I’m now preparing for classes which start the second week of April here in Japan, and having to face up to the students’ low English abilities, am looking for texts and/or materials in Japanese that I might use. I have Rebecca Oxford’s “Language Learning Strategies” and its Japanese translation, but am looking for worksheets in Japanese to give students practice or thinking exercises on the various strategies. Do you know any good ones? Anyone out there using Japanese-language materials for teaching autonomy or strategy training?
I found your comments interesting because I was just learning myself about the SILL and wondering if I could find a Japanese version. I used to live and teach in Japan but now am in NYC. I was also wondering if there was an online version you knew of? especially in Japanese? (I do not think I would be able to find Oxford’s book here in Japanese so easily…:-(
Hum..I also wonder if the students I would give it to would have the reaction like you describe of it being de-motivating… Have you ever given it out?
Thanks for the reminder. Yes, there’s a Japanese version in the back of the translation of Oxford’s book. There is a risk that giving them this questionnaire will de-motivate them, because most of them are not interested in learning another language, are not interested in learning (or studying, rather) much at all, and therefore probably don’t use many of the strategies listed. It would be like giving someone who’s only been fishing a few times, doesn’t really enjoy it, and doesn’t plan on doing it any more than absolutely necessary in future, a detailed questionnaire about types of rods and lines, used, quantities and sizes of weights, lures, types of nets used, locations most frequented for fishing for a) trout b) bass c) chad d) cod … etc.
Can you get a copy of the SILL in Japanese?