Dear chapter members,
Hello everyone and it’s March already. Spring is around the corner and also the dreaded hay fever season. We hope you are handling everything in stride as we are between school years.
Before we get to the events, if you could take a few minutes of your time and give us some feedback by filling out this survey by clicking on the icon below or on the link:
https://forms.gle/ksT8q54WyeqYR81e7 we would very much appreciate it.
March 13th we will have a very interesting member spotlight featuring Edward Escobar and Angus McGregor presenting “A Model UN in a New Age of Social Distancing”.
Also, you still have a chance to view our event from January, Issues of Race and Native Speakerism in ELT, which was a great success with a great turnout. If you weren’t able to attend but would still like to hear what the speakers had to say just follow this link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMFeioihDfkPnl1qNxpDn9GSly7EvQ77F
The Social Justice + Language Teaching Working Group will hold their regular meeting on the 9th of this month at 2PM. If you are interested in joining, please fill out the registration form. Working Group Coordinator, Betsy Lavolette, will send out Zoom links closer to the day.
Finally, June 19th this year, Kyoto chapter is organizing a “Post”-Pandemic Practice Colloquium open to any researcher and educator from all chapters and contexts the opportunity to share what they are taking from their pandemic experiences into the “new normal”. If you are interested in submitting a proposal, please submit by April 18th: Proposal for "Post" Pandemic Practices Colloquium
Also, in this issue, you can find more details about JALT News, events throughout Kansai, calls for papers/proposals, and a request to participate in a questionnaire research project.
Kind regards, Richard Sparrow
Publicity Chair
On behalf of the Kyoto JALT Team
Kyoto JALT’s 2021 Event Schedule (Upcoming)
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A Model UN in a New Age of Social Distancing: Saturday, March 13th, 1PM-
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“Post”-Pandemic Practices Colloquium June 19th
Details about Kyoto JALT’s March Events
A Model UN in a New Age of Social Distancing
Date: Saturday, March 13th, 2021
Time: 1PM-
Zoom Link: http//bit.ly/SpotlightMarch
Keynote Speakers: Edward Escobar (Kyoto Gaidai Nishi High School), Angus McGregor (Kyoto Gaidai Nishi High School)
We all know the difficulties of transitioning to an all online approach this past year and the logistics are doubly so when approaching large scale events like conferences. Model UN’s are events where students can step out of the classroom and use their skills in a practical way to network and communicate with their peers in real time. This presentation outlines the positives and negatives of the 2020 online format for the Kansai High School Model United Nations, and how the size of the cohort of participants in an online environment can affect the engagement of its participants.
Kyoto JALT June Event and Call for Proposals
“Post”-Pandemic Practices Colloquium
Proposal deadline: Midnight, April 18, 2021
Event date: Saturday, June 19th, 2021, 1PM~
Submission Link: Proposal for "Post" Pandemic Practices Colloquium
News
JALT2020 Content on YouTube
https://youtube.com/c/JALTJapanAssociationforLanguageTeaching
Issues of Race and Native Speakerism in ELT Content on YouTube
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMFeioihDfkPnl1qNxpDn9GSly7EvQ77F
Drawing for Complimentary Membership to TESOL!
Seven (7) lucky JALT members will win one-year complimentary memberships to the TESOL International Association! You can see what kind of benefits are offered for TESOL members here:
https://www.tesol.org/abou.../membership/membership-benefits
Participants must be active and current JALT members, and not a TESOL member (or someone who has not been a TESOL member in the past five years). To sign up for your chance to win, please follow this link to our online sign-up survey:
https://forms.gle/QEbvALiLnDDvcXvR9
The deadline to sign up is March 31st, 2021, and seven names will be chosen at random from the pool of eligible applicants. The seven lucky winners will be announced this April. Good luck!
