JALT Event

In the past decade, universities have increasingly invested in Learning Management Systems (LMSs) to enhance language learning, aiming for efficiency and flexibility. However, LMS adoption alone does not guarantee success; multiple factors include instructor attitudes toward technology and system quality. This paper delved into these factors that shaped LMS adoption by examining teacher perceptions and experiences and LMS attributes. The presentation discusses a study utilizing duoethnography to explore the personal challenges English as a foreign language teachers face when adopting LMSs in Japanese universities. Employing the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the study empirically assesses how teacher perceptions and experiences impact LMS adoption. Personal diaries, journals, reflections, and artwork from two instructors at Japanese universities were collected. The findings highlight three key external factors, system quality, perceived self-efficacy, and facilitation conditions, that significantly influence teachers' responses to LMS adoption. These results support prior research on LMS adoption factors and reaffirm the TAM's credibility in understanding teachers' technology adoption behavior. This study contributes to the literature, aiding administrators and teachers in addressing these issues within language programs. The presentation concludes by outlining administrator training strategies, assessing teacher computer proficiency, and creating conducive conditions for LMS utilization.

Dan Ferreira, Ed.D., has been teaching English as a foreign language at the tertiary level in the Greater Kanto area for over two decades. Dan specializes in e-learning, focusing on the barriers to and successes of teachers' use of instructional communication technology (ICT) for language learning purposes. He currently serves as the Gumma JALT Chapter publicist.

There is a short drink/snack/rest break midway through the event.

This is a face-to-face event sponsored by JALT Gunma Chapter.

This event is sponsored by Tokyo JALT.

Abstract

Project-based learning is a student-centered pedagogy implemented in classrooms to foster comprehensive understanding and expertise through the resolution of authentic challenges. PBL deepens learning by immersing students in practical, hands-on experiences, standing out as an active learning method that demands sustained involvement over an extended period to create substantial outcomes or address intricate questions. Furthermore, PBL empowers students to collaborate, cultivate teamwork skills, and utilize creative, problem-solving, and critical thinking abilities to develop their own innovative approach to interacting with a real-world audience. In the EFL classroom, PBL can improve student motivation, interest, and engagement, although it involves fostering non-traditional classroom experiences. PBL asks students to complete projects in English rather than studying the English language, while active learning requires both students and educators to move away from traditional learning behaviors. The development and preparation of a PBL and active learning curriculum present many challenges. In this session, the presenter will offer a working definition of PBL and active learning, model a PBL course, and discuss how to address and balance practical issues such as classroom and time management, grading, evaluation, syllabus design, and institutional goals. He will also share techniques and approaches that he has discovered to be effective in the classroom. Participants will acquire insights into the challenges associated with implementing a Project-Based Learning (PBL) curriculum, along with potential solutions.

Bio

Dr. Peter Lutes is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Agriculture at Kagawa University. He earned his Doctorate in Communication, where his research focused on how information flows through informal human communication networks. He also holds a master’s degree in Applied Linguistics in Language Program Management. His academic journey has taken him across the Asia, fostering cross-cultural perspectives that deeply influence his approach to language education. He is an experienced educator, teacher trainer and program manager in the field of language education and applied communication. With a career spanning over three decades, he has had a wide variety of teaching and training experiences…including in English conversation schools, cram schools, corporate training and tertiary education. He has conducted teacher training and workshops throughout Asia. He is active in teaching, with a strong focus on Project Based Learning (PBL). He has long been a proponent of outcome based language education and has developed a project-based syllabus for the Faculty of Agriculture’s new International Scientific Communication (ISC) Program, a first at national universities. Research Interests Developmental communication, language program development, teacher training, curriculum development, English for Specific Purposes (English for business, science, engineering), Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The next Multilingual Cafe (OLE SIG) is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 31st, 2024 from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm and will be held online.

Duncan Iske (Yamagata University) draws on his upbringing in a Dutch-German-English environment for his presentation on the topic "Lost in Translation: Navigating Dutch Linguistics and Cross-Cultural Communication".

