autonomy

I often feel that if I had spent as much time actually studying Japanese as I have searching for some kind of magical silver bullet, I’d be fluent by now. If I’m being honest, it’s a form of procrastination. I have wasted countless hours reading blogs about SRS, the Heisig method, speed-running Kanji, and total immersion strategies like AJATT (All Japanese All The Time). You would think that as a language teacher, I’d have grasped the ultimate truth by now: the real secret is simply knuckling down and doing the work, not relentlessly consuming content about how to learn faster.

Over my years of teaching, I’ve come to the firm realization that real language progress happens away from the classroom, not just inside it. Because of this, I constantly urge my students to adopt extensive reading and listening habits on their own time. Of course, I say this while rather hypocritically failing to do it myself.

But recently, a book called The Learning Mindset Notebook caught my eye. The publishers describe it as a guided, hands-on companion for learners looking to take control of their own language journeys. It’s built around eight core principles designed to foster motivation, self-awareness, solid planning habits, and overall well-being. Ultimately, it promises to help learners bridge the gap between good intentions and sustained action. It sounded like exactly what I needed, so I ordered a copy.

I’m approaching this book from two different angles. First, as a language learner myself who has hit a frustrating plateau at the intermediate stage; and second, as an educator with an interest in learner autonomy and self-directed study.

So, I’ve been working my way through the exercises whilst simultaneously looking into the psychology behind them. My goal is two-fold: kickstart my own Japanese progress and draft a formal review for an academic journal down the line. I think it’s already paying off. Since opening the notebook, I’ve restarted my Japanese classes and finally feel like I am getting back on track after a long lay off from studying.

We’ll see how things progress from here.

Last academic year, I introduced a SMART goal-setting project into my first-year English classes at a university in Japan.

Many of the students were highly motivated, with goals to travel, study abroad, and communicate with people from other countries. But when asked how they planned to improve, their answers were often vague: “study vocabulary”, “become fluent”, “practice speaking”.

The aim of the SMART goal-setting project was to give them some structure.

Students set a personal SMART goal (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound), tracked their progress in a shared document, and reflected on their learning at the middle and end of both semesters.

It became clear relatively quickly that motivation did not necessarily translate into action. At the start, most students were positive about setting goals, but maintaining consistent effort was much harder. Some students followed through, but many struggled to build regular study habits. As one student put it: “Actually, I was lazy. I played games instead of studying.”

One of the major issues was time management. As the semester progressed, students were dealing with assignments from other classes, part-time jobs, and extracurricular activities. In that context, independent study was often pushed aside. Goals that worked best tended to be small and flexible. For example, watching short videos or using vocabulary apps during spare moments was more sustainable than larger plans.

Reflection on their achievements was another challenge. Although many students did some kind of English study, they did not always record it. Logs were often left incomplete or written just before deadlines. This suggests that reflective practices do not come naturally to many students and need to be taught and supported more explicitly.

Despite this, there were also some clear positives. When students chose their own activities, they explored a wide range of options: YouTube, podcasts, apps, test preparation materials, and even using English at part-time jobs. Some adjusted their goals during the semester, suggesting a growing awareness of what worked for them. A number of students engaged consistently with the project, logged their activities in detail, and were able to see clear improvement in their language ability.

One clear takeaway is that learner autonomy does not develop on its own. Even setting a useful goal requires support and feedback, as students need help making their goals specific, realistic, and manageable. Ongoing support is also important to help students stay on track.

Despite my initial hopes, the project did not transform students into fully independent learners. However, it did encourage them to identify areas they want to improve and to think more carefully about how they study and what they are trying to achieve. Overall, this feels like a useful starting point.

If I run something similar again, I would:

provide more support when students first write their goals
show clearer examples of effective reflection
encourage smaller goals that fit into daily routines

Even small adjustments like these may help students turn good intentions into more consistent action

Richard Ingham

Reflections on Teaching and Learning

The Learning Mindset Notebook

Using SMART goals with first-year students in Japan