scholarly journals Introduction: Promoting Engagement with Language Learning Spaces: How to Attract Users and Create a Community of Practice

2016 ◽  
pp. 297-300
Author(s):  
Katherine Thornton
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Learning Spaces ◽  
Learning Space ◽  
Good Balance ◽  
Considerable Success ◽  
Number Of Factors

The three institutions featured in this instalment have all shown considerable success in raising user numbers in recent years. In order to attract users to a language learning space (LLS), a number of factors need to be present. Potential users need to be aware of the existence of the space itself, and know its location. They need to have some knowledge of its functions, and feel that it has the potential to fulfil at least one of their needs as a language learner (Heigham, 2004). Then, they need to feel inspired enough to step into the unknown and have the confidence to enter and engage with staff and other users (Gillies, 2010). The space needs to have a welcoming atmosphere, and the interactions the learners have should provide them with a good balance of success and challenge in order to convince them to return and become regular users.

scholarly journals The social networking service “Niconico Douga” as a virtual self-access learning space: An analysis of the language learning history of a Japanese language learner from Hong Kong ニコニコ動画が持つバーチャルなセルフアクセスラーニングスペースとしての機能に関する考察～香港出身の日本語学習者の言語学習史をもとに～

2018 ◽  
pp. 179-195
Author(s):  
Yoshio Nakai
Keyword(s):  
Social Networking ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Japanese Language ◽  
Social Networking Service ◽  
Learning Space ◽  
Learning History ◽  
Virtual Self ◽  
The Social

This article explores a language learning experience of a JFL (Japanese as a Foreign language) learner from Hong Kong who uses the social networking service “Niconico Douga”. An analysis of her language learning history revealed that she not only utilized Niconico Douga as a resource bank for learning Japanese, but also that it functioned as a virtual self-access learning space. She learned Japanese language through watching and broadcasting live videos of playing computer games. Niconico Douga acts as a community of practice consisting of people who want to share and exchange information about playing digital games. She acquired Japanese language through practicing in the community of practice that allowed her to participate freely in special interest groups for playing digital games which offered the role models supporting her practice of broadcasting live videos of playing games. The features of Niconico Douga have a great potential for learning Japanese autonomously due to its accessibility and availability of resources. 本稿は、香港出身の日本語学習者Aさん（仮名）が行ったJFL環境下で独学による日本語学習に関する論考である。Aさんは香港では学校などでのフォーマルな日本語教育を受けた経験がなく、日本語に興味を持った中学生のころからニコニコ動画にアップロードされているゲームの実況動画やその生放送を用いて自力で日本語を学んできた。Aさんはゲームを楽しむ、あるいは攻略方法を知るという目的を持った人たちが集まる実況動画や生放送の中から自身に合ったものを選択し、そこでのやり取りを理解してコメントを発信したり、Aさん自身がゲーム実況の生放送をしたりすることを通して日本語を学んできた。Aさんにとって、ニコニコ動画という場は、ゲームに関する実践を通して日本語が学べる実践共同体であると同時に、自身の目的や日本語レベルに合った動画や生放送が見られる保管庫でもあるバーチャルなセルフアクセスラーニングスペースとして機能していたことが分かった。

scholarly journals Social Language Learning Spaces: Globalization Glocalized

2017 ◽  
pp. 235-246
Author(s):  
Garold Murray ◽  
Mariko Uzuka ◽  
Naomi Fujishima
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Social Learning ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Japanese Society ◽  
Theoretical Orientation ◽  
Learning Spaces ◽  
Learning Space ◽  
The Social ◽  
National University ◽  
Local Students

In this era of globalization, Japanese universities will have to accommodate an increasing number of local students wishing to learn foreign languages and they will also have to welcome more international students to their campuses. While universities will undoubtedly take steps to ensure that both groups have positive educational and intercultural experiences, we contend that it is also incumbent upon them to implement measures designed to facilitate the adaptation of international students to Japanese society. In this article, we examine the role social learning spaces can play in helping universities respond to these challenges. We argue that these facilities can make an invaluable contribution by supporting language learning and cross-cultural acclimatization for both international and Japanese students. The term social learning spaces refers to places where students can come together in an informal or quasi-formal environment in order to learn from and with each other. To illustrate our points, we draw on the data from a five-year ethnographic inquiry carried out at one such facility on the campus of a large national university. After describing the social learning space, outlining the study, and tracing the theoretical orientation guiding the interpretation of the data, we focus on the benefits social learning spaces can afford international students wishing to improve their language skills and adapt to Japanese society. To conclude, we reflect on how social learning spaces can support the process of glocalization by making local universities more globalized places.

