Developing Learner Autonomy in Foreign Language Learning: Papers from the Independent Learning Association Conference, Mexico, June 2021.

By Christian Ludwig

This edited volume contains some of the very latest research and ideas in the field of language learner autonomy. The volume is based on the idea of unity in diversity and contains chapters in both English and Spanish, representing ideas from different linguistic, cultural, political, and educational contexts. The 16 chapters present research and practice from different learning environments, such as classrooms, self-access language centres, and newly evolving learning spaces beyond the classroom. Contributions are based on selected presentations from the Independent Learning Association Conference 2021, held online. The event was organised by the Mediateca at the Escuela Nacional de Lenguas, Lingüística y Traducción (National School of Languages, Linguistics and Translation) of the National Autonomous University of Mexico in collaboration with the IATEFL Learner Autonomy Special Interest Group.
Este volumen editado contiene algunas de las últimas investigaciones e ideas en el campo de la autonomía del estudiante de idiomas. El volumen se basa en la idea de unidad en la diversidad y contiene capítulos tanto en inglés como en español, que representan ideas de diferentes contextos lingüísticos, culturales, políticos y educativos. Los 16 capítulos presentan investigaciones y prácticas de diferentes entornos de aprendizaje, como aulas, centros de idiomas de autoaprendizaje y nuevos espacios de aprendizaje en evolución más allá del aula. Las contribuciones se basan en presentaciones seleccionadas de la Conferencia 2021 del Independent Learning Association, celebrada en línea. El evento fue organizado por la Mediateca de la Escuela Nacional de Lenguas, Lingüística y Traducción de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México en colaboración con el Learner Autonomy Special Interest Group de la IATEFL.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Candlin & Mynard ePublishing Limited
• Release date: Nov 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215929995

Book preview

María Guadalupe Alcubilla Hernández (MA) es profesora-asesora de inglés tiempo completo en el Centro de Autoacceso (CAA) USBI de la Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, México. Realizó sus estudios de especialidad y posgrado en la enseñanza del inglés como lengua extranjera en esta misma universidad. Actualmente imparte cursos en modalidad autónoma y virtual. Áreas de interés: aprendizaje autónomo y trabajo colaborativo en centros de autoacceso.

Dominique Vola Ambinintsoa (PhD) is a Learning Advisor and a Lecturer at Kanda University of International Studies (KUIS). She is a co-managing editor of the Research Institute for Learner Autonomy Education’s Relay Journal. Her research interests include learner autonomy, self-access learning, advising in language learning, and positive psychology in education.

María del Rosario Aragón López (BA) es técnica académica definitiva en la Mediateca de la Escuela Nacional de Lenguas, Lingüística y Traducción (ENALLT) de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). Los temas de su interés son la selección y elaboración de materiales para el aprendizaje autodirigido, así como el uso educativo de las tecnologías de la información y el derecho de autor.

Yareni Lizbeth Arenas Sánchez (MA) has been an English teacher at different educational levels since 2008. She has just finished her Master’s degree in an ELT program and has experience in public and private institutions. She aims to keep researching different issues related to ICT methodologies in the EFL classroom.

Magdalena Avila Pardo (PhD) is a Professor and Counsellor at the Self-Access Centre of the Universidad del Caribe in Cancun. She is interested in the interrelationship between social structures and language learners’ agency, taking into account the psychological angle. Her work is theoretically informed by critical realism.

Anja Burkert (PhD) is a teacher of English (and French) at the University of Graz, Austria. She holds a PhD in language teaching methodology and is especially interested in the promotion of learner autonomy among her students and the use of English for academic purposes. She obtained a teaching award from her university in 2010. From 2008 until 2022 she was a member of the Learner Autonomy Special Interest Group (LASIG) committee of IATEFL and served as LASIG Showcase Day and local events organiser.

Maria de Lourdes Cuéllar Valcárcel (MA) es profesora asociada de tiempo completo y asesora y responsable del área de chino del Centro de Autoacceso (Mediateca) de la Escuela Nacional de Lenguas, Lingüística y Traducción de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Sus áreas de interés son el aprendizaje autónomo, la asesoría y la formación docente/asesor integral.

Atenas Leticia García Gámez (MA) es profesora definitiva de asignatura en la Escuela Nacional Preparatoria Plantel 2, UNAM y asesora de inglés en la Mediateca de la Escuela Nacional de Lenguas, Lingüística y Traducción de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. La autonomía en el aprendizaje, la lingüística aplicada, el aprendizaje por estrategias y la elaboración de materiales para la enseñanza de lenguas son algunos de sus intereses.

