LD SIG GRANT AWARDEE REPORTS

LD SIG Grant Awardee Reports-%4*(溿狒Ⲃ䡗ꄋ⹨Empowering Language Learners: Integrating Learner Well-being into
Classrooms

Chiyuki Yanase
Keio University
chiyanase@gmail.com
In July 2020, just as I had completed all my grading and was looking forward to my summer
break, I experienced my first and most severe panic attack whilst being alone at home. I genuinely
believed I was going to lose my life because of my inability to breathe. The trigger for this episode
was a phone call from my brother, whom I had met the previous day, informing me that he might
have contracted COVID-19. Overwhelmed by the extreme stress and exhaustion accumulated
through the semester, my heart began racing, and I struggled to catch my breath. By some strokeof luck, I managed to make my way to a nearby clinic, where the diagnosis confirmed it as apanic attack. From that day forward, I found myself battling a daily onslaught of panic attacks
until I obtained suitable medication during the summer. This experience served as a wake-up callreminding me of the utmost importance of self-care in my journey as an educator. So, I began to
study and research teacher and learner well-being in education.
As a result of my recent research interest in well-being in education, I have become increasingly
curious about how fellow educators address and enhance learner well-being within theirclassrooms. Therefore, I felt an overwhelming sense of privilege and gratitude when presented
with the opportunity to participate in PanSIG 2023. This conference offers a valuable platform forlearning and engaging in discussions that revolve around the challenges and possibilities involvedin constructing a sustainable future for language education. The selected theme of the conference
was exceptionally timely, pertinent, and relevant, given the numerous ecological, social, andeconomic challenges our world is currently facing. Indeed, it has become increasingly important toaddress this topic, particularly in light of the ongoing pandemic and the rapid advancements in thefield of AI, which are intensifying changes and presenting new obstacles in education. Within sucha complex context, the process of reevaluating and participating in discussions concerning the roleof language education has been truly rewarding for me.
During PanSIG, I attended several presentations, workshops, and forums to develop myunderstanding and explore innovative strategies and approaches to create sustainable, equitable,
and socially responsible language learning spaces. In particular, this report focuses on exploring
how we can enhance learner wellbeing in class through positive psychology intervention, which
promotes and enhances the overall well-being of learners.

LEARNER WELL-BEING

One of the most informative, relevant, and inspiring presentations I attended at the conference
was by Dominique Vola Ambinintsoa Razafindratsimba and Phillip A. Bennett. Their presentation
focused on positive psychology interventions to support EFL (English as a Foreign Language)
students. They highlighted how these interventions can be effectively implemented in classrooms
to cultivate a positive learning and working environment, boost motivation and resilience, andencourage students to embrace learning opportunities. As someone with a keen interest in