scholarly journals Modes of Identification Within a Language Learner-Led Community of Practice

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 301-327
Author(s):  
Daniel Hooper ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Learning Center ◽  
Imagined Community ◽  
Bidirectional Relationship ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
Practical Implications

Although the importance of communities for social learning within self-access centers has been recognized over the last decade, there has yet been little research exploring student-managed communities in a self-access learning center (SALC). This short pilot study investigates the ways in which members identify with the community of practice (Wenger, 1998) of a student-led learning community within a university SALC. Five members of the Learning Community (LC), an English conversation community, were interviewed three times over the course of one semester about their language learning histories and their experiences in the LC. This data was analyzed inductively and subsequently categorized according to Wenger’s (2010) modes of identification – engagement, imagination, and alignment. The findings of the study indicated that members’ identification with the practice of the LC was connected to a desire for an accessible learning environment, attaining membership in an international imagined community of English users, and the ability to negotiate sociocultural norms for their own purposes. This study highlights a bidirectional relationship between the “baggage” that members bring with them and the everyday practice developed over the course of the LC’s two-year history. Additionally, the insights gained from this exploration of the LC CoP have practical implications for SALC staff aiming to cultivate and support student-led learning communities.

scholarly journals Moving Towards Legitimate Participation. A Venezuelan Girl Learning English in an Iowa City Elementary School

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
José Miguel Plata-Ramíez
Keyword(s):  
Elementary School ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Iowa City ◽  
Legitimate Peripheral Participation ◽  
School Activities ◽  
Field Notes

This qualitative case study seeks to understand and describe, in depth, the different learning processes in which a nine-year old, Venezuelan girl (Victoria) engaged to reaffirm her identity as a language learner and become a legitimate member of a community of practice during the first six months in an Iowa City Elementary School. Data collection included observations in class and at home, field notes, interviews, oral and written artifacts and e-mails. Analysis was made through a constant comparison of the data to reflect on the potential categorizations of the artifacts considering mainly two theoretical constructs: “legitimate peripheral participation” (Lave & Wenger, 1991) and “collaborative relations of power” (Cummins, 1996). Results suggest that students engage more actively in activities, which are designed to construct meaning through social participation. Legitimate participation in school activities helped Victoria improve her English language ability and reaffirm her identity. The speed with which she learned English at school is mainly due to the solid community of practice she had the fortune to participate in and Mrs. Brown’s mediation. The more she interacted, the better she performed; and the better she performed, the more she interacted. This research offers alternative ways to understand Victoria’s experience as a language learner, the complexity of a second language learning process, and the fundamental role teachers need to perform to mediate in the students’ learning to reaffirm their identities. This study represents an exemplary reflection of what we, as classroom teachers, SL/foreign language teachers, should do in our classrooms if we really want to offer students real opportunities to learn the language and help them reaffirm their identity as language learners.

scholarly journals Review of JASAL Online Student Forum 2020 and a Reflection

2020 ◽  
pp. 294-297
Author(s):  
Naoki Tashiro
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Staff Member ◽  
Discussion Groups ◽  
Short Report ◽  
English Learning ◽  
Learning Spaces ◽  
Learning Space ◽  
Online Student ◽  
The Social ◽  
Study Motivation

This short report is a review of and my reflections on the Japan Association for Self-Access Learning (JASAL) online student forum which was held on Saturday, July 4, 2020 on Zoom. The conference was held online due to COVID-19. I participated in the forum as a user and student staff member representing Maximum English Learning Together (MELT), which is the social language learning space at Gifu Shotoku Gakuen University in Japan. At the event, students shared ideas and initiatives for online events at each of their university’s language learning spaces (LLS) or centers. In the discussion groups that I joined, we talked about two focus points, which were the connection between each center and students, and the tactical use of SNS to promote our LLS to students. I will give a summary of the discussions and also make some suggestions for enhancing students’ study motivation and participation in events, even in remote learning / online situations.

scholarly journals Learning Space-Based Initiatives for Developing Learner Autonomy: Design And Implementation

2016 ◽  
pp. 69-71
Author(s):  
Katherine Thornton
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Learner Autonomy ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Metacognitive Skills ◽  
Learning Spaces ◽  
Learning Space ◽  
Teacher Student

