A Report on The 6th RILAE Lab Session, Landmarks in Self-Access

Haruka Ubukata, Kanda University of International Studies

Robert Stevenson, Kanda University of International Studies

Ubukata, H. & Stevenson, R. (2021). A report on the 6th RILAE Lab session, landmarks in Self-Access. Relay Journal, 4(2), 66-77. https://doi.org/10.37237/relay/040203

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Abstract

To commemorate the 50 years of research into self-access learning as well as the 20th anniversary of the Self-Access Learning Center (SALC) at Kanda University of International Studies (KUIS), the Research Institute for Learner Autonomy (RILAE) held its 6th annual conference under the theme of “Landmarks in SALC Contexts.” This article details the 15 presentations from the conference and is a companion piece to Mynard et al. (2021), which gives a brief overview of the conference and highlights past works from the self-access research. 

Keywords: conference, self-access landmarks, role of self-access

The Research Institute for Learner Autonomy Education (RILAE) held its 6th annual conference on the 25th of June, 2021. The conference, held online, was attended by 73 participants from at least 12 countries around the world, and featured 15 presentations on the theme of ‘Landmarks in self-access’. In celebration of the five decades of research in the field of self-access learning as well as the 20th anniversary of the Self-Access Learning Center (SALC) at Kanda University of International Studies (KUIS), RILAE used this opportunity to look back at the progress made in the field of self-access learning. In the following, each presentation is summarized as presenters offered their unique perspectives and/or experiences of self-access learning.

Featured Presentations

JASAL: Supporting a growing self-access community in Japan: Katherine Thornton

In the first featured presentation of the conference, Thornton described the evolution of the Japan Association of Self-Access Learning (JASAL) and its contributions to the field of self-access learning. The organization was established in 2005 by two of the earliest spaces for self-access learning in Japan, by Garold Murray and Sara Cotterall at Akita International University, and by Lucy Cooker and Hisako Yamashita of Kanda University of International Studies. JASAL was created in order to build a community and provide access to different resources for autonomous learning. Since then, JASAL has grown and become a highlight of the educational landscape in Japan. Thornton, who became a JASAL board member in 2011, highlighted many of the recent developments, including the development of a standalone conference: 

  • In 2013, JASAL began SAC tours, inviting attendees of learning conferences to visit SACs to learn more and exchange ideas.
  • In 2012, students began their own self-learning conferences as part of JASAL and have become an integral part of JASAL.
  • In 2015, JASAL began its annual standalone conference.
  • Since 2019, JASAL has been increasing its legitimacy by publishing the JASAL journal and working with other organizations.

JASAL has become an important hub in Japan as it offers a supportive community, disseminates best practices for educators and learners, documents the development of self-access learning in Japan, and facilitates research. JASAL also supports and is supported by other organizations such as the Studies in Self-Access Learning (SiSAL) journal and the Research Institute for Learner Autonomy Education (RILAE).  

Thornton then described trends and possible futures of self-access learning. SACs tend to be concentrated in private universities and are created by those with a desire for students to have spaces for their own learning. These spaces have developed to incorporate what Thornton calls a ‘triple focus’ of autonomy, target language communication, and intercultural exchange (Thorton et al., 2021). While meaningful, during the development of such spaces, there is a tendency for the space to become isolated from university faculty and departments. 

JASAL in the future will continue to expand international partnerships and collaborations, increase student involvement, and provide practical tools for supporting self-access learning. There will also be a focus on well-being and basic psychological needs, personal development, the promotion of advising services, and increased diversity, equity and inclusion. And as the recent pandemic has shown, virtual spaces will play a key role in self-access learning.   

Phil Benson will be interviewed by Phillip A. Bennett and Amelia Yarwood about his new book ‘Language Learning Environments: Spatial Perspectives on SLA’: Phil Benson, Phillip A. Bennett and Amelia Yarwood

Bennet and Yarwood interviewed Benson about his new book ‘Language Learning Environments: Spatial Perspectives on SLA’ (2021). Three key propositions appear in the book: that space matters, is physic, and is socially produced. Benson reflected on his own research (Benson & Reinders, 2011) and ideas from Edward Soja (1989) to conclude that space is often neglected in language learning literature.  He raised an issue of separating out different language spaces that learners find themselves involved in, especially informal spaces, since it does not necessarily let us grasp the experience of each learner as they move from space to space.  The ‘where’ of language learning is important and is the first question for us to ask in pursuing any kind of questions about language learning. 