37

LEARNING LEARNING『学習の学習』30(2)student well-being based on Positive Psychology, as well as my prior research on teacher wellbeing, I was eager to learn practical ideas from this presentation that I could apply to enhance mystudents’ positive mindset and self-efficacy, both within the classroom and in their personal lives.
Additionally, I was interested in discovering strategies to facilitate a positive learning environment.
As I expected, Razafindratsimba and Bennett facilitated a relaxing and friendly atmosphere in thepresentation and shared their ideas based on PERMA which is a concept introduced by Seligman(2011) . The acronym PERMA stands for Positive Emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning,
and Accomplishments, and these five elements contribute to overall well-being and happiness, andthey are interconnected.
After explaining the fundamental purpose of Positive Psychology and its interventions, thepresenters introduced five practical strategies that can be implemented in the classroom toenhance learner well-being based on the PERMA model as written below.
Three Good Things (Helgesen, 2016; Seligman et al., 2005; Seligman, 2011)
In this activity, students write down three experiences, thoughts, occurrences, etc, that went wellduring the day and reasons why they were positive. Then, they share one of them with their partners.
By focusing on positive aspects of their lives, this activity can raise positive emotions, encourage
engagement, may promote positive relationships among students, and notice meaning of their lives
and achievements. Additionally, it may develop metacognitive awareness of affective states (emotional
regulation) and linguistic ability to express thoughts in a less superficial way
Confidence Building Diary (Kato & Mynard, 2016)
In this diary, students are asked to record something good and positive they have done in theirEnglish study in order to boost their confidence and motivation. This activity helps students notice
and appreciate small achievements, may raise positive emotions, encourages engagement in theirlanguage learning, and can support students to notice that what they do is meaningful.
Savoring Positive Experiences (Seligman, 2011)
Savoring is a technique that can be used to amplify both the intensity and duration of positive emotions.
Students are encouraged to identify and share three positive aspects or achievements from their class.
This practice provides students with opportunities to recognize and appreciate pleasant experiences,
extend their enjoyment, and engage in detailed reflection. By incorporating thought-provoking
questions that elicit positive emotions, this approach can enhance students’ confidence and motivation.
Furthermore, it can foster their ability to critically examine challenging aspects when prompted.
Medals (Helgesen, 2016)
After completing a pair or group presentation or project, it is important to allocate some time forstudents to reflect together on their collaborative effort. Then, either the students themselves or
the teacher can create medals using blank paper, and they should write down a quality or positive
attribute they observed in each of their partners during the project. This activity promotes reflection,
appreciation, and recognition of each student’s strengths and contributions within the group. It
also helps foster a positive and supportive learning environment while encouraging students toacknowledge and value the efforts of their peers.
Action Logs (Miyake-Warkentin et al. 2020)
An action log in an educational context is a document or record that tracks the actions or tasks
performed by students in the classroom. It serves as a tool to monitor and assess student progressand can have various purposes. Here are a few common uses of an action log in a classroom setting:tracking emotional states, goal setting, and communication with the teacher. By using an action log,
students can actively engage in self-reflection, monitor their progress, and communicate their needs

38

LD SIG GRANT AWARDEE REPORTS

or concerns to the teacher. It enhances student agency, promotes self-awareness, and fosters acollaborative and supportive learning environment.
Razafindratsimba and Bennett’s presentation offered a comprehensive understanding of Positive
Psychology and its application in language classrooms. Additionally, it provided numerous practicalactivities that can be implemented in language classrooms.
Another presentation that aimed to enhance learner well-being was a visually attractive andinteractive poster presentation titled “Sustainable Wellness and Accessibility: Finding Your Red
Balloon” by Andrew Reimann and Natsuki Suzuki. The poster was filled with adorable illustrations
and included a space for participants to write about one of their talents, which could be shared withothers on a red balloon-shaped piece of paper. I wrote, “My colorful facial expressions can makepeople laugh.” I have developed instantly changeable facial expressions to communicate more
effectively with English learners. Many of my students and friends find my expressive face funny, so
I thought this could be represented by my red balloon. Sharing my red balloon and reading others’
contributions on the poster was absolutely enjoyable. Explaining my red balloon to the presenters
also became a communicative activity that can be incorporated into a language classroom. After
participating in this activity, called “Finding your red balloon,” Natsuki, one of the presenters,
made a real red balloon and gave it to me as a gift. It was a simple yet thoughtful gesture that truly
brightened my day. I attached it to my backpack and traveled back home to Tokyo from Kyoto, filledwith a playful and positive sentiment.
As a keen advocate for teacher and learner well-being, such activities introduced in thepresentations served as a clear reminder that promoting positive perspectives regarding students’skills and capabilities significantly enhances their overall well-being and motivation to thrive as
both learners and human beings.

CONCLUSION

Since attending my first PanSIG conference in 2011, this was the first time I participated as anattendee rather than presenting my own research or approach. It provided me with the opportunity
to engage in numerous presentations, poster sessions, and forums at a futuristic university witha breathtaking view of Kyoto. Unfortunately, due to my hectic schedule, I could only attend from
Saturday and missed out on some of the social events during the conference. However, thediligent efforts of the organizers and student helpers made it one of the most welcoming andaccommodating conferences I have attended in the past decade. I was grateful to connect withboth familiar and new fellow educators who share a profound concern for the future of language
education.
In addition to gaining insights into effective approaches and activities to promote learner wellbeing, I learned the importance of creating a learning environment that enhances learners’autonomy, respects their agency, and provides resources and information tailored to their needs.

