Emergency Remote Support at the Self-Access Learning Center: Successes and Limitations

In response to COVID-19, Japanese self-access learning centers (SALCs) rapidly shifted their in-person consultations entirely online. While online consultations were scarce prior to 2020, there still existed few attempts. Yet, this prior history has not been considered in recent studies. Additionally, while researchers have recently addressed the role of online consultations, there is insufficient data from students regarding their experiences and future needs. Instead, the discussion has positioned online consultations as a temporary solution without considering their continuation. Therefore, this study assesses the effects that online consultations have had on students and addresses their future role, considering the history while soliciting students’ perceptions. Data collection included a survey consisting of closed and open-ended questions administered to eighteen students at a university in Japan who voluntarily participated in multiple online consultations at a self-access facility. The main findings indicate that students would still prefer to attend online consultations in the future and see them as playing an integral role in their self-access learning. Additionally, students’ experiences with online consultations have been positive, and motivation and language learning are unhindered.

Section: Post-pandemic Online Consultationsmentioning

confidence: 75%

The Future Role of Online Consultations Within Self-Access Learning

Andersson¹,

Nakahashi²

2023

“…As in Harwood and Koyoma's (2020) study, we noticed no differences in students' predisposition to engage in conversation, questioning and learning in online compared to in-person appointments. Learning advisers encouraged student engagement in online appointments through the use of tools such as screen sharing, annotations, and chat, as in reports by Davies et al (2020) and Ohara and Ishimura (2020). We did not have a large enough sample size of phone users to compare student satisfaction reliably; however, our learning advisers found phone appointments to be more difficult to administer since they were unable to view documents together with the student.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The learning advisers described by Davies et al (2020) were initially concerned about moving appointments online during the pandemic as they thought students would be worried about talking online, particularly if they had never met the adviser in person. Once online bookings opened, Mullen et al (2021) found that fewer students made use of online appointments at the start of the pandemic, Ohara and Ishimura (2020) observed no change in appointment numbers and other learning centres found that their appointment numbers increased significantly (Cavaleri & Tran, 2021;Davies et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The New Normal: Student Preferences for Online Advising Before, During, and After the Pandemic

Sullivan¹,

McAuley²

2023

Learning advisers have traditionally been reluctant to conduct online appointments. We compared proportional student use of online appointments over the course of the pandemic, and relative student satisfaction between online and in-person appointments in 2021. After the initial lockdowns eased and students were able to choose their preferred appointment type, online appointments have remained popular on an ongoing basis, although in-person appointments are slightly preferred overall. There was no difference in student satisfaction between modes.

“…In our weekly (by then, online) meetings, we discussed some of the challenges of establishing rapport through functions natural in face-to-face contexts but more difficult online, i.e., establishing eye contact and using body language to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere. Another missing feature was our busy self-access centre's usual buzzing background noise (a factor also noted by Ohara and Ishimura, 2020).…”

Section: Context and Background To The Studiesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Learner and Advisor Perceptions of Online Advising During a Pandemic

Mynard¹,

Kato²,

Shelton-Strong³

2023

In this article, the authors describe two research studies conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, exploring the perceptions of online advising from the perspective of learners and learning advisors working in a self-access centre at a university in Japan. Advising is a one-to-one reflective dialogue between a learner and a learning advisor with the purpose of promoting learner autonomy. Advising normally takes place in person, and this article explores user perceptions and whether advisors are able to create an autonomy-supportive climate in a synchronous online setting. Although participants in both studies acknowledged challenges, overall online advising was conducted effectively, with learning advisors anticipating the needs of learners and utilising online tools accordingly. Although initially nervous about attending online sessions, learners felt positive emotions during and after the online session and felt supported by learning advisors.