Isra Wongsarnpigoon, Kanda University of International Studies
Dominique Vola Ambinintsoa, Kanda University of International Studies
Wongsarnpigoon, I., & Ambinintsoa, D. V. (2021). Editorial. Relay Journal, 4(2), 51-54. https://doi.org/10.37237/relay/040201
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We are pleased to announce the publication of Volume 4, Issue 2 of Relay Journal. On June 25, 2021, the Research Institute for Learner Autonomy Education (RILAE) at Kanda University of International Studies (KUIS) held its sixth online LAb session: Landmarks in SALC Contexts: Thinking Back, Moving Forward (incidentally, recordings of the session can be viewed at https://kuis.kandagaigo.ac.jp/rilae/lab-sessions/6th-lab-session-friday-june-25th-2021/schedulelab6/). The timing of the session was chosen to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the opening of the Self-Access Learning Center (SALC) at KUIS, one of the most prominent self-access centers in Japan. The moment provided a timely opportunity to reflect on five decades of research in self-access language learning as well as other anniversaries of important milestones in the field of language learner autonomy, such as the 40th anniversary of the publication of Holec’s (1981) Autonomy on Foreign Language Learning. For this current issue of Relay Journal, in conjunction with the LAb session, we are fortunate to be able to present six articles focusing on the same themes as the event. Our two featured articles directly relate to the June event, and the other four articles address issues highly relevant to self-access contexts.
In our first featured article, David Gardner and Lindsay Miller offer a reflective overview of self-access language learning (SALL) since the publication of their landmark book, Establishing Self-Access: From Theory to Practice (Gardner & Miller, 1999). While the book remains relevant today, in the more than 20 years since its writing, SALL and language learning in general have profoundly changed. For instance, the development of technology has altered the nature of language learning resources and opportunities outside the classroom, and in turn, perceptions of learning spaces and out-of-class learning have evolved. Accordingly, Gardner and Miller examine how self-access has evolved, drawing from their own experiences as well as from the literature. In doing so, they suggest how self-access may fit into the current state of second or foreign language education. Finally, they consider what may be necessary for the continued evolution of this particular field.
In our other featured article, Haruka Ubukata and Robert Stevenson provide summaries of each of the 15 presentations in the LAb session. In addition to the three featured presentations, which respectively addressed the development of the Japan Association of Self-Access Learning (JASAL), language learning environments, and the evolution in the field of self-access learning, the LAb session included reflections and stories about the experiences of teachers and advisors working in SALCs, on descriptions of practices in SALCs, and on theoretical conceptualizations related to learner autonomy and self-determination theory. One presentation about a book, strongly linked to the theme of the LAb session, Language Center Handbook 2021 (Lavolette & Kraemer), by one of its editors, was also included. Ubukata and Stevenson’s paper is, therefore, rich in information about different aspects of and views on SALCs.
The Curriculum column features an article by Amelia Yarwood, Momoyo Asaizumi, and Mina Kawauchi on an elective course, taught by a SALC learning advisor, intended to introduce basic advising skills to university students. Beyond the description of the course design and content, the reflective elements of the article help to present the personal experience of the course. Especially valuable is the fact that the authors represent not only the instructor (Yarwood) but also actual students in the class (Asaizumi and Kawauchi). Their reflections allow readers to view the course from various perspectives. In particular, Asaizumi and Kawauchi’s reflections directly describe what they took away from the class as learners, with personal detail that might not have been possible in a typical description written solely by an instructor. This paper illustrates how advising skills may be applied to situations outside of language learning and also represents one example of how SALC services can be extended into a classroom context.
Relay Journal encourages and welcomes reflections on advising and teaching practices in each issue, hence, the existence of the Reflective Practice column. For this issue, we have two papers on reflections drawn from the analyses of language learning advising sessions. In the first, Tina Brown presents a narrative reflection on one of her first experiences advising a language learner. Brown describes an advising session that she had with an actual learner, focusing particularly on her own worries about whether she could feel genuine while utilizing specific advising skills. She closely examines a specific moment in the session and reflects on why it was important to both her and the learner. New advisors adjusting to the role will appreciate her discussion of the natural application of advising strategies, as well as of how certain moments in advising can initially seem disappointing but actually yield unanticipated positive results.
