JALT Event

13:00-14:00 JALT Omiya Annual General Meeting
The 2009 chapter executive will report to the chapter members on maters that occurred during the past year followed by nominations and elections for the 2010 chapter executive. This portion of this month’s meeting is open only to Omiya chapter members.

14:15-15:00 Student-selected Visual Images for Speaking More
By Kyoko Suzuki
This presentation shows the process in which TOEIC Part 1 test takers read pictures and choose one out of four statements they hear. Three phases were found in the process: reading pictures, considering the candidate statements while listening, and selecting one. Ten mutually interwoven factors were observed and were analyzed. When test takers made the final decision, they were often influenced by familiar words. The results of an additional test indicated sentences rather than keywords (the content words) were necessary to construct meanings. When the stories in both visual literacy and listening (language) matched, learners were able to understand the meaning.
本プレゼンは、TOEIC　受験者がパート１において、写真を観て、聞こえてくる４つの文章から写真の説明として最適な１文を選ぶプロセスを探ったものである。プロセスは、写真を読み取り、文章を聞きながら候補となるものを探り、１つ選ぶ、という３段階になっていることがわかった。相互に絡み合った１０個の要素が観察され、それらを分析した。最終決定では、受験者は往々にして親しみのある単語に影響されることもみられた。追加テストにより、意味を構築するためには「キーワード」と受験者が表現した内容語（単語）よりも「文(sentence)」が必要であることがわかった。ビジュアル・リテラシー（視覚判別能力）とリスニング（言語）に内在する「物語」が一致した時に学習者は意味を理解する事ができた、と考えられる。
Ms. Suzuki is a MA candidate in TESOL from Teachers College Columbia University. She is currently teaching TOEIC strategic courses and Listening & Reading classes at several companies and university extension classes as a part-time teacher. Her current research interests include visual literacy in relation with language learning and interdisciplinary curriculum.
鈴木氏は現在コロンビア大学テーチャーズカレッジTESOL修士候補である。TOEIC講座、リスニング・リーディング講座などを企業ならびに大学のエクステンション・コースで教えており、関心のある研究領域は言語習得に関連するビジュアル・リテラシーおよび学際的カリキュラムである。
15:10-15:45Let's Delve into the Minds of “BAD” Students: Alternative TESOL
By Jun Harada
In this presentation Jun will discuss how to deal with students who “hate” English. Just like other teachers, Jun was tormented by such students who came to class to daydream, sleep or just fool around. Recently however, he started interviewing and private-teaching a bunch of unmotivated students and found their unique characteristics. Their ways of thinking are so different that teaching them seems to be out of the conventional TESOL wisdom, which he knew.
After studying TESOL in New York, Jun taught ESL at a public school in a poverty-ridden area in the Bronx. Believe it or not, he was a Japanese teaching English to Spanish speaking kids. After returning to Japan, Jun taught at an alternative school for high school dropouts. The students there were mostly two kinds: hyperactive or inactive. Now Jun teaches full time at a Dokkyo Junior and Senior high school and part time at Rikkyo University.

Using Literature to Teach “Empathy” to Medical Students
“Empathy” is an important term in medicine, but it is an abstract concept that is difficult to define, even for native English speakers. This presentation reports on a course that was taught to fourth-year Japanese medical students. The goal of the course was to deepen students’ understanding of “empathy” using English readings of poetry, fiction and non-fiction. This presentation outlines the methods and materials used, and the results of a student questionnaire that was given at the end of the course.
Sean Chidlow is a lecturer in the Department of Medicine at Oita University. His field of research is the Medical Humanities. Specifically, he is interested in the methods of using literature to teach concepts that are relevant to the field of medicine.

Using mind maps to promote critical thinking in writing and debating
In advanced English classes where debate, discussion and research papers are used as assessments, students need critical thinking skills in order to succeed in these tasks. This presentation will examine the adoption of a mind mapping software, rationale, that was introduced into and Advanced English II class at APU in order to enhance students writing, and debating skills. Building on the literature of the value of critical thinking mind maps, the authors examine how electronic mind-mapping can be used effectively in the classroom to promote student’s debating and writing skills.
Lindsay Mack is a lecturer at APU where she teaches Advanced English classes. Her research interests include: critical pedagogy and academic writing.

Testing your tests – do they achieve what you want them to?
Teachers of all persuasions incorporate some kind of testing into their classrooms. BUT, …… do the students and teachers always get the maximum benefit from these. The presentation will look at the difference in style and approach for placement, assessment, diagnostic and achievement tests and will suggest a number of approaches designed to motivate students.
Simon Weedon is co-founder of ‘E’ English School, and teaches at Meiho Junior/Senior High School. He is Coordinator of ETJ-Oita and is a monthly columnist for The Daily Yomiuri.

