Speakers

Keynote speakers

Henri Holec (CRAPEL, University of Nancy II, France)

Autonomy in language learning: Past, present & future
Henri Holec has been working in the field of language learner autonomy since the end of the 1960’s as a member of the group of researchers working under the leadership of Yves Chalon, the founder of the C.R.A.P.E.L. (Centre de Recherches et d’Applications Pédagogiques en Langues) at the University of Nancy in France.
In 1961, he joined the staff of the University of Nancy in France, eventually becoming a Professor there. From 1972-1998 he was Director of the C.R.A.P.E.L., the leading French institution in teaching and research on learner autonomy in language learning.
Between 1973 and 1978, Professor Holec chaired AILA’s Adult Language Teaching Commission. From 1978-1982, he was an expert member of the No 8 Language Project of the Council for Cultural Cooperation of the Council of Europe. One of the most seminal and oft quoted publications in the field is the book he wrote during that time:
Holec, H. 1981. Autonomy and foreign language learning. Oxford: Pergamon.
During that time, he also produced the following publications for the Council of Europe:
Holec, H. 1988. Autonomy and self-directed Learning: Present fields of application. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.
Holec, H. 1996. 'Self-directed learning: an alternative form of training' in Holec, H., Little, D. and Richterich, R. (eds.) Strategies in language learning and use: Studies towards a common European framework for language learning and teaching. Strasbourg: Council of Europe
Professor Holec has conducted research in a number of language-related fields including: autonomy, self-directed learning and learning to learn, teacher training for autonomy, oral and written comprehension, the process of language acquisition, language learning resource centres and curriculum design.

James Lantolf (Pennsylvania State University, USA)WITHDRAWN

Autonomy and sociocultural theory
James P. Lantolf, Greer Professor in Language Acquisition and Applied Linguistics, Director of the Center for Language Acquisition; Co-Director of Center for Advanced Language Proficiency Education and Research [CALPER] at Pennsylvania State University. Professor Lantolf is past president of AAAL and former North American editor of Applied Linguistics. His research focuses on sociocultural theory and L2 learning. Professor Lantolf’s publications include Sociocultural theory and second language learning (2000, editor) and Sociocultural theory and the genesis of second language development (co-authored with S. L. Thorne) Oxford University Press, 2006, as well as over eighty articles and book chapters.

Yoshiyuki Nakata (Hyogo University of Teacher Education, Japan)

Autonomy and motivation
Yoshiyuki Nakata, PhD (Trinity College Dublin), is an Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Education at Hyogo University of Teacher Education, Japan. He has been working with in-service and pre-service teachers of English as a foreign language since his appointment in 2001. His research interests include language learning motivation, teacher/learner autonomy, and professional development. In 1999, he published an introductory book on language learning motivation, the first being Gengogakusyu motivation: Riron to jissen [Language learning motivation: Theory and practice] (Tokyo: Liber Press), and in 2006 he published the second book on language learning motivation, Motivation and experience in foreign language learning, (Oxford: Peter Lang) which is now available at the website http://www.peterlang.com.

Kathleen Graves (School for International Training, USA)

Autonomy and teacher education
Kathleen Graves is a professor of second language teacher education at the School for International Training (SIT) in Vermont, USA. Dr. Graves has been an English teacher in Taiwan, Japan, the US and Brazil and has worked with teachers for over twenty years in the areas of reflective practice and materials and curriculum development. Her research areas include applications of activity theory and situated learning theory to educational change and classroom learning. She is the author/editor of two books on curriculum development, Teachers as Course Developers and Designing Language Courses: A Guide for Teachers. She is the former chair of the TESOL Publications Committee and is the editor of the 7 volume TESOL Language Curriculum Development Series. She is the co-author with Donald Freeman and Linda Lee of the ICON language learning series.

