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.

scholarly journals Gender and Language Learning at Home and Abroad

2009 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eton Churchill
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
The United States ◽  
Oral Proficiency Interview ◽  
Japanese Male ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
Learning At Home ◽  
At Home

This case study investigates the language learning experiences, both at home and abroad, of a male Japanese high school learner of English. The qualitative data consist of field notes taken in Japan and the United States, interview data, and a semi-structured diary. Proficiency data include an oral proficiency interview (OPI), an institutional TOEFL, a dictation, and a narrative recorded immediately following the study abroad experience. By examining dynamics at different levels of analysis, it is argued that gender played a significant role in shaping short-term and long-term language learning opportunities and outcomes. This case study contributes to the study abroad literature in two ways. First, it adds a case study of a Japanese male to the literature on the gendered experience abroad. Secondly, it allows us to investigate how language study at home and abroad differs for a single learner, and how gender contributes to these differences. 本研究は、一人の日本人男子高校生の日本とアメリカにおける英語学習経験を調査したケーススタディである。日米両国で記録したフィールドノート、インタビュー、記載様式をある程度規定した日記などの質的データを資料とした。習熟度に関する資料としては、OPI と呼ばれる会話測定能力テスト、TOEFL、ディクテーション、留学経験直後に録音した体験談などを使用した。多様なレベルのダイナミクスを検証し、ジェンダーが、短期・長期両方にわたる言語学習の機会と成果を得るために、重要な役割を果たしていることを論じた。本研究は、日本人男性のケーススタディである点、個人においても母国と外国とでは言語学習の方法が異なり、ジェンダーがその違いにどのように影響しているかを探ることができた点において、海外留学体験におけるジェンダーの影響を扱った研究分野に貢献するものである。

scholarly journals Measuring the perceptions of physical environment comfort on office employees' performance : a case study at the Durban University of Technology, South Africa

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Jabulani Samuel Mhlanga
Keyword(s):  
Physical Environment ◽  
Employee Performance ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Administrative Staff ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
University Of Technology ◽  
Improved Performance ◽  
Physical Elements ◽  
Office Employees

In a dynamic world of office environment where the office is continually changing, there has been a huge need for addressing physical environment comfort of employees to improve their performance, while retaining a happy and healthy workforce. It is against this backdrop that the study was carried out to measure the perceptions of physical environment comfort on employee performance at Durban University of Technology (DUT). A model of office physical elements was used as a conceptual framework to highlight physical environment comfort elements that affects employee performance. The objectives of the study were to measure perceptions of physical environment comfort on employee performance, as well as identify the relationship between physical environment comfort and employee performance. This research adopted a mixed method approach, using the DUT as a case study, with questionnaires and interviews employed as data collection instruments. The target population comprised 81 administrative staff members, including six interviewees who were Head of Departments (HoDs) based at all six DUT campuses. The findings generally indicated a high agreement level with regard to the role of office furniture’s comfort, favourable temperature, good office design and welcoming colours as important in increasing their performance. There were, however, divisions and high disagreements where office furniture’s flexibility is concerned in addition to the strain it caused. Moreover, the amount of noise across offices was found to be quite distracting. It was concluded that the academic administrative staff generally expressed positive perceptions on the importance of physical environment comfort for office employee performance, echoed by the interviewed HoDs. In conclusion, office employees and HoDs expressed positive perceptions on the importance of physical environment comfort for improved performance. This makes it critical for DUT management to address areas of weakness on physical environment comfort for improved productivity.

scholarly journals Group Dynamics and Resilience in the Process of L2 Socialization: A Longitudinal Case Study of Japanese University Students Visiting an English Lounge

2021 ◽  
pp. 21-39
Author(s):  
Akiko Kiyota
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Group Dynamics ◽  
Longitudinal Case Study ◽  
Socialization Process ◽  
Center Staff ◽  
Japanese University ◽  
Socialization Processes ◽  
Academic Year

This paper documents the socialization process of beginner-level Japanese university students into an on-campus English lounge over a year. Although initially feeling highly stressed, ten out of 37 students successfully continued their bi-weekly visits to the English lounge over a full academic year by going there as a small group of three to four students. Although the visits were originally encouraged as part of their elective homework, two of them made frequent visits to the lounge beyond the homework requirement. The reflective journals which these ten students wrote after each visit provided an emic view of their socialization processes into the English lounge. The author conducted an inductive thematic analysis of these data. Among multiple findings, the most salient was that aspects of group dynamics served to increase their resilience, or their capacity to adapt under adversity, during their socialization processes. These findings may provide insights for those language instructors and self-access language learning center staff who are in the position to facilitate students to learn in such a second language (L2) use environment, as well as learners themselves who are struggling in such a learning environment.