Classroom Activities for Eigo Note and Beyond
With the introduction of English as a set class for 5th and 6th Grade Elementary School students, teachers are now faced with a unique opportunity, and also a challenge. The presentation will feature a range of immediately useable classroom activities for participants to take to their own classrooms.
Etsuko Minami is Vice Principal of Higashi Wasada Elementary School in Oita City. She is an active ETJ Committee Member with a keen interest in promoting English education at Elementary School level.

This will be our last chapter event of the year. Doors open at 1:00 and we'll start by socializing and discussing our impressions of the National JALT conference in Shizuoka, held Nov 21-23. What impressed us and what did we learn?
From 2:00 to 5:00, Greg Sholdt and Tim Greer, of Kobe University, will lead us in an interactive workshop designed to sharpen our research skills, entitled "The Joy of Action Research: Goals, Principles, and Methods"
Getting started in action or classroom-based research can be a bewildering endeavor; however, the benefits include a better understanding of students and teaching practices, a rationale for making changes in classrooms, and even a renewed interest in teaching. Furthermore, teacher-researchers are able to contribute their findings to the community of language instructors, enhance their professional skill-set and employability, develop a fuller understanding of the research process, and better understand published research. In this interactive workshop, the presenters will review the fundamental principles of action research and discuss quantitative and qualitative data collection methods and techniques for ensuring project success. Participants will then work in small groups to develop their own personalized action research projects. In the first part of the workshop, the presenters will review the goals, benefits, and methods of classroom-based or action research. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches will be discussed in terms of methods of data collection and analysis and appropriateness for research goals. In the second part of the workshop, participants will work together in small groups to develop research studies that can be tailored to their specific language learning classrooms and research interests. The workshop will provide a relaxed and fun setting to discover the joys of action research and enable participants to leave with concrete plans for conducting their own projects.
Greg Sholdt is a short-term associate professor teaching English for the School of Languages and Communication at Kobe University. He has a background in Educational Psychology with an emphasis on quantitative methods for educational research. His interests center on extensive reading, English for academic purposes, and action research as a means for professional development. He is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the JALT Journal and has experience teaching Introductory Statistics at the University of Hawaii and an online course on quantitative research methods for language teachers in Japan.
Tim Greer is an associate professor in the School of Languages and Communication at Kobe University, Japan. His research interests focus on naturally occurring interaction in Japanese and English. His doctoral dissertation looked at the accomplishment of identity by so-called “half-Japanese” teenagers in bilingual interaction and he is currently investigating the way Japanese students make use of various interactional practices in English. His research combines ethnography and qualitative approaches with micro-discourse analytic approaches such as conversation analysis and membership categorization analysis.
Afterward we'll head to a nearby restaurant for our annual bonenkai.

We will be experimenting with the Pecha Kucha Night format for this year's December meeting. Normally, December is reserved for a potpourri meeting at which Kobe JALT members are invited to present. With Pecha Kucha, speakers have 20 slides for 20 seconds each slide (total = 6 min. 40 sec.) to introduce their work. Please e-mail your slides to bjones_jp@yahoo.com. You are welcome to introduce anything related to your current or past research, professional development endeavors, curriculum or materials development, or activities. We need at least 10 presenters to make this a viable event so please tell your friends and plan on presenting yourself. Check www.pecha-kucha.org for more information on PKN. Our BONENKAI or year-end party follows at 7:30 in a nearby restaurant. Get a chance at loads of prizes with our holiday raffle.

The paper explores the application of two learning theories, functional literacy theory and contextual learning theory, as applied to English language learning in Japan. Citing empirical research on using these two theories and discussing how it will assist in professional teacher development, the author concludes that these theories can help English language teachers achieve their objectives in teaching English courses that are relevant, current, and interesting to students.

Intuitively, most people appreciate the close kinship that play and learning share. The process of play can lead to deep insights about everyday life, culture, language, values, relationships, nature, physics, metaphysics and so on. Fun-filled learning experiences lead to the enrichment and flourishing of all involved. Research and experience show that adult learners, like the children they once were, learn best when learning-facilitators stimulate their curiosity, imagination and creativity. Unfortunately, the modern Fordist model of education that has proliferated around the world emphasizes arduous "work" and test taking as the way to be educated. Such didactic authoritarian education conditions students to be deferential, passive and "switched off," thus making it difficult for them to find their voice to express themselves in classroom settings. Even the metaphorical notion of a "workshop" (i.e., an informal, "hands-on" group learning setting) focuses on "work" (as in production manufacturing) rather than emphasizing curiosity, imagination and creativity.
The Insight PlayshopTM approach to learning, including language learning, emphasizes creating a fun environment that sparks the curiosity, imagination and creativity of learners (i.e., course participants and learning-facilitators alike) for the purposes of generating insights about a topic and stimulating greater ability to communicate. This participatory seminar will invite participants to dialogue about "traditional" education, understand the rationale for the Insight Playshop approach and methods, and engage in some experiential playshop learning experiences. Come ready to have fun!
Speaker profile:
Jeremiah Mock, MSc, PhD, is a health anthropologist and education enthusiast. Currently, he is a Fulbright Scholar conducting comparative research on the culture of alternative living in Kochi Prefecture and Central Thailand. He is Clinical Professor at Kochi Women's University Faculty of Nursing, and Visiting Associate Professor at Osaka University Center for the Study of Communication-Design. While faculty at the University of California, San Francisco, he led many intensive training courses and seminars on participatory learning in San Francisco and across Asia.