María Elena González López (MA) es profesora de Inglés con experiencia de 34 años en la enseñanza del idioma con alumnos de todas las edades, especialmente universitarios con enfoque en buscar estrategias de enseñanza para satisfacer las necesidades del alumno. Cuenta con una maestría en TESOL de Marjon University en el Reino Unido y es profesora de asignatura del Departamento de Lenguas del ITESO, Universidad Jesuita de Guadalajara, en México.

Guillermo Huerta Gutiérrez (MA) es técnico académico de tiempo completo y profesor de asignatura en la Universidad Veracruzana. Actualmente, se desempeña como asesor en el Centro de Autoacceso USBI Xalapa y profesor de las experiencias educativas de inglés del área de formación básica general. Además, colabora como elaborador de reactivos en la comisión de examen de certificación EXAVER. Entre sus intereses están el diseño de materiales, la evaluación y el autoaprendizaje.

Christian Ludwig (PhD) is currently Visiting Professor of Teaching English as a Foreign Language at the Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. His research interests include, among others, learner autonomy, teaching literature, graphic novels, and moving images. He is the coordinator of the IATEFL Scholarship committee.

Diane Malcolm (PhD), from Canada, was formerly Head of the English Unit at Arabian Gulf University, Bahrain, where she taught English to first year medical students for many years and established a self-access centre. She has a Doctor of Applied Linguistics degree from Macquarie University, Sydney, and has also taught ESL/EFL in Canada, Portugal, and Saudi Arabia. Her publications concern learner autonomy, learner motivation, identity, self-access learning and academic reading strategies and beliefs.

Diana Berenice Martínez Rodríguez (MA) es licenciada en letras italianas y maestra en lingüística aplicada. Actualmente es profesora y asesora de italiano en la Escuela Nacional de Lenguas, Lingüística y Traducción de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México y profesora en la FaM impartiendo la materia de italiano para cantantes. Su línea de interés es la elaboración de materiales, la gamificación y la motivación. 

Fumiko Murase (PhD) is an Associate Professor at Ryukoku University in Kyoto, Japan. She has been teaching English at university level for over 15 years. Her research interests include learner autonomy in language learning, assessment, and learning beyond the classroom.

Jo Mynard (MPhil, EdD) is a Professor and Director of the Self-Access Learning Center (SALC) at Kanda University of International Studies (KUIS). She is also the Director of the Research Institute for Learner Autonomy Education (RILAE). Her research interests are learner autonomy, advising, the psychology of language learning, and self-access learning. 

Kazuko Nagao (MA) es actualmente profesora asociada de tiempo completo de la Universidad Hirosaki de Japón. Ha sido asesora de la mediateca y profesora de japonés, de la licenciatura en lingüística aplicada y formación de profesores de la de la Escuela Nacional de Lenguas, Lingüística y Traducción de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Su área de interés es el desarrollo de competencias en teletándem enfocado a la autonomía, colaboración y comunicación intercultural.

Eurídice Minerva Ochoa Villanueva (PhD) es licenciada en letras; especialista en ciencias sociales con mención en lectura, escritura y educación; maestra en lingüística aplicada, y doctora en ciencias de la educación. Académica de tiempo completo en el ITESO, Universidad Jesuita de Guadalajara, fue presidenta de la Red Latinoamericana de Centros y Programas de Escritura de 2019 a 2023, e integrante fundadora de la Red Mexicana de Centros de Escritura.

Karina Rengifo Mattos (PhD) es profesora de tiempo completo en el ITESO, Universidad Jesuita de Guadalajara. Es especialista en Ciencias Sociales con mención en Lectura, Escritura y Educación, maestra en lingüística aplicada y doctora en humanidades. Es coordinadora docente de la asignatura de Comunicación Oral y Escrita, así como del Programa de Asesorías y Tutorías entre pares de la misma universidad. Ha impartido cursos de comunicación académica en los niveles de pregrado y posgrado y sus áreas de interés son la literacidad académica y la adquisición del lenguaje.

Adelina Ruiz Guerrero (PhD) is in charge of the Language Hub, the self-access centre at ITESO, Jesuit University of Guadalajara, Mexico. She coordinates the Diploma Course in Advising for Autonomous Learning. Her research interests are learner and teacher autonomy, self-access learning, Ignatian pedagogy and Ignatian Style Accompanying (acompañamiento Ignaciano).

