Annual Conference

NEAR Language Education Conference 2022 is co-sponsored by JALT Niigata and GILE SIG. It aims to bring together language teaching and topics related to environments. Both the environment outside the classroom, and the one within. This conference will provide a space for discussion and collaboration for anyone who is interested in improving their teaching environment, or the environment we live in.

This year's conference is fully online. To register, visit https://near2022.edzil.la/.

Plenary Session: Christopher Graham

Title: English Language Teaching and Climate Change. What’s the connection, what’s happening across our global community and what can I do?

The climate emergency is a global catastrophe that involves us all, and the international English language teaching community is no exception. This talk will commence by looking at the interface between the climate crisis and ELT in terms of both the negative impacts of some of our behaviours on the environment, and the opportunities we have to integrate climate change education into our lessons. It will continue by focussing on some examples around the world of how ELT practitioners are engaging with the crisis, and will end by suggesting some guidelines you can use to approach the topics in your classes and across your institution.

About the plenary speaker

Christopher Graham holds a degree in Politics from Warwick university, a Cambridge DELTA and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He is a freelance English language teaching consultant, teacher educator and author based in the UK. He has worked in the field since 1981 in over 30 countries for the British Council, ministries of education and international publishers.

He was one of the founders of ELT Footprint, a 2020 ELTons Award winner, and is currently working on research, materials writing and media activities around ELT and climate change for the British Council as part of the Climate Action in Language Education project. He has recently published books for teachers around 21 st Century Skills and ELT and Climate Change.

On behalf of the JALT Conference Planning Team, and broader JALT community, I am delighted to announce that we will be returning to a face-to-face conference in Fukuoka City, Japan for JALT2022. Recently, the renowned linguist Larry Selinker quoted the Talmud on his social media page when he posted the following: "Much I have learned from my teachers, even more I have learned from my colleagues, but from my students I have learned more than anyone else" (Ta'anit 7a). All of us who are language teachers will find ourselves quietly nodding in agreement as we think about the enduring truth of this statement. Even as students learn much from us during our language lessons, if we are open, intentional, and inquisitive, we find equally that our learners become our teachers. They help us to improve as we develop new practices and insights for teaching them and others later on. This idea is reflected in this year’s conference theme: Learning from Students, Educating Teachers—Research and Practice. During this conference, participants will be able to share classroom research on what they have learned from their learners, and in doing so, enrich all of us in the common goal of improving our students' second language learning experience. If you are a learner planning to attend, you will find a community open to your experiences and insights. By evoking the word "experience," this implies that our pursuit takes place not within a closed circle, but also with administrators, publishers, and others who have chosen to partner with us in promoting language acquisition education.

They are also invited to share what they have learned so that together, we can make a lasting impact in our language learners' lives. To those ends, I hope that you'll make the journey to Fukuoka and share your experiences, research, and informed insights. As you prepare, here are some questions for reflecting not only on what you might have to share, but also what you might wish to explore:

• What was one of the most interesting things I learned this year as a language teacher?
• What is one of the biggest problems I have constantly faced in my current teaching environment?
• What have I done in response?
• What worked? What hasn't worked?
• What are the things that students do in my classes that help me to develop as a language teacher?
• What is one aspect of my teaching that I would like to improve?
• To what degree does what I do in the class match with what I believe is a teacher?
• In what way can my classroom research help improve the practices of other language teachers?

Many more questions of this sort could be asked, but even from this small sample, I think you will begin to see that the answers you have—as well as a realization that you may not have many answers, help form a foundational bridge-building with others that will lead to new discoveries. Your openness to searching for new answers to old question will help make your experience at JALT 2022 an even more meaningful one.

We will have a number of streams during this conference that will embody the spirit of this year's theme. Among these will be:

• Presentations and workshops for equipping you to conduct solid qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research.
• Sessions based on classroom research offering practical ideas, useful advice, and informed insights for how to enhance the effectiveness of your language lessons.
• Showcase presentations from students—both graduate and undergraduate—aimed at including their voices and lived experience to our expanding conversation on how to improve the quality of language acquisition education in Japan and beyond.

One last, but very important point, as in years past, we will be offering three fee-waiver scholarships. These will cover the cost of registration for JALT2022. Full details will be on available here once the schedule has been determined. Bookmark the JALT site so you can easily keep up to date with announcements for the conference, subscribe to our newsletter, and follow us on social media.