Benson further noted that since all ‘space is physical’ and that there can be no ‘empty space,’ this concept can change possible directions of future development of self-access centers. For instance, one question he suggested is the role of space in relation to the other spaces where students might or might not be learning languages, and how students move from one space to another. In his new book, Benson raised the idea of learners constructing an environment where they learn that fits into their everyday routine. One possible direction for self-access centers would be, as he described, to ‘short-circuit’ this process by simplifying or replicating out-of-class learning processes or for self-access spaces to act as a ‘clearinghouse of ideas’ used to discuss and share these outside resources. Another possible direction would be to look at what is missing outside and make up for it in a self-access center. Last but not least, he emphasized the importance of looking at what students do in everyday activities, as well as what they need, when developing a learning space.

David Gardner and Lindsay Miller: After Establishing…

The book Establishing Self-Access: From Theory and Practice (1999) came out of Gardner’ and Miller’s involvement in the Hong Kong Association for Self-Access Learning and Development (HASALD), an organization of educators who have interest in establishing self-access centers in the universities in Hong Kong. Looking back on what has happened in the field of self-access since the book was published, they presented six areas of interest that have recently developed, as described below. 

  • Blurring of boundaries: The boundaries between structured learning environments and unstructured learning environments, or in-class learning and out-of-class learning, have become much more blurred. Especially in online teaching, for example, we find teachers bringing in elements in common with learning outside the classroom. 
  • Integration of autonomy into courses: Integration of learner autonomy into courses is another area that Miller highlighted. Class activities such as project work, structured in a course in a way that students see the benefit of doing it, can lead to their taking the initiative. It can then result in producing a large amount of language practice outside the classroom that cannot be replicated in the classroom alone. 
  • New Technology: Use of technology is an area where we frequently see issues related to learner autonomy. By bridging the technologies students are already using in their everyday lives with language learning, we can see a number of instances where teachers become a facilitator and students take the responsibility for their own language development. 
  • The end of physical self-access centers: There has been a debate on whether we will see the end of physical self-access centers or even of self-access itself (Reinders, 2012; Mynard, 2012). Gardner views this as unlikely but observes a move towards integration of a virtual presence. He further suggests we be careful not to lose self-access, the element of fostering autonomy, while our self-access centers go through this shift. 
  • Online learning: As we integrate computer-assisted learning into self-access learning, Gardner suggests we be cautious about several points, including the role of computer-assisted learning, challenges posed by accessing the online world in the target language, potential security issues, and questionable language that students may be exposed to online. The sense of being open 24/7 can raise issues as well.
  • Learning beyond the classroom: In relation to Benson (2011)’s framework for learning beyond the classroom, which Chik (2014) later added to, Gardner argues well-organized self-access centers, either virtually or physically, provide the following (as quoted from his slide):
    • learning beyond the classroom which can also be linked to classroom learning 
    • a wide range of settings 
    • opportunities for self-instruction and for naturalistic learning 
    • support for learners to take control of their own learning 
    • engagement over time 

Involvement of good pedagogical staff is also key to establishing a successful self-access center.

Narratives / Reflections

Starting to work in a SALC without being in the SALC: Vola Ambinintsoa

Ambinintsoa started working as a learning advisor at a Self-Access Learning Center (SALC) in 2020, when the world faced the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This meant her first year at the SALC was completely online, working without physically being there. She shared this unique experience by using the metaphor of a transition bridge: she felt she did not belong to her old environment any longer but did not physically belong to the new environment either. What caused her to struggle the most was that without physically being in the SALC, there was no immersion, which made it difficult for her to “capture a sufficient level of detail about the natural context” (Dörnyei, 2007, p.38). She also described the different types of support that helped her to cross the bridge, including self-reflection, peer collaboration, the advisor training course, mentoring sessions with her mentor, which promoted autonomy, relatedness, and a sense of competence necessary for motivation and self-determination (Ryan & Deci, 2017). She especially emphasized self-reflection as key to overcoming the difficult time of isolation as it allowed her to identify her own strengths to develop herself. 