Klaus Schwienhorst (University of Hannover, Germany)

Autonomy and CALL
Klaus Schwienhorst was Lecturer in Applied Linguistics and Co-ordinator of Extracurricular Language modules at the Centre for Language and Communication Studies at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland from 1995 until 2006. While working at CLCS, he was involved in research projects covering areas such as virtual reality, computer-mediated communication, and learner autonomy.
Since August 2006, Dr Schwienhorst has been working as the Director of the Centre for Languages for Specific Purposes at the University of Hannover, Germany, which has become one of the most active universities in Germany in the area of internationalisation.
Dr Schwienhorst has published mainly in the area of learner autonomy and synchronous text-based communication tools. His main research interests lie in computer-assisted language learning and learner autonomy for second language acquisition, and more recently in Council of Europe projects such as the European Language Portfolio and the Student Teacher Portfolio.
Dr Schwienhorst’s publications include:
Schwienhorst, K. (forthcoming). Learner autonomy and virtual environments in CALL. London: Routledge.
Schwienhorst, K., & Borgia, A. (2006). "Monitoring bilingualism: Pedagogical implications of the bilingual Tandem analyser". CALICO Journal, 23 (2), 349–362.
Schwienhorst, K. (2003). "Learner autonomy and tandem learning: Putting principles into practice in synchronous and asynchronous telecommunications environments". Computer-Assisted Language Learning, 16 (5), 427–443.

Invited speakers include:

Naoko Aoki (Osaka University, Japan)

Autonomy in language learning: Past, present & future in the Japanese context
Naoko Aoki, PhD, is a Professor at the Graduate School of Letters, Osaka University, Japan, and works with pre-service and in-service teachers of Japanese as a second language (JSL). She is a co-founder of JALT’s Learner Development SIG and has published on the topics of learner autonomy and teacher autonomy in the context of JSL. She was one of the first researchers who recognized the need for qualitative research in the field of learner autonomy. Her current research interests are narrative-based teacher education and second language user stories. The Japanese Language Portfolio is also her recent pet subject.
Naoko's publications include:
Aoki, N. (2001). Kyooshi no yakuwari (Teacher's roles). In N. Aoki, A. Ozaki, & S. Toki (Eds.), Nihongo Kyooikugaku o Manabu Hito no tame ni (For Students of JSL Pedagogy) (pp. 184-199). Kyoto: Sekaishisoosha.
Aoki, N. (2002). Aspects of teacher autonomy: Capacity, freedom, and responsibility. In P. Benson & S. Toogood (Eds.), Learner Autonomy 7: Challenges to Research and Practice (pp. 111-124). Dublin: Authentik.
Aoki, N. (2003). Expanding space for reflection and collaboration. In Barfield, A. & Nix, M. (Eds.). Autonomy You Ask! (pp.189-195). Tokyo: JALT.
Aoki, N. with Hamakawa, Y. (2003). Asserting our culture: Teacher autonomy from a feminist perspective. In Palfreyman, D. & Smith, R.C. (Eds.). Learner Autonomy across Cultures: Language Education Perspectives (pp. 240-253). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Aoki, N. (2006) Kyoushi autonomy (Teacher autonomy). In S. Yokomizo & K. Haruhara (Eds.). Nihongo Kyoushi no Seichou to Jikokenshuu: Arata na Kyoushi Kenshuu Strategy no Kanousei o Mezashite (Development and Self-training of Japanese Language Teachers: Towards Possibilities of New Teacher Training Strategies)（pp. 138-157.）Tokyo: Bonjinsha.

