Grundy, 1988; Nakata, 2014)

ʶWorking collaboratively with peers and teacher (Brown, 2001; Richards, 2006)

ʶ

Asking for support (Little, 1994; Dam, 1995; Littlewood, 1999; Umeda, 2004; Benson &Cooker, 2013)ʶ

Affective issues such as anxiety and motivation (Benson, 2001; Cohen & Dornyei, 2002;
Dornyei, 2002)

ʶ

The need for learner training (Ellis & Sinclair, 1989; Dickinson, 1992).

After discussions about the ILS, the students were once again reminded that learning was ajourney, that at each step of the way there would be successes and pitfalls and also that theywould possibly move upward and/or downward on the ILS several times over the course of
their studies Further, understanding the developmental process was instrumental in helping them to become more aware that each student was unique and that everyone had specificstrengths and weaknesses. It was thought that through this reflective activity students would
be more cognizant of the effort that would be required of them if English is to become a partof their future professional life
Based on students’ written visualizations, the following figure (Figure 2) was created toreflect their ideas of the role and responsibility of the learner and teacher:

Figure 2. Students’ Personal Visualization of the Breakdown of Responsibilities in the L2
Classroom

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I found the results of this study interesting as research into Learner Autonomy in the Japanese context has largely presented students as being passive or teacher-dependent due tocultural factors of “oneness” (Dore & Sako, 1989; Holliday, 2003). However, many of thesestudents showed a strong capacity for independent-mindedness without having experienced
much (or any) training in the way of reflection-on-learning or in learning how to learn.

Further Considerations
Three main areas lacking in data collected from the student reflections which might be examined further are:1

How students evaluate progress and revaluate goals based on evaluation2

How perceived level of language proficiency correlates with perception of independent-mindedness

3

How students transfer independent-minded skills to new situations.

As previously stated, students at the university in which this research took place changed
instructors each semester As such, creating an institutional culture of autonomy remained
a challenge. Having a core definition of learner autonomy and ideas of how to implement it
within the classroom should therefore be a careful consideration in future curriculum development This would help to guide instructors in helping students to set goals and learn how
to self-assess growth. Having students reflect on language proficiency using a framework
such as The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) (Council ofEurope, 2017) would help both instructors and students to see if there is a relationship between language level and autonomous practices This could then serve as a springboard forclassroom discussion on how to develop into a more independent-minded individual Most
importantly, if students could understand how skills learned in university classes connected
to other situational contexts as well as their future lives, they would be more cognizant of therelevance of classes and feel more motivated to participate actively
As the role of support and training was a central theme in student reflections, this is thecore area that could be built into how teachers manage their classrooms. By connecting
more closely to Japanese cultural practices, such as the senpai/kohai (senior/junior) bond, it
is possible to engage students further in learning. This could also reduce anxiety about asking teachers for help Another consideration in how to encourage out-of-class learning is toassign points to English learning connected to student interest such as LINE Although theuniversity’s Self-Access Learning Center (SALC) offered language services to help students,
texting seemed to provide a bridge for students not yet ready to engage in conversation The
CALL program which instructed students to work independently would need to be discussed
further to see how it could be adjusted to encourage more collaboration and to evaluate progress. As intrinsic motivation (through enjoyment, interest and relevance to future goals) was
the main factor connected to the development of Level 5 students, how to cultivate this within
the classroom should also be considered

Final Thoughts
This research has shown a snapshot of 125 students’ personal visualizations of their autonomous stage of development at a top national university in Japan For students who hadreceived no formal training from the university in how to take more responsibility for their
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One Year Later: Students’ Visualizations of “Independent-Mindedness” in the L2 University Classroom

learning, the fact that over half the students identified as Level 3 or above was quite positive This is particularly surprising for two reasons: First, although Japanese students usuallytend to select the middle point (3) in a scale (Chen, Lee, & Stevenson, 1995), results showed amixed distribution (see Figure 3).

