Event archive
2011
The Best of JALT 2011
(December 2011)
Earlier this month, the JALT National Conference was held in Tokyo. This session is a chance for local members who attended the national conference to make a report on their favorite sessions. This is a great chance for our members who did not attend to find out about the best of the conference. It is also a great opportunity for members who did attend to catch up on some things them missed.
JALT 2011 Four Corners Tour Being "Half" in Japan
LAUREL KAMADA (October 2011)
This presentation looks at ideologies and stereotypes that Japanese learners of English take to class with them by reporting on two studies. One is a Monkashou-sponsored project in elementary schools around Japan looking at how children perceive of themselves as Japanese and also their images of foreigners and mixed-ethnic (half) people in Japan. The other study examined how university students expressed themselves concerning various intercultural communication topics from the standpoint of their own identities as Japanese. Results showed that both children and university students were often not aware of their biased and stereotypical worldviews. Even while both children and students expressed their awareness of newer, globalizing ideologies of diversity, they still tended to reveal stereotypical notions of foreigners in Japan by often drawing on older, dominant discourses of homogeneity, conformity and gender inequality to express themselves. Finally, I look at the effects of English education over time on these ideologies. See Laurel's book on this topic here.
Discourse Markers
George O'Neil (October 2011)
If you’ve ever heard anyone say “you know, well, oh, so, uh, um, like, or okay” then you have a visceral understanding of what discourse markers are—and that’s what this presentation is about. This presentation will attempt to demonstrate the following with examples taken from the American TV shows Friends, Mad Men, and Battlestar Galatica as well as the British TV show Coupling:
① The ubiquity of discourse markers—they permeate conversational structure with a surprisingly surreptitious frequency.
② Why discourse markers exist—they do something important, and they cannot be cast aside as irrelevant in linguistic performance.
③ The heteronomy of discourse markers—each one of them does something different.
How to teach them—discourse markers can be vague, but that does not mean that they are “unteachable”.
My Article
(October 2011)
In the past, Niigata JALT has hosted My Share events where members explain a favorite classroom activity. In that spirit, this time we will be hosting a "My Article" exchange where members share an article or book that has influenced their teaching or made them think about what might be possible in the classroom.
Language Teaching is a field that is full of creative approaches (activities, games, music, drama, approaches to learning, class management and group dynamics, e-learning, etc). There is almost too much to keep an eye on everything. The field is also full of magazines and journals and other chances to learn about new ideas. We each have our own favorites. Ours are articles from The Language Teacher, English Teaching Journal and ETJ on-line. What are yours?
In this event, we hope that up to 10 members will take about 10 minutes to informally profile an article (or even a book) that they have recently read or that has been a long-time influence. You could tell us what the article was about, why you found it intriguing or inspirational, how it worked (if you tried to apply the idea), or anything else about it. There is no need to prepare a presentation, we are hoping for an informal sharing of ideas.
The Brain, the Self and the Successful Learner
Chuck Sandy (July 2011)
How can we break students out of their cycle of failure brought on by feelings of inadequacy? How can we inspire drive, encourage success and nurture personal growth? How can we take critical thinking to the next level so it deepens learning and leads to real-world action and changes in behavior? Why is this essential for language learning? Participants will explore these questions before being introduced to a variety of projects and activities designed for Active Skills For Communication but appropriate for any classroom where teachers wish to promote success, growth and active learning. Come try some.
Group Dynamics from a Student Perspective
Paul Nadasdy (June 2011)
The idea behind this presentation comes from years of experiencing the formation, development, and behaviour of groups of students in various educational contexts in Japan. From gathering data relating to what creates and maintains good group dynamics from a student perspective, I was able to modify my lessons introducing various new teaching strategies into my regular communicative classes, which helped improve motivation, focus on task, and use of the target language. Collecting data from students is a fundamental way of informing us about how to improve our own teaching environments. And sharing the results of what we find is imperative for improving EFL/ESL on a wider scale, especially as most teachers will be affected by the dynamics of groups they are teaching at some stage.
Third Annual NEAR Language Education Conference
Plenary by Chuck Sandy (May 2011)
Check the conference website for Working Papers from the NEAR Conference.
(December 2011)
Earlier this month, the JALT National Conference was held in Tokyo. This session is a chance for local members who attended the national conference to make a report on their favorite sessions. This is a great chance for our members who did not attend to find out about the best of the conference. It is also a great opportunity for members who did attend to catch up on some things them missed.
