education

Using SMART goals with first-year students in Japan

/ Richard Ingham / Leave a comment

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

Why Write Conference Reflections?

/ Richard Ingham / 2 Comments

Starting this blog has made me think more carefully about my professional writing. As part of setting up this WordPress site, I gathered a list of my publications to show what I’ve worked on so far. It seemed useful to have everything in one place and easy to update.

As I went through the list, I noticed something interesting: quite a few of my publications were conference reviews or reflections. I think there are five so far, and there may well be more to come.

That got me thinking. Is that too many? Is it worth writing up your thoughts on conferences? After some reflection, I believe there are several good reasons to do so:

1) Publications

“Publish or die” is a familiar saying in academia. Writing a conference review can be a relatively straightforward way for early-career or novice writers (a group I still consider myself part of) to gain experience with academic publishing and build up a CV.

Some outlets, such as the JALT Teacher Development SIG’s Explorations in Teacher Development, go through a peer-review process. If you choose your target publication carefully, your reflection can even count as a peer-reviewed piece, adding genuine value to your academic record.

2) Money

For teachers without access to institutional research budgets, writing a conference review can also open doors to small grants or travel support. Some JALT SIGs, such as CUE (College and University Educators), offer financial assistance in exchange for a review. Similarly, some conferences, like PANSIG, have funding available for participants who are willing to write about their experiences.

3) Reflection

Many people attend conferences to give a presentation, meet colleagues, or fulfil professional obligations. Writing a review encourages a different kind of engagement. It pushes you to think carefully about what you’ve seen, reflect on key ideas, and consider how they might connect to your own teaching or research. That process of reflection can sometimes lead to unexpected insights that benefit both you and your learners.

Writing a review also takes real effort. Staying focused throughout a full day, or even several days, of presentations is not easy. It demands concentration, strong note-taking skills, and good organisation to make sense of multiple topics and speakers. It can be hard work, but the discipline it requires often makes the experience more rewarding.

4) Connection (Networking)

Writing a review can be a good way to strengthen professional connections. You might contact someone whose presentation you mentioned, share your write-up with them, or tag them in a LinkedIn post. It’s a genuine and positive way to build relationships, and most presenters appreciate hearing how their ideas were received.

5) Promoting Local / Smaller Conferences

Across Japan, there are conferences happening almost every week, and smaller or more specialised events can sometimes be overlooked. Organising a conference takes a huge amount of time and commitment. While most people know the larger gatherings, such as JALT National or PANSIG, smaller events also deserve recognition.

One of my recent pieces was about the FSIJ (Film Studies In Japan) conference, and the organiser was genuinely pleased that I had taken the time to write about it. It was clear that the event had taken a great deal of effort to organise, and I was happy to help highlight that work.

Other reasons?

You could also add that writing conference reflections helps consolidate learning, contribute to the professional community, and build your online presence. But I think my list of five is enough for now.

Final thoughts

Conference reflections may not be the most glamorous form of academic writing, but they combine many valuable skills: critical thinking, synthesis, communication, and reflection. They also give back to the professional community by sharing ideas and highlighting others’ work.

I plan to continue reflecting on my conference experiences here on the blog, though perhaps it’s time to encourage others to share their own perspectives as well. After all, the more voices we have reflecting on professional learning, the richer our community becomes.