Figure 3. Distribution of Students’ Perceived Level of Autonomy
Second, in the “training” students received from the university to facilitate autonomous
behaviour upon arriving as freshman students, a CALL programme was introduced to students only twice—once during their orientation upon entering the institution and once again
through flyers distributed at the beginning of the semester during an English class—and donein isolation
There are two factors that could have led to these surprising results First, since 2011, MEXT
has made significant efforts to introduce conversational English into primary educational institutions, which may be contributing to students’ confidence, language gains, and ability to reflect
on learning progress. The institution in which this research took place was considered to be oneof the top universities in the country, and, as such, the students entering had already developed
strong study habits Replicating this study at a lower-ranked tertiary institution would possibly
have very different results as motivation and attitude to learning might be lower.
A second factor could be students’ exposure to a larger number of external influences
through smartphone technology Having constant access to the outside world may be one of
the factors which influences students’ ability to be more autonomous in their approach tolearning As students in this study reported reading world news through other news outlets
than Japanese outlets, learning about interesting topics through resources such as TED Talks
and engaging in casual English talks through smartphone applications such as LINE can be
encouraged There has been a considerable amount of research focusing on the connection
between student interest and motivation to learn (Guilloteaux & Dornyei, 2008), which canbe explored further. In particular, student ideas can be passed on to SALC staff as a means ofknowledge-sharing to assist other students.
It can thus be assumed that if top universities in Japan continue to accept high-performing
students, the current trajectory of students with the capacity to be independent minded will

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continue For students who did not achieve the results to get into top universities, it is important that out-of-class learning be incorporated into existing curricula in order to tap into
student interest and increase motivation As the main change agents in curricular reform, it isimportant that clear guidelines and definitions of autonomy-in-practice be decided by teachers in order for the change to be meaningful It is only by fostering a culture of learner autonomy within an institution that any progress in turning students into “independent-minded
individuals” will be seen

References
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Cohen, A., D., & Dörnyei, Z. (2002). Focus on the language learner: Motivation, style andstrategies. In N. Schmitt (Ed.), An introduction to applied linguistics (pp. 170-190). Oxford:
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Yasuda, S. (2014). An overview of the university English curriculum: A conceptual framework
for curriculum innovation Bulletin of KIKAN Education, 1, 102-117

Review ProcessThis paper was open-reviewed by the following members of the Learner Development Journal Review Network: Dexter Da Silva and Chika Hayashi. (Contributors have the option of open or
blind review.)

Author Bio
Tanya McCarthy is an Associate Professor in the Institute of Liberal Arts at Kyushu Instituteof Technology She has earned a PhD in Linguistics from Macquarie University, Australia Her
research interests are action research, learner autonomy, self-access, self-directed professional development, and curriculum development She is currently researching the integrationof research-oriented learning into a Tandem Learning Scheme Email: mccarthytanya m@
gmail com

Appendix A
Survey questions in first semester research [English translation]
1

What is your gender?

2

What is your major?

3

Which of these, if any, do you have a problem with in your university classes? [selectfrom the choices below]ʶTeacher’s speed of talkingʶTeacher’s accentʶTeaching styleʶComputer skills

ʶ

Language skill

ʶAmount of homeworkʶ

Course objectives

ʶ

Textbook content

ʶGroup work

ʶClass sizeʶIndependent learningʶEnglish-only classʶ

Reflection on learningʶ

Relationship with peersʶGive details for your choice: ____________________________________

4

What are the differences between your high school and university English learning experiences?

5

If there were a short English program to bridge the gap between high school and university, would you be interested in participating in it?

6What do you think could have facilitated the move from high school to university English language classes more easily for you?

7

What kind of support or guidance have you had to help you with your challenges?

8

How have you changed your approach to learning since entering university?
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One Year Later: Students’ Visualizations of “Independent-Mindedness” in the L2 University Classroom

9

What advice or suggestions do you have for students to assist in the transition fromhigh school and university?

10 What advice or suggestions do you have for teachers to assist in the transition from highschool and university?

Appendix B
Worksheet for ILS reflective activity showing example responses of a Level 1 andLevel 5 learner24

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