Call For Papers
MELTA Conference Call for Proposals
The JALT International Affairs Committee (IAC) is pleased to announce a unique opportunity to present at the upcoming Malaysian English Language Teaching Association (MELTA) Conference, which will be held online from 23-25 July 2021. Up to 20 JALT members can present at and join the conference free of charge. In order to be considered, you must be a current member of JALT. JALT will give a list of no more than 20 names to MELTA and these teachers’ conference fees will be waived and their presentation proposals will be unvetted.
Please see the MELTA website for further details about the conference, including the conference theme and the different presentation tracks (you can submit in tracks 1-6).
Conference Website: http://conference.melta.org.my/index.html
Deadline: Monday 22 March 2021
Submission Link: https://forms.gle/tDdyTy12XrJ8yWrW7
And please also submit your proposal via the MELTA website (see website address above)
Online Events
言語系学会連合2020年度公開特別シンポジウム (The United Association of Language Studies 2020 Annual Special Symposium) JALT Central
Date: Sunday, March 7, 2021 - 1:00pm to 3:15pm
Event Speaker: 野田 尚史 教授 (国立国語研究所) Dr. Hisashi Noda, National Institute of Japanese Language and Linguistics,チャールズブラウン(明治学院大学) Dr. Charles Browne, Meiji Gakuin University, 小張 敬之 教授 (青山学院大学) Dr. Hiroyuki Obari, Aoyama Gakuin University
Fee for JALT members: Free
Fee for non-JALT members: Free
Contact or Queries: Send Email
Event Theme: 緊急時の遠隔教育・遠隔学習における言語学と言語教育 (Linguistics and Language Teaching in the Age of Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning)
プログラム:言語系学会連合10年の活動と今後の展望 (10 Years of Reflecting on the United Association of Language Studies while Focusing on the Future) » 13:00 ~13:10 - Speaker - 野田 尚史 教授 (国立国語研究所), Dr. Hisashi Noda, National Institute of Japanese Language and Linguistics 2 部:公開シンポジウム3:15 ~14:00 - Speaker 1 - チャールズ ブラウン 教授 (明治学院大学), Dr. Charles Browne, Meiji Gakuin University » 14:05 ~14:50 - Speaker 2 - 小張 敬之 教授 (青山学院大学) Dr. Hiroyuki Obari, Aoyama Gakuin University 3 部:14:55 ~15:15 Panel Discussion / Q&A パネリスト(登檀順) Panelists in Order of Appearance: » 野田 尚史 教授 Dr. Hisashi Noda » 教授 チャールズブラウン Dr. Charles Browne » 小張 敬之 教授 Dr. Hiroyuki Obari
Online Meeting Link: 言語系学会連合2020年度公開特別シンポジウム The United Association of Language Studies 2020 Annual Special Symposium
Easy Graphic Design Tips Nagano JALT
Date: Friday, March 12, 2021 - 8:00pm to 9:00pm
Event Speaker: Miguel Mision (miguel.mision)
Fee for JALT members: Free
Fee for non-JALT members: Free
Contact or Queries: Send Email
Event Theme: Graphic design, powerpoint, posters
In a rush to quickly make some flashcards? Interested in making your worksheets look more appealing to your students? Or maybe you've been asked to make a poster and have no idea how to get started? Nagano JALT will be hosting a social event where Miguel Mision will share some tips on how to quickly and effectively use PowerPoint and Gimp (it's an actual program, relax) for your classes. This will be a social event, not a formal workshop. We welcome anyone with any expertise or tips on this topic to also share their tricks of the trade. This will be a free online event, hope to see you there.
Online Meeting Link: Easy Graphic Design Tips
Seven Things to Ponder when Going Online and Using Kialo Edu for EFL Debate Preparation Nagoya JALT
Date: Saturday, March 13, 2021 - 1:30pm to 3:30pm
Event Speaker: Adam Jenkins, Heather Woodward, and Laura Padfield
Fee for JALT members: Free
Fee for non-JALT members: Free
Nagoya JALT March meeting is held on zoom. Welcome to JALT members and non-members to improve language education. Free of charge. We have 2 presentations for you:
First, Adam Jenkins of Shizuoka Institute of Science & Technology will present about 'Seven Things to Ponder when Going Online'. 13:30 - 14:20.
