Teaching Younger Learners

Session 1

Presenter: Barbara Hoskins Sakamoto
Title: Adventures in Global Collaboration
Abstract: Once upon a time in the late 1980s, a publisher thought there might be enough demand to maybe justify the risk in creating a different kind of textbook for children learning English – a book specifically designed to teach English as a foreign language. With authors in different countries and editors in yet another country, and no Internet, collaboration was an adventure! In this session, Barbara will share how collaborative methods have changed since those early days of fax machines, conference calls, and hotel meetings. In addition to some (hopefully) entertaining stories, she will share some of the factors that she believes are essential in creating and sustaining a long-term collaborative team.
Bio: Barbara Hoskins Sakamoto came to Japan in 1985 with an MATESOL and a plan to teach for two years. While she has left the country since then, she always seems to return. Barbara is a co-author of one of the world’s best-selling textbook series for children learning English, Let’s Go (Oxford University Press), co-author of the online course, English for Teachers (International Teacher Development Institute), and author of the chapter, The role of technology in early years language education, in Early Years Second Language Education (Routledge, 2015). She is an English Language Specialist with the United States State Department and is Course Director for International Teacher Development Institute (iTDi.pro).

Session 2

Presenter: Mari Nakamura
Title: Promoting Young Learners’ Core Skills Through Intercultural Collaboration
Abstract: In this increasingly complex society, promoting young learners’ core skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, digital literacy, and collaboration must be considered indispensable. The importance of these skills was emphasized in the MEXT 2017 Course of Study, and as of the 2019 academic year, efforts to integrate these elements into English language instruction in elementary schools have begun. In this practical session, Mari will share her two most recent projects for students of different age groups, showing how developmentally appropriate intercultural exchange projects can help young learners attain these essential skills. By joining this session, participants will be able to explore the applicability of such projects to their own teaching contexts.
Bio: Mari Nakamura teaches young learners at her language school in Kanazawa while managing MELEP, a professional development community for teachers of young learners, and teaching part time at Kanazawa University. Her main interests are literacy education and intercultural exchange projects. Besides teaching young learners and collaborating with professionals, she loves listening to music and is always on the lookout for new up-and-coming artists.
Date:
Sunday, June 20, 2021 - 2:00pm to 5:00pm