Perceptions, beliefs and expectations of Japanese ESL self-access learners towards Internet-based learning

The research was carried out in order to describe the perceptions, beliefs, practices, and expectations of Japanese self-access EFL independent learners toward the use of the internet for their English study. Data from thirty subjects was collected through open-ended e-mail surveys, telephone interviews, face-to-face interviews, subject observations, and document auditing in May and June, 2000.; Japanese self-access EFL independent learners were found to make use of a great variety of tools found on the internet for their study but different beliefs were identified behind their practices. Their perceptions were analyzed with an emphasis on motivating factors and their expectations were examined through technical factors as well as on the emotional aspects of the subjects.; New emerging roles for teachers and the determination of optimum content vs. linguistic levels for EFL classes involving autonomous learners were discussed based on the research findings.