Student Autonomy and Empowerment in Japanese Learning? A Case Study of Tutoring Activities

Ca’ Foscari University of Venice provides peer tutoring services mediating between classroom and independent learning while also reviewing class content to prevent test failures, drop-outs, and late graduations. Grounded in critical and transformative education, this study investigates the significance and challenges of promoting autonomy to peer tutoring in language acquisition as a tool for social change and citizenship formation, as it has not been given sufficient attention. The case study involves small groups of bachelor’s first-year Japanese language students who attended 12 online weekly meetings and engaged in active learning of Japanese grammar through worksheets and discussions, also using specific online tools developed by the Department of Asian and North African Studies. Relying on a qualitative thematic analysis involving four semi-structured interviews, findings show students’ discomfort and limited awareness of their autonomy, as well as dependency on the teacher/tutor and the institution. However, results also revealed their attitude towards collaborative learning and their expectations for tutoring activities, displaying a sense of competition between peers. In conclusion, employing a critical and transformative approach to peer tutoring, while not enough to stimulate empowering critical reflection, is nonetheless meaningful in educators’ commitment to create opportunities for critical assessment of knowledge transmission. This analysis confirms previous results and hints at challenges for educators and institutions in applying critical pedagogies to tutoring, such as institutional barriers and students’ expectations, while underlying a positive attitude toward the offered new studying-model as well.