JALT 2011 Four Corners Tour Being "Half" in Japan
LAUREL KAMADA (October 2011)
This presentation looks at ideologies and stereotypes that Japanese learners of English take to class with them by reporting on two studies. One is a Monkashou-sponsored project in elementary schools around Japan looking at how children perceive of themselves as Japanese and also their images of foreigners and mixed-ethnic (half) people in Japan. The other study examined how university students expressed themselves concerning various intercultural communication topics from the standpoint of their own identities as Japanese. Results showed that both children and university students were often not aware of their biased and stereotypical worldviews. Even while both children and students expressed their awareness of newer, globalizing ideologies of diversity, they still tended to reveal stereotypical notions of foreigners in Japan by often drawing on older, dominant discourses of homogeneity, conformity and gender inequality to express themselves. Finally, I look at the effects of English education over time on these ideologies. See Laurel's book on this topic here.
Discourse Markers
George O'Neil (October 2011)
If you’ve ever heard anyone say “you know, well, oh, so, uh, um, like, or okay” then you have a visceral understanding of what discourse markers are—and that’s what this presentation is about. This presentation will attempt to demonstrate the following with examples taken from the American TV shows Friends, Mad Men, and Battlestar Galatica as well as the British TV show Coupling:
① The ubiquity of discourse markers—they permeate conversational structure with a surprisingly surreptitious frequency.
② Why discourse markers exist—they do something important, and they cannot be cast aside as irrelevant in linguistic performance.
③ The heteronomy of discourse markers—each one of them does something different.
How to teach them—discourse markers can be vague, but that does not mean that they are “unteachable”.
My Article
(October 2011)
In the past, Niigata JALT has hosted My Share events where members explain a favorite classroom activity. In that spirit, this time we will be hosting a "My Article" exchange where members share an article or book that has influenced their teaching or made them think about what might be possible in the classroom.
Language Teaching is a field that is full of creative approaches (activities, games, music, drama, approaches to learning, class management and group dynamics, e-learning, etc). There is almost too much to keep an eye on everything. The field is also full of magazines and journals and other chances to learn about new ideas. We each have our own favorites. Ours are articles from The Language Teacher, English Teaching Journal and ETJ on-line. What are yours?
In this event, we hope that up to 10 members will take about 10 minutes to informally profile an article (or even a book) that they have recently read or that has been a long-time influence. You could tell us what the article was about, why you found it intriguing or inspirational, how it worked (if you tried to apply the idea), or anything else about it. There is no need to prepare a presentation, we are hoping for an informal sharing of ideas.
The Brain, the Self and the Successful Learner
Chuck Sandy (July 2011)
How can we break students out of their cycle of failure brought on by feelings of inadequacy? How can we inspire drive, encourage success and nurture personal growth? How can we take critical thinking to the next level so it deepens learning and leads to real-world action and changes in behavior? Why is this essential for language learning? Participants will explore these questions before being introduced to a variety of projects and activities designed for Active Skills For Communication but appropriate for any classroom where teachers wish to promote success, growth and active learning. Come try some.
Group Dynamics from a Student Perspective
Paul Nadasdy (June 2011)
The idea behind this presentation comes from years of experiencing the formation, development, and behaviour of groups of students in various educational contexts in Japan. From gathering data relating to what creates and maintains good group dynamics from a student perspective, I was able to modify my lessons introducing various new teaching strategies into my regular communicative classes, which helped improve motivation, focus on task, and use of the target language. Collecting data from students is a fundamental way of informing us about how to improve our own teaching environments. And sharing the results of what we find is imperative for improving EFL/ESL on a wider scale, especially as most teachers will be affected by the dynamics of groups they are teaching at some stage.
Third Annual NEAR Language Education Conference
Plenary by Chuck Sandy (May 2011)
Check the conference website for Working Papers from the NEAR Conference.
2010
Vygotskian Sociocultural Theory: Some useful concepts and applications for us as language teachers and researchers
Mohammed K. Ahmed (October 2010)
This theory, also known as SCT, powerfully connects abstract concepts and practical applications. It has increasingly drawn the attention of researchers and practitioners in many areas, including second language learning and teaching. There is a vast literature on this theory, but the literature might be perceived as dense and complex. This presentation will attempt to explain the theory in a relatively simple manner with the help of examples and highlight its practical dimensions. After briefly describing the interesting historical context in which this theory originated, and the various areas in which the theory has been applied, the presentation will explain what this theory is fundamentally about and what some of the key concepts are. It will explain such some key concepts as inner speech and the zone of proximal development. It will then focus on the concept of mediation in particular and outline a pedagogical approach that the theory entails. The presentation will finally turn to briefly describing an ongoing research study the presenter is engaged in through teaching a cross-cultural communication course. This research study focuses on investigating how narrative discourse theoretically and practically mediates the construction of one’s cultural identity in a cross-cultural classroom setting. See a relevant paper here.