Duncan Iske will explore some of the facets of the Dutch language and its impact on cross-cultural communication by delving into the pragmatic and direct nature of Dutch discourse and uncovering how this shapes communication dynamics. Drawing from personal experiences in Japan and various countries, the presenter will share anecdotes that highlight the challenges and successes of navigating cross-cultural interactions.

What is the Multilingual Café?

The OLE SIG wants to provide a space to meet and share thoughts and knowledge on various languages and cultures using languages other than English, creating a community of practice. After a short presentation we will meet in breakout rooms (at about 7.45 pm) where the attendees discuss the presented topic in the second languages they know. (Lingua Franca: English and Japanese)

We meet online using zoom, please sign-up for receiving the zoom-credentials.

These EdTech events are for language teachers who want to know more about EdTech and look for different ways to implement new ideas in their teaching. 

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionize the way students learn and will continue to impact our learners' future. Additionally, AI is a powerful tool K-12 teachers can use to save time on lesson planning, differentiating lessons, and adapting lessons to meet the needs of their multilingual and diverse learners. In this presentation, Shelly Sanchez Terrell, will introduce powerful, free AI tools that will enhance student the four skills- reading, writing, speaking and listening. Participants will also discover AI tools and prompts that will save them valuable time on lesson planning, grading, and materials design. Teachers will leave feeling empowered to help their language learners use AI more ethically and powerfully throughout their future.

Bio

Shelly Sanchez Terrell is an award-winning digital innovator, international speaker, teacher, and author. She has trained teachers in over 20 countries as a guest expert, consultant, and ambassador for the U.S. Embassy. She was named Woman of the Year by the National Association of Professional Women and received a Bammy Award as the founder of #Edchat. She has been recognized by several entities as a leader in the movement of teacher driven professional development as the founder and organizer of various online conferences, Twitter chats, and webinars. She is the author of TeacherRebootcamp.com, Hacking Digital Learning with Edtech Missions, The 30 Goals Challenge for Teachers, and Learning to Go: Integrating Mobile Learning in the Classroom.

Event: Presentation/Workshop & “Meet-and-Greet”
Presenter: Adam Brod
Title: Reinterpreting Translation’s Role in Language Teaching
Date: Jan: 28th, 2024
Time: 2pm-3:30pm.  From 3:30 pm, we will have a small “Meet-and-Greet” gathering.
Location: Global Café, Olive Square, Kagawa University

Bio: Adam Brod is currently teaching English at the university level in Kagawa and Okayama prefectures. He holds an MA TESOL degree from Hawaii Pacific University. His research interests include corpus  linguistics, bilingualism, and EFL writing instruction.

Description: Although translation in the teaching of a learner’s target language (L2) gained a negative reputation with the rise of direct methods of instruction, this presentation and workshop will show that both direct methods and translation are most effective when used in conjunction but at deliberately different times and for deliberately different purposes. Moreover, Translation in Language Teaching (TILT) will be differentiated from the traditional Grammar Translation method, which mainly focuses on teaching grammar and not communication. Likewise, it will also be differentiated from professional translation, which does not necessarily focus on education at all.

The purpose of this presentation will be to discuss the role and efficacy of using L1 to learn L2. It will be considered that a personal and informal ability to translate between the L1 and L2 may be a skill on par with other linguistic skills such as speaking, listening, reading and writing. In the workshop, participants will be exposed to various translation-based activities allowing them to develop a better understanding of TILT.

JALT Oita are delighted to announce the details of our featured speaker event for 2024. Dr Janice Nakamura from Kanagawa University will be joining us to run a workshop on raising bilingual and biliterate children - a challenge that I’m sure many people are facing. Dr Nakamura has done extensive research into child bilingualism and family language policy within Japan, so we are delighted to welcome her to Oita to present.

The event will be from 3-5pm on 20th January at Horuto Hall (Room 405) in Oita City. The event is free for all JALT members, and 500 yen for non members. We look forward to seeing you there!

The presentation with Louise Ohashi has been re-scheduled for a later date. 