Recently, traditionally resource-heavy self-access centres have increasingly been reinvented as social learning spaces (Allhouse, 2014; Murray & Fujishima, 2013), usually with a greater emphasis on peer interaction and communication in the target language. By elevating the communication aspect of a language learning space, however, there is a danger that the important task of developing metacognitive skills gets sidelined in favour of simply developing language proficiency through peer or teacher-student interaction. Language learning spaces that set themselves up as conversation lounges are missing a big opportunity to do so much more than just develop language proficiency in users. Learner autonomy should be a central mission of any language learning space. Indeed, a language learning space can be an ideal milieu for supporting learners to become autonomous. Unlike in the classroom, users of self-access and other non-classroom learning spaces already have a sense of being in control of their learning choices, even if they are not entirely sure how to exercise that control. It is therefore vital that support is offered to guide and support learners, and this support can take many formats. The best forms of support do not simply attempt to help learners make single learning decisions such as which materials to choose or service to use, but to support their long-term development as autonomous language learners.

scholarly journals Sharing Stories of Practice in Self-Access Facility Design and Management

2015 ◽  
pp. 216-218
Author(s):  
Katherine Thornton
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
The Self ◽  
International Studies ◽  
Learning Spaces ◽  
Self Directed Learning ◽  
Learning Space ◽  
Learning Modules ◽  
Directed Learning ◽  
The University ◽  
Access Services

Welcome to the new column in SiSAL Journal. So far, this regular column has followed two different institutions as they reconceptualised aspects of their self-access services, in the case of Kanda University of International Studies (Japan), the self-directed learning modules offered through their SALC, and, in the case of the University of Bradford (UK), the reinvention of the self-access facilities as a social learning space. The upcoming column is a much bigger project. It will run for seven volumes of SiSAL Journal. Each issue will address a different aspect of self-access management, through reflective case studies from professionals who work in language learning spaces.

THE ADVANTAGES OF PROMOTING LEARNERS’ AUTONOMY IN EFL CONTEXT

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hapsari Dwi Kartika
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Learner Autonomy ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Autonomous Learning ◽  
English Teaching ◽  
Efl Context ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Students Success

This paper explains why learner autonomy is taken into account in language learning where English is a foreign language for the learners particularly in Indonesia. The definition of learner autonomy and its advantages to language learner in EFL contexts will be described within this paper. Many scholars from psychological education and English teaching and learning had proved that language learning can be improved by certain strategy. They revealed the correlation between the autonomous learning with students’ success in learning with different aspect. The definition of autonomy is similar to many different words such as self-regulated and self-determined. Finally, the writer suggests how teacher can promote the autonomous learning atmosphere in the classroom.Keywords: strategy, promoting autonomy, EFL context, Indonesia

Reflection on Learner-Led Study Abroad Events in a SAC from Three Perspectives: A Learner, an Administrative Staff Member, and an Advisor

Relay Journal ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 66-79
Author(s):  
Mizuki Shibata ◽  
Chihiro Hayashi ◽  
Yuri Imamura
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Support System ◽  
Staff Member ◽  
Administrative Staff ◽  
Multiple Reflections ◽  
Learning Space ◽  
Japanese University ◽  
Staff Members

This paper reports on a case study of learner-led study-abroad events in the language learning space at a Japanese University. We present multiple reflections on the events from different perspectives: the event organizer (student), an administrative staff member, and a learning advisor working at the center. We also introduce the support system that a group of administrative staff members and learning advisors are in charge of helping learners to hold their events. Moreover, throughout our reflections, several factors that made the learner-led study-abroad events sustainable and successful are demonstrated.

An Interview with Sarah Mercer on Language Learner and Teacher Well-Being

Relay Journal ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 459-463
Author(s):  
Sam Morris ◽  
Sarah Mercer
Keyword(s):  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Learner Autonomy ◽  
Foreign Language Teaching ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Language Teacher ◽  
New Directions ◽  
The University

In our June 2019 LAB session on Teacher/Advisor Education for Learner Autonomy, our featured interview was conducted with Sarah Mercer, Professor of Foreign Language Teaching and Head of ELT at the University of Graz, Austria. Sarah has published a wealth of papers in the field of language and teacher psychology, and co-edited many books including, most recently, New Directions in Language Learning Psychology (2016), Positive Psychology in SLA (2016), and Language Teacher Psychology (2018). Sarah was awarded the 2018 Robert C. Gardner Award for Outstanding Research in Bilingualism in recognition of her work. We were delighted that she was able to share her knowledge on the topic of language learner and teacher well-being with us during the session.

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