As can be seen symbolically in this year's logo, JALT2022 is your chance to come together with other dynamic colleagues, and together share ideas, findings, and insights that might have once started out as a bit "fuzzy," but which during our shared discourse and interactions, become a clear contribution to the lives of others. You are important, and as a professional teaching community, we need each other. Join us for JALT2022 in Fukuoka!

Keep the first Sunday in December free for the Annual Conference for the JALT Nara Chapter! The theme of the conference is simply Nara JALT, and the program showcases the work of our own chapter members.

9:45–10:00 Opening Address
10:00–10:45 Andy Sowter—The Reality of Climate Change Education
11:00–11:45 Hiroyo Nakagawa—Enhancing False Beginners’ Writing Skills Through Collaborative Tasks
12:00–12:45 Hiroya Matsumoto—Deliberate Practice in SLA
12:45–14:00 Lunch break
14:00–14:45 Jack Bower—Suggestions for Using Digital Gamification to Increase Learner Engagement
15:00–15:45 John Carle—The English Gym Series
16:00–16:45 Kathy Yamane—Tasks for Cultivating Inferencing Skills in Adult Language Learners
16:45–17:00 Closing Remarks

Six reasons to get excited about Nara JALT 2022 (plus one):
1. Location
The Nara Women’s University is a pleasant stroll from both Kintetsu Nara and JR Nara stations. And don’t be surprised if you meet some deer on your way into the campus.

2. Large lecture hall
A 300 m2 large lecture hall provides ample room for all chapter members to come together in a safely social-distanced setting.

3. Full day program
Three presentation slots in the morning session and three in the afternoon with plenty of time in between to relax, be social and enjoy a full day out in Nara.

4. Free for JALT members
It’s rare to be able to attend a conference for free but as a membership-based organisation, members can fully capitalise on membership.

5. Chapter member priority
Showcasing the work of Nara Chapter members. Whether it is research- or classroom-based, Nara chapter members can get excited about what is happening in education near them.

6. In-person event
This event will be held in person so we can all reconnect after three long years.

6.1 Online Option 
 For those unable to attend the event in person, is online option via Zoom is available (see Pre-registration below).

Pre-registration: https://forms.gle/Hmspomx5HD4vnwRa7
Onsite attendance: While registration on the day is possible, pre-registration is preferred to ease crowding, etc. Please use the link above to access the pre-registration form.
Online attendance: Pre-registration is required. The link to the event meeting on Zoom will be sent early on the morning of the event. Please use the link above to access the pre-registration form.

The School Owners' SIG will hold their annual conference on June 19th. After the conference the SO SIG will hold its Annual General Meeting and new officers will be announced.

The mini-conference will take place online on June 19, Sunday from 10:15 am - 5:00 pm-ish. We have four great presentations lined up and then will be trying something new this year - breakout rooms where members can casually discuss topics that interest them most. The day will wrap up with the AGM meeting to introduce new officers and discuss what the SIG will do in the year ahead. We hope to see you there!
We will use the same online platform as last year for this mini-conference. Please sign up at https://sosig2022.edzil.la/ The mini-conference is FREE for SO SIG members (who are also JALT members). Admission for JALT members is ¥2,500 and ¥3,500 for attendees who are neither JALT members or SO SIG members.
Lesley Ito, May 2022

The Okinawa chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT) is pleased to announce open registration and a call for papers for Summer Symposium 2022. OkiJALT’s Summer Symposium is an annual event that has been held since 2017. We invite teachers and researchers from around the world to share their work related to second language learning. As such, we are looking for research-focused and teaching-focused presentations and short workshop demonstrations.

The theme for Summer Symposium 2022 is “Learner Identity in the EFL Classroom: Whose English Is It Anyway?”. The roles of language and identity are highly complex, especially in an environment such as the classroom, where local and global power dynamics can greatly affect learning and teaching. In addition, as we attempt to veer away from the colonial roots of English language teaching, more questions emerge about what English, or which Englishes, we should focus on to help our students learn. We welcome proposals from anyone interested in exploring the connections between these phenomena. Full papers will be considered for post-conference publication.

