Harnessing the Potential of Technology to Support Self-Directed Language Learning in Online Learning Settings––Online Symposium Review

Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan Royal Institute of Technology (Stockholm, Sweden) and the Research Institute for Learner Autonomy Education at Kanda University of International Studies (Chiba, Japan) held a joint online symposium on October 15, 2020. It was an open event for those interested in the design and use of technology and self-directed, autonomous language learning in online settings. Examining 15 of the event’s internationally focused presentations, this article aims to provide an overview of the symposium by summarizing the main themes in research and practice relating to technology and self-directed learning. The article will conclude with a commentary on the takeaways and issues for further reflection.

Going Deeper: Broadening the Perspectives of an Advisee Through Metaphor and a Learning Advising Tool

This reflective paper outlines an advising session conducted online as part of the assessment for an advising in language learning certification at Kanda University of International Studies (KUIS). Specifically, the author focuses on the use of an advising tool (Wheel of Language Learning) combined with metaphor in an attempt to deepen a learner’s reflection process. In addition to reflecting on their performance and continuing development as an advisor, the author discusses how the advising course has broadened his teaching perspectives.

A Reflection on the Two-year Progress of Peer Advisor-led Events for Promoting Collaboration among Students

The authors work in the Self-Access Learning Center (SALC) at our university as student staff. Specifically, our role is as Peer Advisors (PAs), and we have supported students by having advising sessions and events related to self-directed learning. In this article, we focus on an event that PAs have organized for two years and reflect on the progress. In particular, differences between the physical and online versions of the event are mainly discussed in terms of the number of participants, topics for each session and the method for event promotion. At the end of the article, each of our personal reflections is introduced.

Who am I?: Identity Transformation Through Distance Learning

Identity is hard for many people to articulate. It is something that is always evolving and which varies depending on the context you are in and the things you do. In this article, I outline my journey through distance learning and the profound impact this had on my sense of identity and how I see myself and my place in the world. I will discuss the challenges and the support I received along the way and how autonomy played an important role for my identity transformation.

Extracts from an advising session: How viewpoint switching can help broaden learner perspectives and provide positive feedback

Advising in language learning is a relatively new field that has generated considerable interest amongst educational practitioners because of its focus on the individual language learner. Advising is an effective way of generating motivation and fostering learner autonomy as it encourages reflection on the language learning process. With this in mind, adequate training must be provided for developing language learning advisors and educational practitioners making the transition from teachers to advisors. This paper contains a brief description of an advising session from a developing learning advisor who focuses on two particular advising strategies: those of broadening perspectives and giving positive feedback. The outcomes are developmental and by presenting them I aim to highlight some of the difficulties for teachers making the transition to becoming a Language Learning Advisor.

Editorial

We welcome you to Volume 4, Issue 1 of Relay Journal. Undoubtedly, all of us, whether as educators, advisors, other professionals, or learners, have continued to experience great change in our work or learning over the past year or more. During times of change, in order for the change to be developmental, an individual must be able to reach a sense of equilibrium (Zittoun, 2006, Zittoun et al., 2013). This concept of equilibrium is also referred to by Damasio (2019, p. 6) as a sense of “homeostasis” to which all living beings constantly are driven to in order to feel fulfilled and satisfied. Through change and the subsequent restructuring of how we function in our teaching or learning in order to reach a new stability, our umwelt (see Uexüell, 1987; Zittoun, 2006), i.e., our own semiotic world, can also be altered. In the context of language learning, going through changes, finding balance, and undergoing a transformation of perspectives are all experiences that learners and teachers alike face. Engaging in reflection can help students to cope with these transitions and ultimately better understand and benefit from the process (Kato & Mynard, 2016). It is also through reflective practice that educators are likewise able to successfully handle and grow from potentially difficult times of transformation or development (Argyris & Schön 1974; Farrell, 2015, 2019). In this issue, we are happy to present a collection of papers which represent examples of such reflections. Readers can get a closer look at various aspects of advising in language learning through analytic accounts of its implementation by educators. Additionally, valuable insights into the learning journey may be gained from reflections on topics such as self-directed collaborative learning among undergraduate students or the evolution of a distance learner’s identity while engaging in graduate studies. Finally, those who are interested in the intersection of technology and self-directed learning will find something valuable in these articles as well.

Pursuing PERMA in a Pandemic: Reflections on a Socially-Distanced Advising Session

Drawing on transcribed excerpts, this reflection describes an online advising session conducted by the author, a full-time EFL lecturer and developing language learning advisor, with a language learner attending a private Japanese university. This follows from a previous advising session conducted prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and explores the impact of the pandemic on the learner’s reported motivation. The advisor engages with the advisee to identify obstacles to motivation and other essential elements of overall well-being and is required to adapt after recognizing that a prepared advising tool is poorly suited to the advisee’s needs. Together, the pair identifies an opportunity to create positive associations between language learning and the advisee’s gaming hobby. The author experiences a greater sense of authenticity in the advisor role after considering the needs of his advisee via his existing research interest in positive psychology.

Using an Advising Tool to Help Students Go Beyond “Just Learning”

The role of a learning advisor (LA) in a self-access centre (SAC) is to help learners develop their learner autonomy (Carson & Mynard, 2012), defined as “the capacity to control over [their] learning” (Benson, 2011, p. 2). To develop such a capacity, learners need to be aware of their learning. With the aim to help learners, a learning advisor uses different advising strategies and advising tools. However, for a novice learning advisor, it is not always obvious to introduce an advising tool to a student. In this article, I describe how I, a novice learning advisor, used an advising tool, called the Wheel of Language Learning (WLL) with a student in her first advising session with me, and how it impacted her perspectives on her learning. In the end, I give some implications for future advising sessions.

Facing the Challenges of Distance Learning: Voices from the Classroom

This article reports on the first webinar in the IATEFL Learner Autonomy Special Interest Group’ series of online events dedicated to supporting teachers in this unprecedented and unexpected pandemic situation. Learner Autonomy in the Time of Corona: Supporting Learners and Teachers in Turbulent Days featured a series of talks and open discussion panels, allowing participants to actively share their thoughts and ideas. In the following, the outcomes of the webinar will be discussed.

Encouraging Learners Interactions in an Emergency Remote Environment

This paper provides reflections on my first semester of teaching emergency remote teaching (ERT), due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. After describing the context, I have described the choices I made in order to create and maintain an online learning environment, where student interaction is maximised, and enables the instructor to focus on the role of being a facilitator. Though it was not without a few challenges, overall, it could be considered a successful first attempt with possibly more teacher-student and student-student interaction achieved by the end of the semester.