REFERENCES

Helgesen, M. (2016). Happiness in ESL/EFL: Bringing positive psychology to the classroom. In T.
MacIntyre, T. Gregersen, & S. Mercer (Eds.), Positive Psychology in SLA, 305-323. Multilingual Matters.
Kato, S. and Mynard, J. (2016). Reflective dialogue: Advising in language learning. Routledge.
Miyake-Warkentin, K., Hooper, D., & Murphey, T. (2020). Student action logging creates teacher
efficacy. In P. Clements, A. Krause, & R. Gentry (Eds.), Teacher efficacy, learner agency, 341-349. JALT.
https://doi.org/10.37546/JALTPCP2019-40
Seligman, M. E. P, Steen, T., Park, N. & Peterson, C. (2005). Positive psychology progress: Empiricalvalidation of interventions. American Psychologist, 60(5), 410-421.
Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. Free Press.

39

LEARNING LEARNING『学習の学習』30(2)PanSIG 2023: Discovering Community, Reaffirming Teacher Values

Annie Minami
Kamakura Women’s University
Senior and Junior High School
annieminami0719@gmail.com
Curiosity and growth. These are the values that have guided me as a secondary teacher working
in Japan for the past 17 years and what have inspired me to explore how to better create autonomy
in my classes at an all-girls secondary school in Kanagawa. Starting my career in eastern Gunma,straight out of university, I worked at four public high schools where I experimented and developed
as a teacher. At that time, I was interested in how to make English class a fun and exciting
experience for my students. Through the use of games, interactive activities, and music, my goal
was to inspire my students to become invested in how exciting learning another language canbe. Born and raised in Wisconsin, USA, I found my freedom through learning my L2. Majoring in
Asian Languages and Literature with a concentration in Japanese at the University of Minnesota,
I discovered a whole new world through learning another language. Naturally, as a teacher, I want
to share this joyous experience with my students. After the Great Japan Earthquake, I moved Westand worked as an elementary school teacher in Osaka, a city that intrigued me for its comedy andunique dialect, Kansai-ben. While living there for six years, I taught at three elementary schools insouthern Osaka and reveled in the joys of primary school teaching. Differing from the secondary
level, I found the receptive and eager nature of the students invigorating and extremely rewarding.
After a gap year away to backpack around Asia while making some cash on the side as an
instructor for an online Chinese teaching platform called VIPKid, I returned to Japan and have sincethen worked as a teacher at two private schools in Kanagawa. During this time, I attended nightclasses at Temple University in Tokyo and last year, after receiving my M.S.Ed., naturally I began tocontemplate the next step in my career. After some soul-searching, I decided I wanted to become auniversity professor and in order to pursue this goal, I joined JALT.
When signing up to become a JALT member, I looked through the organization’s various SIGs andthe LD SIG stood out to me. On the SIG website, LD describes itself as “supporting autonomous
learning and teaching” and my teaching philosophy and values firmly align with this as “increasing
intrinsic interest, self-confidence and student autonomy are techniques that can motivate ourstudents” (Dörnyei, 2001, pp. 28-29). Just as I am forever curious, I want to foster learning
strategies that support curious L2 learners, and currently, I am exploring translanguaging and how
its use can promote active student participation in my classes for Learner Development Journal
8 (LDJ8). Translanguaging utilizes learners’ full arsenal by allowing students to switch between
either L1 and L2 to promote comprehension in active and passive language processing (Garcia &Wei, 2013). As my students often struggle to find the words in their L2 to discuss questions posedto them in class, I have found translanguaging to be an effective strategy to increase student
motivation and self-efficacy as it allows students to use their background knowledge to ease theverification of information and creates a safe and comfortable environment in which they can do so.
In order to support my writing for LDJ8, I felt naturally the next step was to attend my first JALT
conference. As I do not receive support from my institution to attend professional conferences, it
was hard to justify the shinkansen ticket and hotel price to travel to Kyoto on my own dime, but I
didn’t want to wait until JALT 2023 which is being held a little closer to home in Ibaraki. Thankfully,
the LD SIG sent out an email announcing the grant opportunity. I applied and was elated tohave my grant proposal accepted. The grant not only helped ensure my focus would be on the40

