Self Access Language Learning

This report has a brief history on the origins of the Reading Marathon Room, a self-access English learning centre in Morioka Junior College under Iwate Prefectural University. The report describes the services of the Room and the duties of the Reading Marathon Room Learning Advisor. This is followed by detailed questionnaire survey data on the RMR from April to December 2014 done on students at the Department of International Cultural Studies in Morioka Junior College whom the Room is meant for. There are five suggestions derived for the improvement of the Room based on responses to the questionnaire. The conclusion is that the yearly questionnaire exercise is useful and improvement plans to the Room will be in action going forward.

Despite vocabulary size being widely recognized as a key predictor of L2 reading and listening proficiency, it could be argued that many students within English conversation schools in Japan (eikaiwa) are not given sufficient opportunities for theoretically principled vocabulary study. This paper analyzes existing research on independent study approaches as well as complementary classroom-based pedagogical practices that foster both incidental and deliberate vocabulary learning. Through the utilization of both mobile assisted language learning (MALL) and extensive reading (ER) programs, measured changes to a language course are suggested that could be feasibly implementable within the specific constraints of an eikaiwa setting. Furthermore, potential institutional, technical and affective obstacles that could hamper such a program's effectiveness are identified and discussed. This paper hopes to provide approaches to vocabulary instruction based on empirical data, while also remaining accessible to teachers in a context often overlooked in academic and pedagogical literature.

Image segmentation and classification are the two main fundamental steps in pattern recognition. To perform medical image segmentation or classification with deep learning models, it requires training on large image dataset with annotation. The dermoscopy images (ISIC archive) considered for this work does not have ground truth information for lesion segmentation. Performing manual labelling on this dataset is time-consuming. To overcome this issue, self-learning annotation scheme was proposed in the two-stage deep learning algorithm. The two-stage deep learning algorithm consists of U-Net segmentation model with the annotation scheme and CNN classifier model. The annotation scheme uses a K-means clustering algorithm along with merging conditions to achieve initial labelling information for training the U-Net model. The classifier models namely ResNet-50 and LeNet-5 were trained and tested on the image dataset without segmentation for comparison and with the U-Net segmentation for implementing the proposed self-learning Artificial Intelligence (AI) framework. The classification results of the proposed AI framework achieved training accuracy of 93.8% and testing accuracy of 82.42% when compared with the two classifier models directly trained on the input images.

To Pinterest or not to Pinterest? – that is the question:
Evaluating the usefulness of Pinterest as online self-access material at Southampton Solent University, UK.

Whistance (2015) puts forward that the use of Pinterest at Southampton Solent University increases student engagement, promotes inclusivity and develops employability skills.  The first part of this paper will review this reflective case study, explaining the rationale behind using social bookmarking sites and specifically Pinterest by linking to research and implementation from other educators.  The aims of the project at Southampton Solent University will be outlined in relation to its context and student needs with the aid of visuals to showcase material.

The second part of this paper will then evaluate the real impact of Pinterest through a more rigorous approach.  The online platform will be analysed with reference to Tomlinson’s (2010) ‘Principles and Procedures for Self-Access Materials’ which link to Second Language Acquisition theories.  In addition, feedback obtained from international students at Southampton Solent University will also be disseminated.

References

 Tomlinson, B. (2010). Principles and procedures for self-access materials. Studies in Self-Access Learning Journal, 1(2), pp.72-86.

 Whistance, J. (2015). Reflective case study. My ‘Pinteresting’ project: Using Pinterest to increase student engagement, promote inclusivity and develop employability skills. Dialogue, Volume 5, pp.50-58. Retrieved from: http://issuu.com/stlc/docs/dialogue_5__final/51

We believe strongly in the value of new participatory research methods as a way of stimulating high-quality learning of facts and skills, and awareness of new attitudes to improve people’s sexual health. Such methods would include mapping, ranking and scoring, ‘problem trees’, transect walks, time-lines, daily and seasonal schedules, pie -charts, flow charts and Venn diagrams. However, many of these methods require good facilitation, which is not always available.

Keywords: advising, written feedback, self-directed learning Advising in language learning is being recognized as a growing field within second and foreign language teaching and applied linguistics, with two books devoted to its theory and practice over the last ten years (Mozzon-McPherson and Vismans, 2001;. According to : "advising in language learning involves the process and practice of helping students to direct their own paths so as to become more effective and more autonomous language learners" (p. 4). Promoting reflection on the language learning process is an indispensible part of this process.

