Starting a Movement: Let’s go to SALC!

Self-Access Conversations: Beyond Classroom Borders Self Access Forum (@202B) Nov. 23rd , Sum (5:40 PM - 7:10 PM) Starting a Movement: Let’s go to SALC! • Satomi Shibata

Autonomous • Want to improve their English skills • Use the center whenever they need • Do not hesitate to ask questions • Understand what they need themselves Learner types • Passive • Want to improve their English skills • Somehow can’t enter the center or ask teachers (advisers) • Amotivated/ Reluctant • Not interested in English skills • Interested in something else • Just need to graduate

Centers at TWO universities • Both are similar (Size, human resources, budget) • English major • 100 students in a year • One teacher, one student teaching assistant • English conversation sessions • Advising

Tokoha University • Three campuses • Shizuoka Campus : 2000 students • Faculty of foreign language: 150 each year • English: 100 each year (main users: 1st, 2nd year students) • English level (TOEIC 170-930)

Relatively Small SALC • One staff, one teacher, one student teaching assistant • Four teachers (American, Canadian, or Spanish) Conversation Practice session 45 to 90 minutes a week • Five Japanese teachers work when I don’t work. 90 minutes a week • Japanese is spoken.

Budget • Students teaching assistants (since 2008) • Books (2014 for the first time!!!)

What we do… • TOEFL, TOEIC, EIKEN, Other foreign language tests • Studying abroad programs (one month, two months, 7months) • Advising • Conversation Practice session • Books (Extensive reading:3000, tests:70) • Events (Halloween, Christmas, Speech contests)

Users • 100 users a day • 150 books a day

With Limited Human Resources… • Starting a Movement • Arranging Choices Create the environment (school culture) Let’s-go-to-SALCculture

Starting a Movement • Threshold model of collective action (Granovetter, 1978) • Leader and follower: The important role of the first follower (Shivers, 2010)

What does everybody do? Nagoya ⇒　Studying abroad program (70% of the students go abroad + travelling） ⇒　TOEFL ⇒　To work in Tokyo, Osaka, other area. Shizuoka ⇒　Only 30 % or less ⇒　Not TOEFL ⇒　To work in Shizuoka

What does everybody do? • Difference between Nagoya and Shizuoka • Economy Studying abroad was NOT for everybody. Extensive Reading

With Limited Human Resources… • Starting a Movement • Arranging Choices Create the environment (school culture) Let’s-go-to-SALCculture

So many choices • Enter the center or not • How long to stay • Talk to someone or not • With whom • Come back again or not • Use more than one usage

Help Users Decision Making • …choice overload problem affects us even in very consequential decisions. • We choose not to choose, even when it goes against our best self-interests. • Four techniques for mitigating the problem of choice overload (Iyenger 2011)

Help Users Decision Making • cut -- get rid of the extraneous alternatives • concretize -- make it real • categorize -- handle more categories, less choices • condition for complexity.

Extensive Reading • cut -- get rid of the extraneous alternatives (Three to Four kinds) • concretize -- make it real (Example from the previous year. In class, SALC) • categorize -- handle more categories, less choices (Different shelves) • condition for complexity. (April: Extensive Reading, November: )

Let’s –go-to-SALCCulture • Nagoya? Shizuoka?　　　⇒　What are their interests? • Economy? ⇒How does it affect on their learning? • Data: Fostering followers 　⇒Showing successful examples, sharing episodes • When to encourage: Difficult to change life style ⇒April, May, September, October, before breaks

Further research • What can we do more with the limited human resources? • How can we encourage the admiration and other teachers to understand more about self-access centers? (English Education centers, International communication centers, self-access centers ⇒ more demand on workload)

References Dweck, C (2006). Mindset. NY: Random house. （邦訳：今西康子『「やればできる！」の研究』草思社）林日出男 (2012). 『動機づけ視点で見る日本人の英語学習: 内発的・外発的動機づけを軸に』東京: 金星堂. Iyengar, S. (2010). The art of choosing. New York, NY: Twelve. （邦訳：櫻井祐子『選択の科学』文藝春秋） MacGonigal, K. (2012) Maximum willpower. UK: Macmillan.（邦訳：神崎朗子『スタンフォードの自分を変える教師』大和書房） Shibata, S. (2012). The macro-and micro-language learning counseling: An autoethnographic account. Studies in Self-Access Learning Journal, 3(1), 108-121. Shivers, D (2010). How to start a movement: TED presentation. https://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_how_to_start_a_movement Thaler, R.H. & Sustain, C. R. (2009). Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth, and happiness. New York: Penguin Books. 上田信行（2009）. 『プレイフル・シンキング』東京：宣伝会議. 上淵寿（2004）. 『動機づけ研究の最前線』京都：北大路書房. Wenger, E. (2000). Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Thank you very much. satomishibata@sz.tokoha-u.ac.jp

Starting a Movement: Let’s go to SALC!