Advising in Language Learning and its Application to Classroom Teaching

Overview

Advising in Language Learning (ALL) is a growing field in language education that focuses on supporting language learners to become autonomous learners (Benson, 2011; Mozzon-McPherson & Vismans, 2001; Mynard & Carson, 2012). In this joint event by JALT Kyoto and the Japan Association for Self-Access Learning (JASAL), participants will get a taster of what advising in language learning is and how it can be used in everyday interactions with learners in and outside of the classroom.

In Part 1, ‘What is advising? Why advising?’, Curtis Edlin will briefly cover autonomy and its importance in well-being, performance, learning, and motivation, especially as they pertain to education and language development. How this underpins and informs advising will be discussed, and then how this might be reflected in actual practice will be further detailed.

In Part 2, ‘Advising skills and tools’, Yuri Imamura will introduce basic advising skills as well as tools to help learners reflect on their experiences deeply. Some concrete examples of how learners can discover themselves through one-to-one advising sessions will also be demonstrated.

In Part 3, ‘Advising concepts in classroom activities’, Hisako will talk about the ways in which concepts of advising can be implemented in classrooms and introduce activities that teachers can try in their classrooms. She will share her experiences with the activities and the roles of peers and teachers in facilitating the development of learner autonomy. Participants will also have a chance to try one of the activities.

Presenter Bios

Curtis Edlin is an English lecturer at Chiba University, where he can be found in English house, their Self-Access Center (SAC). He has six years of experience as a learning advisor and currently helps teach the Research Institute for Learner Autonomy Education (RILAE) advisor education courses. His research interests are in topics surrounding autonomy, motivation, performance, well-being, and holism.

Yuri Imamura is a senior learning advisor in the Self-Access Learning Center at Kanda University of International Studies in Japan. She completed her MA in TEFL at the University of Birmingham, UK. Her research interests are learner motivation, translanguaging in language learning, and language learning spaces.

Hisako Yamashita is an associate professor at Kobe Shoin Women’s University and is the former president of the Japan Association for Self-Access Learning (JASAL). She has worked in four different self-access centers and has conducted over 4,300 advising sessions. She is also active in developing classroom activities which apply concepts of advising. Some of her activities are published in TESOL Press publications (2015, 2019), and she is the coauthor (with Satoko Kato) of a forthcoming book on teachers’ guide on developing autonomous learners through advising and class activities in junior/high school settings.