JALT Event

“My talk is largely based upon a study of acoustic analysis of how the subordinate conjunction 'that' is realized by 25 subjects (Kio University, Freshmen). To be more specific, the way in which it is produced, is investigated in terms of ‘PITCH’ (Hz) and ‘POWER’ (dβ) by means of the VISA-PITCH. As a result, a wide discrepancy between Herz and Decibel in their speech is found out, a result of which leads to the lack of communicative value in the realm of communication.”

Awareness of one’s own experiences as they occur, called mindfulness, can be an effective tool for treating physical and psychological symptoms of stress and trauma and has recently been rigorously tested in the medical and health fields. This presentation defines the meaning and role of experience as it pertains to education and language and introduces a mindfulness-based listening and pronunciation task employed in a college freshman EFL class over the course of one semester. Student feedback reported improved concentration, listening comprehension, and pronunciation ability. This type of approach in the EFL classroom can be an enlightening and effective tool for students by helping them concentrate on their subjective experiences of linguistic input, processing, and output.
At the end of the presentation, Barry will conduct a 40-minute meditation session. Bring your own cushion if
you so desire!
Barry Grossman was born in Brooklyn, New York. He has an MA in Linguistics and TESOL.
He currently teaches English full-time at Hachinohe University in Aomori-ken in addition to
teaching yoga in his own studio, which he opened in July 2006.
Hobbies include reading, travelling, hiking, golf, and ice hockey.

For our ninth meeting of the year, we are very pleased to welcome April Alcazar, our special guest presenter. She is the Teachers Helping Teachers co-ordinator in The Philippines, and is Adjunct Professor at the Asian Institute of Management. For more information on her topic, please see our chapter websites and Facebook Group site, or see her article in the July TLT (pp. 32-34) and a profile about her in the September TLT (pp. 28-29) Nagasaki JALT has contributed to the funding for her tour.
Cost: members and students, free. "One day" members - Y1000. (2 for 1 offer: bring a first timer to a meeting, and each of you pays Y500.)
Postscript: we are holding chapter executive elections for 2010 from 11/8-11/18, and winners will be announced at this Wednesday evening meeting.
All welcome!
* 次回：2009年11月18日（水）18:30-20:30
* 場所：出島交流会館4F
* 発表者：エイプリル・アルカーザ
* 演題：「機能的識字理論及び文脈学習理論の英語学習への応用」
* 参加費：会員・学生—無料　非会員—Y1000.
「非会員が初めての人を連れてきた場合はそれぞれ500円でOK」

Wiltshier: 10 challenges, 10 Solutions, Firsthand
Challenges can be problems but they don't need to - this presentation will offer solutions to 10 common challenges that we as teachers face day to day. These common challenges range from how to effectively engage students and move them beyond mechanical repetition to ways to find time for ourselves to develop as teachers. The new edition of English Firsthand incorporates all the solutions that will be presented including a built-in series of steps for teacher development and your very own drama coach!
Kamimura: Versant™ - Introduction of Genuine English Proficiency Test
Versant™ automatically evaluates the spoken English skills of non-native English speakers, using speech processing technology and the advanced science of linguistics. Versant™ has been used worldwide by universities, companies, and governments for a large variety of applications. In this presentation, you will find out more details about Versant™ and how Versant™ is used in different institutions, with co-presenter, Ian Munby from Hokkai Gakuen University.

