General Meeting

Our Annual General Meeting (AGM) will take place on November 10th at Kyoto Prefectural University from 10:00 with a keynote presentation by Dr. Ana Sofia Hofmyer.

The AGM is an opportunity to learn about what the Kyoto Chapter of JALT has been doing in 2024 and what we will be doing in 2025 to support your professional development. You can also meet your 2024-2025 officers and learn how you can get involved our efforts.

年次総会 (AGM) は11月10日に京都府立大学で開催されます。午前10時よりアナ・ソフィア・ホフメイヤー博士による基調講演があります。

この総会では、京都JALT支部が2024年に行った活動や、2025年における皆様のプロフェッショナルな成長をサポートするための計画について学ぶ機会を提供します。2024-2025年度の役員との顔合わせや、活動に参加する方法についても知ることができます。

Event Information

• Event type: Annual General Meeting
• Date: 10 November, 2024 @ 10:00am
• Location: Kyoto Prefectural University, Shimogamo Campus, Building 8 (Inamori Memorial Hall), Room 203 (Access information at KPU’s website HERE)
• Language: English
• Tuition: Free
• Online Option: TBD

Join the Nagoya, Gifu, and Toyohashi JALT chapters for our July event, entitled "The Crucial Role of Habits for Language Learning ", presented by Clair Taylor. In the last 20 years, research findings from the neurosciences, cognitive sciences, and behavioral sciences have greatly developed our understanding of habits and habit formation, leading to a surge of interest in the area and some top-selling books in the “self-improvement” genre. These new understandings have been embraced by health, fitness, and business professionals to support behavior change for clients. However, aside from smartphone applications for independent language learning such as Duolingo and WaniKani, which owe their success to this knowledge base, the language teaching profession has paid scant attention to these important developments. In this session, participants will learn about the science of habit formation, and how to help their students build positive learning habits. The presenter will introduce smartphone habit-tracking applications that can help even reluctant language learners maintain study habits and engage in proactive behaviors that lead to increased authentic target language use.

Clair Taylor is a professor at Gifu Shotoku Gakuen University and former president of JASAL (the Japan Association for Self-Access Learning). She researches social language learning spaces and learning beyond the classroom.

This event will be held on July 13th (Saturday) at 6;30 pm at Nagoya International Center, 4th Floor Room 3. It is free for JALT members, first-time attendees, and undergraduate students. It is 1,000 yen for non-members.

Hope ot see you there!

SIGN UP FOR ZOOMLINKリンクに登録する

https://tinyurl.com/OKJALT-0923

Information about the event follows below:

Section 1 - Introduction to Professional Development Needs

Research from literature review, interviews, and a nationwide survey explores the professional needs and experiences of elementary school teachers of English.

日本の小学校英語教員の専門能力開発ニーズと経験について、文献調査、個別インタビュー、全国調査をもとに紹介する。

Section 2 - Active Training Session

Short training session with pronunciation training exercises and small talk activities.

Attendees can participate and think about how to design class activities.

発音トレーニングやスモールトークを取り入れた短いトレーニングセッションを行う。参加者は、活動に参加するとともに、自身のクラスで同様の活動をデザインする方法について考える

Section 3 - Discussion and Networking

A chance to share concerns or ideas related to teaching English. A great opportunity to network for those teaching English and researching the field.

小学校での英語教育や英語教師養成に関する悩みやアイデアを共有する機会を提供する。また、日本の英語教育や英語研修について研究している方々にとっても、ネットワークを広げる絶好の機会となることが期待される

This May event highlights the benefits of analysing conversations in the target language. Discourse analysis not only requires a deeper look at what is said but also what isn't said. This practice requires breaking apart natural conversations in segments and understanding why a person might take a pause, stutter in their responses, begin telling a story, or simply nod. This is helpful for language learning students who want to sound or behave like a native speaker would in conversation. The speaker will discuss important terminology used in the field and how this might translate into classroom activities. The presentation is based on a paper published in the Hawaii Pacific University`s TESOL working paper series. 

In 2007, I presented the basic principles of the “Immediate Method” for the Kitakyushu chapter. This classroom management technique was developed from the ground up in the context of the Japanese university classroom. At that time, my co-authors and I were excited about the significant changes we were witnessing in our classes. Even large and rather unmotivated groups ceased passive resistance and started speaking out in class- in the target language. We had won! We benefited from simple yet radical choices: focusing each class on a single target (having students conduct conversations on topics of daily life), and regularly testing students during class time.