Tomoko Yashima (Kansai University, Japan)

Autonomy and willingness to communicate
Tomoko Yashima received her Ph.D. from Okayama University, and is currently a Professor at the Graduate School of Foreign Language Education and Research, Kansai University. Her research interest is in the social psychology of second language/culture acquisition and communication processes. One aspect of her research concerns L2 behaviours in intercultural contact; how one forms interpersonal relationships with people from different cultural backgrounds using his/her second language, and how one learns to become bilingual/ bicultural. A second aspect of her study focuses on the influence of affective variables including anxiety, confidence, attitudes to a L2 community, and motivation on L2 language learning/communication.
Her publications include:
Second language Communication and Intercultural Adaptation (Tagashoten, 2004).
Motivation and affect in Foreign Language Communication (Kansai University Press, 2004).
Roles of social support and social skills in the intercultural adjustment of Japanese adolescent sojourners in the USA. Psychological Reports, 88. 2001.
Willingness to communicate in L2: The Japanese EFL context, The Modern Language Journal, 86(1). 2002.
The influence of attitude and affect on willingness to communicate and second language communication. Language Learning, 54 (1). 2004.
She and her colleagues recently published a Japanese translation of Zoltan Dornyei's popular book,Questionnaires in Second Language Research.

Koichi Nishiguchi (Osaka University, Japan)

Autonomy and sociocultural theory
Koichi Nishiguchi is a Professor of Japanese Language Education and Applied Linguistics at the International Student Center and the Graduate School of Language and Culture, Osaka University. He gained an MA in Education from the Graduate School of Education, International Christian University, in 1987, and started his career as a Lecturer in Japanese language at the Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies in Yokohama. In 1991–1992 he was made Preceptor in Advanced Japanese courses at the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University. In 1994, he became an Associate Professor at Osaka University. His research interests include: sociocultural theory, Vygotskian and Bakhtinian approaches to SLA, social cognition, semiotics, interaction in contact situations, and Japanese as a Second Language.
Professor Nishiguchi’s publications include:
Understanding Japanese Language Teaching Methods (Babel Press 1995);
co-author of Humanistic Perspectives in Japanese Language Education (Bonjinsha 2003) and Principles and Practice in Sociocultural Approach in Education (Kitaoji-shobo 2004);
editor and co-author of Learning and Learners in Cultural-Historical Context (Bonjinsha 2005).
In addition, he is the author of Japanese language textbooks including Understanding Basic Japanese Grammar (ALC), Kanji in Min-na no Nihongo Elementary Level (3A Corporation), Seeds of Conversation in Japanese (3A Corporation) and Kanji in Context (Japan Times).

Mamoru Morizumi (Obirin University)

Autonomy and teacher education
Morizumi Mamoru is a Professor of Obirin University Graduate School of International Studies and a Professor Emeritus of Osaka University. His majors are English Education and Language and Culture Education. He is especially interested in the philosophy and methodology of English education, relations between language and culture, and language and ideology. Some of his recent books are Gengo bunka kyoiku no kanosei wo motomete or For the future of language and culture education (Supervisor, Sanseido 2001) and Tango no bunkateki imi or Culture as seen in English words (Sanseido 2004). He is also in charge of junior and senior high school English textbooks authorized by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. He is currently the president of JACET (The Japan Association of College English Teachers) and the vice presidents of JABAET (The Japan-Britain Association for English Teaching) and AJELC (The Association of Japanese and English Language and Culture).

Kojiro Asao (Ritsumeikan University)

Autonomy and network-based language learning
Kojiro Asao is a professor of applied linguistics at Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan. Since the arrival of the telecommunications network in the 1980s, he has been actively involved with the work of incorporating the computer and the network in language teaching. He was the regular contributor to the serial column "Network-based English Teaching" of The English Teachers’ Magazine (Taishukan) from 1992 through 2002. In 1996 he edited a special issue of The English Teachers’ Magazine titled The Internet and English Teaching, which was one of the first publications in this field. Among his recent publications are The Internet and the Teaching of English (Taishukan, 2002) coauthored by Taku Sugimoto and Dictionary of Computer Terms (Kenkyusha, 2001). His research interests include corpus linguistics and corpus-based diffusion studies. He has recently made available on the Internet an English-Japanese parallel corpus for learners of English and an experimental sound corpus of Japanese learners. He is currently developing a procedure of text profiling by which to classify texts according to their linguistic features.