It is generally accepted that autonomy is a matter of degree, or degrees, which fluctuate and therefore it could be assumed that the way in which language teaching and learning is approached can make a significant difference to the degree of autonomy and consequently the degree of autonomy may influence language learning. It is also well-documented that assessment plays an influential role in learning and that, like autonomy, assessment is also a matter of degrees: the greater the degree of involvement of the learner in the assessment process, the greater the degree of autonomy that can be achieved. Although assessment in language learning and teaching contexts is usually intended as assessment of the language competencies, it is the intention of this chapter to show that assessment of learning competencies and of competencies for autonomy should play a role in a curriculum aiming at fostering learner autonomy and reflexive learning. The research project reported in this chapter was conducted in a German higher education context and involved the development and use of a dynamic model of autonomy. Once the nature of autonomy had been examined and the views of theorists and practitioners in the field had been taken into account, dimensions of autonomy and their sub-elements were integrated within a dynamic model for initiating and continuing pedagogic dialogue between students and their teachers/advisers at the Freie Universität Berlin. The model of autonomy proved to be reliable, provided a clear picture to learners and their teachers/advisers, and showed its potential to be used iteratively.

Upon receiving the attention from ministry of education in Thailand, the concept of enhancing learner autonomy by using self-access learning center has long been developed since 2004. However, there are several issues to be considered due to the misconception of what learner autonomy is, how teachers in English classroom help Thai students to become autonomous learners, and how to use self-access learning center more effectively and efficiently in Thai schools and universities. Therefore, this paper will provide a theoretical perspective in learner autonomy and its application towards English language teaching and learning. Additionally, the definition of autonomy and autonomous learners in terms of language learners will be explained as well as what English language teachers should have done to foster learner autonomy in English language classroom. Last but not least, the effectiveness and limitations of using self-access learning as resource-based approach will be discussed in this paper.

It has become almost axiomatic in English Language teaching that to succeed in their studies students need to be not only effective learners within the classroom but also outside and beyond it. While teachers can reinforce learning to some extent with homework, this does not solve the problem of what students will do once the course has ended, nor will it much assist them in becoming more autonomous and selfdirected learners. This presentation will report on efforts at Kanda University of International Studies, Japan, to implement a programme of Independent Learning into a basic English proficiency course. Within a four skills course, permitting little time for in-depth learner training, students are offered a wide variety of activities that they can pursue outside the classroom and be given credit for. They are able to choose the skills they wish to focus on, the kind of activities they do, and the length of time they spend doing them. With particular attention paid to the way film and internet resources can be utilised, this paper will show how this relatively simple method can help to improve the students' independence, motivation and overall proficiency.

This paper reviews the resources available for Sanskrit self-pedagogy along with an approach to learning Sanskrit through in-depth reading of classical poetic stanzas that is based on traditional approaches to learning Sanskrit. A first attempt at conceptualizing Sanskrit grammars as composed of modules with 'information hiding' is also made.

This article sets out to highlight the features of the Self-Access and Reflection (SAR) record, an integrated online platform of the freshmen presentation course. The primary objective is to promote reflection and self-access learning which in turn leads to improvement in presentation skills by students themselves. The underlying design philosophy of the SAR record centres on the notion of sustainable feedback. Although the platform was designed for engineering students, it can be adapted for use by students from other disciplines and for different learning purposes.

This article investigates the validity of the suggestion that internet television can facilitate EFL learners’ acquisition of formulaic sequences (FSs). A quantitative study was conducted to examine the extent to which FS use on internet television reflects FS use in the everyday speech of English-speaking communities. The study compares the distribution of FSs in a 7.68 million-word corpus of internet television (the iTV corpus) with that in the spoken component of the British National Corpus (BNC). The results confirm the validity of using internet television as a resource for the acquisition of FSs that are highly frequent in everyday speech. The fact that the frequency at which FSs appear on internet television is directly proportional to that in everyday speech suggests that internet television might help EFL learners establish an accurate intuition about the frequency of use of FSs, which is shown to be missing by previous corpus studies. The article also provides suggestions about the choice of internet television programmes based on the extent to which the distribution of FSs in each iTV subcorpus is similar to that of the spoken component of the BNC.