This event will have three presentations. Doors open at 12:45.
1:00-1:40 Douglas Meyer - Job-Hunting Workshop
The present-day language teacher needs much more than a university degree and a winning smile. Drawing on his own experiences and those of participants in this interactive workshop, he'll offer tips and ample resources to help sharpen your skills and improve your chances of landing the job you're looking for.
Doug Meyer has been teaching EFL in Korea and Japan since 1995, currently at Momoyama Gakuin High School in Osaka. He recently completed his MA in the Temple University Linguistics program. He is Publicity Chair for Osaka JALT and Coordinator of JALT's Job Information Center.
1:50-2:50 Matt Smith - Words, Types and Patterns: an Investigation
This presentation suggests an approach to grammar that does not rely on syntactic trees or exhaustive categorisation of parts of speech and clauses. Instead, using only the most simple coding, words are analysed by their behaviours and the patterns that they typically create. By applying this approach, words can be categorised into 'families' for a more organic and authentic description of language. Participants will engage in concordancing tasks with genuine corpus texts to investigate and evaluate this approach.
The presentation will include a brief description of how this approach is being applied to the analysis of the Chubu PASEO Learner Corpus.
Matt Smith received his MA in Applied Linguistics from the University of Birmingham. He has been teaching in Japan for nine years, currently at Chubu University in Aichi prefecture in both the Humanities department and in the Preparation for Academic Study in English Overseas (PASEO) programme. His areas of interest include the lexical approach to language description, written discourse analysis, and the study of super corpora and learner corpora for better informed teaching practices.
3:10-4:50 Gerald Williams, Jonathon Aliponga, Jonathan Watkins, Craig Gamble, Michael Wilkins, and Eugene Vakhnenko - Integrating Part-time Instructors in a Coordinated Curriculum
English courses are compulsory at university. After six years of required English courses, it is unsurprising if unsuccessful students show a lack of interest in English upon entering university. Part-time instructors are often given little direction and support to determine what to teach and how to positively affect students' overall English learning. This seminar will introduce a coordinated program with a focus on, first, structures that aim at improving student English level and, second, the role of part-time instructors. The presenters will do a short introduction on each segment, followed by discussion from the participants. The segments will include using English, dealing with homework, and socializing, among other things.
Gerald Williams is Chair of the Department of English Education at Kansai University of International Studies, Amagasaki, Hyogo.
Jonathan Aliponga is Program Coordinator in the Department of English Education at KUIS.
Jonathan Watkins, Craig Gamble, Michael Wilkins, and Eugene Vakhnenko
are part-time lecturers in the Department of English Education at KUIS.

5:30-7:30 Dinner, drinks, and further discussion will follow the presentations at Satoyama dining restaurant http://r.gnavi.co.jp/k593000/ on the 17th floor of the Terminal Building (near Hankyu Umeda station). All you can eat dinner buffet is 2,480 yen, and with all you can drink add 1,050 yen. If you're unable to attend the afternoon sessions but would like to join us at the restaurant, please contact us before Sunday 10/25 at osakajalt@yahoo.com so we can reserve you a seat.

Dr. Mella-Alcazar, who speaks six languages, will explain how the Philippines achieved its high level of English through the application of two theories of learning: the functional literacy theory and the contextual learning theory. She will use her own experience of learning Japanese to illustrate these two theories. Amihan April C. Mella-Alcazar is the JALT Asian School for 2009.
(Event co-sponsored by Seinan Jo Gakuin University English Department, as part of the Seinan Lecture Series)

Get a taste of the JALT conference when we invite three conference speakers to do a practice run as well as hold the elections for Kyoto Chapter Officers for 2010.
Schedule
2:00 – 2:15 Set up and registration
2:15 – 2:35 Metaphorical patterns in textbook prefaces (Kim Bradford-Watts)
2:35 – 2:45 Q & A + Feedback
2.45 – 3:05 The Nuts & Bolts of ER (Bjorn Fuisting)
2:05 – 3:15 Q & A + Feedback
3:15 – 3:30 Break
3:30 – 3:50 Using Movies with Graded Readers (Michael Furmanovsky)
3:50 – 4:00 Q & A + Feedback
4:00 – 4:45 Chapter business meeting with 2009/2010 chapter elections
4:45 Pack up and cleaning
5:00 Election party at ???
Presenter: Kim Bradford-Watts
Title: Metaphorical patterns in textbook prefaces (poster session)
Abstract: Our thought processes are largely metaphorical, and metaphors are incorporated into larger metaphorical patterns in texts in order to create cohesion and consistency and to lessen cognitive load. This presentation describes the major metaphorical patterns discovered through analysis of a sample of the prefaces of 25 textbooks written in English. The study investigated the major patterns that emerged, the entailments, and implications for those working in EFL education.
Presenter: Bjorn Fuisting
Title: The Nuts & Bolts of ER
Abstract: Want to start an ER program? Have one but it isn’t going the way you hoped? Or just want to borrow some ideas? This presentation is for you.
The presentation will go through the basics of putting an ER program together and re-organizing one, everything from getting the budget, selecting the books, organizing the levels to activities, book reports and projects you can do. As well as what the students think and where the future of ER is going.
Presenter: Michael Furmanovsky
Title: Using Movies with Graded Readers
Abstract: Many of the most popular Graded Reader titles are also literature classics. At their best, Level 3-6 Readers based on these novels, can and do capture some of the power and appeal of the original story, despite the need to cut many details of their intricate plots. Almost invariably, however, the compromises involved in making them into Readers--especially the removal of rich vocabulary designed to reduce headword counts--results in a loss of the charm and appeal that characters in the full-length novel possess. It also makes it more difficult for the instructor to use the characters in the book as a vehicle for teaching vocabulary, especially adjectives that can describe the personality traits, values and ways of thinking exhibited by these characters. By using short segments from the best movie versions of these novels, however, students who are reading the same novel in a class, can not only enjoy seeing scenes that they have read come to life--a highly motivating experience--but also engage more deeply with the key characters' personalities, thus giving the instructor a chance to introduce or teach vocabulary that may not actually appear in the Reader, but is highly appropriate to these characters.