Alejandra Sánchez Aguilar (PhD) es profesora e investigadora de tiempo completo en el Departamento de Lenguas del ITESO; actualmente es coordinadora de la Unidad Académica Básica de Comunicación Oral y Escrita de la misma universidad. Obtuvo el grado de doctora en humanidades por la Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana. Sus temas de investigación son las tutorías entre pares y la literacidad académica.

Alma Sánchez Linares (MA) has worked as both administrator and English teacher over the last 20 years and holds degrees in both fields. Having the perspective of an administrator and an educator has given her the insight to investigate issues related to autonomous learning, digital literacy, and bilingualism.

Gareth L. Scyner (MA) is an EFL teacher, teacher trainer and researcher for an Escuela Normal in Puebla, Mexico. His research interests are on learner autonomy, sociolinguistics, motivation, and the role of emotions in narratives.

Maria Giovanna Tassinari (PhD) is Director of the self-access centre at the Language Centre of the Freie Universität Berlin. She is Joint Coordinator of the Learner Autonomy Special Interest Group (LASIG) of IATEFL, and an active member of several international networks. She is interested in autonomous language learning, advising, emotions and feelings in language learning and advising.

Katherine Thornton (MA) is an Associate Professor at Otemon Gakuin University, Japan where she works as a learning advisor. She is the Director of E-CO (English Café at Otemon) and a long-standing board member of the Japan Association for Self-Access Learning. Her research focuses on language policy and practice in self-access language learning and language learning identities. 

Masako Wakisaka (PhD) is an Associate Professor at the International Student Centre of Kyushu University in Japan, where she teaches Japanese as a second language and Japanese culture. She has organized a face-to-face tandem learning network and an eTandem between Japanese and German universities. Her research interests are motivation, learner autonomy, and advising in tandem learning. 


Acknowledgements

This edited volume would not have been possible without the support of our colleagues. Therefore, we would like to express our gratitude to all the people who made this project possible. Our first and foremost thanks go to Jo Mynard for including the volume in the Autonomous Language Learning Series. We would also like to thank all authors of this book: Thank you for your cooperation, for sharing interdisciplinary insights into the vast field of language learner autonomy, and, above all, for your patience. A big thank you also goes to our student assistant Nikola Zirdum, who helped with the citations and final formatting of this volume. Finally, we would like to thank our colleagues and friends for reviewing the contributions:

Anja Burkert, Austria

Sarah Brown, Mexico

Metin Esen, Germany

Renzo Koch, Germany

Diane Malcolm, Canada

Borja Manzano, Spain

Javier Martos, Spain

Fumiko Murase, Japan

Garold Murray, Japan

María de la Paz Adelia Peña Clavel, Mexico

Bettina Raaf, Germany

Gabriela Sagastegui, Mexico

Scott Shelton-Strong, Japan

Michelle Tamala, Australia

Katherine Thornton, Japan

Paula Zulaica, Mexico

Introduction

Christian Ludwig

Freie Universität Berlin, Germany

Maria Giovanna Tassinari

Freie Universität Berlin, Germany

Adelina Ruiz Guerrero

ITESO, Universidad Jesuita de Guadalajara

Kazuko Nagao

Hirosaki University, Japan

In June 2021, the Mediateca at the Escuela Nacional de Lenguas, Lingüística y Traducción, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (National School of Languages, Linguistics and Translation of the National Autonomous University of Mexico) invited researchers and practitioners from all over the world to attend the Independent Learning Association Conference—ILA 2021—in collaboration with the IATEFL Learner Autonomy Special Interest Group. The conference was a very special event in many ways.

First, due to the pandemic, it was held in a completely online format, posing unique challenges to everyone involved in the conference. Therefore, we are especially grateful to all organisers who volunteered their time and energy in making it such a great success. Despite the challenges involved, the digital format allowed colleagues from many different countries (and time zones) to attend the event and choose from a variety of interactive session formats such as presentations, workshops, networking events, round tables, and PechaKuchas.