This study investigated attitudes toward self‐access centers (SACs) and readiness for autonomous language learning among Turkish learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). It also explored whether learners' attitudes toward the SACs and their readiness for autonomy were related to frequency of SAC use. The study was carried out with 250 Turkish EFL learners at a preparatory language school at a state university in Ankara, Turkey. The researchers employed a SAC attitude questionnaire and a learner autonomy readiness questionnaire to collect data. The results revealed a statistically significant difference between the attitudes of infrequent users and regular SAC users, suggesting that learners' attitudes toward the SAC and the frequency of SAC use were interrelated. The findings of the study also show that Turkish EFL learners were ready to take responsibility for their own learning despite their inclination to accept the teacher's power and authority in the learning process. Additionally, the SAC users were not necessarily the autonomous learners who made decisions about their own learning. The findings suggest the necessity of training EFL learners for independent learning and raising their awareness about the advantages of SACs so as to increase the effective use of the centers.

Student staff can play a vital role in any Self-Access Learning Center (SALC) (Gardner & Miller, 1999; Cooker, 2010) and providing training for them is one of the key skills required of people managing SALCs (Gardner & Miller
, 2013). This article charts the evolution over four years of a training program for student staff at the self-access language learning center at Osaka Institute of Technology in Japan. After detailing the institutional context of the center, we (the director and assistant manager of the center) discuss how, through a reflective process, the training program developed over this time period, moving from a group-based approach to a more individually-focused program. In the concluding section we draw on these experiences to put forward five principles that we believe will help others who are seeking to establish effective student staff training programs.

To address the problem of limited opportunities for practicing second language speaking in interaction, especially delicate interactions requiring pragmatic competence, we describe computer simulations designed for the oral practice of extended pragmatic routines and report on the affordances of such simulations for learning pragmatically appropriate communication. ...

Every autonomous learning process should entail an evaluation of the learner's competencies for autonomy. The dynamic model of learner autonomy described in this paper is a tool designed in order to support the self-assessment and evaluation of learning competencies and to help both learners and advisors to focus on relevant aspects of the learning process. The dynamic model accounts for cognitive, metacognitive, action-oriented and affective components of learner autonomy and provides descriptors of learners' attitudes, competencies and behaviors. It is dynamic in order to allow learners to focus on their own needs and goals. The model

Web 2.0 technologies have become a ubiquitous component of our daily lives (McBride, 2009), and their immediate exploitation in the field of second/ foreign language education came as no surprise. The present study aims at examining students' comprehension of independent learning and their views on whether using online tools combined with the use of a self-access learning center (SALC) helps in some way with their learning process. The participants are all freshman students at Hirosaki University, Japan, enrolled in compulsory or elective English courses ranging from elementary to advanced levels. Over a period of one year, Edmodo, a free online learning platform, is used in EFL classes in order to enhance students' learning. In addition, in order to foster independent learning, students are also encouraged to use a semi-guided SALC at Hirosaki University, Japan. In order to gather as much insight as possible on students' perceptions about using a SALC in addition to online tools, data is collected through informal group interviews and questionnaires. The results show that (1) some students are not comfortable using a SALC or Edmodo for various reasons, and (2) are not used to take responsibility for their own learning. The presenter will argue the relevancy and need of independent learning and learner autonomy in the Japanese context.

This paper gives an overview of some perspectives on self-access learning in Japan. Although there seems to be a sudden interest in self-access learning in this part of the world, the author explores some of the reasons that Japan has tended to lag behind other countries. Nevertheless, education in Japan has recently seen some changes which have had an impact on the field. As a result, colleagues in Japan have made some valuable recent contributions, particularly in the areas of advising, advisor education, and social learning opportunities which will be explored in this paper.

Usage-based linguistics posits that communicative functions, including pragmatics, are at the core of language (Tomasello, 1992). It is surprising, then, that pragmatics is rarely systematically included in second language curricula (e.g., Bardovi-Harlig, 2017), especially since pragmatics instruction has been shown to significantly contribute to pragmatic development (e.g., Taguchi & Roever, 2017). Addressing this issue, the present study investigates learning outcomes and processes in self-access technologyenhanced instructional simulations for pragmatics that do not require classroom or teacher time. Importantly, these simulations include 1.) oral practice of extended discourse and 2.) feedback-two underexplored aspects of pragmatics instruction (e.g.

