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.