In 2018, Mexico became the first Latin American country to host an ILA (Independent Learning Association) conference. I felt extremely honoured to be the main organiser of the event at the National School of Languages, Linguistics and Translation (ENALLT) of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). It was the first time that ILA was a joint event organised by different groups, including the IATEFL Learner Autonomy Special Interest Group (LASIG), the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and the Jesuit University of Guadalajara (ITESO). Together, we managed to overcome the challenges of organising an international conference in the middle of a global pandemic, and all of us were extremely proud when the conference finally took place in 2021 as a virtual event. (Maestra María de La Paz Adelia Peña Clavel, ENALLT, Mexico)

This ILA-LASIG event was especially rewarding for our SIG. Like many events worldwide, the conference, originally scheduled for 2020, was postponed due to the pandemic. It was a difficult time for everyone, and we were disheartened not to go through with the conference. Happily, the event organizers successfully moved the event online, and we were able to have fulfilling days with plenty of knowledge sharing and networking opportunities. LASIG thanks the organizers for all of their hard work in making the event a true success. (Lawrie Moore-Walter, IATEFL LASIG Joint Coordinator)

Second, the event had a particularly broad focus, covering different topics within the field of developing learner autonomy in language learning. In addition to this, the fact that the conference built on many different themes also attracted a diverse audience, with students, researchers, educators, policymakers, and foreign language teachers sharing their varied experiences with both implementing and investigating more learner-centred approaches to language teaching and learning. What all of them had in common was their interest in learner autonomy as an ultimate goal in education. Thus, the three-day event offered everyone interested in autonomous language learning an environment for a fruitful exchange of new ideas and best practices and provided a platform for reflection and the opening of potential future collaborations and professional networks in this continually growing community of autonomy.

Last but not least, the conference was also a multilingual event with presentations and discussions taking place in mostly two languages: Spanish and English. Instead of using Spanish as a floor language and English only occasionally, the organisers put immense effort into making the conference a gratifying experience for everyone.

This edited volume offers a small snapshot of the event programme, allowing some of the speakers to share their research, professional expertise, and practice-based knowledge. The papers collected illustrate that, depending on the environment, research and/or reflection on practice can have very different purposes and take different forms. What all of the contributions have in common, though, is that they open up a research-practice dialogue among language teaching researchers.

As Little points out, [l]earner autonomy is one of the most widely discussed concepts in second language education, and there is apparently no end to the publication of collections of papers that report on its implementation in diverse educational and cultural contexts (2020, p. 8). Little’s statement begs the question of how this edited volume distinguishes itself from existing publications on foreign language learner autonomy. We, as editors, would argue that the volume at hand is based on the idea of unity in diversity.

The contributions reflect different perspectives on a theme which is popular but may also be understood and implemented differently in different educational settings. As Ludwig et al. (2020) emphasise, the concept of learner autonomy may not be interpreted in the same way in the different linguistic, cultural, political, and educational contexts in which it is developed.

The contributions to this edited volume are both theory-driven and practice-oriented as they offer practical illustrations of theory as well as examples of practice grounded in theory. In other words, on the one hand, they draw on the rich theory that exists in the field of foreign language learner autonomy, such as socio-constructivism (Vygotsky, 1978), self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1987), social agency (Lantolf & Thorne, 2007), communities of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991), and constructs such as identity and investment (Norton, 2000). On the other, they showcase the many successful practices for supporting autonomy in the classroom and beyond that exist in various contexts. While in some locations, learner autonomy is explicitly promoted through the curriculum and/or cultures of organisations and professions which are conducive to the development of learner autonomy (Palfreyman, 2003, p. 2, quoted in Ludwig et al., 2020, p. 2), in others, learner autonomy remains an isolated, challenging, or even undesirable phenomenon.

The chapters focus on different learning environments such as classrooms in the traditional sense as well as self-access language centres but also the newly evolving learning spaces beyond the classroom. This is also important as the effect of learner autonomy is to remove the barriers that so easily erect themselves between formal learning and the wider environment in which the learner lives (Little, 1999, p. 11). Here, digital platforms and tools play a vital role as they enable both teachers and learners to personalise their teaching and learning and extend learning beyond the four walls of the classroom. In other words, digital media can support classroom instruction but also encourage learners to connect formal, institutional learning with their lived experiences outside the classroom.

Obviously, these new forms of learning also change the roles and responsibilities that teachers and students have in educational settings, helping us to understand that learning in more autonomous ways also means that we are part of learning communities in which we are all responsible for taking ownership.

Closely related to this, curriculum and syllabus design are important components of successful autonomous learning as learner autonomy cannot simply be clipped on to existing learning programmes (Cotterall, 1995, p. 220) but requires us to rethink the ways in which learners can be actively involved in their own learning. One way of doing that is to engage learners in finding or developing activities and materials, which are both vital elements of any language course (Cotterall, 1995).

