Abstract
Self-Access Learning Centers (SALCs) have become common at many universities in Japan. They provide a learning space to actively interact with a foreign language. These centers are self-access and thus promote autonomous learning, so one of the challenges they have to overcome is the difficulty of attracting students to voluntarily enter and participate in such a learning environment. This article reports findings from a study, which examined associations between items on a curiosity scale and students’ exploratory behavior to seek out and participate in activities at the SALC. Implications for foreign language education and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Highlights
Self-access language centers (SALCs) at Japanese universities continue to expand, as The Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) urges universities to develop educational programs that develop “global citizens”1 (MEXT, 2012)
One major issue that many SALCs face, since they are in their nature “autonomous” learning centers, is attracting and retaining students because they do not receive any credit from attending any of the seminars or utilizing the space in any way
To explore the influence of curiosity among Japanese university students and what relationship this individual difference may have on entering into a self-access learning center, I tried to collect as random a sample as possible from the student body
Summary
Self-access language centers (SALCs) at Japanese universities continue to expand, as The Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) urges universities to develop educational programs that develop “global citizens” (MEXT, 2012). In response to this need to improve the country’s foreign language skills as a means to become more globally competitive, many SALCs were formed through MEXT sponsored grants These SALCs may be called by a number of different names such as “World Plaza” at Nanzan University, “Global Hub” at Fukui University, and “English Lounge” at Hirosaki University. Their aims though are very similar, as they all seek ways to engage, motivate, and improve students’ confidence and competence with a foreign language, which typically means English. In this paper I explore the following research question: 1) What role does curiosity play in influencing students’ behavior to explore, seek out, and discover a self-access learning center at a university in northern Japan?
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