Followed by Heather Woodward of Rikkyo University and Laura Padfield of University of Nottingham co-jointly presenting about 'Using Kialo Edu for EFL Debate Preparation'. 14:30 - 15:30.
If you are interested in joining the online event, please use this form: https://forms.gle/aZpqZsyas1da9LfP8 The zoom link will be informed later.
Contact: nagoyajaltprogram@gmail.com
Online Meeting Link: Google Form to access Zoom link
Effective Professional Development Activities West Tokyo JALT
Date: Saturday, March 13, 2021 - 1:30pm to 2:30pm
Event Speaker: Jennie Roloff Rothman
Fee for JALT members: free
Fee for non-JALT members: free
Contact or Queries: Send Email
Event Theme: Professional Development
This talk will begin with a very brief literature review on professional development before focusing on how Drago-Severson’s (2009) learning oriented leadership model of adult learning can be used to implement teacher professional development that respond to both teacher and institutional needs. The talk will first cover activities provided to foster collaboration, promote reflective practice, and encourage participation in the academic community. The workshop will then transition to a discussion of the affordances and challenges of creating a successful PD program in the hopes that attendees can leave with ideas that could be applied to their own teaching context.
Speaker: Jennie Roloff Rothman is a Principal Lecturer for Professional Development-Teacher Development in the English Language Institute at Kanda University of International Studies. She has been teaching in Japan for 16 years, 11 at the university level. She received her Masters in TESOL from Teachers College Columbia University in 2010.
Online Meeting Link: WTJ Zoom Meeting Link
Teaching Younger Learners: Ideas and Information KitaKyushu JALT
Date: Saturday, March 13, 2021 - 5:30pm to 7:30pm
Event Speakers: Chelanna White, Mark Fennelly
Fee for JALT members: Free
Fee for non-JALT members: Free
Contact or Queries: Send Email
For our March meeting, we will have two sessions focusing on teaching younger learners. Our first session with Chelanna White will begin at 5:30 pm and run until 6:10 pm. After a short break, our second speaker Mark Fennelly will talk from 6:15 pm onwards
Chelanna White Two Activities for High School Classes
Activity 1 - After attending a talk by Dr. Krashen and Dr. Mason hosted by Kobe JALT in 2019, I became interested in the Story Listening method for teaching and reinforcing vocabulary, and decided to try it out with the English club at two senior high schools in Kyoto. I have also used this method in full classes. I will introduce the Story Listening method and share my experiences in implementing it.
Activity 2 - I took the classic foreign language activity of using a simple map to show how to give directions, and gave it a Pokémon-themed spin. Using maps created for an unofficial role playing game based on the Pokémon franchise made the content more fun and relatable for the students (and me!). I share the resources I used to make the lesson, how I interpreted the map exercise, and a fun closing activity.
Chelanna White is a 4th-year ALT with the JET Programme and the Prefectural Advisor for Kyoto. She teaches primarily first year senior high school students. She is also the Co-Chair of Programming for the Kyoto JALT chapter.
Mark Fennelly Understanding and Applying the New Course of Study at Elementary School
Since the early 1990s the government has been implementing English at the elementary school level. From 2020 the new course of study for elementary school was introduced with foreign language activities required at the third and fourth grade and English being taught as a subject in the fifth and sixth grades. This change will be followed by the introductions of the new course of study and subsequent textbooks at junior high in 2021 and senior high in 2022. This presentation will offer background into the implementation of the new Course of Study and its implications at the classroom level. As a member of the committee which produced the course of study, the committee which developed the materials based on the course of study, and textbook development, the speaker hopes to offer insight into d the main aspects if the New Course of Study and offer concrete ideas, based on classroom research at research and local schools and textbook research, to identify how school English classes need to change in the future to follow the government outlines. A large change in teaching style and evaluation is expected throughout the school system.
