Abstract Summary
This qualitative study investigates EFL learners in a 15-week Japanese learner autonomy program as they interact with advisors in face-to-face and online environments. It explores learner perspectives on self-selected tasks and resources in developing language learner autonomy, and the mediating roles of peers, language learning advisors, and technologies.
Abstract :
This study investigates the affordances of a language learning community, including online and offline instructional and interactional resources and spaces, for learners of English-as-a-foreign-language undertaking a 15-week course in language learning autonomy in an international university in Japan. From an ecological perspective, which privileges emic perspectives on the role of learner engagement as mediated by peers and resources in a learning community, we explore the tasks and (physical, human and technological) resources learners choose to focus on, their perspectives on the effectiveness of these tasks and resources, in developing language learner autonomy.
We also investigate their perceptions of the mediating roles of their peers, language learning advisors, and technologies in their learning experience. Data were collected from ten undergraduate learners of English in the form of learning plans, written reflections, multimodal online conversation threads, student-learning advisor reflective interviews, and semi-structured interviews with an external researcher. The project occurred at a time when the program was moving from paper-based submission of learning plans and reflections, to interactions via the online multimodal app Moxtra. The focus on the current presentation will particularly emphasise the learners’ experience of the transition from (mostly handwritten) text-based submission of completed course materials to the more dynamic and potentially interactive affordances of the online platform.