Location: AIINA - Rm 807

Edo Forsythe
Student Perceptions of Benefits of Free Writing in English

Japanese university students are often required to perform free writing activities in their English language classes in an attempt to encourage confidence in writing in English. This session will explain the free writing activities used in the authors’ courses, discuss the changes in fluency observed, and provide qualitative data describing the participants’ thoughts about free writing activities. Attendees will receive ideas for effectively employing free writing in their English language classes to meet students’ desires.

Jim Smiley
Multiple document reading in Japanese English majors

One key aspect of successful academic writing is the capability to assess and evaluate information sources (Moon, 2008). Japanese undergraduate academic writers are known to trust authority sources in preference to anonymous writers when resolving controversial everyday topics (Kobayashi, 2014) and are capable of coherently arguing on social topics with which they have adequate topic knowledge (Stapleton, 2001, 2002). However, the issue of how undergraduate subject specialists deal with unresolved debates in their major field of study remains unknown. The speaker addresses the question of how advanced third-year undergraduate English majors resolve discipline-specific controversies in second- language theory. A mixed-methods research design centring on multiple document reading was used to investigate this question. Participants read two articles that presented conflicting perspectives on the critical period hypothesis (CPH). They answered comprehension questions on each article, submitted a written report on their beliefs about the CPH and participated in a semi-structured interview that collected information about their reasoning and writing processes. The results suggest that the role of prior beliefs, personal experiences and opinions strongly informs participants’ perspectives and that encountering alternative viewpoints may fail to generate a deeper critical engagement appropriate to this level. The presenter will discuss some implications for pedagogy relevant to developing subject specialists’ academic writing in the later years of undergraduate study.

JALT Officers Meet and Greet after the presentation.

Theme: Cerebration for Education

Date: February 4th Sunday 1-5pm

Plenary speakers : Mari Nakaura & Lesley Ito

Venue: Nagoya Kokusai Center 3rd Floor (No.1 Room=第一研修室）

Fee:Free for JALT　members

     1000jpy for non-members

Register : https://forms.gle/jWgBNxKPEtggKLut8

sponcered by National Geographic 

Nagoya JALT January Event

Title:Students’ Perceptions of Peer Review and Self-assessment in EFL Writing

January 20th Saturday 6:30-7:45pm

Venue: Nagoya Kokusai Center 4th No.3 Room= 第三研修室）

Lifelong Language Learning SIG: A Playful End-of-the-Year Gathering

You are cordially invited to our final Lifelong Language Learning (LLL) SIG event of the year, which will be a panel discussion on possible classroom applications of Tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs). It will take place F2F (regrettably, without an online option) on December 22nd from 6:30 PM. A chance to try out a variety of TTRPGs will be made available after the brief talks (described below). 

Please RSVP if you are interested in joining by filling out this Google Form: https://forms.gle/4ux1Cs7SoAbYn8oLA .

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Event: Introducing University Students to TTRPGs (Tabletop role-playing games): The Good Kind of Contagious 

Date: December 22, 2023   

          RSVP by December 18th at https://forms.gle/4ux1Cs7SoAbYn8oLA .

Time: 6:30 PM - 9:30 PM (Must leave the building by 10 PM)

Location: Aoyama Gakuin University (Tokyo, Shibuya), Building 15 (Goucher Hall): Room 15-301

     [Breakout sessions will take place in neighboring rooms: 15302 & 15304] Refer to map at https://living4now.org/playful-end-of-the-year-gathering/ .

Guest Speakers: Kinsella Valies, Timothy Gutierrez, and Dax Thomas

Target Audience: Those interested in the educational applications of Role-playing Games and who would like to experience them for themselves in a relaxed atmosphere.

Sponsor: JALT Lifelong Language Learning Special Interest Group (LLL-SIG) — Non-members are welcome.

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Plan for the evening:  

Three speakers, Kinsella Valies, Timothy Gutierrez, and Dax Thomas, will give brief talks about the ways they have used Role-playing Games in personal, professional, and research contexts. They will give participants the opportunity to experience several game types by leading them as gamemaster (GM).

