Self-Access Language Learning 1996 - Newsletter of the Hong Kong Association for Self-Access Learning & Development.
Self-Access & Collaborative Learning:
In Hong Kong there is the highest concentration of self-access lang learning facilities in the world. Within this concentration there is diversity on whether facilities cater for individual or collaborative work. The individual group dimension of self-access fits in with some preoccupations in lang learning theory, namely, individualization
...Self-Access Lang Learning 1996 - A report by Sara Cotterall who visited 6 tertiary institutions to boost the effectiveness of existing resources for the teaching of langs.
Objectives: Visit the independent lang centers of a number of tertiary institutions in Europe and Asia.
Aims: To inspect the physical layout, resources and facilities of the various centers; / To discuss with staff their experience of managing their center in order to identify the features contributing to efficient and productive...
Self-Access Language Learning Centers
are educational facilities designed for st learning that is self-directed. (SYN: L-centered approach, L autonomy or self-directed learning.) exist in Asia, Europe, and North Am. Proper use can result in a feeling of empowerment and better learning outcomes, but getting to the point where STS and TS can exploit them well can be problematic. For this reason, the structure of established self-access centers varies from completely ST-directed work with classroom...
Activities which train strategies and equip LS to be active
Training cognitive strategies:
aim to increase STS´ knowledge of useful ways to learn and develop the strategies they need. These activities will replace the techniques which LS previously expected to come from the TS. E.g.: Instead of expecting the T to explain the meanings of new words, STS can be trained to go through a series of techniques such as using clues in the text to guess meaning, using knowledge of affixation, and checking...
What insights can we gain from educational thinking on autonomous learning?
Another idea about learner autonomy in ELT circles has been educational thinking, where the concept of self-determination has been the focus of debate for many years. "Self-determination" suggests that the individual L can reflect, make choices, and arrive at personally constructed decisions. Barrow and Woods describe it as involving the ·notion of thinking in the sense of reflecting, calculating, memorizing, predicting,...
Characteris SELF-DIRECTED L:
A...