“Seriously, I came here to study English”

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-95
Author(s):  
Daisuke Kimura
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
English Learning ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Narrative Case Study ◽  
Communication Practices ◽  
Research And Education ◽  
Networks Of Practice

Abstract While English plays a prominent role in universities across the globe, study abroad research has rarely considered English learning in non-Anglophone countries. This article presents a narrative case study of the experience of a Japanese exchange student in Thailand whose primary purpose for study abroad was to improve his English. Grounded in the notion of Individual Networks of Practice (Zappa-Hollman & Duff, 2015), the qualitative analysis will focus on the participant’s evolving social networks and reported communication practices as mediated through available subject positions and varying degrees of investment. Particularly, findings reveal the dissonance between his investment in native speaker English and the reality of using English as a lingua franca, which decidedly influenced the student’s (non-)participation in certain social groups and practices. Casting fresh light on globalization and language learning, the study offers a unique contribution to the study abroad literature and suggests avenues for further research and education.

scholarly journals Apathy, Agency, and Sociocultural Mediation in a University English Course

2020 ◽  
Vol 2019 (1) ◽  
pp. 144
Author(s):  
Masayo Kanno
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Self Directed Learning ◽  
Japanese University ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
Sociocultural Approach ◽  
Directed Learning ◽  
Learner Agency ◽  
Japanese Learners

This paper is a report of an exploratory case study with a learner who showed apathetic attitudes in a Japanese university English course. Previous research indicated the influence of self-perception, learner autonomy, and exam washback effects on Japanese learners’ attitudes towards language learning. This study takes a sociocultural approach to contribute to a deeper understanding of the constructive nature of learner agency. Semistructured interviews unexpectedly revealed the learner’s multilingual experiences and ongoing self-directed learning efforts outside the classroom. A thematic analysis identified two themes: the ineffectiveness of the classroom learning environment and the importance of English language skills. These themes illustrated that learner agency was mediated through interaction between the learner’s subjective opinions and collective attitudes in the classroom. The author discusses pedagogical factors that could enhance learner agency and facilitate learner involvement in language learning. 本論文は、日本の大学の英語の授業内で無関心な態度を示す一人の学習者に関する探求的事例研究の報告である。先行研究では、自己認識や学習者の自律性、そしてテストの波及効果が日本人学習者の語学学習に対する姿勢に与える影響が示されている。本研究は、社会文化論的なアプローチから、発展的な性質を持つ学習者行為主体性をより深く理解することを目的とする。半構造化インタビューでは、多言語に接した経験があり、現在自主的に英語を学習していたことが予想外に明らかになった。主題分析により、効果的ではない教室での学習環境、英語力の重要性、の二つのテーマが特定された。これらのテーマは、学習者の主観的な意見と教室内での集合的な態度の相互作用を媒介として行為主体性が形成されることを示唆した。著者は、行為主体性を高め、語学学習への関わりを促進することができるような教育的要素を論じる。

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 Self-Access Environments as Self-Enriching Complex Dynamic Ecosocial Systems

2018 ◽  
pp. 102-115
Author(s):  
Garold Murray
Keyword(s):  
Social Learning ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Complex Dynamic ◽  
Learning Space ◽  
Complex Dynamic Systems ◽  
The Social ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
Central Argument ◽  
Data Informed

The central argument of this paper is that self-access centres transformed into social learning spaces have the potential to become self-enriching complex dynamic ecosocial systems. As such, they can support the emergence of a wide variety of affordances for language learning. While complex dynamic systems cannot be created and the process of emergence cannot be engineered, research suggests that both can be facilitated. To illustrate these points, I draw on the findings of three studies carried out in a social learning space at Okayama University in Japan: a five-year ethnography, a multiple-case study, and a narrative inquiry. I begin by describing the social learning space, outlining the studies and providing an overview of the theoretical orientations which guided the interpretation of the data. Informed by these bodies of theory and results from the studies, I then discuss why it is important to have a social learning space with the potential to become a complex dynamic ecosocial system. The paper concludes with an exploration of how educators might go about facilitating the emergence of self-enriching complex dynamic ecosocial systems.

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