“Our Voices Matter”: The Learner Profile of UTech, Jamaica Students and Implications for a Virtual Self-Access Learning Centre
Since the establishment of the Self-Access Learning Centre (SALC) at the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech, Ja.), students, particularly those enrolled in academic writing modules, have been utilising it to improve their communicative competence. However, the centre has recently encountered v...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Kanda University of International Studies
2022-03-01
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| Series: | Studies in Self-Access Learning Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://sisaljournal.org/archives/vol13/mar22/telfer_et_al/ |
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| author | Daidrah Telfer Michelle Stewart-McKoy Tashieka Burris-Melville Maribel Alao |
| author_facet | Daidrah Telfer Michelle Stewart-McKoy Tashieka Burris-Melville Maribel Alao |
| author_sort | Daidrah Telfer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Since the establishment of the Self-Access Learning Centre (SALC) at the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech, Ja.), students, particularly those enrolled in academic writing modules, have been utilising it to improve their communicative competence. However, the centre has recently encountered various challenges, chief among which are the lack of resources and restricted access to students, pushing the centre to the brink of obsolescence. This led to a revisioning of the centre, a central part of which is the creation of a virtual learner-driven SALC that focuses on the key areas in English and writing that students find challenging. For such a centre to be effective, it needs to be founded on students’ demographic, psychographic and behavioural traits.
Using the results of a cross-sectional survey of 278 UTech, Ja. students, we present a learner profile of the typical student and the implications of such a profile for the creation of the virtual SALC. The results reveal that the typical student is teacher-dependent, extrinsically motivated and possesses low levels of academic exertion, low capacities for independent work and high levels of technology consumption. Based on this profile, heavy use of images, games and gamification elements, auto-rated activities, and interactive tutorials are central to the VSALC. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-fc55958f3ac54d3d83ba2ec00f40db32 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2185-3762 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | Kanda University of International Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Studies in Self-Access Learning Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-fc55958f3ac54d3d83ba2ec00f40db322025-08-20T02:19:54ZengKanda University of International StudiesStudies in Self-Access Learning Journal2185-37622022-03-0113177107https://doi.org/10.37237/130105“Our Voices Matter”: The Learner Profile of UTech, Jamaica Students and Implications for a Virtual Self-Access Learning CentreDaidrah Telfer0Michelle Stewart-McKoy1Tashieka Burris-Melville2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5321-8877Maribel Alao3The Language Teaching and Research Centre, University of Technology, JamaicaCentre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, The University of the West Indies, MonaThe Language Teaching and Research Centre, University of Technology, JamaicaCommunication Arts and Technology Unit, University of Technology, JamaicaSince the establishment of the Self-Access Learning Centre (SALC) at the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech, Ja.), students, particularly those enrolled in academic writing modules, have been utilising it to improve their communicative competence. However, the centre has recently encountered various challenges, chief among which are the lack of resources and restricted access to students, pushing the centre to the brink of obsolescence. This led to a revisioning of the centre, a central part of which is the creation of a virtual learner-driven SALC that focuses on the key areas in English and writing that students find challenging. For such a centre to be effective, it needs to be founded on students’ demographic, psychographic and behavioural traits. Using the results of a cross-sectional survey of 278 UTech, Ja. students, we present a learner profile of the typical student and the implications of such a profile for the creation of the virtual SALC. The results reveal that the typical student is teacher-dependent, extrinsically motivated and possesses low levels of academic exertion, low capacities for independent work and high levels of technology consumption. Based on this profile, heavy use of images, games and gamification elements, auto-rated activities, and interactive tutorials are central to the VSALC.https://sisaljournal.org/archives/vol13/mar22/telfer_et_al/virtual self-access learning centrehigher educationlearner profilesutechjamaica |
| spellingShingle | Daidrah Telfer Michelle Stewart-McKoy Tashieka Burris-Melville Maribel Alao “Our Voices Matter”: The Learner Profile of UTech, Jamaica Students and Implications for a Virtual Self-Access Learning Centre Studies in Self-Access Learning Journal virtual self-access learning centre higher education learner profiles utech jamaica |
| title | “Our Voices Matter”: The Learner Profile of UTech, Jamaica Students and Implications for a Virtual Self-Access Learning Centre |
| title_full | “Our Voices Matter”: The Learner Profile of UTech, Jamaica Students and Implications for a Virtual Self-Access Learning Centre |
| title_fullStr | “Our Voices Matter”: The Learner Profile of UTech, Jamaica Students and Implications for a Virtual Self-Access Learning Centre |
| title_full_unstemmed | “Our Voices Matter”: The Learner Profile of UTech, Jamaica Students and Implications for a Virtual Self-Access Learning Centre |
| title_short | “Our Voices Matter”: The Learner Profile of UTech, Jamaica Students and Implications for a Virtual Self-Access Learning Centre |
| title_sort | our voices matter the learner profile of utech jamaica students and implications for a virtual self access learning centre |
| topic | virtual self-access learning centre higher education learner profiles utech jamaica |
| url | https://sisaljournal.org/archives/vol13/mar22/telfer_et_al/ |
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