Self-Access Centers: Maximizing Learners' Access to Center Resources Self-Access Centers: Maximizing Learners' Access to Center Resources

by McMurry, Benjamin L

The Self-Access Study Center (SASC) at Brigham Young University’s English Language Center (ELC) is a self-access lab where students can work independently to improve their language skills. Although some students have discovered how to use the SASC effectively, the majority of them appear to be unaware of the resources available in the center. Their trips to the SASC end up becoming more like a cyber cafe situation, where friends send email and chat online. If the SASC is used merely as a computer lab, then students are not using the resources available to fine-tune their English skills.

The current project addresses two points. First, in an effort to provide on-going support for students and teachers, a Web site and database were created to provide users with information regarding materials available in the SASC at Brigham Young University’s English Language Center. Second, a SASC orientation for both students and teachers at the ELC was implemented in September of 2004. It took place in the SASC and gave students and teachers a brief explanation about how to use the SASC effectively.

ELC students later completed a survey as means of gathering feedback regarding the use of the SASC. The survey data showed that the students felt the website was very helpful and that the orientation had a strong influence on how students used the SASC. Analysis of the data showed that students tended to be more autonomous as a result of the SASC orientation. The results from the 2004 survey, with regards to the materials that students reported using, indicate that students used the SASC more for individual use and group work than to fulfill assignments or requirements from their teachers.