Improving Students’
Learner Autonomy in Japanese
Educational Settings
A Symposium
Shien
Sakai,
Chiba University of Commerce;
Yoichi Kiyota, Meisei University;
Akiko Takagi, Osaka Kyoiku University;
Natsue Nakayama, Maebashi Kyoai Gakuen College
The symposium was presented by four
speakers. First, Prof. Sakai overviewed the research on the
relationship
between learner autonomy and English language proficiency of Japanese
university students conducted by him and Prof. Takagi. Following him,
Prof.
Kiyota spoke on how to motivate students to study English. Then, Prof.
Takagi
talked about teacher autonomy for teachers which should be autonomous
when they
help their students improve autonomy. Finally, Prof. Nakayama discussed
how the
mentoring program worked in order to enhance teacher autonomy by
looking into
the case of Arizona State. Then implications towards Japanese education
system
through the mentoring program were made.
1. Relationship between
learner autonomy and
English language proficiency of Japanese learners
Shien Sakai,
Chiba
University of Commerce
The present study
investigates the
relationship between learner autonomy and English language proficiency
of
Japanese students from various
universities.
Specifically, the following objectives was addressed: If 721
students
from 16 universities are divided into three levels according to their
score in
a vocabulary test, what differences in perceptions regarding
responsibility and
autonomy do students have among these three groups?
After conducting factor
analysis several
times, the students’ features of three groups were obtained. The top
students
are autonomous learners. The intermediate students are not independent
users of
English outside the classroom, but can be seen as learners in their
classrooms.
The poor performers remain dependent learners under teachers’ direction.
Under each nation’s
educational system,
learner autonomy has developed in its own way. However, in the end,
various
developments will converge on Holec’s definition (1981), for there are
many
autonomous learners who have been educated in the Japanese educational
setting.
2. English Learning
Motivation of Japanese
University Learners for Developmental Education Related to Self-esteem
Yoichi
Kiyota, Meisei University
In Japan, students who
cannot keep up
with English lessons in their universities have become a problem. A lot
of
universities have started to work on English developmental education in
order
to improve their English ability. However, considering their long-term
unsuccessful experiences in English learning, attention should be paid
to the
problems of learning motivation and attitudes at the same time as
improving
proficiency. If the learners have been influenced negatively in their
self-esteem through long-term English learning at school, it is
necessary to
design teaching lessons in relation to the learners’ general
self-esteem.
As a result of the
investigations,
correlation was recognized between English learning motivation factors
and
self-esteem factors. This suggests that it is necessary to enhance
learners’
self-esteem in conducting English developmental education and not
merely
improve their basic knowledge and skills.
3. How to develop teacher
autonomy in EFL context
Akiko Takagi,
Osaka Kyoiku
University
Clearly, teachers play an
important role
in promoting learner autonomy, and teacher autonomy seems to be
precondition
for fostering learner autonomy. However, there is little empirical
research on
teacher autonomy in EFL context. In order to find out some implication
for
future study regarding development of teacher autonomy in pre-service
and
in-service teacher training, I conducted intensive literature review on
the
definition of teacher autonomy as well as links between teacher and
learner
autonomy. Defining teacher autonomy is an easy task, but we have to
keep in
mind that there are at least six dimensions on teacher autonomy as
Smith (2003)
points out. Especially, fostering capacity for self-directed
professional
development has a strong impact on developing students’ learner
autonomy and
negotiation, critical reflective inquiry, dialogue, and empowerment
will be key
terms in development of teacher autonomy in teacher education.
4. A Study on Mentoring
System at Northern Arizona
University and its Implications to Japanese Teacher Education
Natsue
Nakayama, Maebashi
Kyoai Gakuen College
There are some researchers
who explain
the teachers’ role is important in promoting students’ autonomy.
However, if a
teacher did not have a concept of autonomy or has never received such
training,
we could easily imagine it would be very difficult for the teacher to
lead
learners to become autonomous. Then, what would be necessary to promote
teacher/leaner autonomy?
One answer will be training
on
meta-cognitive strategy of the teachers. Good mentors would help them
learn the
abilities more smoothly. However, in Japan, we do not have the concept
of how
to train mentors.
This March, we visited
Northern Arizona
University (NAU) to observe the role of mentor in teacher induction
program
(TIP). Through the visit we found that (1) TIP includes many aspects to
enhance
meta-cognitive strategies of the beginning teachers, and (2) the mentor
plays
an important role in enhancing them. Therefore, the purpose of this
presentation is to (1) report about this mentoring system in NAU and
(2) to
make some implications towards the Japanese teacher education system.