A decade of self-access experience: The story of the Independent Learning Center at AYBU: Tarik Uzun

From Turkey’s Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University (AYBU), Uzun, the coordinator of the Independent Learning Center (ILC), looked back at the development of the center. The center is based in the AYBU School of Foreign languages and was established along with the university ten years ago and is central to the university’s formation. The center has transformed from two interconnected rooms and self-study materials into a “fancier and more comfortable space” with 19 computers, self-study desks, comfy sofas, and a small library. Throughout the years, the center has created new resources, incorporated extracurricular activities, introduced learner involvement, made active use of social media platforms, and installed an instant learner help-desk support which led to advising services and an advising program. They also maintain contact and cooperate with other self-access centers and contribute to self-access literature with their own original works. Since 2020, they have created an online ILC with shared resources and have conducted extracurricular activities online. From his own personal experiences, Uzun offers several recommendations to run a self-access center. SAC staff should have strong creativity and interpersonal skills, and members should be interested in reading and publishing in the academic field of self-access and the management of similar centers. Additionally, self-access centers require a team effort from school administrators and staff. These centers cannot rely on an individual, but must be developed as a group for better and higher quality work. Looking ahead, with the return of students to school and the ILC, the center is looking for a bigger and more functional space and will collaborate further with other institutions and SACs as well as continue to publish more from Turkish contexts.

From the ashes: The rebirth of the LC: Lorraine Reinbold and Daniel Hooper

Reinbold and Hooper shared a story of how their self-access learning center (SALC) at Hakuoh University started and has continued to develop, overcoming a number of challenges. Behind the initial attempt to establish a SALC was the frustration that no student was becoming proficient through their mandatory 90-minute English courses, as Reinbold puts it. Efforts were made in order to overcome struggles in bringing a SALC into their institution, and their further attempts to re-establish the environment took various forms: they conducted students’ needs analysis, drafted mission statements, got buy-in from faculty and the study body, and drew from the community of practice including RELAY Journal, SiSAL Journal, and JASAL. They also introduced student staff, created an identity through social media and acquired newer facilities.  They view the SALC as a liminal space that bridges divides between the real world and classrooms. Continuing action research as well as professional development, giving more ownership to their students, and having exchange students come in the post-COVID times are on their agenda as they continue to develop the SALC. 

Adapting our SAC in Nuevo León, Mexico through the years: Elva Elena Peña Andrade

In her presentation, Andrade shared the changes that have taken place at the Self-Access Center (SAC) in the chemistry department at Nuevo León University in Mexico, where she is a coordinator. Noting the necessity of having a certain degree of ‘discipline’ to support students to continue taking the course offered there, she explained how they came to the decision to specify the amount of time students can spend before taking a test to advance to a next level, rather than leaving it up to the students, for example. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, while facing the challenge of shifting to online, they have maintained a close relationship with their students via Microsoft Teams. They are now preparing to start an online SAC in 2022. 

Going Virtual: Opening up Spaces for Self-Access: Giovanna Tassinari 

Tassinari described the changes in focus that self-access language learning has gone through over the last 10 to 15 years. These changes are milestones, according to her. More focus has been placed on the following:

  • the “self”, learner identity, agency, autonomy, and ownership
  • learners’ emotions and feelings as well as their well-being
  • learners’ awareness of their visions and imaginations
  • integration of social aspects of language learning for creating a place where communities flourish 

These shifts in focus were accelerated in the last year and a half when her self-access center had to close and provide virtual self-access due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Moving forward, she suggested we should consider integrating physical and online environments, redefining the focus of self-access by providing learners with access to physical and online communities, multiple learning environments beyond a self-access center, and their inner resources and well-being. She further noted the importance of taking care of our well-being as SAC practitioners if we are to support our learners’ well-being.

Descriptions of Practice

From Seed to Plant: Reflection on Developing a SAC Under COVID-19: Kie Yamamoto

Yamamoto presented the development of a Self-Access Center at Wayo Women’s University in 2020, when the university was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In retrospect, she described it as a process of planting seeds in the desert. With her strong belief that learners are always central in a SAC, she took four major steps: 1) generating reflective dialogue with students through integrating reflective questions in the classroom, 2) providing autonomous learning opportunities outside the classroom by organizing online events and teletandem learning with DePaul University in Chicago, 3) forming student communities, and 4) getting more people and funding involved. The current SAC has become a much brighter, more active environment, and she intends to continue to work on its development to see a forest there in the future.