Teaching haiku for communicative purposes in a Japanese EFL college writing classroom
Atsushi Iida (July 2010)
The aim of this presentation is to demonstrate how the use of haiku, a short, three-line Japanese poem with a specific number of syllables in each line, can help students to develop an awareness of voice in a Japanese EFL freshman college writing classroom. The presenter conducts a workshop on haiku writing not only to enhance the sense of identifiable voice but to improve their written communication skills while clarifying some issues Japanese EFL college freshmen may encounter in their L2 writing. See a relevant paper here.
Second Annual NEAR Language Education Conference
Plenary by Jospeh Shaules (May 2010)
Check the conference website for Working Papers from the NEAR Conference.
Statistics for Language Teachers
David Coulson (April 2010)
In this session David will look at some of the fundamental statistics tests that are most commonly used in language teaching research. He will look into what the statistics do and do not tell us and work through examples of how to calculate the statistics with some sample data. If you bring a laptop (with excel) you can follow along with the demonstrations.
Rapport in the Classroom & The Best of JALT National Conference
Paul Nadasdy & Mike Ruddick (January 2010)
Our first chapter of 2010 will be held in January. It is a double header with Paul Nadasy and Mike Ruddick talking first about their investigation on rapport in the classroom. This is a top-ic that we had a very active session on last March when Patrick Lee visited Niigata, so this should prove to be a useful follow-up session. Second, people who attended the JALT nation-nal conference in November will give brief reports on their favourite presentations.
Mohammed K. Ahmed (October 2010)
This theory, also known as SCT, powerfully connects abstract concepts and practical applications. It has increasingly drawn the attention of researchers and practitioners in many areas, including second language learning and teaching. There is a vast literature on this theory, but the literature might be perceived as dense and complex. This presentation will attempt to explain the theory in a relatively simple manner with the help of examples and highlight its practical dimensions. After briefly describing the interesting historical context in which this theory originated, and the various areas in which the theory has been applied, the presentation will explain what this theory is fundamentally about and what some of the key concepts are. It will explain such some key concepts as inner speech and the zone of proximal development. It will then focus on the concept of mediation in particular and outline a pedagogical approach that the theory entails. The presentation will finally turn to briefly describing an ongoing research study the presenter is engaged in through teaching a cross-cultural communication course. This research study focuses on investigating how narrative discourse theoretically and practically mediates the construction of one’s cultural identity in a cross-cultural classroom setting. See a relevant paper here.
Teaching haiku for communicative purposes in a Japanese EFL college writing classroom
Atsushi Iida (July 2010)
The aim of this presentation is to demonstrate how the use of haiku, a short, three-line Japanese poem with a specific number of syllables in each line, can help students to develop an awareness of voice in a Japanese EFL freshman college writing classroom. The presenter conducts a workshop on haiku writing not only to enhance the sense of identifiable voice but to improve their written communication skills while clarifying some issues Japanese EFL college freshmen may encounter in their L2 writing. See a relevant paper here.
Second Annual NEAR Language Education Conference
Plenary by Jospeh Shaules (May 2010)
Check the conference website for Working Papers from the NEAR Conference.
Statistics for Language Teachers
David Coulson (April 2010)
In this session David will look at some of the fundamental statistics tests that are most commonly used in language teaching research. He will look into what the statistics do and do not tell us and work through examples of how to calculate the statistics with some sample data. If you bring a laptop (with excel) you can follow along with the demonstrations.
Rapport in the Classroom & The Best of JALT National Conference
Paul Nadasdy & Mike Ruddick (January 2010)
Our first chapter of 2010 will be held in January. It is a double header with Paul Nadasy and Mike Ruddick talking first about their investigation on rapport in the classroom. This is a top-ic that we had a very active session on last March when Patrick Lee visited Niigata, so this should prove to be a useful follow-up session. Second, people who attended the JALT nation-nal conference in November will give brief reports on their favourite presentations.
2009
Community and curriculum: Bringing them together
Karen Masatsugu (October 2009)
This presentation will describe how activities held at Kwassui Women’s College Child Support and Resource Center provide support to the local foreign community, and how these activities are integrated into the curriculum of the Department of Child Development and Education. It will show the benefits to students, college staff and participants of something as simple to organize as a Coffee Morning, and how that has led to a library to promote bilingual literacy.