The Ministry of Education appears to be putting more emphasis on communicative English in primary and secondary schools. To meet this demand the number of Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs) taking up positions at public schools has dramatically increased over the past decade. However, due to financial pressures on local governments, the method of procuring ALTs has taken a dramatic change from directly hiring ALTs on the JET Program, to acquiring ALTs by tender. Currently all ALTs in Fukuoka City and Kitakyushu City schools are “procured” by tender. Forty prefectural high schools also use outsourced ALTs.
The presentation will detail how the tendering process is carried out, focusing on the problems facing teachers who work for the “dispatch” companies. Over the past few years I have obtained thousands of pages of documentation through the Freedom of Information Act, and have pieced together how the dispatch companies make profits by keeping costs (ALT salary etc.) to a minimum.
Chris Flynn is a Professor in the Faculty of Management and Information Sciences at the Kyushu Institute of Information Sciences.

This meeting will be part presentation, part election, and part discussion on the future of the Akita chapter.
First,
The Presentation - Wayne Malcolm will be giving a short presentation on motivation regarding students, and teachers. He will share some of his ideas on how to keep both parties motivated.
Next,
The Election - You may or may not know, but long time chapter president, Takeshi Suzuki has stepped down. He, and the other Akita Chapter officers appointed Wayne Malcolm to be Acting President. There needs to be an official election choosing the next president. This is the time for those who might want to be president to put in his/her name.
After the new president is chosen, he/she will facilitate a discussion on the future of the Akita Chapter. Please bring ideas to share, as all members have a voice.

1. Main Presentations
1.1. Another NVC - Nonviolent Communication - Both Verbal and Nonverbal
by Jim Batten, Ibaraki Christian University
Presentation Summary: You know the old taunt "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me"... well, my version is "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can really hurt me." I have been reading a lot of Marshall B. Rosenberg's (and others that are now in that movement) books on nonviolent communication and would like to share some insights gained with the teachers and others interested in effective communication. We should be teaching more than just English grammar and syntax...we should be preparing students to communicate in a way that will be both most beneficial to them and to others. Some of our problems are sarcasm and snide remarks, loaded words, judgemental pronouncements, etc. Hopefully we can develop a better language of life.
1.2. Classroom Feedback Systems
by George MacLean, U of Tsukuba
1.3. Translation Strategies Applied to Japanese/Dutch
by Jeroen Bode, Ibaraki University
2. Poster Session
3. Short presentations by 4 chapter members
4. Bonenkai/Hanashikai at the Drunken Duck
Info: http://ibarakijalt.blogspot.com/
Non-members ¥500.-

This meeting will have two presentations:
“Cooperative Learning in Young Learner Classrooms” – Izumi Tanaka (Tokoha Jr. College / Tachibana Elementary School)
Action Research on cooperative group reading was conducted at a private primary school in Shizuoka city, Japan. Sixty-five children (grade 5), who were 10-11 years old, were observed. The primary aim of this project is to explore the effective usages of authentic storybooks in cooperative learning. Two areas, understanding of content and language awareness, are focused on.
Bio
Izumi Tanaka taught in the public educational system for 12 years. After leaving, she began a children’s English class in her home. While living in Australia with her 8 months, she noticed many interesting observation about her children’s English development. She has recently completed her MA (Teaching English to Young Learners) at the University of York.
“Teaching Tactics for the TOEIC Test” – Jon Robinson (Oxford University Press)
Are you looking for ideas to improve your student's TOEIC scores?
Teaching your students the vocabulary, grammar and strategies for passing the TOEIC test on top of conveying its relevance to their everyday lives is a very difficult task. During this presentation you will learn background on the TOEIC test as well as effective and proven ways to help your students improve their scores.
Bio
Jonathan Robinson graduated from Hawai'i Pacific University and taught on Japan Exchange Teaching Program. He now serves as an Oxford University Press consultant to Osaka.
In addition to these two presentations, we’ll be having elections for next year’s officers.
Doors open at 1:00 pm and the discussion begins at 1:30. We should finish no later than 4:00, though officers may stay later.
Shizuoka Kyouiku Kaikan is located on Miyuki Dori, the main street going directly North from Shizuoka Station, and is located right across from Shin-Shizuoka Centre, facing the outside moat of Sumpu-park. It is a 5-7 minute walk North from Shizuoka Station, and there are maps of the area in the underground crossing area between the station and the downtown core.