LD SIG GRANT AWARDEE REPORTS

presentations and not my bankbook, but also gave me the confidence to attend my first JALT
conference with hundreds of mostly university instructors, only one of whom was a friend. My
reasons for wanting to attend PanSIG 2023 were plentiful but mostly, I was just hungry for ideas.
I am currently conducting classroom based research using Exploratory Practice and the term
“puzzle” is preferred and used throughout the EP literature. The reasoning behind this is that“problem” can come across as a negative, teacher-centric term and “puzzle” is used to promotecollaboration and inclusion with students in a more positive light. Throughout my grant report, I am
looking at the presentations I viewed at the PanSIG conference through an EP lens.
As an instructor, I try to improve my classes each year by understanding a puzzle I encounter in
my classes. For example, last year there was no curriculum provided and I was asked to design acurriculum for English conversation classes that supported JHS and SHS English courses taught
by my Japanese colleagues. The school’s hope was that I could reinforce the language from their
textbooks in my English conversation classes and give students a chance to practice and use thislanguage in various activities. Mostly, I was instructed to help inspire students to enjoy the processof learning English while helping them increase their EIKEN test scores. At Kamakura Women’s
University JHS/SHS, a school with two tracks, international and progressive, students have threeopportunities a year to take EIKEN. The international track with higher English ability aims at higher
EIKEN scores, passing pre-2 by year 3 in JHS and level 2 by HS. Students in the progressive course
are required to pass Level 3 by year 3 in JHS and Level pre-2 before graduating from HS. Naturally,
the puzzle I explored was how can I keep English interesting and engaging for my students while
helping them to pass the EIKEN level required for them?
Also, I was searching for ideas on how to improve the club I oversee and am an advisor of, English
Speaking Society (ESS). In previous positions I have worked at, ESS was a casual club for students
to come and play games in English. I co-advised with several other teachers and though I careddeeply for the students in the club, it always felt a bit underdeveloped. At Kamakura Women’s
University JHS/SHS, my colleague and supervisor, Mr. Takao, and I, as first-time sole advisors,
wanted to develop the club into more than just a casual English game club. We hoped to provide
opportunities for students to improve their English skills in meaningful ways through school events,
speech contests, cultural lessons, etc. This year, we implemented several new strategies to support
this goal. Perhaps the most significant, we introduced an English first rule. We encourage ourstudents to speak English first and to try to express themselves without resorting to Japanese.
Initially, it was challenging for them but slowly over the past four months, they have started tocommunicate using only English, no small feat for sure! Currently, a puzzle we are exploring is
how can we support students in becoming autonomous learners who actively are using English?
Specifically, what systems could we implement to support students between activities or when
there is downtime? Often, the high school students finish an activity more quickly than JHS
students, and this waiting time is sometimes spent reverting to Japanese. When HS students areorganizing the logistics of the school festival club display, JHS students may be sitting withoutsomething to do. How could we better support them to put English first?
My desire to foster learning strategies that support curious L2 learners led me to the firstpresentation I attended at PanSIG 2023 which was conducted by LD SIG member, Tim Cleminson.
His case study investigated one of the principles of exploratory practice: quality of classroom life
(Allwright, 2003; Allwright & Hanks, 2009). During his session, Cleminson compared and examinedthe experiences of both teachers and students engaging in exploratory practice (EP) for the firsttime and then analyzed these narratives to facilitate overcoming challenges that teachers facein the classroom. His presentation stood out to me as I am also currently using EP to analyze myclasses with quality of classroom life at center stage for my research for LDJ8. By listening to41