Mark Fennelly is a professor at Shikoku University. He has 30 years teaching experience in Japan, with 13 years in elementary and junior school, and 17 years involved in teacher development at the university level. He has been involved in the production of Ministry of Education policy materials and related teaching materials.
This meeting will be held online over Zoom. Please contact us for the link.
Online Meeting Link: Zoom
IB FILM: Teaching and Designing a Western Curriculum in a Japanese Secondary School Context Fukuoka JALT
Date: Saturday, March 13, 2021 - 6:00pm to 8:00pm
Event Speaker: Cassidy Marra
Fee for JALT members: free
Fee for non-JALT members: 1,000 yen
In the spring of 2019, I was hired to be a Film Studies teacher in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program at Fukuoka Daiichi High School. There was no textbook, no curriculum, and the students were all Japanese sixteen year-olds with Eiken Pre-2nd and zero knowledge of film. The only thing I had were three externally assessed projects that the students needed to complete in English within the next fifteen months. This is the story of how I scratched together a Film Studies curriculum and helped my students pass the class.
In this workshop, I'll be sharing my experiences and challenges in creating a Film Studies curriculum at a Japanese high school. Although the subject matter in my class is "film," I think that the ideas we discuss here can be applied to any subject that is taken by non-native English speakers but taught and assessed in English. The curriculum I've designed is very much a work in progress and in constant need of retooling. As you learn about the standards of the IB Film Studies course, I hope you'll share your ideas.
Some of the topics we'll examine are:
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What is the IB program? What are the IB FILM assessments?
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What is the core content in IB FILM?
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Film Lesson Planning: Examples of IB FILM lessons
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Reverse-engineering the assessments: how I teach students to "beat" the assessments and why that's a good thing
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Specific challenges teaching a Western curriculum in a Japanese school context
Cassidy Marra
I've been a language teacher in Japan, Australia and Canada since 2005. I'm not a researcher nor am I a language acquisition theorist. I'm just a simple practitioner. I look at the task that my students need to complete, I assess the obstacles in completing that task, and then I do my best to help the students surmount those obstacles.
Online Meeting Link: See the Fukuoka JALT website for Zoom details
Ben Shearon: Retire Japan - Personal Finance for Residents of Japan Fukui JALT
Date: Sunday, March 14, 2021 - 4:30pm to 6:30pm
Event Speaker: Ben Shearon
Fee for JALT members: Free
Fee for non-JALT members: Free
Contact or Queries: Send Email
Event Theme: personal finance
Bio: Ben Shearon has been living and teaching in Japan since 2000. He started the Retire Japan website in 2013 to help provide information and advice about personal finance in English for people living in Japan.
Abstract: Many residents of Japan are worried about the future and want to save and invest, but don't know how to go about doing so. Many financial advisers and companies do not act in their clients' best interests due to financial incentives (many of them work on commission), and the only way to protect yourself from incompetent or predatory people is to be informed.
Retire Japan provides information and a venue to share experiences and support each other within our community.
Today's workshop is aimed at personal finance beginners and more experienced people. We
will have a 45-minute lecture where the basics of personal finance in Japan will be covered, followed by a 45-minute (at least) Q&A session. Please bring your questions, the more the better. We will be covering basic financial concepts, investing, Japanese tax-free accounts, real estate and insurance in Japan, pensions/nenkin, and where to open investment accounts.
