Call for Presentations – JASAL Forum at JALT 2012

CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS

for the JASAL Forum at JALT2012, Hamamatsu (12^th – 15^th October 2012)

 Making a difference through self access

 Self access learning, as a growing field in language learning, aims to make a difference in learners’ lives by providing opportunities for language learning not available within the constraints of a classroom setting. To be successful, however, these opportunities need to be promoted and fostered through institutional policies and programmes, and the provision of professional support.

In keeping with this year’s JALT theme, JASAL invites contributions from members which illustrate how self-access learning can make a difference in learners’ language learning and development or address how challenges to successful self-access may be overcome.

We invite submissions on areas including, but not limited to:

-     SAC layout
-     Managing and administrating SACs
-     Materials
-     Learning program design
-     Integrating self-access with curriculum
-     Learner involvement in self-access
-     Self-access learning communities
-     Learning advising/counselling
-     Assessment of self-access learning
-     Evaluating SACs
-     Research design
-     Interaction and collaboration with colleagues and administrators

Following on the success of last year’s event, this year’s JALT forum will consist of a poster session followed by two short presentations and an open forum discussion.

Proposals should include the following:

1. Title
2. Format (poster or presentation)
3. Name(s) of presenter(s) and affiliation(s)
4. JALT membership number of all presenters, (if applicable)
5. 150-200 word abstract
6. 75-word summary which clearly states your topic
7. Equipment you will require

Please submit your proposal to Katherine Thornton (thornton.katherineATgmail.com) and CC jasalorgATgmail.com by Fri, April 6, 2012.

Please note that while the JALT deadline for submissions is April 13, we need time to put together our proposal. If for some reason your presentation cannot be included in the JASAL Forum, we will notify you so you can submit your proposal to the JALT conference as an individual paper before the April 13^th deadline.

Please understand that depending on the number and nature of proposals we receive, we may have to ask you to change from a presentation to a poster or vice versa.

For more information on the JALT 2012 conference, please visit: http://jalt.org/conference

Photos and PDFs from JALT 2011

Thank you to all, both members and non-members alike, who attended and contributed to the 2011 JASAL Forum at JALT on 19th November 2011, and made it such a success! With 5 posters, 2 presentations and a lively discussion, it turned into a very enjoyable and informative afternoon. Our theme this year was Growing Trends in Self Access Learning, and many of the contributions focused on the different ways in which institutions promote self-access usage in their respective centres. Look out for Azusa Kodate’s review of the event in the near future (details to be posted on this website). Go to Conference JALT 2011 to see some photos from the Forum. Some of the PDFs and ppts of the presentations are already up, too.

JASAL Forum 2011 Schedule

Announcing the schedule for the JASAL Forum at the JALT 2011 conference, Tokyo:

Time: Saturday, November 19, 2011; 15:50 – 17:20

Location: Room 310

Theme: Growing trends in self-access learning

Format: Poster session followed by two short presentations and an open forum discussion

Posters

Making a Pathway into Self-Access Learning: An Action Research Project

Clair Taylor, Keiko Omura, Gerald Talandis Jr., Toyo Gakuen University

Greater Emphasis on the “Thinking” Dimension of Learning for Sustainable Language Education and Promotion of Learner Self-Directedness

Azusa Kodate, Hiroshima Bunkyo Women’s University

Developing the habits of using a personalized language learning planner/diary to foster self-directed learning

Satoko Kato, Hisako Sugawara, Kanda Institute of Foreign Languages

Application of the PDCA Cycle in SAC Administration

Caleb Foale, Momoko Iida, Rei Ishida, Hiroshima Bunkyo Women’s University

Self-access to self-access: Increasing student and teacher exposure to self-access programs

Daniel Sasaki, Kelly Kimura, Yukiko Ishikawa, Soka University

Developing Self-Access Learning Community in a science and technology university

Yoko Kinoshita, Sojo University

Presentations

Integrating Self-Access with Curriculum – an Activities based Approach

Scott Crowe, Sojo University

Caleb Foale, Hiroshima Bunkyo Women’s University

An ethnographic study of a SAC: how do learners decide where to sit?

Satomi Shibata, Tokoha Gakuen University

For more information on the JALT 2011 conference, please visit: http://jalt.org/conference

Advising for language learner autonomy – announcement and final call

Please see below for details of the Advising for language learner autonomy conference, to be held at Kanda University of International Studies in November, and officially supported by JASAL. Please note the revised deadline for papers is Monday 4th July.

Dear colleagues,
This is the FINAL call for papers for the upcoming advising event at Kanda University of International Studies in Japan. The deadline for proposals has been extended to JULY 4th. Please note that presenters may also submit a “virtual presentation” proposal. We would be grateful if you could circulate this call.

