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This paper provides the background to an ongoing study which aims to investigate ways in which Japanese learners of foreign languages make use of online and offline resources during a period of self-directed study. The researchers are currently collecting data from interviews, learning journals, and other documentation produced by ten EFL learners as part of a self-directed learning course at a university in Japan. This paper will give insights into the rationale and researchers’ motivations for the study, some background on the course, the learners, and the institution; a brief review of the relevant literature; and details of the research methods. Findings will be presented in subsequent publications.

In this paper, the researchers report on a study which is one part of an evaluation of a purpose-built app intended to support students’ self-directed language learning as part of a course of study. The app was used by Japanese learners of English for two years and was created in order to enhance and possibly eventually replace the paper-based materials that had been used for more than ten years. In this paper, the researchers present the findings from the research investigating learner and educator perceptions. As the ultimate purpose of the research was to be able to make informed decisions about the future use of the app, it was vital that these voices be included in the process. The findings indicate some benefits, but mostly limitations of the app and suggest ways in which future tools for managing self-directed learning be optimised.

I am now finishing up my third year as a learning advisor. Three years is not long; however, looking back at my own professional development, the pathway of “becoming” was full of discoveries and challenges. While I had a clear idea of what a learning advisor does from the literature, being one was fairly different from what I had imagined.

“So, what do you exactly do as a learning advisor?” This is one of the common questions I believe learning advisors get asked. Yes, we engage in different types of interaction than teachers do, yet we don’t necessarily “advise” students. It is evident that the advising dialogue is not just a simple “conversation” and its significance is discussed elsewhere in the literature of advising in language learning (ALL) (e.g. Gremmo, 2009; Kato, 2012; Kato & Mynard, 2016; Mynard & Carson, 2012). However, there are very few opportunities to look inside advising sessions and one of the aims of this column is attempt to address this need as helps us to better understand our practice and learn from each other.