JALT Event

Since the advent of Communicative Language Teaching methodology, many highly effective language learning techniques and promising avenues of research have been abandoned on the grounds that they were not sufficiently ‘communicative’ or ‘authentic’. These include things that many successful language learners swear by, such as rote learning, memorization, substitution, drilling, grammar-translation, and error analysis. Despite this ‘progress’, there is no evidence whatsoever to suggest that Japanese students learn any more English now than their parents did – and many people believe that the opposite is true. In this presentation, I will introduce a new range of materials, which follow a ‘back-to-basics’ approach focused on what actually works for Japanese learners, and discuss the principles and research evidence on which they are based.
The annual bonenkai will follow the meeting.

Come to the end of the year JALT Omiya My-Share where anyone in the audience can share their favorite lesson ideas and activities. Ideas and activities from all levels, elementary through university and conversation school classes are welcome!
Bonenkai (the end of year party) will occur afterwards at a nearby establishment.

JALT's National Directors, Chapter and SIG representatives, and appointed national officers from throughout Japan are meeting in Osaka this weekend for business meetings required by NPO rules and will be coming to The Beer Company on Saturday evening to continue discussions and let off steam. All are welcome and encouraged to come and mingle with all sorts of fellow language teachers at this lively event.
Please be sure to contact osakajalt@yahoo.com by 9:00 pm on Friday, Feb 6, if you'd like to reserve a seat with us and the dinner set with all you care to drink (4000 yen) or just the all you can drink set (2000 yen). You can also order a la carte. We hope to see you there!

Changes in classroom practice generally have a ripple effect. For example, a teacher’s primary reason for learning their students’ names might be to simply foster a caring environment in the classroom. But students also stay more motivated when the teacher knows their names, and teachers are better equipped when problems do arise in the classroom or when assessment time rolls around.
The first half of this presentation will focus on small changes that teachers can make in the classroom that aid student learning either directly or indirectly. They include actions taken by the teacher as well as ways of organizing classroom activities. Participants will explore how the suggested actions help student learning and will be challenged to transform their teaching by making one change in their classroom practice.
In the second half of the presentation we will look at ways teachers can sustain their energy and enthusiasm for teaching by engaging in professional development outside of the classroom. Keeping a teaching journal, participating in professional organizations (like JALT) or enrolling in courses are just some of the ideas that we will discuss. The ideas presented are not meant to be an exhaustive list. Please come prepared to share your own ideas and experiences.
Wilma Luth earned her MA-TESOL at SIT (the School for International Training) and is a licensed trainer in SIT’s TESOL Certificate Course. She’s the current president of Hokkaido JALT and is looking forward to starting a full-time position at Hokkai Gakuen University in April. Her professional interests include learning strategies and reflective practice.
The meeting will start at 6:30 (doors open at 6:00). Join us for dinner and/or drinks afterwards at the Indian restaurant on the fifth floor of the OCAT building, just one floor above the meeting venue.

Whether so stated or not, the goal of foreign language instruction is to promote bilingual and bicultural abilities. Developing such abilities, however, involves more than knowledge and skills, but also appropriate attitudes and self-awareness. Because of its complexity, unfortunately, bilingualism is often not well understood by language teachers or even by bilingual speakers themselves. This workshop explores its multiple aspects --types and profiles of bilingual behavior, diverse patterns of bilingual development, and dual language use.

The presenter will share recent findings from an on-going research project investigating the effects of overseas high school and university study on the development of Japanese EFL writers' academic writing in English and Japanese. The findings show that writers tend to transfer writing knowledge and text features across languages, which can lead to high writing quality in both languages.

There will be a Third International Wireless Ready Symposium examining the role of digital technologies and language education on 20th February 2009 in Nagoya.

Wireless Ready is a simultaneous real and virtual world / Second Life event.

Keynote speakers
Dr Gary Motteram, University of Manchester, UK / IATEFL Learning Technologies SIG coordinator
Pete Sharma, Oxford Brookes University, UK / author of Blended Learning and Business English (Macmillan)
Nik Peachey, ICT Consultant

Webpage: http://wirelessready.nucba.ac.jp
Register: http://wirelessready.nucba.ac.jp/register.html
Call for papers: http://wirelessready.nucba.ac.jp/cfp2009.pdf

Ms. Ohama is third generation Japanese Canadian who has produced seven full length feature films centering on the struggles of people, including working and living in a foreign country, the suffering of Japanese Canadians during the Second World War, etc.. Her latest film, "Obachan's Garden", has won international acclaim. She is also very interested in story-telling. Her work is certainly relevant to us as language educators in Japan. You can preview her work by going to her website at www.lindaohama.com. Please join us for a very interesting afternoon!

What is the true meaning of the mean? During this unique and fun workshop designed for those who don't like numbers, the presenter will guide participants in an exploration of statistical concepts and reasoning. The primary goal is to deepen participants' understanding of statistics and demonstrate techniques for self-study. During the workshop, participants will solve quantitative riddles that are loosely modeled after Zen koans and carefully designed to lead participants to higher levels of quantitative clarity.
The meeting will be followed by a bonenkai at the amazing Pashiya Turkish restaurant < http://r.gnavi.co.jp/c675400/ >. The set menu with nomihodai is 5000 yen for men and 4300 for women. Space is limited to 24, so please contact kobejalt@gmail.com soon to reserve yourself a place!

Little is known about the actual processes students follow when responding to end-of-semester student evaluation of teaching surveys (SETs). What do first year university students think about their English learning experiences, and do these experiences influence how they evaluate their university English classes? This presentation will explore these and other questions and share results of the presenter's study of 144 first year university students' beliefs about their English learning experiences and whether these beliefs have influenced how they evaluate.
Peter Burden holds an EdD in TESOL from Exeter University in his native Britain and has presented widely on student evaluation in Japan, Korea and Australia. He has published in “Teaching and Teacher Education”, “System” and “Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education” journals and has served on the evaluation committee at his university. He currently serves as an officer for his university kumiai (union).