Despite the diversity, all contributions to this volume are based on the very same understanding of learner autonomy as expressed in the Bergen definition from 1990:

Learner autonomy […] entails a capacity and willingness to act independently and in cooperation with others, as a social, responsible person. An autonomous learner is: an active participant in the process of (classroom) learning, is capable of […] critical reflection, knows how to learn (Dam et al., 1990, p. 102).

Against this background, the volume starts off with the contributions by the four plenary speakers of the conference. Chapter 1 by Jo Mynard (Tokyo, Japan), Autonomy Support Within and Outside the Language Classroom: Evaluating our Practices, discusses how learners can be supported in becoming more autonomous in self-access or outside-class environments. It particularly focuses on how students learn in the classroom influences how they learn in self-access learning centres (SALCs), two learning environments which ideally share the vision of autonomy. The links between learning in the classroom and learning in SALCs discussed in this contribution are relevant to anyone seeking to encourage learner autonomy among their students and looking for appropriate strategies for it.

Chapter 2 by Anja Burkert (Graz, Austria), The Learner Diary as an Integral Part of the University Classroom, reports on the author’s practical experiences with implementing selected principles of autonomy in her university language classes. Taking this as a starting point, she reflects on her journey of using learner diaries as one significant tool for developing learner autonomy and self-reflection.

Katherine Thornton (Osaka, Japan), in Supporting Multilingual Practices in Self-Access Environments: Considerations for Language Policy, advocates for the introduction of more multilingual approaches to language policy, including in self-access language learning (Chapter 3). The promotion of plurilingual instruction, however, does not mean that target language learning is abandoned. Quite in contrast, allowing students to share their plurilingual identities and stories can promote their autonomy as students and bring their real-world experiences to the classroom.

In Chapter 4, María de Lourdes Cuéllar Valcárcel (Mexico City, Mexico) in Pensar coherente y aprender addresses questions related to coherent thinking and its relation to learning. In the present world, which is increasingly characterised by simplified thinking, fragmentation, and destructurisation, one important task of learning advisors is to enhance reflection and coherent thinking in order to make meaningful learning possible.

These four chapters are followed by a selection of shorter contributions by some of the conference presenters. This part of the volume deals with a range of topics, including teacher and advisor training, advising, and autonomous practices such as online learning in traditional classrooms as well as self-access language centres.

In Chapter 5, Raising Teachers’ Awareness of Learner Autonomy in an EFL Malagasy Context, Dominique Vola Ambinintsoa (Tokyo, Japan) discusses the potential of ethnographic approaches to enhance foreign language learner autonomy in a context in which autonomy has not yet been specified as a curricular goal and not all teachers receive formal training. The results of the ethnographic study, conducted by means of classroom observation and interviews with four teachers, reveal certain affordances in the rural education in Madagascar. The contribution also shows the benefits of the ethnographic approach in fostering the participants’ reflection on learner autonomy. It concludes by providing strategies for promoting a collaborative and reflective approach among practising teachers.

Following this in Chapter 6, Fumiko Murase (Kyoto, Japan), in Experimenting with English Learning Beyond the Remote Classroom, reports on a project aimed at supporting English learning beyond the language classroom. In the project, conducted during the pandemic, a course design was conceived in order to enhance students’ learning outside the classroom and integrate it into the course syllabus. By means of questionnaires, learning logs and reflection reports, the author analyses how her students engaged in learning outside the classroom, what impact their learning practices had on their language competences and motivation, and which challenges the students faced.

Gareth, L. Scyner, Alma Sanchez Linares, and Yareni L. Arenas Sanchez (Puebla, Mexico) in Digital Literacy and Autonomous Learning at a Mexican Escuela Normal also report on their experience in online teaching during the pandemic in Chapter 7. Due to the shift to online teaching and learning in an English course for teacher students, the authors conducted a survey investigating their learners’ perception of their digital competences and autonomous learning skills. Despite the challenges the students faced during the pandemic, the results of the survey showed an overall positive attitude of the students towards online learning and their desire to further develop their capacity to use online tools in their own learning and future teaching.

In Chapter 8, Autonomía en la enseñanza de lengua materna frente a la enseñanza de una segunda lengua, Eurídice Minerva Ochoa Villanueva and María Elena González López (Guadalajara, Mexico) take up the issue that learner autonomy is not always explicitly incorporated in curricular guidelines although it constitutes an integral and key component of foreign language education. Against this background, the authors describe the outcomes of a study which investigated the strategies used to promote autonomy in two university language courses: English as a foreign language and Spanish for native speakers. Despite the differences between the syllabi of the two courses, the teachers’ attitudes and creativity, space for learners’ decision-making, formative feedback, and reflection were shown to be essential when promoting learner autonomy.