Interested attendees and presenters should complete and submit the Registration form found at: https://forms.gle/NkUpjmwzpfcuELgb9

Presenters should submit their proposal by 31 July 2022. Non-presenting attendees should complete registration by 17 August 2022. Payment for both presenters and non-presenting attendees should also be completed by 17 August 2022.

Thank you, and we look forward to seeing you at OkiJALT’s Summer Symposium 2022!

Details of Summer Symposium 2022:
• Date & Time: 21 August 2022; 10:00-17:00 Japan Standard Time (JST)
• Theme: Learner Identity in the EFL Classroom: Whose English Is It Anyway?
• Location: Online (Zoom)
• Proposal/abstract length: 150-200 words
• Presentations: 20-minute research or teaching presentations; 30-minute workshop demonstrations
• Conference Fee: Free for current undergraduate and postgraduate students; ¥1500 for JALT members and JALT sister organization members (both presenters and attendees); ¥2500 for non-JALT members (both presenters and attendees)
• Registration Link: https://forms.gle/NkUpjmwzpfcuELgb9

*ONLINE ONLY*

Playful CALL: Exploring the Intersection of Games and Technology in Language Education

Taking inspiration from Zimmerman’s manifesto which proposed the 21st century is the “ludic century,” the focus of the 2022 conference is “Playful CALL” which we interpret as the exploration of play, games, and other ludic approaches to CALL research and practice. While proposals will be accepted from a broad range of disciplinary areas and perspectives related to CALL research, the selection will prioritize the intersection of research, pedagogy, and praxis in relation to the conference theme.

Submissions may consider (but are not restricted to) the following subthemes:
▪ Access, equality, diversity and inclusion
▪ Assessment
▪ Materials design
▪ Language policy
▪ Pedagogical innovation
▪ Playful approaches to research, teaching, teacher training and materials development
▪ Professional development
▪ Youth culture and practices in L2 teaching
Additional, gaming-specific topics for consideration:
▪ Designing educational games vs utilizing commercial games
▪ Diversity and representation
▪ Extramural play
▪ Games and pedagogy
▪ Gamification
▪ Gaming critically and critically gaming
▪ Gaming culture and L2 teaching (Streaming, machinima, fanfiction, modding, remixing, social media)
▪ Playing to learn vs learning to play
▪ Teacher and student agency
▪ Terminology (game-based, game-informed, ludic, playful, gameful, etc.)
▪ The future of games in CALL research (MVAR, research-practice divide, technology normalization, etc.)

TLT 2022 Call for Papers

Okinawa JALT is pleased to announce a call for papers for our online Trends in Language Teaching 2022 (TLT2022) conference, to be held on Sunday, 30 January.

The theme for this year’s TLT conference is the “Challenge of Change”. The past couple of years have been challenging for educators around the world, both as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic and due to the various secondary issues that have cropped up in the wake of the pandemic. We invite anyone who would like to communicate how they have dealt with any of the many challenges they have faced during the past year or two and what suggestions they have for others in similar situations.

The conference welcomes the following types of synchronous presentations:
* Research presentations (25 minutes + 5 minute Q and A)
* Best practice presentations (25 minutes + 5 minute Q and A)
* 3-minute presentations on any language teaching-related topic (3 minutes)

We also welcome the following types of asynchronous presentations:
* Virtual poster presentations (submitted as an image or PDF file for asynchronous presentation via an online gallery)
* Less-than-5-minute recorded presentations on any of the above (link to YouTube video)

Please check our website for additional details and conference fees. Post-conference publication opportunities are available.

How to participate?
Please send a 100-150-word abstract using this form by 23:59, 20 January, 2022 JST (GMT+9): https://forms.gle/annmUVeY7127W98EA

We’re looking forward to seeing you!

Okinawa JALT
okijalt@gmail.com
www.okijalt.org

We will be having our Lifelong Language Learning SIG forum this coming Sunday on the topic "Reflections on the Past, Projections of the Future" at the JALT National Conference (held online this year). You are warmly invited to attend. The session is a combined AGM (Annual General Meeting) and LLL-SIG Forum. You may vote for SIG officers no later than November 15 at 11:59 PM at https://forms.gle/T6adBiFMuXENatRQA

Sun, Nov 14, 14:45-16:15
[If you’re registered for the conference, you can go directly to https://jalt2021.edzil.la/session/2381 .]