In the second Reflective Practice paper, Stacey Vye reflects on one of her advising sessions, applying grounded theory in the analysis of the advising session scripts. She identifies three emerging themes, which are advising strategies, from the session: summarizing, metaphor, and powerful questions. The excerpts she includes in the paper can help readers understand how the three advising strategies can be used and how they can support learners to go deeper in their reflections. Both papers give us insights into what it is like to be an advisor helping learners reflect on their learning and emphasize the importance of reflecting on advising sessions for professional development.
This issue also includes a Perspectives paper, written by Tim Murphey. The paper is a combination of a review of Anhold’s book, The Good Country Equation (2020) and Murphey’s reflection on his experience as a student in an advisor training course. Stressing the importance of “dual mandate,” a notion of supporting one’s country as well as others, seeing mutual support as a necessity, and approaching the world around in an ecological and humanistic way, Murphey discusses how that notion is also relevant in advising.
The collection of articles assembled in this issue of Relay Journal serve as a fitting accompaniment to the theme of the June 2021 LAb session. Just as the presenters that day looked at the past, present, and future of self-access in language learning, the articles in this issue encompass the breadth of those topics: Gardner and Miller examine the evolution of self-access from its early stages up to this point (while glancing towards the future); meanwhile, in reviewing the aforementioned LAb session, Ubukata and Stevenson’s paper relates to the current state of the field. Our other articles in the Curriculum, Reflective Practices, and Perspectives columns, on the other hand, represent explorations of innovative ways for SALCs to adapt not only now but in the future: Teachers can also adopt advising skills in their practices, and learners themselves can be taught how to use advising skills in order to enrich their lives outside of the classroom. In their influential book, Gardner and Miller (1999) describe the flexibility of self-access in functioning in various contexts and meeting the needs of various types of learners. Additionally, they note several issues which arise in establishing self-access, including the need for roles (e.g., teachers’ and learners’) to be reevaluated and adapted as a self-access environment develops. In our own daily working context in the SALC at KUIS, we ourselves have found this to be true. Even before recent circumstances forced a reexamination of what our self-access services look like in the pandemic age (see Davies et al., 2020), we had been exploring ways to better help our learners’ evolving needs. We hope that you enjoy discovering through the articles here how practitioners in self-access are still exploring and adapting the various roles in their environments. We encourage readers to reflect on the concepts presented here and on ways they may apply these ideas in their own contexts.
Notes on the Editors
Isra Wongsarnpigoon is a Learning Advisor and Resource Coordinator in the Self-Access Learning Center at Kanda University of International Studies. He holds an M.S.Ed from Temple University, Japan Campus. His interests include multilingualism in language learning, learning spaces and environments, and learner autonomy.
Dominique Vola Ambinintsoa is a learning advisor at Kanda University of International Studies in Chiba, Japan. She holds a PhD in applied linguistics, focusing on fostering learner autonomy in an EFL context (Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand) and a Master of Education in TESOL (State University of New York at Buffalo, US). She has a particular interest in learner autonomy, self-access language learning, advising in language learning, and positive psychology in education.
References
Davies, H., Wongsarnpigoon, I., Watkins, S., Vola Ambinintsoa, D., Terao, R., Stevenson, R., Imamura, Y., Edlin, C., & Bennett, P. A. (2020). A self-access center’s response to COVID-19: Maintaining stability, connectivity, well-being, and development during a time of great change. Studies in Self-Access Learning Journal, 11(3), 135–147. https://doi.org/10.37237/110304
Gardner, D., & Miller, L. (1999). Establishing self-access: From theory to practice. Cambridge University Press.
Holec, H. (1981). Autonomy and foreign language learning. Pergamon.
Lavolette, B., & Kraemer, A. (2021). Language center handbook 2021. International Association for Language Learning Technology.