Critical Self-Awareness for Self-Focused Target Language Acquisition : In Pursuit of Authentic Self-Identity and Spiritual Maturity

抄録

This study examined the effects of an EFL writing course aimed at developing critical self-awareness for successful character forming among Japanese college students. The research focused on how the learners struggled to acquire their self-attentive target language to better describe their self-identity through mediums such as personal beliefs and their sense of values. Along with learner-centered in-class activities and take-home assignments, various materials and tasks to promote critical self-awareness were employed for the study. The aim was to have the learners acknowledge the notion of English as a critical sociolinguistic, sociocognitive, and sociocultural tool for the maturity of spirit and self-identity in real life contexts. First-year college students (N=78) participated in the study for four months during the semester, working on their socially anticipated self-image while exemplifying their college life goals and imagining their professional life after graduation. An identical set of pre-and post-questionnaires utilizing a Likert scale was employed to examine the change of attitudes, strategies, and processes of language learning. Several questionnaires employing a multiple choice format were administered after the study in order to identify the peculiarities of this course and verify the establishment of personal beliefs and the sense of values of the participants. Significant results were yielded through quantitative analyses, which suggest the importance of developing critical self-awareness for the acquisition of self-focused and real world-concerned target language.