ÖZET
Yabancı dil öğrenme süreçlerinde, öğrenici merkezliliği özünde barındıran, öğrenici özerkliği ve bağımsız öğrenme gibi kavramların uygulamadaki en somut yansımalarından biri, bağımsız öğrenme merkezleridir. Ülkemizde özellikle yükseköğretim kurumlarında oluşturulan bu merkezler temel olarak, hedef kitlesinde yer alan öğrencileri bağımsız birer öğrenici olma yolunda desteklemeyi ve onlara kullanabilecekleri bir çalışma alanı ile yararlanabilecekleri araç gereçler sağlamayı amaçlamaktadır.
Bu araştırma kapsamında, Yıldırım Beyazıt Üniversitesi Yabancı Diller Yüksekokulu İngilizce hazırlık sınıfı öğrencilerinin, başta okulda bulunan Bağımsız Öğrenme Merkezini kullanım amaçları, merkezde yararlı buldukları araç-gereçler ve merkezin geliştirilmesi noktasındaki önerileri gibi bilgilere Bağımsız Öğrenme Merkezi’ni Değerlendirme Sormacası ile ulaşılmaya çalışılmıştır. Öte yandan, bağımsız öğrenme merkezini düzenli olarak kullanan öğrencilerin bağımsız öğrenici olma eğilimlerinin yüksek olduğu varsayılmış, bu öğrencilerin genel ve özel öğrenme eğilimleri Ehrman ve Leaver (2002)’ye ait Öğrenme Biçemleri Sormacası’nın Türkçeleştirilmiş biçimiyle belirlenmiştir.
Bulgular istatistiksel çözümlemeler ile incelenmiştir. Bağımsız Öğrenme Merkezinin yüksekokul öğrencileri tarafından kullanım özellikleri betimlenmiş, E&L Sormacası ile öğrenme biçemleri belirlenen düzenli kullanıcıların yabancı dil öğrenme ve bağımsız öğrenmeye karşı tutumları, yaygın biçem eğilimleri aracılığıyla araştırılmıştır. Araştırmada ayrıca, merkezin geliştirilmesine yönelik önerilerde de bulunulmuştur.
Merkezin öğrenciler tarafından hangi sıklıkta ziyaret edildiğine ilişkin bulgular incelendiğinde, merkezin yeterli düzeyde kullanılmadığı görülmüştür. Merkezin kullanım amaçları arasında ödev yapmanın başı çektiği, dinleme kaynaklarının en yararlı bulunan kaynak türü olduğu anlaşılmıştır. Öğrenci gereksinimleri arasında ise “daha fazla dinleme materyali”, “daha fazla çalışma alanı/bilgisayar” ve “daha fazla rehberlik” beklentilerinin yüksekliği öne çıkmaktadır. Öğrenme biçemleri incelemesi sonuçlarına göre, merkezin düzenli kullanıcılarının çoğunun, beklentilerin aksine sinoptik öğreniciler oldukları görülmüştür. Merkezin düzenli kullanıcılarının, yaygın olarak bağlamdan öğrenme eğilimlerinin baskın olduğu görülmüştür. Sinoptik bilemeci öğrenciler ile bütünsel ve tümevarımsal öğrencilerin yoğunluğunun ise öğrencilerin bağımsız öğrenme ve olumlu öğrenme eğilimleri gösterdiklerine ilişkin sonuçlar ortaya koyduğu değerlendirilmektedir.
Anahtar Sözcükler: Bağımsız Öğrenme, Bağımsız Öğrenme Merkezi, Öğrenme Biçemleri

ABSTRACT
Independent Learning Centres are the most concrete examples of some closely-related concepts in practice, such as learner autonomy and independent learning, which involve learner-centeredness in foreign language learning processes. In our country, these centres, established particularly in higher education, aim to support the students in its target group by turning them into independent learners, and thus provide them with space to study and materials to use.
This research has been carried out at The School of Foreign Languages at Yildirim Beyazit University. The aim of the study is to identify various points such as the purposes of the English prep-class students in using this centre, materials they find most useful and their suggestions to improve the services and materials offered in the centre. Independent Learning Centre Evaluation Survey has been developed and used as an instrument to collect data for the above-mentioned purposes. In addition to this, the students who use the centre on a regular basis were assumed to be independent learners in the beginning and their learning tendencies have been investigated through the translated Turkish version of Ehrman and Leaver (2002) Learning Styles Questionnaire.
The findings obtained have been analysed statistically. General perspectives as to how the centre is used by the students of the school have also been described. Moreover, attitudes of the regular users towards learning English and independent learning have been researched through common learning styles discovered through the E&L questionnaire. Suggestions to improve the centre are also offered within the study.
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The data showing how often the centre is visited by the students reveal that the centre isn’t used effectively. It has also been found out that doing homework is the leading reason for using the centre and listening resources are regarded as the most useful materials. “More listening materials”, “more study space/computer” and “more guidance” have been found to be the most common needs of the students in the centre. According to the results of the learning styles analysis, contrary to the expectations, most of the regular users of the centre were synoptic learners. These users have a common tendency to learn from the context. The intensity of synoptic sharpeners as well as synthetic and inductive learners is considered to be a sign of their independent and positive learning tendencies.
Keywords: Learner Autonomy, Independent Learning, Independent Learning Centre, Learning Styles