Over the years, we have refined and formalized our approach through articles and workshops. In 2018, Jerry Talandis presented for your chapter advancements he made in his book "How to Test Speaking Skills in Japan". He discussed evaluating tests and class activities based on three criteria: validity, reliability, and practicality. Indeed, even if the mere fact of testing regularly is a kind of magic wand in itself, we need to think about how we can do it in the most efficient, fair and productive way.

In this presentation, I will discuss recent developments, including:

- Introducing "on-the-fly" quick test formats to establish good habits early in the semester.

- Nudging students to study before class and review after class.

- In some cases, switching from real-time conversations to scripted conversations, which can have a surprisingly strong washback effect.

The presentation will be hands-on and interactive. It will be based on a "progress sheet" that participants can hopefully reuse in their own classes. Additionally, I will show how my co-authors and I have integrated these techniques into the latest edition of our textbook, "Conversations in Class."

Please note the new date and change of venue for this event. See the chapter page for access details.

Our April event focuses on the use of projects outside the classroom as the foundation for English studies. We will begin with students from Malcolm Swanson’s seminar class at Seinan Jo Gakuin University sharing some of the community projects they have been engaged in. These include a Green Tourism project near Nakatsu and a collaboration with the Yaskawa historical residence in Tobata. Following that, Malcolm Swanson will discuss how projects like these are useful in building English skills in addition to a positive community spirit. We will end with a group discussion on ways to develop student projects.

Steve McGuire, our speaker for the Matsuyama JALT event on May 19th has to postpone this meeting due to a sudden conflict. He would like to reschedule his presentation on December 8th (2-4 PM), just early enough for getting out of Jamboard.

You may also be interested in the JALTCALL2024 conference taking place this very weekend:

When : May 17-18-19 2024
Where: Meijo University Dome Mae Campus, Nagoya
Theme: The Impact of AI in Language Education
Keynote speakers: Takako Aikawa & Joel Tetreault
Conference site: https://events.jalt.org/e/jaltcall2024

We hope to meet you at the re-scheduled event on Dec. 8th, 2024.

Please accept our apologies for this late information

Rudolf Reinelt

Matsuyama JALT president

You're Invited to the MAVR in the Metaverse Session 2023 at our virtual home:  https://framevr.io/mavr  

Join us on December 10th at 8PM Japan Time for an engaging session where Rob will discuss his article featured in the Asian Association of Open Universities Journal, Volume 18, Issue 3 entitled "Immersive capability and spatial presence in virtual reality photo-based tours: implications for distance education"​. Access the article here: https://doi.org/10.1108/AAOUJ-12-2022-0171 

Don't miss this opportunity to explore the latest in virtual reality and augmented reality within the Metaverse.

See you in the Metaverse!

TEVAL SIG Forum and AGM
November 26
JALT National Conference 
13:20 - 14:50 (90 mins)
Room 304
Forum (60 mins) 
AGM  (30 mins)
Peer-led Evaluation for Skill Development and Self-efficacy

The Annual General Meeting for the JALT Testing and Evaluation SIG will be held this year at the JALT national conference in room 304. It follows immediately after the forum to be presented by Jeffrey Martin and Sachi Oshima which will focus on how students can lead the exchange of evaluation as a way to build self-efficacy and foster learning. The presenters will detail examples of how teachers can set such peer-assisted learning in motion, as in the exchange of performance evaluation or in the exchange of student made quizzes. We hope you can join us for a lively discussion. The TEVAL AGM follows directly after the presentations and all interested are welcome to join.

It's that time of year again for our Annual General Meeting (AGM) to report and reflect on the past year as a Chapter and discuss plans for the coming one, including chapter officer positions. Nominations for all officer positions are open to Osaka Chapter members up to and during the meeting. Officer terms are for one year, starting January 1st. If a position is contested, we'll hold an online election after the AGM.

To get a better sense of our team of officers, here is our current roster.

RSVP HERE to get the Zoom link, to give feedback, and/or to let us know whether you might be interested in serving as an officer or in some other way in the coming year. 

This is a good chance to learn more about Osaka JALT, share ideas, and meet several of our officers and regular members. We do hope to see you online at the meeting, but if you're not able to attend, you can still nominate yourself or another Osaka JALT member for an officer position, or give us feedback on the RSVP link.