LEARNING LEARNING『学習の学習』30(2)Cleminson’s presentation, I was able to solidify my knowledge of EP, what it means in different
teaching contexts, and think more deeply about how to further use it in my teaching situation.
In regard to my puzzle concerning ESS, I was drawn to Steven Lim’s presentation “Do Compulsory
Self-Access Learning Center Visits Facilitate Autonomy?” In his study, Lim surveyed first andsecond-year university students’ use of his university’s self-access learning center and the kindsof activities students engaged in. I found the use of discussion cards particularly of interest and it
is an element I would like to add to our club room guiding students to have a more autonomous
relationship with English. Some examples that Lim gave were situational English interactions suchas ordering from a menu or checking in at the airport as well as more conversational prompts suchas how to express your opinion on a new fad or ways to connect with others in English. From next
semester, I plan to mirror Lim’s efforts and make some original conversational prompt cards for ESS
and instruct the students on how to use them to facilitate conversation.
The final event of the day was the LD SIG Forum. A bit nervous to enter being the newbie I was,
I walked up to one of the poster presenters and was welcomed by an instructor with a calm
yet passionate demeanor, Jenny Morgan. I was really impressed by my interaction with Jenny
because right off the bat, I could tell we both had one thing in common: a passion for empowering
our students. Jenny told me about a project she was doing at her university in which she was“expanding upon the typical travel English roleplays to bring an awareness of diversity, equity,and inclusion (DEI).” Morgan believes that instead of just presenting cookie-cutter dialogues thatcan be found in textbooks concerning travel, we can push our students to go deeper and discuss
ethical travel. We brainstormed together about how we could present students with the language
needed to volunteer abroad or discuss environmentally friendly travel. We also discussed how
to visit countries that are off the beaten path for most Japanese tourists and how to promote DEI
travel to all corners of the globe. As an avid backpacker myself, it was exciting to discuss these
topics that are not often presented in the standard MEXT textbooks. Morgan was receptive to thefact that even though I’m in secondary education, there are parallels and the presentation left me
feeling hopeful about expanding more upon dialogues that I encounter in my student’s textbooks.
Connecting with another instructor who was working at the tertiary level was exhilarating andhelped fuel the fire that I too could enter university academia. Though I do currently share mytravel stories with students, I started to see that my experiences outside of the classroom could
be highlighted even more in my current and future classes. A recent trip I took to Sri Lanka forayurvedic treatment could turn into a lesson introducing students to holistic medicine and stressmanagement techniques that could support their learning. Meditation and yoga poses could be a
warm-up activity before a challenging task. The possibilities are endless.
After listening to a few other poster presentations, I was lucky enough to be acknowledged with myco-recipient and allowed to say a few words of thanks. Overall, attending PanSIG 2023 was sucha humbling and rewarding experience and one which I will never forget. I look forward to getting
more involved with the LD SIG and contributing more in the future. I was moved and humbled by
the welcome I received and highly recommend joining the LD SIG.

REFERENCES

Allwright, D. (2003). Exploratory practice: Rethinking practitioner researcher in language teaching.
Language Teaching Research 7(2): 113-141.
Allwright, D. & Hanks, J. (2009). The developing language learner: An introduction to exploratory
practice. Palgrave Macmillian.
Cleminson, Tim. (2023, May 13). Understanding quality of classroom life: An exploratory practicecase study [Presentation]. JALT PanSIG 2023 Conference, Kyoto Sangyo University, Kyoto, Japan.
Dörnyei, Z. (2001). Motivational strategies in the language classroom. Cambridge University Press.

42

LD SIG GRANT AWARDEE REPORTS

Garcia O. & Wei L. (2013). Translanguaging: Language, bilingualism and education. Palgrave
Macmillan.
Lim, Steven. (2023, May 13). Do compulsory self-access learning center visits facilitate autonomy?
[Presentation]. JALT PanSIG 2023 Conference, Kyoto Sangyo University, Kyoto, Japan.
Morgan, Jenny. (2023, May 13). Applying learner-centered pedagogy in an “English for Tourism”
course: Exploring diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), and sustainable and ethical travel [Learner
Development SIG Forum Poster Presentation]. JALT PanSIG 2023 Conference, Kyoto Sangyo
University, Kyoto, Japan.
Annie Minami has been teaching English around Japan since 2007 and currently teaches at
Kamakura Women’s University Junior and Senior High School. She holds a master’s degreein TESOL from Temple University, Tokyo Campus. Her research interests include exploratory
practice, translanguaging, and self-efficacy.

