Speakers
KEYWORDS
Learner Autonomy
Motivation
Blended Learning
Teacher Roles
ABSTRACT
Teaching English communication in an EFL setting is difficult, especially for once a week classes . One of the biggest hurdles is convincing the students to use learned language points in communicative tasks. How can teachers motivate students accustomed to passive learning to become more autonomous and take more agency over their language learning? This study examines ten years of teaching English to Japanese university students as well as three years of instruction for Japanese high school students all utilizing a cyclical blended-learning method. One of the major goals of the courses has been to help students grow beyond the false beginner stage and take more responsibility for their learning. This presentation will detail the cyclical methods that have been developed to motivate students to become more autonomous English learners and how effective the methods have been. The areas discussed include teacher roles, lesson planning, student observation and reflection, and lesson modification – all done in a cyclical manner. Results suggest that a cyclical teaching method can be applied to nearly any course in order to help foster confidence and encourage more student agency. Data to support the conclusions includes self-report surveys from the students, test results, and teacher observation.
| TITLE | Cyclical Teaching: A method for improving learner agency and autonomy |
|---|---|
| RELEVANT SIG | Learner Development |
| FORMAT | Practice-oriented Oral Face-to-face presentation (25 minutes, including Q&A) |