Disclaimer: Ben Shearon provides information only. Nothing Mr. Shearon shares should be construed as investment advice. You must do your own research and make your own decisions. If in doubt, please consult a professional accountant or independent financial advisor
Online Meeting Link: signup form
The Growth of English-medium Instruction Programs at Japanese Universities: What role do language teachers play? Toyohashi JALT
Date: Sunday, March 21, 2021 - 1:30pm
Event Speaker: Howard Brown University of Niigata Prefecture
Fee for JALT members: Free
Fee for non-JALT members: Free
Contact or Queries: Send Email
In Japan, more and more universities are offering courses taught in English. On nearly 50% of campuses in Japan, students are studying economics, political science, history, chemistry, literature, linguistics, and more in English. This is an exciting new role for English on Japanese campuses but it also brings with it new challenges. In this presentation / workshop we will talk about the shifting definitions of EMI and the current realities of EMI implementation in Japan. Then we will focus on the role that language teachers are playing and can play in EMI programs. We will look at the specific needs that EMI students have and examine strategies that have been shown to be effective for supporting students as they make the transition from learning English to learning in English. (Online by 'Zoom')
Building Well-being for Teachers Using Positive Psychology Matsuyama JALT
Date: Sunday, March 21, 2021 - 2:00pm to 4:00pm
Event Speaker: Mary Nobuoka, Keio University/Waseda University
Fee for JALT members: Free
Fee for non-JALT members: Free
Contact or Queries: Send Email
Teaching can sometimes be a stressful and demanding profession, but it is also inspiring and energizing. How can teachers stay in the inspiring and energizing zone more often? In the past three decades, psychologists have started focusing on the thinking and behaviors that bring people fulfillment (Seligman, 2011). This talk will help teachers become more aware of their beliefs, understand the basics of positive psychology and give techniques and interventions to help build well-being. The group activities presented in the presentation will also serve as ideas for teachers to engage students when teaching online with Zoom and for face-to-face classroom activities.
Bio: Mary Nobuoka came to Japan in 1994 and teaches at Keio University and Waseda University. She has an unusual background for a language teacher in Japan: She received a BA in Fine Arts from the University of Illinois and an MA in Interdisciplinary Humanities with a focus in Philosophy from California State University. This background has enabled her to think outside the box and create a variety of content courses in leadership skills, economic trends and literature courses. In addition to language, Mary has also taught Japanese Ikebana. She holds teacher certification from the Sogetsu School of Ikebana and still practices the art regularly as part of her meditation practices. She lives in Yokohama with her Japanese husband,18-year-old-son and two adorable cats.
Online meeting details will be announced later.
My Share: Online teaching one year on Hiroshima JALT
Date: Sunday, March 21, 2021 - 3:00pm to 5:00pm
Event Speaker: Several people
Fee for JALT members: Free
Fee for non-JALT members: Free
From four to eight people who talked at Hiroshima JALT last May, as online classes were just beginning, will come back and tell us how it went. The speakers include a part-time teacher, a student, someone with a small language school, and more. We will use Zoom breakout rooms, so it will be enjoyable. For details and the Zoom link, see the Hiroshima JALT Newsletter, or the Hiroshima JALT homepage at Google.
JALT-Ibaraki Chapter March 2021 Online/ZOOM Meeting
Date:Saturday, March 27, 2021 - 9:40am to 12:00pm
Event Speaker: Jenny Numadate, Naoko Ochiai
Fee for JALT members: Free
Fee for non-JALT members: Free
Event Theme: JALT Ibaraki Chapter March 2021 Online Event with Two Presenters
Morning Program:
1. Presentation 1:
Title: Improving Student Confidence and Language Output Using a TBLT Textbook
Presenter: Jenny Numadate
2. Presentation 2:
Title: Digital Educational Tools for Online Lessons
Presenter: Naoko Ochiai
3. Short Business/Planning Meeting
Details (e.g., abstracts, bio-data, ZOOM Meeting access) will be forthcoming from our Program and Publicity Teams.
Creating Effective Professional Development Activities Gifu JALT
Date: Saturday, March 27, 2021 - 6:00pm to 8:00pm
Event Speaker: Jennie Roloff Rothman
Fee for JALT members: Free
Fee for non-JALT members: Free
Contact or Queries: Send Email
Event Theme: Professional Development
Abstract: This talk will begin with a very brief literature review on professional development before focusing on how Drago-Severson’s (2009) learning oriented leadership model of adult learning can be used to implement teacher professional development that respond to both teacher and institutional needs. The talk will first cover activities provided to foster collaboration, promote reflective practice, and encourage participation in the academic community. The workshop will then transition to a discussion of the affordances and challenges of creating a successful PD program in the hopes that attendees can leave with ideas that could be applied to their own teaching context.