Life and Research Trajectories as a Lens for Understanding Learner
Development: Aya Hayasaki 2021 LD Research Grant Awardee

Aya Hayasaki
Waseda University
hayasakiaya@gmail.com
James Underwood writes: Aya Hayasaki was awarded a Research Grant in 2021 and has been
active in the Learner Development Journal Issue 7 “Challenging the conventions in learnerdevelopment research, which she has been co-editing with Ellen Head and Ryo Moriya. Whatfollows are prompts that are the start of a dialogic interview.
1. How or why did you become interested in learner development, and decide to
become a member of the LD-SIG?
I finished my master’s program in 2017, joined JALT in 2018, and chose to join the LD-SIG because
it seemed the most active of all the SIGs. When I started my PhD program in 2020, I started tointeract more actively with the members of the SIG. Everything suddenly went online, and I had tomake drastic changes to my PhD proposal because of the pandemic. I was desperately looking
for opportunities to connect with people I could exchange research ideas with. I met Ryo, asenior at the same university, and that’s when I learned about the Learner Development Journal(hereafter LDJ) and found it very appealing to be able to write papers while interacting directly withexperienced researchers/teachers.
2. Who or what has been particularly important for you in developing your (learnerdevelopment) practices and/or your understanding of learner development?
Looking back, I feel there were several turning points in my life as a learner/teacher/researcher.
The most significant was a two-week homestay in Salinas, California, my hometown’s sister city,when I was 15 years old. I was born and raised in a rural area of Kagoshima (the southern partof Kyushu, Japan) and began studying English as a school subject for the first time in junior highschool. So, the first thing that was new for me was to realise that there were actually people who
do use English in their daily lives—that English was a real language that people speak living in thereal world, something that exists beyond those thin textbooks I used to use. My host sister, who

43LEARNING LEARNING『学習の学習』30(2)was two years older than I, told me that she had come to my hometown in Japan through the same
program and that her dream was to become an ALT in Japan (which came true after several years).
It was also a big shock to me when I visited a local school and learned that individual students set
and decide their own timetables (to me then, it was a symbol of learner autonomy!). As I had noconcrete dream before, it was a great stimulus for me to be exposed to people’s lives in a foreign
language. I felt that English education in Japan, where most students seemed to study English only
for tests, was such a mottainai thing– a real waste of time –and that English classes should be
more meaningful to each student.
Later, in my second year of senior high school, I convinced my parents to allow me to spend
one year as an exchange student at a public high school in the same host family’s community
in California. I studied English hard in high school, which I loved, but in university, I wanted tolearn “in” English, so I majored in international liberal arts at an English-medium university. I alsostudied at a university in Brno, Czech Republic, for a year to experience firsthand the situation ofEnglish language education in another country where English is learned as a foreign language.
Interestingly, contrary to my expectations at the time, English was often not spoken in the citywhere I studied. I realised the privileged position I had unconsciously assumed English to hold.
So, I shifted my focus to studying the Czech language and interacting with Czech friends, whichallowed me to experience the richness of learning languages and cultures other than English. At
the same time, I made friends with international students from other parts of the world, which gave
me opportunities to use English as a lingua franca. It was around this time that my fear of making
grammatical and pragmatic mistakes began to diminish and I began to feel more like a user ofEnglish rather than a mere learner.
After graduating from university, I worked for three years as an English teacher at a public highschool in southern Kagoshima. This was something I had long dreamed of. Soon, however, I faced
a gap between my ideals and the realities of the classroom. Many of the students were really
hard-working and we did enjoy many things together in and outside the classroom, but according
to their questionnaire responses, not many of them had reasons to learn English beyond ‘because I
need it for the university entrance exam’. While I do not think that is a bad thing in itself, I once saidin one of my classes: “Right now it’s very important to face the exams in front of you. But after you
are free from these exams, I want you to have as many experiences as you can have because you
have learnt English.” I showed them pictures of my experiences abroad, studying, backpacking andvolunteering. One of the students – smiling broadly – responded, “Teacher, I really enjoyed looking
at the photos! You were really rich, weren’t you?” In the next lesson, I explained that there are more
and more opportunities for anyone to study abroad, regardless of academic or financial ability,
as long as they have something they want to do and can demonstrate a plan and passion. Theylooked confused. I felt that even though there are more and more programmes offering support
for young people to study abroad, making these opportunities personally relevant to those fromdiverse backgrounds is probably a very different thing. This led me to my current research theme,
which I will introduce later.
3. Where do you work now, and what kind of learners do you work with, and whatpuzzles or questions do you have about them related to learner development?
I currently work at Waseda as a research associate while also working on the fourth year of my PhD
studies there. I also teach a course called Self-Directed Learning (SDL) at Gakushuin University. My
puzzles and questions in both practice and research are mostly around the role of social context inlanguage learning; specifically, I am interested in how to make language learning more personally
relevant, meaningful, and empowering.