The importance of journaling in self-access learning: Encouraging a learner’s transformative and critical reflections: Huw Davies and Yuta Homma

A written reflective journal allows students and advisors to develop discussions in ways that cannot be done in spoken dialogue. Through written journals, students can look back and notice changes in their beliefs, attitudes, and their ability to express their thoughts that have occurred over time. Using excerpts from Homma’s journal, Davies, a learning advisor at Kanda University of International Studies, and Homma, a current student at the university, offered insights into learner transformations that can develop through such reflective journaling. In the course of the reflective learning process, Davies helped Homma in multiple ways: guiding him to recognize his transformation by bringing up his previous written comments; giving praise and helping him to raise awareness of his own emotions; and allowing him to make decisions at each point while being ‘hands off’ as described by Davies. Homma noted that engaging in written reflections has always helped him become more aware of his learning and himself, leading to further, deeper learning.

Peer conversation groups: Patrycja Czarniecka-Brandt

Czarniecka-Brandt shared her experiences of supporting students to be more autonomous and self-directed learners by creating peer conversation groups in the midst of the pandemic. The main purposes of the peer conversation groups, organized by student staff members, are to practice speaking skills in a relaxed atmosphere, to promote students’ autonomy and self-initiative, and to encourage them to reflect on their language learning. Students are involved in the decision-making process of the organization of meetings. Czarniecka-Brandt emphasized the importance of reflective practice among students as well as exchange of ideas as key to achieving those goals.

Theoretical Conceptualizations

The nested contexts of self-access, educational institutions, and society: What learner autonomy means for the future: Curtis Edlin

Edlin discussed the nature of universities in the face of global societal challenges. First, as technology produces exponential growth in worker productivity, this will also eliminate many traditional jobs. Jobs of the future will demand of workers continual lifelong development to remain relevant for changes that will come. Second, as the average lifespan extends past 100 years, workers must adapt to changing times as they age and will likely accommodate several career changes in a single lifespan. The content to learn continually for a lifetime is there, free and accessible to all with an internet connection in forms such as MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), but uptake has been slowed down by low completion rates of online learners and resistance by institutions to accepting alternative credentials. To best serve our students and society as a whole, the role of the university must not only be a place to gain knowledge, but also a place to nurture autonomy and self-regulation. In other words, it is imperative universities develop and support spaces of self-access learning for students to develop the skills required for lifelong such as maintaining effort, motivation, attention, and self-knowledge. With such foundations in place, learners can take control of their learning by being able to locate relevant content and successfully learn at any time in their careers. Only by embracing self-access learning can universities properly prepare students for the uncertain future. As Edlin puts it, embedding self-access learning centers in universities “may be one of the best ways to prepare our students for their futures rather than for our pasts.”

Conceptualizing research on informal language learning through Self-Determination Theory: Artem Zadorozhnyy (Archie)

From his doctorate thesis, Zadorozhnyy examined the field of English language teaching and learning in Kazakhstan. Questionnaires were sent to 500 pre-service English teachers from seven institutions followed by 32 interviews among them to better understand the formal and informal process of language learning. The data collected “indicated the need for establishing specific centers which might provide students advice and counselling regarding the emergent language learning strategies.” While Kazakh universities currently have no such facilities, spaces outside university allow students to socialize and create their own spaces. Based on the basic needs formulated by Deci and Ryan’s (2017) self-determination theory (SDT) and through statistical analysis, Zadorozhnyy showed that students’ perceived satisfaction of competence in language is connected with both formal and informal environments, and predicted their engagement in both receptive and productive practices. On the other hand, the only insignificant connection was found between perceived competence and informal productive practices. This suggests that if students feel competent, it does not affect their actual engagement in speaking and writing practices in out-of-class settings, and that if they are good enough in informal spaces, they do not feel the need to learn further. Another key finding was that while perceived satisfaction with relatedness in formal classroom spaces was not a significant predictor of receptive or productive practices, perceived relatedness in informal spaces was a predictor. This implies that they do not feel connected with other learners in classroom settings, but do so in informal settings, highlighting the need for community forming in classroom teaching.

