Speaker abstracts, recordings and slides

Introductory Remarks

Opening Speech: President of Kanda University of International Studies, Takahisa Miyauchi [Recording]

 

Congratulatory Speech: Director of the Kanda University MA TESOL Program, Professor Yasushi Sekiya [Recording]

 

Featured Speakers

The Role of Advisers and What the Future Holds. 

This speech will cover my experiences with advising, some ideas about our role as advisers, and what the future might hold for advisers. [Recording]

Kerstin Dofs is currently the coordinator of the Language Self Access Centre (LSAC) at Ara Institute of Canterbury, in Christchurch, New Zealand, where she has worked for nineteen years. She has previously worked as an English language teacher in Sweden and New Zealand and has an advising qualification, a Master of Arts in Language Learning and Technology, through the University of Hull, UK.

Watching Our Words, Mindful of Our Actions. 

In this presentation, I will share a few personal experiences, professional concerns and emerging understandings as a language adviser/counsellor in ALMS and a third-age  practitioner-researcher. [Recording] [Slides]

Leena Karlsson is a former University Lecturer in English at the University of Helsinki Language Centre, Finland where she worked for three decades. She is the co-founder of the autonomous learning modules (ALMS).

The Multifaceted Role of the Language Advisor. 

In this period of unprecedented change, I reflect on three basic facets of the language advisor’s role, which seem to withstand the test of time: mentoring, encouraging reflection and providing leadership. [Recording]

Garold Murray has established and managed two self-access centers in Japan, one of which catered to the language learning needs of the general public. In addition to serving as a language advisor in these centers, he has advised learners enrolled in self-directed language learning courses, which he developed and delivered at two universities.

Professional Growth for Language Advisors: A Case Study in Mexico. 

Being a language advisor is a fascinating process of constant reflection and personal growth. Not only do you have to look at the learner with different eyes, but also at learning and teaching – and even yourself. In this brief talk, I would like to share with you the experiences of a group of Mexican language advisors, their challenges, and what they are doing to continue their professional growth. [Recording]

Adelia Peña Clavel is an English Professor and the Coordinator of the self-access center at UNAM-ENALLT in Mexico. Her research interests are teletándem, language advising and learner autonomy.

Experiencing Advising: A Personal Journey Diary. 

Advising for language learning has deeply changed my understanding of language learning and my relationship to the learners I encounter. In this conversation I would like to briefly retrace the main stages of my personal growth as a language learning advisor and share my vision for the future development of the role of advising in the language learning and teaching landscape. [Recording] [Slides]

Maria Giovanna Tassinari is director of the self-access language learning centre at the Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. She is active in the field as a researcher, a teacher trainer. Her areas of interest are learner and teacher autonomy, language learning advising, emotions and feelings in language learning.

Supporting Learners’ Innovative Ideas and Emergent Autonomy. 

Hisako will talk about an important concept she always holds on to, prolepsis (Walqui & van Lier, 2010), in her advising sessions and how we as learning advisors can support learners’ innovative ideas and emergent autonomy. [Recording]

Hisako Yamashita has been a learning advisor, learning advisor educator, classroom teacher, and is the former president of the Japan Association for Self-Access Learning (JASAL). She has conducted over 4,300 advising sessions and is also active in developing a variety of activities which apply concepts of advising in the classroom.