Call for Presentations JASAL2019

Conference theme: New Beginnings
Otemon Gakuin University, Ibaraki City, Osaka, Japan
Saturday, November 30 and Sunday, December 1, 2019
(Pre-conference SAC tour Friday, November 29)

The Japan Association for Self-Access Learning (JASAL) warmly invites you to participate in the JASAL2019 Conference on Saturday, November 30 and Sunday, December 1, 2019 at Otemon Gakuin University, Ibaraki City, Osaka, Japan. The theme of JASAL2019 is New Beginnings. This year marks the beginning of a new era in Japan, the Reiwa period (“beautiful harmony”, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry). It is also a year of new beginnings for JASAL, as the current 8-member board starts its three-year term, and we prepare the Call for Papers for the very first issue of our new journal.

New beginnings offer hope, excitement, energy, and an opportunity to see with fresh eyes. They can be a time of change or rejuvenation, and a time to aim high and set new goals. They can also be a time of challenge, with unforeseen issues to tackle and needs to support as people face new demands and adapt to unfamiliar environments. In self-access language learning, there are new beginnings for learners every year, as freshers begin their university lives. There are also new beginnings for faculty, learning advisors, and staff as they receive training or orientation, take on new roles, and form new teams. Self-Access Centers (SACs) and Language Learning Spaces (LSS) may be newly opened or redesigned. New projects may be begun, new technologies introduced, or new approaches attempted. We hope that this theme encourages participants to reflect on the ways that new beginnings are approached, managed, cultivated, and supported in their diverse work environments.

JASAL2019 will bring together language teachers as well as practitioners, administrators, and students involved in the field of self-access learning across Japan to share our innovative practices, to learn from each other, and to inspire each other. We start on Friday afternoon with a pre-conference tour of E-CO, Otemon Gakuin University’s self-access learning center. Then we will have a full day of presentations on Saturday, and more presentations on Sunday morning.

This year, too, we wish to broaden the participation at the JASAL Annual Conference by encouraging students to present either as part of a special Student Forum (see the separate Call for Papers), or in the main conference, and to give all presenters the option to present in English or Japanese. We welcome three general types of proposal submissions:

• Research-based presentations, in which there is reference to theoretical literature and/or collection and discussion of data
• ‘My Share’ presentations, which are less research-focused and emphasize the sharing of practical ideas
• Administrator presentations, which provide a platform for administrators concerned with the operations of SAC/LLSs

We are particularly looking for presentations focusing on this year’s theme (“New Beginnings”) in the following areas, although other relevant topics will also be considered:

• Managing and administrating Self-Access Centers (SAC)/ Language Learning Spaces (LLS)
• Learning Spaces and SAC/LLS layout
• Language policy in SAC/LLS
• Materials and displays
• Self-access and curriculum, Learning program design
• Learner involvement in SAC/LLS, Learning Community
• Learning advising/counseling/coaching
• Professional development for self-access learning
• Assessment of self-access learning
• Evaluating a SAC/LLS
• Interaction and collaboration with colleagues and administrators
• Promotion of SAC/LLS
• Research design
• Student perspectives on SAC/LLS
• Lifelong learning
• Learner development
• Study abroad

Presentation Format
Regular presenters:

• 25-minute presentation
• Poster presentation
• 45-minute workshop

Undergraduate students are welcome to apply for 25-minute or poster presentations. They may also present at the Student Forum at JASAL2019 if they attend the JASAL Student Conference in Kobe on October 19th, 2019 (see the separate Call for Presentations).

Proposals
Proposals should include the following:

• Title (When writing in English, please capitalize major words, e.g. “Self-Access Environments as Self-Enriching Complex Dynamic Ecosocial Systems”)
• Name(s) of presenter(s) and affiliation(s) (If Japanese, please include a romanized version)
• 100 word abstract for program booklet
• 200-250 word abstract for proposal reviewers
• Indication of presentation format

Submission deadline
Sunday, August 4, 2019
Submission form