Iwate Chapter

Current Status in English Classes at Elementary Schools (小学校英語活動の現状)

Presentation 1: Promoting Students' Foreign Language Communication Ability and General Studies: The IPU Case Study Presentation 2: University Students’ Perceptions on the Teacher’s Use of L1 in an English Classroom

Presentation 1:
Yoshiko Miyake

Promoting Students' Foreign Language Communication Ability and General Studies: The IPU Case Study

UNIVERSITY ACCREDITATION IN JAPAN: PROBLEMS AND POSSIBILITIES FOR EFL REFORM; IWATE JALT ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

As of 2004, all universities in Japan must submit to an external accreditation evaluation, to be repeated every seven years. The universities are to receive detailed written assessments in multiple categories from one of the four official accrediting agencies. These assessments are to be publicized. The universities also receive grades: pass, probation, and fail.

Presentation1: Typography and document design for classroom materials; Presentation2: Japanese copyright law and authentic materials: What teachers need to know

Presentation 1
Typography and document design for classroom materials

Building a Course in Extensive Reading for Non-English Majors

Ken will describe his university-level, elective EFL course focusing on extensive reading with graded readers. Because this is the only English course many of these non-English majors take in a given year, speaking, listening and writing — in addition to reading — are brought into play, with in-class emphases on interactive book- and vocabulary-related activities, and reading speed.

Three Small Out of The Box Ideas about Learning

1) Information is overrated; questions create curiosity. 2) Success is overrated; challenge is what we crave. 3) Teaching / telling is overrated; experience drives learning. I will look at recent findings from brain sciences and education and walk you through each of these and then provide some practical directions for teachers to go in.

Using Cell Phones in Language Classes

Instead of forbidding cell phone use in English classes, I welcome cell phones and use them as learning tools. In classrooms without Internet access, cell phones can provide a valuable link to the outside world for teachers to take advantage of.

ICT Contents English Project at Iwate University

The presenter will outline the ICT contents project at Iwate University. The focus of this project is to create ICT contents packages that use video content combined with curriculum to teach students their subjects in English. The focus is not teaching English, but using English to teach. This project connects university departments under one English umbrella and provides students with a more applicable English learning experience. The underlying theory of the project is the concept of expansive learning through the Activity Theory. It also incorporates the concept of Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development through social interaction by promoting collaboration using moodle as the delivery package. The project uses ICT contents from a variety of sources such as iTunesU, YouTube, TED.com, and affiliate universities and packages them into a sleek online based curriculum package that users will be able to access from anywhere. The curriculum will give the students the chance to learn to explain topics, build vocabulary, view videos and animations applicable to their majors, and experience parts of lectures from professors in other universities from around the world. Since the project is internet based, it will also provide students the chance to collaborate through wikis, do video journals and do self study and group study with online quizzes and self assessment tests. Teachers will be able to use identical functionality, but can also use the assessment functions of the software and the uploading capabilities of the server to bring about a paperless environment, provide on-line tests and use very powerful course organization tools. The outline of our university project aims to combine moodle with curriculum content that aims to enhance students’ experience of English.

Project Leader: Natsumi Onaka, Associate Professor, International Center
Project Manager: Mark de Boer, Faculty Project Manager, International Center
Project Instructor: Simon Townsend, Instructor

At this presentation, Simon Townsend will be representing Iwate University ICT Contents Project.

"Gradual Release of Responsibility in the Classroom: Using Debate to Bring About Learner Autonomy and Critical Thinking"

Wayne Malcolm, President of Akita-JALT, will conduct and facilitate two presentations - one real presentation, and one workshop. The first one will take a look inside his university classroom and how he uses debate to promote learner autonomy and critical thinking. In the second one he will show you a few activities he does to promote student-to-student interaction in all sorts of classrooms. His idea is to use the time to provide opportunities for all sorts of language teachers to gain something. See the following descriptions for further details about each session.

Presentation #1:

"Gradual Release of Responsibility in the Classroom: Using Debate to Bring About Learner Autonomy and Critical Thinking"

I firmly believe that learners need to experience a sense of autonomy, and be pushed to think critically. This presentation will show what I have been doing in my university classes to promote this. Using debate as a central tool I try to place the responsibility for learning in the hands of my students. Throughout the semester I gradually step back and release them from my control. I have found that the students rise to the challenge, take control of their environment, and push themselves in demanding ways. I'll share with you my textual inspiration for this as well as a guided tour of my class. I would like to gain your insights. All voices are welcome and appreciated.

Presentation #2:

"Tricks of the Trade: Interactive Activities for All Levels"

This will be mostly a workshop oriented session where I will share with you some things I do in my classrooms that places a focus on student-to-student interaction. Many of these activities can be adapted for all levels, and in some cases ages. Being blessed to have classes that range from kindergarten to seniors I have tested many of these things. Some were hits, others were.....well, let's say in need of refinement. In any case, I will share and I expect you to share as well. Bring your ideas and let's see how we can adapt them for all learners.

JALT2010 Four Corners Tour Balsamo Asian Scholar Visit

Teaching and Learning English in Cambodian High Schools:
Challenges and Prospects
English was introduced to high schools in Cambodia as a foreign language component of the high school curriculum in 1992. Despite some significant progress since its inception, the teaching of English has, however, faced considerable challenges in terms of class size, methodology, syllabuses, enthusiasm, students’ proficiency level, and learning environment. Many high school teachers seem complacent about the way they teach English, for they believe that as long as they stick to the syllabuses which were adopted by the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports for all high schools, they have achieved their course goals. Also, many students take a carefree attitude towards English learning. As a result, they end up having enormous difficulty with English communication despite six years of English study, from grade seven to grade twelve. This paper will identify the challenges that impede the progress of English teaching and learning in Cambodian high schools and look at the chances of its success in an attempt to revitalize the ELT field in high schools in particular and in Cambodia as a whole.

Om Soryong is currently the deputy head of the English Department of the Institute of Foreign Languages, Royal University of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. He holds a Master’s Degree of Science in Instructional Design from Southern Illinois University, USA and a Graduate Diploma in TESOL from the University of Canberra, Australia. He has been involved in curriculum/syllabus design and development and teaching English as a foreign language in the Bachelor of Education in TEFL and Bachelor of Arts in English courses at the Institute of Foreign Languages for more than 10 years. His areas of expertise include teaching methodology, translation, curriculum development, and instructional design. He has a special interest in learner motivation and the use of humour in the classroom. He is also a member of the CamTESOL steering committee.