After this, Chapter 9 by Christian Ludwig, Maria Giovanna Tassinari (Berlin, Germany) and Diane Malcolm (Victoria, Canada), Designing, Assessing, and Adapting Materials for Autonomous Learning, concentrates on material design for autonomous learning environments. It first discusses selected principles of a language pedagogy for autonomy and then explores issues related to material design, including, among others, selecting, evaluating, implementing, and adapting foreign language learning materials. It concludes by discussing criteria for encouraging learners to create their own learning materials in order to provide opportunities for authentic, motivating, and meaningful interaction.

Autonomous learning in self-access language centres requires different approaches, including creating and adapting tools and establishing learner support structures such as peer-to-peer tutoring or advising. The ensuing contributions illustrate, in their own ways, how learning in self-access centres can be made more effective and autonomous.

In Chapter 10, Dinamica de trabajo en un CAA: 20 años de autoaprendizaje, María Guadalupe Alcubilla Hernández and Guillermo Huerta Gutiérrez (Veracruz, Mexico) report on their experience in working in a self-access language centre and in the ongoing development of learner support by means of guidelines, tutorials, workshops and advising in order to foster students’ learning competences and cater for the needs of a changing student population.

Reflection is also the focus of Chapter 11 by Atenas Leticia García Gámez, María del Rosario Aragón López, Diana Berenice Martínez Rodríguez (Mexico City, Mexico), and Kazuko Nagao (Hirosaki, Japan), Nuevas fichas de aprender a aprender: el camino del aprendiente, in which the authors discuss the potential of ‘learning to learn sheets’ for creating a culture of autonomous learning in the context of self-access language centres. The contribution starts off by giving an overview of the history of the fichas de aprender a aprender in the Mediateca of the Escuela Nacional de Lenguas, Lingüística y Traducción (ENALLT), which spans more than 20 years. Taking this as a starting point, the authors share their journey of revising and updating these sheets to meet the demands of autonomous learning in the twenty-first century.

Following this in Chapter 12, Magdalena Avila Pardo (Cancun, Mexico), in The Interrelationships between Social Structures and Agency in Language Learning, investigates the question of to what extent the social structures in which some students live influence their desire to invest time and effort in learning English. Drawing on Critical Realism theory and on concepts such as agency, identity, self, and community of practices, the author analyses interviews with some learners at a self-access language centre, highlighting the complex interaction between their investment in learning, their self-concept as learners of English, and the social contexts in which they learn and live.

The idea that learner autonomy means working towards a common goal is also stressed in Chapter 13 by Adelina Ruiz Guerrero (Guadalajara, Mexico), Collaboration in Training as a Learning Advisor, in which she presents a training programme for advising that allows future advisors to experience autonomy as learners, engaging them in a structured process of collaborative reflective practice.

A self-access learning setting is also the background of Chapter 14 by Karina Rengifo Mattos and Alejandra Sánchez Aguilar (Guadalajara, Mexico), Estrategias de acompañamiento en las tutorías entre pares para la construcción del aprendizaje autónomo en la universidad, in which the authors analyse students’ practices in a peer-tutoring programme, identifying the tutors’ autonomy in fostering strategies such as generating empathy, sharing their own learning practices, experiences, and resources with the tutees, and focusing on their self-regulation strategies.

Chapter 15, Teletándem hacia la interculturalidad by Kazuko Nagao (Hirosaki, Japan) also looks at reflection yet in a different context as it offers an overview of a teletandem project between Nanzan University in Japan and the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in Mexico. While teletandem aims at improving students’ communicative skills in virtual exchanges, it also enhances their intercultural competences as students gain insights into their partner’s culture and reflect on how aspects such as identity and power are negotiated in interaction. Throughout the exchange, participants had to keep a learning diary, which allowed insights into how they reflected on their own cultural contexts and experiences in tandem projects.

Last but not least, Masako Wakisaka (Fukuoka, Japan), in Chapter 16, Learner Development through Peer-Group Advising in Face-to-Face Tandem, also focuses on tandem learning. In a qualitative case study, the author examines the effectiveness of classroom-based peer-group advising through the learning trajectory and the reflection in the portfolio of a student. The author’s analysis shows that the student’s attitude toward learning the target language (Japanese) in tandem changed in several aspects, including recognising the importance of setting learning goals, choosing materials and content accordingly, becoming