The goal of this presentation is to provide language teachers with the theoretical knowledge and practical skills needed to plan, develop, and implement a systematic language curriculum. The presentation will provide an overview of the field of curriculum including topics such as: the philosophical foundations of curriculum; the role of society and culture in curriculum development; and learning theory and human development as considerations for curriculum design. The focus will be on educational practice and language curricula in Japan. This event is sponsored by Temple University Japan.

What is a Moot? It is a conference or series of workshops to learn about Moodle, the very popular open-source Course Management System. Attendees vary in expertise from newbies to developers and administrators.
Who can attend? anyone interested in learning (more) about Moodle, or anyone wanting to present about Moodle.
For more information, go to: http://vle.c.fun.ac.jp/moot2010/

The West Tokyo Chapter of JALT (Japan Association for Language Teaching) is pleased to announce our ninth micro-conference, which is devoted to the work of Sandra Savignon, with presentations on Communicative Competence, Theory vs. Practice, Second Language Acquisition Research, Teaching Strategic Competence, and Learner Attitudes and Interests.
10:15 — Doors open
10:30-12:00 — The Quest for Communicative Competence: From Theory to Local Practice
In this workshop, we review the basic principles of CLT along with examples of efforts to develop more communicative classroom instruction in a variety of Asian settings. Emphasis will be on CLT as an approach as opposed to a method of language teaching. Although CLT is indeed an international initiative, the complexity and diversity of language learning contexts also necessitate an important role for local teachers and methodologists in developing methods and materials appropriate for the communicative needs of the learners they serve.
12:00-13:00 — Lunch
13:00-14:30 — Second Language Acquisition Research and the Teaching of Strategic Competence
In this workshop, we consider both naturalistic and classroom SLA research that supports current recommendations for communicative L2 materials and methods. Special emphasis will be given to the presenter’s own widely-cited 1972 empirical study of adult classroom learners of French, and the recognition of strategic competence as an important component of communicative competence.
14:45-16:15 — Learner Attitudes and Interests: Pedagogical Implications
Success in learning to use a second language probably depends on the learner’s attitude more than on any other variable. In this workshop, we look at what are collectively known as affective variables in language learning, and how the community, teachers and classroom practice influence learner attitudes and expectations.
16:30-17:00 — Feedback Session
An opportunity for you, the audience, to have your say on the ideas, themes, and issues raised today.
Bio Data
Sandra Joy Savignon is Professor Emerita of Applied Linguistics at The Pennsylvania State University. She is a past president of the American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL) and the founder and longtime director of the multidisciplinary doctoral program in Second Language Acquisition and Teacher Education (SLATE) at the University of Illinois. Throughout her career she has traveled in North and South America, Europe, and Asia, consulting and giving seminars on communicative language teaching. Her book Communicative Competence: Theory and Classroom Practice, won the Modern Language Association of America’s Mildenberger Medal for an outstanding research publication in the field of second/foreign language teaching. Her most recent book is Interpreting Communicative Language Teaching: Contexts and Concerns in Teacher Education, Yale University Press (2002). She and her husband Gabriel are the parents of three bilingual children, now grown with families of their own.