44

LD SIG GRANT AWARDEE REPORTS

4. What area of learner development are you particularly interested in, why? And
have you conducted any research related to it, if so how? And what were yourfindings?
Here, I would like to focus on my PhD project, part of which I wrote about in my application to the
LD Research Grant. I have been exploring the role of English language learning experiences on
the life and career trajectories of women from rural Japan, focusing on both opportunities andchallenges for empowerment. While today’s research in foreign language education underscores
the significance of considering learners’ social contexts, a noticeable gap exists in Japanese
research in that insufficient attention has been paid to regional and gender disparities—and thisincludes an incentive divide (Kariya, 2012), as well as gaps in motivation or aspiration to learn.
As for data collection, I have been conducting life story interviews with women from Kagoshima
Prefecture, which is known for having the lowest four-year university enrolment rate in the
country. I also integrate my personal experiences as a female learner and teacher of English, aswell as a researcher, from the same region, through autoethnography. For data analysis, I utilise
Trajectory Equifinality Modelling (TEM), a methodology originally developed in the field of cultural
psychology. TEM has been applied in studies of language learner and teacher psychology,
particularly in Japanese contexts (e.g., Moriya & Ishizuka, 2019). It offers insight into how differing
initial conditions can lead to similar outcomes, aiding in the visualisation of changes in values andactions. I also try to employ Auto-TEM (autoethnography through TEM; Tsuchimoto & Sato, 2022)
to reflect on how my researcher reflexivity has evolved throughout this study. In doing so, I am also
hoping to address the ethical dimensions of foreign language education research.
I wrote up the first phase of my PhD project as a paper published in the 6th volume of the Learner
Development Journal (LDJ6) (Hayasaki, 2022). In this study, I focused on the stories of three
women in their third year of university who self-reported that they experienced a positive change intheir career aspirations through their English language learning experience. They had participatedin the project-based learning programme in English as part of their senior high school curriculum.
The findings revealed how they overcame various social constraints by meeting near-peer rolemodels and other supportive people. Cultivating their possible L2 selves seemed to have helped
them form clearer future visions and eventually succeed in enrolling in the universities they
aspired to go to. At the same time, more questions emerged than answers to my original researchquestions. For example, these three women eventually chose more academically challenging
universities outside Kagoshima than they had originally imagined, but that is only one of many
examples of the positive impacts that language learning can have on different people’s lives. This
led me to pose the following questions: Is pursuing more challenging educational and professional
opportunities always the best option? What other forms of positive changes could language
learning bring about?
5. How did you use the research grant?
The questions above brought me to the idea of the second phase of the project, in which I am
currently interviewing my friends from senior high school in Kagoshima. I used the research
grant to pay rewards to the interviewees for participating in the interview, as well as the cost ofa transcription service. We (my high school friends and I) come from an even more rural part ofKagoshima, and few of us went to a 4-year university—and there are different kinds of stories
in the lives of these women that I knew about. While being aware of the ethical dimensions ofconducting acquaintance interviews, I wanted their voices, as well as my own, to be heard andincluded in research in this field. Foreign language learning has educational significance not onlyin terms of the instrumental benefits derived from the acquisition of the target language itself
but also in that it allows learners to deepen their understanding of their own values and those of45