Best wishes,

Jo Mynard (Convener – on behalf of the organising committee)

Final call for papers: “Advising for language learner autonomy” event in Japan
Event: “Advising for language learner autonomy” conference
Organiser: IATEFL Learner Autonomy SIG
When: Saturday November 12th, 2011 (also tours of two self-access centres on 11th November)
Where: Kanda University of International Studies, Chiba, Japan
More information: http://learnerautonomy.org/advising2011.html
Theme: Advising for language learner autonomy
Sub-themes:
1. Training and professional development for learning advisors or peer advisors
2. Research and practice in advising
3. Peer advising
4. Advising tools
5. The dialogue and discourse of advising
6. Context-related issues in advising

Speakers:

Marina Mozzon-McPherson, University of Hull, UK (plenary)
Lucy Cooker, University of Birmingham, UK (opening remarks)
Christopher Candlin, Macquarie University, Australia (closing session)
Types of presentations:
· Paper presentation: 40 minutes
· Workshop: 60 minutes
· Poster: 90 minutes
· Virtual presentation (for presenters who cannot attend in person)
(Extended) deadline for proposals: July 4th, 2011
Grants: Two grants of 40,000 yen from JALT Learner Development SIG. http://ld-sig.org/community/sigGrants2011.html
Conference proceedings: Special issue of Studies in Self-Access Learning (SiSAL) Journal http://sisaljournal.org
More details:
http://learnerautonomy.org/advising2011 /
http://advising2011.wordpress.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/advising2011
Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/4eksucc
http://kandaeli.com

Report of the JASAL Forum at JALT 2010

A link to Caleb Foale’s detailed report of the JASAL Forum at JALT 2010 has been added to the Forum page.

JASAL Forum 2011 – CALL FOR PAPERS

CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS
for the JASAL Forum at the JALT 2011 conference, Tokyo

Growing trends in self-access

The field of self-access has been growing in Japan over the last decade, with more and more schools setting up spaces where students can carry out their own learning. As time goes by, self-access centres must respond and adapt to the changing needs of their various stakeholders. In keeping with the theme of the JALT 2011 conference, the JASAL Forum will focus on growing trends in self-access language learning.

We invite submissions on issues trending in your contexts, including, but not limited to:
- SAC layout
- Materials
- Learning program design
- Learner involvement in self-access
- Self-access learning communities
- Assessment of self-access learning
- Evaluating SACs
- Research design
- Integrating self-access with curriculum
- Managing and administrating SACs
- Interaction and collaboration with colleagues and administrators

Following on the success of last year’s event, this year’s JALT Forum will consist of a poster session followed by two short presentations and an open forum discussion.

Proposals should include the following:

1. Title
2. Format (poster or presentation)
3. Name(s) of presenter(s) and affiliation(s)
4. 150-200 word abstract
5. 75-word summary which clearly states your topic
6. Equipment you will require

Please submit your proposal to Katherine Thornton (thornton.katherineATgmail.com) and CC Dirk MacKenzie (dirkmackenzieATgmail.com) by Friday, April 8, 2011.

Please note that while the JALT deadline for submissions is April 22, we need time to put together our proposal. If for some reason your presentation cannot be included in the JASAL Forum, we will notify you so you can submit your proposal to the JALT conference as an individual paper before the April 22nd deadline.

Please understand that depending on the number and nature of proposals we receive, we may have to ask you to change from a presentation to a poster or vice versa.

As you may know, a conference on Advising for Language Learner Autonomy (http://learnerautonomy.org/advising2011.html) will take place in Chiba the week before JALT. For this reason, we have not included trends in advising in our call for presentations here.

For more information on the JALT 2011 conference, please visit: http://jalt.org/conference

Messages from the incoming President and Vice-President

Message from Katherine Thornton, incoming President

Greetings!

As incoming president of JASAL, I’d like to take this opportunity to say hello to all JASAL members.

Self-access language learning has really taken off in Japan over the last 10 years, and I feel JASAL has an important role to play in helping those of us working in self-access connect with and learn from each other.

Over the next year, along with Dirk MacKenzie, our new vice-president, and with help and contributions from all JASAL members, I hope to move the association forward by building on the success of the JASAL forums at the annual JALT conference. Our members are from all over Japan, and rarely have the chance to travel and meet, so I hope we can connect through the website and discussion boards, by contributing information about our respective contexts and centres. Look out for more announcements in the coming months, particularly in early April as we put together this year’s proposal for the JASAL forum at JALT.

Once again, thank you for your support and I look forward to getting to know more and more of you through JASALs activities in the coming year.

Katherine Thornton

Message from Dirk MacKenzie, incoming Vice-President

Hello JASAL members!

Thank you for your support. As incoming vice-president I am looking forward to working with president Katherine Thornton on strengthening our association, with initial focus on securing this year’s JALT forum, building the JASAL website, and improving communication between members across the country. I look forward to sharing ideas with all of you in the process.

Dirk MacKenzie