Online Meeting Link: Online March Event
MyShare: Preparing for the new school year Sendai JALT
Date: Sunday, March 28, 2021 - 2:00pm to 5:00pm
Event Speaker: JALT Sendai members
Fee for JALT members: Free
Fee for non-JALT members: Free
Contact or Queries: Send Email
Event Theme: MyShare
We are looking for people to contribute to this annual ‘My Share” event. Help fellow teachers get ready for the new school year by sharing your ideas. Presentation length and contents are flexible. To participate or find out more, please contact us using the Call for Presenters form. Regardless of whether or not you plan to present, this is always a great meeting, so plan on attending.
Online Meeting Link: Register to get meeting information
JALT's Third Zoom for Professional Development (ZPD) JALT Central
Date: Sunday, March 28, 2021 - 8:00pm to 9:00pm
Event Speaker: Melodie Cook, JALT Director of Membership (Opening Remarks)
Fee for JALT members: Free
Fee for non-JALT members: Free
Join our third JALT Zoom for Professional Development event! This month, we're starting an hour later, at 8 PM. Register online to receive the Zoom link: http://bit.ly/ZPDRSVP
Opening remarks by Melodie Cook, JALT's Director of Membership, followed by icebreakers and networking, orientation for new officers and new members, as well as breakout rooms for discussing research and finding research collaborators, tips and best practices in teaching, and Q&A.
Online Meeting Link: Register for Zoom Link
Multilingual Café Other Language Educators
Date: Wednesday, March 31, 2021 - 7:30pm to 9:00pm
Event Speaker: Cecilia Silva, Adiene Roque de Hishiyama
Fee for JALT members: Free
Fee for non-JALT members: Free
Contact or Queries: Send Email
Event Theme: Multilingual Cafe: Spanish Language and Culture
The Multilingual Cafe of OLE SIG offers this time a special focus. In the first 45 minutes the meeting will provide an opportunity to encounter Spanish Language and Culture. In the second half we are going to use breakout rooms for the different languages. Languages may differ each time depending on the participants. In the last months we offered French, German, Spanish, Tagalog, Portuguese, Persian, Russian, and Hungarian. The rationale behind it is that JALT OLE SIG wants to provide a space to meet and share using languages other than English, creating a community of practice. This is the Multilingual Café: meet and chat in your favorite language. The languages available depend on the participants at the event depending on what languages the participants might speak. What is your favorite language? This event will be held regularly, sometimes focusing on one language sometimes with various languages. Interested? You are welcome to join! Lingua Franca are English and Japanese. – For more details see (https://sites.google.com/view/jalt-olesig/). Please use the signup form "Multilingual Cafe" below for receiving the meeting link. You will get the link the day before the meeting.
Online Meeting Link: Multilingual Café
Research Study Participation Request
Calling for participants to complete a brief survey (30 questions, approximately 10 minutes to complete) about professional development/faculty development at your home institution. The survey is open to full-time and part-time language instructors in higher education in Japan, and all participation is voluntary.
あなたの勤務している機関でのファカルティデベロップメント(FD)に関するアンケート調査へご参加いただける方を募集しています（全30問、回答所要時間約10分）。本調査は日本の大学の常勤職および非常勤職の言語教員を対象としています。ご参加は任意です。
If you are interested in completing the survey, please follow this link to read about the project in the informed consent form.
ご参加に興味のある方は、こちらのリンクから本調査の内容が記載されている同意書をご一読ください。
https://liberalarts.syd1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_doh8LZUz2s1nRCl
Finally,
Kyoto JALT on Social Media
Visit our website https://kyotojalt.org/
To keep up to date with all the things from Kyoto JALT via Facebook, please join our Kyoto JALT Facebook Group
Follow us on Twitter: @JaltKyoto
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