Thinking about self-access from a Self-Determination Theory perspective: Jo Mynard and Scott Shelton-Strong

In the past ten years, the focus on facilitating autonomy in the classroom has shifted to the environment beyond classrooms, so Mynard and Shelton-Strong asked how we can provide conditions outside classrooms to foster not just autonomous learning, but for students to thrive. Mynard first described a proposed theoretical model (Mynard, forthcoming). This model utilizes Ryan and Deci’s (1997) self-determination theory (SDT) and inner motivational resources based on works from Davis and Bowles (2018) and Reeve (2014) as an overarching framework for self-access. By focusing on SDT’s three basic needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) and inner motivational resources (curiosity, intrinsic goals, and interests), self-access centers can provide the support to help students thrive. Shelton-Strong then described four key ways how the Self-Access Learning Center (SALC) at Kanda University of International Studies does so. First, through advising, advisors and learners co-construct dialogue to recognize the concepts of the model through the use of authentic, unconditional language. Second, from one-on-one or class-based modules, the SALC provides structured awareness building, as students create plans stemming from their own interests and goals and then carry out their plans, experiencing and overcoming problems in a structured and supported way. Third, as is common in self-access learning spaces, conversation lounges provide spaces for students to become active agents in their own learning. However, due to social barriers and risks of losing face, thoughtful planning and activities such as lounge events, conversation strategy scaffolding, and efforts to reduce anxiety are recommended. Finally, student-led, interest-based communities allow students to meet under common interests and for leaders to naturally appear. Each of these areas fosters learner development by supporting basic psychological needs and enhancing inner motivational resources. 

Review

Language Center Handbook 2021: Betsy Lavolette

Lavolette described the just-released book she co-edited, the Language Center Handbook 2021 (Lavolette & Kraemer, 2021). This volume is helpful for those interested in the history, development, design and technology used in language learning spaces from many parts of the world. She explained the three sections of the book: origins and fundamentals of language spaces, designing and redesigning language spaces, and technology used and supported by language spaces. Chapters include the history, trends, and future of language learning spaces, individual language center designs and developments, the creation of the Japan Association for Self-Access Learning (JASAL), tech support and teletandem learning. 

Conclusion

With 15 presentations featured on the theme of ‘Landmarks in self-access’, the conference provided an insight into how the field of self-access has continued to develop over the course of 50 years in Japan and the world, overcoming challenges and setbacks while always improving and furthering the field. A wide range of topics and issues related to the field of self-access were discussed from both theoretical and practical perspectives. Some of the themes that stood out throughout the event include the importance of people and communities, the role of self-access centers in institutions, and the integration of physical and online learning environments, as well as the change and adaptation of self-access centers made inevitable due to the pandemic. The issues raised in the presentations are relevant and worth considering for many of us in the field regardless of the variety of contexts we find ourselves in, and they will be guiding tips as we move forward.

Notes on Contributors

Haruka Ubukata is a Learning Advisor at the Self-Access Learning Center (SALC) at Kanda University of International Studies (KUIS). She holds an MSEd in TESOL (Temple University Japan Campus) and is currently enrolled in a certificate program in Advising in Language Learning at the Research Institute for Learner Autonomy Education (RILAE). Her research interests include learner autonomy, advising in language learning, and self-access learning centres.

Rob Stevenson works at Kanda University of International Studies (KUIS) as a learning advisor at the Self-Access Learning Center (SALC). He is currently working on his Doctorate of Education from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign under Drs. Bill Cope and Mary Kalantzis. His research interests include learner autonomy, learning spaces outside the classroom, and lifelong learning.

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Mynard, J. (forthcoming). Reimagining the self-access learning centre as a place to thrive. In J. Mynard & S. J. Shelton-Strong (Eds.), Autonomy support beyond the classroom. Multilingual Matters.

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Thornton, K., Taylor, C., Tweed, A. D., & Yamashita, H. (2021). JASAL and the self-access learning center movement in Japan. In E. Lavolette & A. Kraemer (Eds.), Language center handbook 2021 (pp. 31-60). The International Association for Language Learning Technology.

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