We will first meet all together in Room 15-301 from 6:30 PM before breaking up into different game groups at 8:00 PM. 

You may bring snacks to share. Hot water and limited quantities of tea and coffee will be available.

1st Speaker: Kinsella Valies (6:30 PM - 7:00 PM)

Title: Mission Possible: Leveling up in English at home and beyond

Summary:

According to Schneider (2023), table-top roleplaying games (TTRPGs) simulate meaningful encounters of human behavior and interaction that allows learners to try out different social and communicative strategies without facing any real-world penalties. The main objective of this presentation is to examine how the integration of TTRPGs in informal, adult EFL can lead to significant positive outcomes for learners. The theoretical framework is phenomenologic, based on dialogues, interviews and, reflections between the researcher and the five participants. Participants were lifelong English learners and native speakers from varied backgrounds with the common denominator of having more than 10 years of TTRPG experience. By exploring the impact of table-top RPGs through phenomenology, the researcher aimed to provide recommendations for learners seeking to enhance their motivation, autonomy, critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and fluency. After this talk, you may better appreciate how RPGs can serve as valuable, transformative educational tools.

Bio: 

Kinsella Valies, an assistant professor at Jissen Women’s University, has worked with age groups ranging from elementary school students to adult professionals and the elderly. Having taught in Japan, China, the Netherlands, Curacao, and the US, she is comfortable with teaching formats that range from one-to-one and intensives, to language camps and classroom-based or online teaching. In addition to English, she has taught Dutch and French. She has long held an interest in the potential for RPGs to create community and offer exciting educational applications. 

2nd Speaker: Timothy Gutierrez (7:00 PM - 7:30 PM)

Title: Lunchtime Adventures for University Students using (Advanced) Fighting Fantasy

Summary: 

In this talk, the presenter will demonstrate one method for employing tabletop roleplaying games as educational materials to develop foreign language skills with students at the university level. These materials have been used with university students during lunchtime language development sessions in the foreign language teaching division of a global research and education center. Firstly, the presenter will briefly discuss how the materials were implemented during these sessions, including one idea for linking this activity with extensive reading. Following this explanation, the audience will experience the materials first-hand and discuss effective practices for using tabletop role-playing games with students developing their foreign language ability.

Bio: 

Timothy Gutierrez is an associate professor at Nihon University’s College of Humanities and Sciences. As part of his duties facilitating English language development activities for lunchtime activities, he organizes English Salons and an English Extensive Reading Club. Recently, he has included his love of TTRPGs with his love of teaching English as a foreign language. He can be found discussing playful teaching in the Ludic Language Pedagogy discord server or through his online research laboratory at blog.gutierrez94580.com

3rd Speaker: Dax Thomas (7:30 PM - 8:00 PM)

Title: Me, Myself and Jean-Luc Picard: A Proposed “Play What You Know” Approach to     

         Introducing TRPGs to University EFL Students

Summary:

In a recent video for his YouTube channel, "How to be a Great GM", Guy Sclanders outlines a three-part exercise to help new TRPG players come to terms with the difference between “role-playing” and “acting”. In the first part of this talk, it will be suggested that this three-part approach could also be applied when introducing TRPGs to university EFL students to help ease them into the unfamiliar task of role-playing in a second language. The second part of the talk will showcase a simple TRPG system and some supporting materials that can be used to accomplish this in the classroom. Participants will have an opportunity to create their own example characters.

Bio:

Dax Thomas is an assistant professor in the Centre for Liberal Arts at Meiji Gakuin University.  He has been an English teacher almost as long as he has been a GM and enjoys all genres of tabletop role-playing games. His most recent research has been on word formation and vocabulary usage in science-fiction and fantasy games and he has just recently begun to explore the application of TRPGs in the EFL classroom.

From 8:00 PM, participants may try out games organized by the speakers in rooms 

15-301 & 15-302.

Room 15-304 will be used as a space for casual socializing and partaking in refreshment.