LEARNING LEARNING『学習の学習』30(2)others through contact with different languages and cultures. My primary goal is to understandthis aspect of language learning more deeply. By conducting this research, I hope to provide bothadolescent and adult learners the ability to proactively understand the pedagogical implicationsof their L2 learning experience with their career development and overall well-being beyond thecompulsory language classroom. This is still a work in progress, and I hope I can continue to report
on my further progress to the LD community, which has provided me with such incredibly immense
support over the years.
6. Where did the idea for the theme for Learner Development 7 come from? Why
did you choose to become an editor for this issue? And what have you foundinteresting, puzzling or rewarding about the writing or editing process?
The questions I discovered working on my LDJ6 project helped me reflect on the assumptions,values, and beliefs that I had unconsciously accumulated through my experiences as a learner,
teacher, and researcher. I decided it was time for me to challenge them. I also thought people inother contexts might have different kinds of conventions to challenge. Particularly for the readersof LL, these questions might be interesting to think about: What is practitioner research? Whatis research for practitioners? What is it not? … Is it really not? How? These questions emerged
through discussions among the editors and contributors in LDJ7. I have, as a result, started tounderstand how different approaches may contribute to practitioner research.
7. When have you thought your learners (past or present) have been “truly
autonomous rather than just going through the motions to please you”, and whatconvinced you that they were?
I believe that one of the moments that a learner becomes truly autonomous is when they are
confronted with their own vulnerability or negativity. In my own experience,as an L2 user of English
and as an early-career researcher, I have spent a great deal of time feeling unsure of myself. Asa teacher, I have also met many students like me. However, you never know what may becomea catalyst for learning, for growing interests in new things, or for experiencing success. Just as
intrinsic and extrinsic motivation naturally fluctuate, wanting to score well on a test or to pleasea teacher or parent can become the starting point for authentic learning opportunities. In thepassage of time and with the accumulation of experience, learners move back and forth between
different feelings and identities. This may involve confusion and pain, but that often becomesthe reason to try to move forward. They may not be able to understand themselves well enoughwhen they are in the middle of such changes, but they may look back later and find themselves
having made positive changes in different ways. Positive psychology is often applied to language
teaching, but in my research, I want to shed more light on the seemingly negative aspects oflearning from new angles. To this end, I would like to continue working with different ways ofreflection and retrospective interviews. What I would like to emphasise is that when faced withdifficult situations, it is important to be given a place of psychological safety and a role with somedegree of tension in order to face those challenges. LD-SIG is a community that has given me
just such a place and has supported me in taking on those challenging new roles. Thank you verymuch!
Acknowledgements to Hugh Nicoll.

46

LD SIG GRANT AWARDEE REPORTS

REFERENCES

Hayasaki, A. (2022). Beyond the classroom, beyond the track: The role of English in thetransformation of career perspectives in three females in rural Japan. The Learner Development
Journal, 6, 82–96. https://doi.org/10.37546/jaltsig.ldj6-6
Kariya, T. (2012). Education reform and social class in Japan: The emerging incentive divide.
Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203076996
Moriya, R., & Ishizuka, A. (2019). In the midst of emotion and identity: Investigating trajectories oflearners’ self-esteem from psychological and sociocultural perspectives. The Learner Development
Journal, 3, 8-25.
Tsuchimoto, T., & Sato, T. (2022). Career decision-making as dynamic semiosis: Autoethnographic
trajectory equifinality modeling. Culture & Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354067X221140609

LD SIG Grants

Every year, the Learner Development (LD) SIG provides grants to support members’
professional development, research and educational- and volunteer-related activities
and projects in the broad area of learner development. To get a better idea of the kindof work we’ve supported over the years, please see our Past Recipients page, with links
to reflections, reports, and publications that resulted from grant-supported projects andconference presentations.

5ZQFTPGHSBOUBWBJMBCMF

Members may apply for the following grant categories:
1. Conference participation (PanSIG, International JALT Conferences)
2. Research
3. Projects
All applications will be judged on merit according to the same grant selection criteria (seebelow). Research and project grants can be submitted by individuals or groups (including
local LD SIG Get Together groups); in the case of group submissions all group members
must be current SIG members.

4FMFDUJPODSJUFSJB

All applications will be judged on merit according to the selection criteria below:
1. Clarity of the applicant’s purpose for applying for the grant
2. Connection between the applicant’s purpose and the LD SIG’s aims**
3. Necessity of receiving the grant & Appropriateness of proposed budget allocations**To understand what LD SIG aims for, reading past issues of Learning Learning is also
recommended.

*ORVJSJFT

Any questions regarding the grants or any feedback should be sent to the grants team.

47