Ivan Lombardi
University of Fukui
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Students: Poster Session ポスターセッション 55 minutes / 55 分 I let my EFL students take ownership of their learning, and THIS happened!! more
Sat, Oct 21, 15:25-16:20 Asia/Tokyo
This poster will narrate the unfolding of an English communication course for first-year students at a National university in Japan where students have the opportunity to make meaningful choices regarding their learning. In the first class meeting, students participated in a self-assessment of their English using the CEFR-J can-do descriptors for spoken interaction and monologue (Tono & Negishi, 2020). Through the newly-gained awareness of their English proficiency, students expressed their desired focus for the successive class meetings. A majority of students wanted to prioritize explicit vocabulary learning and idiomatic language, while fluency training was a close third. Then, students worked with the instructor to draft a syllabus, schedule the class activities, and identify topics of interest. As a result, the course was divided into three units focused on self-expression, conversation strategies, and English for interaction on campus, respectively. For each unit, the first class meeting would be centered on vocabulary acquisition, the second on idiomatic expression, the third on fluency, and the fourth was dedicated to assessment. At a later stage, students requested a further focus on pronunciation, which was added to the third unit. Tono, Y. & Negishi, M. (2020). Kyо̄zai – tesuto sakusei no tame no CEFR-J risо̄subukku. Taishukan.
Teachers: Research Practice / Talk 研究／実践についての話し合い 25 minutes / 25分 Fostering Student Independence Through A Community Revitalization PBL Class more
Sat, Oct 21, 10:35-11:00 Asia/Tokyo
The presenters facilitate a Project-Based Learning (PBL) course centered on student discovery of local issues and community revitalization at a regional national university in Japan. From 2021 to 2023, students worked with a local experiential travel organization to promote its activities and the surrounding area to a domestic and international audience. The presenters will outline the first and second iterations of the course. In the first iteration, travel and direct engagement within the community were limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic, thus students focused on multilingual promotion using SNS platforms. Students of the second iteration actively researched the challenges faced by organizations and institutions in the area and worked with them and relevant government agencies to create two multilingual events and a promotion pamphlet. The presenters will describe the development of metacognitive skills in students (such as planning, problem-solving, and active listening) based on observation and student reflections. Then, the presenters will share examples of students gaining independence through their engagement with cooperating organizations and local government entities. They will conclude with future directions for the course and ways their findings can be integrated into similar community revitalization and international promotion projects.