Word Association & The Mental Lexicon
Carmen Hannah (September 2009)
With the recent interest in teaching vocabulary, the need for greater understanding of the nature and functions of the mental lexicon present a growing challenge for researchers, teachers and students. In this presentation, we will examine how word association tests can be used to gain a better understanding of the mental lexicon for both L1 and L2 language learners and users. After brief consideration of methods of data collection and existing models of the mental lexicon, we will focus on how the nature of word association tests can be applied in the classroom, in that analysis of word association test responses can help reveal properties of some of the underlying principles of the structural organization and workings of the mental lexicon. The final section will highlight some practical implications for language teachers.
Developing Materials: From Concept to Publishing
David Coulson (July 2009)
Teachers are always developing materials. Sometimes it is a small scale project and sometimes we embark on something more ambitious. This presentation follows the process of publishing a text book - starting with the initial concept and working all the way through development and testing and finishing up with the actual publication of the book. See David's book at http://www.mlh.co.jp/catalog/product.php?i=281
First Annual NEAR Language Education Conference
Plenaries by Tim Murphey and Kensaku Yoshida (May 2009)
Check the conference website for Working Papers from the NEAR Conference.
3 For 1
Aleda Krause (May 2009)
Teachers attending this session will experience activities designed to get "3 for 1": having fun, increasing motivation and learning language all at the same time. Aleda will show numerous games and activities that seem to be purely for fun, but which practice specific grammar or functional points, or teach cultural topics. Among them are games adapted from those played by children, both of the FL and the L1 cultures, activities patterned on the FL cultural traditions, and finally, activities originally designed for content-area instruction.
Practical presentations for the new school year
Alastair Graham-Marr (April 2009)
We all use strategies when we speak: to confirm or clarify what we are saying and what we are hearing, to show interest, to maintain and develop conversations, to help with fluency, to compensate for language we don’t have. Alastair Graham-Marr, author of Communication Spotlight, a text that teaches students how to use these strategies, will ex-amine the whys of teaching strategies and look at the sort of strategies he argues should be taught. Alistair is a very well-known speaker in the TESOL community and his presentation is sure to be very inspiring.
Rapport in the Classroom
Patrick Lee (March 2009)
This workshop has three main aims: 1) To help teachers gain a greater understanding and appreciation of the importance of rapport in the teaching-learning process 2) To encourage workshop participants to reflect and determine what they can do in order to develop and maintain rapport within their own teaching context and, 3) to explore and share our own ideas and tips for establishing and maintaining rapport in the classroom.
My Share
(January 2009)
2008 saw the re-formation of our chapter with three great presentations in quick succession. Each presentation was enlightening and followed by a good deal of stimulating discussion. In this vein, the next meeting will be held on Saturday 24th of January. The theme will be “My Share” This will be a chance to share any aspect of your classroom routine or practical tips which you have found successful. We predict this exchange of ideas will lead to a very fruitful discussion. The title “My Share” is the same as the monthly column in The Language Teacher, in which teachers share their best teaching method, tip or exercise etc. The advantage of doing this in our monthly meeting is the chance for feedback and shared wisdom.
Karen Masatsugu (October 2009)
This presentation will describe how activities held at Kwassui Women’s College Child Support and Resource Center provide support to the local foreign community, and how these activities are integrated into the curriculum of the Department of Child Development and Education. It will show the benefits to students, college staff and participants of something as simple to organize as a Coffee Morning, and how that has led to a library to promote bilingual literacy.
Word Association & The Mental Lexicon
Carmen Hannah (September 2009)
With the recent interest in teaching vocabulary, the need for greater understanding of the nature and functions of the mental lexicon present a growing challenge for researchers, teachers and students. In this presentation, we will examine how word association tests can be used to gain a better understanding of the mental lexicon for both L1 and L2 language learners and users. After brief consideration of methods of data collection and existing models of the mental lexicon, we will focus on how the nature of word association tests can be applied in the classroom, in that analysis of word association test responses can help reveal properties of some of the underlying principles of the structural organization and workings of the mental lexicon. The final section will highlight some practical implications for language teachers.
