Sessions /
Creating a language table at a university in Japan #106

Self-access language learning centers are a rapidly emerging phenomenon in Asia (Ryan, et al., 2019). However, there are few self-access language tables documented in the English-language literature in Japan, such as those at International Christian University (Ueno, 2017, 2019) and Osaka University. This presentation will introduce a foreign language table (FLT) initiative for undergraduate EFL learners at a new public university in Japan.

In the university curriculum, students take 400 minutes of English-language classes for 14 weeks in a mandatory 2-year program that culminates in a short-term study abroad program in an English-using country. In preparation for this program, many students have expressed the desire to interact with foreigners, and to use English and other foreign languages. However, students often do not know of or take advantage of language opportunities when they are offered on the university campus or at the university dormitory. Thus, issues about student outreach, participation, and engagement will be presented, in addition to how these issues were addressed throughout the academic year. Future directions include the development of the lunchtime language table into a student-led extracurricular club, and the subsequent proposal to develop the FLT into a standalone space.