The paper illustrates some structures and processes established in order to make the Centre for Independent Language Learning, a self-access language centre (SALC) at the Freie Universität Berlin, an autonomous and autonomy fostering learning and working environment. Since the SALC staff is mainly composed of student assistants, one of the aims of the SALC manager is to foster the student assistants’ autonomy and their reflection on practice by giving them spaces for decision-making and personal initiative, supporting them in keeping track of their work, asking critical questions, planning, implementing and evaluating their projects and thus helping them to develop as professionals while actively contributing to a reflective practice at the SALC.

While self-access learning (self-directed language learning centred on physical language learning spaces) has been popular in several countries since the 1990s, there has been an explosion in the number of self-access spaces opening in Japan in the last decade. As places where learners have the freedom to discover and develop their own strategies for effective language learning, while still receiving support from professionals, and as social spaces where students can interact with others from around the world, self-access centres offer many opportunities for students to develop the knowledge, skills and mindsets necessary for global citizenship.

This presentation will discuss the evolution of such language learning spaces in Japan and the affordances they offer for language learning in an EFL environment, as well as the challenges they face in the 21st century.

Writing center self-access libraries have a firm place in North American and non-North American contexts, as do the composition-related materials therein, i.e., rhetorics (e.g., anthologies of paragraphs and essays); however, as the literature has historically shown, when choosing texts for library shelves, readability needs to be considered. these formulae, this paper suggests a two-step hybrid method: (a) a quantitative evaluation of texts and students' reading levels via Lexile measures and (b) a qualitative exploration of the features that the Lexile formula does not explore (i.e., via a checklist). To provide a checklist for this procedure, this sequential mixed methods study explored what features not considered by the Lexile readability formula affect the reading experiences of students when reading exemplars from rhetorics. The study found that 14 features beyond the two measured by the Lexile readability formula influence users' difficulty with the material. This paper also discusses the relevance of the study to the field and poses suggestions for future study.

The present study aimed to explore the role of English songs in Saudi students' self-learning of English as a foreign language. The study employed one data collection tool which was an online questionnaire. The questionnaire was completed by 38 Saudi students at the Community College of King Saud University in the second semester of the academic year 2020. The examination and analysis of the data showed that listening to English songs motivated the Saudi students to learn English in a self-study mode, augmented their English vocabulary, improved their speaking skill and developed their spelling or writing skill to a considerable extent. It is, therefore, recommended that more large-scale quantitative or qualitative studies on the role of English songs in Saudi students' self-learning of English as a foreign language be conducted to confirm the findings of the present study, challenge them or yield new ones.

In a 4-year longitudinal study, the researchers track nine learners of English at a university in Japan in order to investigate the extent to which they engaged in self-directed language learning outside of class. Drawing on the self-regulation of motivation (SRM) model (Sansone, 2009; Sansone & Thoman, 2005), this paper will present some of the data from the first three years of the study collected from annual interviews with learners It will focus in particular on the role of interest and the learners’ developing awareness of how they learn. This paper will present case studies of three learners and show how motivation and self-regulation have developed from year 1 to year 3.

Learning style research has been a significant field within language teaching and learning. There have been very few attempts, however, to seek possible links between independent learning and learning style preferences. This paper aims to identify the learning styles of students who use the Independent Learning Centre (ILC) on a regular basis at a state university in Turkey (n=102). The findings of the learning style analysis revealed that, contrary to expectations, most of the regular users of the centre were synoptic learners, which implies that these learners might not necessarily have conscious control over their own learning processes. An in-depth analysis of learning styles and recommendations to improve the services offered in the centre are also included in the paper.