Developing Materials: From Concept to Publishing
David Coulson (July 2009)
Teachers are always developing materials. Sometimes it is a small scale project and sometimes we embark on something more ambitious. This presentation follows the process of publishing a text book - starting with the initial concept and working all the way through development and testing and finishing up with the actual publication of the book. See David's book at http://www.mlh.co.jp/catalog/product.php?i=281
First Annual NEAR Language Education Conference
Plenaries by Tim Murphey and Kensaku Yoshida (May 2009)
Check the conference website for Working Papers from the NEAR Conference.
3 For 1
Aleda Krause (May 2009)
Teachers attending this session will experience activities designed to get "3 for 1": having fun, increasing motivation and learning language all at the same time. Aleda will show numerous games and activities that seem to be purely for fun, but which practice specific grammar or functional points, or teach cultural topics. Among them are games adapted from those played by children, both of the FL and the L1 cultures, activities patterned on the FL cultural traditions, and finally, activities originally designed for content-area instruction.
Practical presentations for the new school year
Alastair Graham-Marr (April 2009)
We all use strategies when we speak: to confirm or clarify what we are saying and what we are hearing, to show interest, to maintain and develop conversations, to help with fluency, to compensate for language we don’t have. Alastair Graham-Marr, author of Communication Spotlight, a text that teaches students how to use these strategies, will ex-amine the whys of teaching strategies and look at the sort of strategies he argues should be taught. Alistair is a very well-known speaker in the TESOL community and his presentation is sure to be very inspiring.
Rapport in the Classroom
Patrick Lee (March 2009)
This workshop has three main aims: 1) To help teachers gain a greater understanding and appreciation of the importance of rapport in the teaching-learning process 2) To encourage workshop participants to reflect and determine what they can do in order to develop and maintain rapport within their own teaching context and, 3) to explore and share our own ideas and tips for establishing and maintaining rapport in the classroom.
My Share
(January 2009)
2008 saw the re-formation of our chapter with three great presentations in quick succession. Each presentation was enlightening and followed by a good deal of stimulating discussion. In this vein, the next meeting will be held on Saturday 24th of January. The theme will be “My Share” This will be a chance to share any aspect of your classroom routine or practical tips which you have found successful. We predict this exchange of ideas will lead to a very fruitful discussion. The title “My Share” is the same as the monthly column in The Language Teacher, in which teachers share their best teaching method, tip or exercise etc. The advantage of doing this in our monthly meeting is the chance for feedback and shared wisdom.
2008
A review of the Japan Writers Conference
Sue Sullivan (December 2008)
For our third JALT meeting, Sue Sullivan, who works in Keiwa College, is going to present to us about the best presentations she saw at the Japan Writers Conference being held in Nagoya this month. This should be a good chance for us to discover some new, practical and creative ways of bringing writing into our teaching.
The Best of JALT National Conference
(November 2008)
Our chapter will be holding its second meeting on November 15th 2008, after our very successful first meeting. This time, we will give the floor to anyone who is going to the JALT National Conference to give a summary report of their favorite presentation. The national conference is the main focus of the JALT year, and is jam packed with great ideas and discussions. However, as not everyone can go, our next chapter meeting will be a great chance to share the new insights.
Haiku in English classes
Howard Brown (October 2008)
Howard Brown will be leading a workshop on the uses of Haiku in English classes. He will present some ideas for developing students’ expressiveness and vocabulary through writing haiku in English. He will also profile some research results that show that writing haiku can be a great help to students’ pronunciation. See the relevant paper at http://jalt-publications.org/archive/tlt/2008/02_2008TLT.pdf#page=10
Sue Sullivan (December 2008)
For our third JALT meeting, Sue Sullivan, who works in Keiwa College, is going to present to us about the best presentations she saw at the Japan Writers Conference being held in Nagoya this month. This should be a good chance for us to discover some new, practical and creative ways of bringing writing into our teaching.
The Best of JALT National Conference
(November 2008)
Our chapter will be holding its second meeting on November 15th 2008, after our very successful first meeting. This time, we will give the floor to anyone who is going to the JALT National Conference to give a summary report of their favorite presentation. The national conference is the main focus of the JALT year, and is jam packed with great ideas and discussions. However, as not everyone can go, our next chapter meeting will be a great chance to share the new insights.
Haiku in English classes
Howard Brown (October 2008)
Howard Brown will be leading a workshop on the uses of Haiku in English classes. He will present some ideas for developing students’ expressiveness and vocabulary through writing haiku in English. He will also profile some research results that show that writing haiku can be a great help to students’ pronunciation. See the relevant paper at http://jalt-publications.org/archive/tlt/2008/02_2008TLT.pdf#page=10