In the slightly more than half a century of TESOL’s existence there have been a cascade of methods and innovations that teachers have been challenged by. The move to an online pedagogy due to the pandemic accelerated trends while forcing all of us to reevaluate fundamentals. In this forum, prompts (both visual and textual) will be provided to elicit discussion on where we’ve been on our journey as language teachers and where we’re headed.

Speakers & Sub-sections:

1) Andrew Reimann
Title: Digital Templates and Worksheets

Andrew spoke about changes in teaching in the digital and post pandemic age, looking first at changes in teaching as as a career and concluding with suggestions for interactive materials in both the conventional and virtual classrooms.

Bio: Andrew Reimann is from Vancouver, Canada and has a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from Macquarie University. He teaches classes on Comparative Culture Studies and Intercultural Communication. His research interests include raising cultural awareness and communication strategies.

2) Kathy Yamane
Title: Old Dogs, New Tricks: Mature Learners in the Age of Covid

Kathy Yamane spoke about the development of a three-day intensive English “Schooling” program run through Nara University’s Distance Education Division and the challenges faced during the pandemic.

Bio: Kathy Yamane, a native of upstate New York, studied Linguistics at Cornell University. She came to Japan as an MEF in 1981 and is currently teaching English and Communication classes at Nara University. Her research interests are primarily in the area of language varieties. She is co-author of the Broadcast: ABC World News Tonight textbook series. She is the membership chair of the LLL SIG.

3) Taron Plaza
Title: Connecting & engaging in online teaching environments

Taron presented on teacher engagement and how the switch to computer-based lessons provided him with opportunities to transform himself as an educator. Participants were invited to share experiences of how they struggled with and/or managed to find ways of connecting and engaging with their classes in the current online environment.

Bio: Taron teaches courses in English communication, cultural studies and second language acquisition. His research interests include
intercultural communication, digital spaces and transformative
learning.

4) Joseph Dias
Title: Roles for LMSs In Pandemic and Post-pandemic times

The presenter spoke about some of the most common LMSs available, the role they played during the pandemic, and how they might play a more important role in our “routine” teaching practice in the future. Audience members were asked to share what they liked most (and least) about the LMSs they use either by choice or by institutional requirement.

Bio: Joseph V. Dias co-coordinates the Integrated English Program in the English Department of Aoyama Gakuin University, also teaching courses on intercultural communication and food culture. His research interests include computer-assisted language learning and autonomy in language learning.

5) Tim Gutierrez
Title: What’s Next for Technology Supporting Remote Language Instruction?

In order to facilitate discussion of the role of technology in the foreign language classroom, the presenter first revisited a fundamental controversy from his formative years of what to do in the university composition classroom. Next, he showcased a Moodle workshop activity, a tool to facilitate process writing that he rediscovered during the remote teaching resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, participants were invited to speculate about how electronic tools will shape both online and in person teaching of foreign languages to university students.

Symposium 2021 Information Date: Saturday December 4, 2021, 9:30AM to 5PM. Location: Doshisha University, Kyoto Imadegawa Campus, Shiseikan Building, Room 22 Fee: ¥1500 General Admission, ¥1000 JALT Members Pre-Registration is not required! Session 1: Vocabulary Learning Discussant: David Beglar Speakers: Brandon Kramer & Tohru Matsuo, Stuart Benson & Naheen Madarbakus, Michael McGuire & Jenifer Larson-Hall, Atsushi Mizumoto Lunch and Poster Session Session 2: Vocabulary Assessment Discussant: Jenifer Larson-Hall Speakers: Jeffrey Stewart & Aaron Batty, Stuart Mclean, Minkyung Kim, Christopher Nicklin

Join us online for our 12th symposium.

10.05 Kevin Crawley Title: Pedagogical Implications and Applications of Jokes in the EFL Classroom
10.35 Andrew McMahon, Benjamin Rentler, and Eri Yoshimura Title: Designing an intervention to bring together domestic and international students
11.05 Alessandro Grimaldi and Colin Mitchell Title: Coaching Techniques for Facilitating Self-Regulation in Learners
11.45 William Tiley Title: Art in the ESL Classroom - More than just a discussion topic?
12.15 John Collins Title: English Language Curriculum Development and Needs Analysis: Investigating the Target Group’s learning Attitudes, Problems and Priorities
12.45 Tomotaka Shiroyama Title: A Case Study utilizing Portable Devices in EFL settings