In the literature on self-access centers (SACs), learners are implicitly considered to be learning only one language, and thus one aspect of learners can be analyzed. But in reality, SACs are generally multilingual and learners may engage in learning more than one language at a time, allowing other facets of the learner to emerge. Although learners are using multilingual SACs to engage in plurilingual learning projects, this has so far received no attention in the literature. This chapter addresses this gap in the literature by reporting on an exploratory research project, which examines the identity, motivation and autonomy of learners who are working to improve their proficiency in more than one language in two SACs in Mexico.

By learning several languages in a SAC, which means that learners are working by themselves in a more autonomous way, it may be assumed that learners have a particular and strong motivation toward languages. As they invest in the languages, they are investing in their own identities (Norton, 2000). Based on the notions of the second language (L2) Motivational Self System (Dörnyei, 2009), in this chapter we will see how Mexican learners are engaging in a bi- or plurilingual learning project, learning more than one foreign language in order to build a plurilingual identity, and this despite the fact that there is no explicit language policy of multilingualism in Mexico. We will also see how learners can have different attitudes toward the languages being learned, thus revealing different facets of their identities. Moreover, by working, in part, by themselves in a more autonomous way, learners can see and reveal other aspects of their person, which are less likely to be seen when learners are analyzed through the single lens of only one language they are learning, as is usually the case in classrooms.

In order to illustrate these points, the chapter begins by briefly reviewing concepts of motivation and identity and their link with plurilingualism. It then establishes the context by discussing the linguistic and SAC situation in Mexico.This is followed by a description of the methodology and the results of the study.

This is the third part of an autoethnography about trying to enrich my vocabulary and improve my listening skills as a self-directed learner through French language songs. I followed the same Study Use Review Evaluate (SURE) learning cycle as my students in a self-directed English class at a university in Japan, and my work occurred at the same time as theirs, over a period of six weeks. Throughout the project and in the course of writing it up, I have been making comparisons and identifying connections between my learning and that of my students. This installment covers the final three weeks of the project. First, in continuing my language learning history, I discuss authentic language and the discrepancies between my classroom language learning and real-life experiences, especially with regard to understanding spoken language while in France. Next, the paper details how I evaluated my learning both during the project and months after it finished. After that, I describe my longtime interest in accents and dialects and how I chose my third song partly to study Nouchi, a French-based dialect spoken in Ivory Coast. The paper concludes with a description of how I felt my goals shifting at different points in the project and reasons I considered changing my focus from listening to reading. I also describe a way I have been able to continue practicing reading French on a daily basis and how students can benefit from this method too.

Paper-based tools such as self-evaluation activities, learning plans, reflective journals and learning logs are commonplace for managing Self-Directed Language Learning (SDLL). Such tools not only promote ownership over learning and provide a sense of achievement to learners, but they also promote reflection and raise awareness of learning processes. Paper-based tools ('modules') for SDLL have been used successfully at a small university in Japan since 2003, but with the gradual introduction of student-owned iPads, the authors explore how technology tools have the potential to enhance the SDLL experience for learners. In this paper, the authors outline the rationale and process of adapting paper-based modules to create an iPad app. The paper then gives an overview of the research approaches that were chosen to systematically gather and analyse ongoing input from users. Finally, the authors share some of the preliminary findings from the pre-pilot and pilot phases of the project.

In this article, we report on an investigation into how the design of self-access center (SAC) environments affect student use at a university in Japan. After a description of the context, we review relevant literature on self- access centers and their relationship to learner autonomy and learning environments, and principles of environmental design drawn from other disciplines. We describe three deliberate changes made to SAC furniture arrangements and resultant student behaviors. At the end of the paper, we suggest some ways that practitioners and researchers can approach the design of SAC environments.

In the Self-Access Learning Center (SALC) at a university in Japan, language learners create and implement individual learning plans. Strategies to facilitate reflective dialogue are used by learning advisors to encourage these learners to pursue their language goals and become increasingly less reliant on direction from their teachers. In this paper, a definition for autonomy is given, and the teaching setting is introduced, giving an overview of the SALC and outlining the ways learners use it, drawing on examples of learners at different stages on their journey to autonomy. After looking at theory and practical applications, this paper demonstrates that guiding learners through dialogue is an appropriate way to challenge meanings and raise consciousness, and move learners towards managing their own language learning.