Learning to Teach, Teaching to Learn
Oct. 12-15 2012, Act City, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka
http://jalt.org/conference
Here you can find details of upcoming events held throughout Japan by our chapters and SIGs.
Click on the underlined links to see full event details.
Meetings are open to all, but an admission fee is usually required. JALT membership allows for either reduced or free membership to many of the events. Click on an event title to view full details.
Note that the calendar archives of events from 2001 to November 2008 are still available online.
Many of us language teachers consider getting a Master's, PhD, or graduate certificate part-time to be essential to our advancement, both in our careers and in our personal development. However, there are a number of concerns when considering such programs, like: what are the time and financial
commitments, or will benefits outweigh the costs?
Kyoto JALT and the Learner Development SIG will be holding a joint event consisting of workshops and a roundtable discussion for language teachers of learners from elementary school age to adults.
This special event will be an afternoon of three workshop-style presentations with a focus on audience participation and collaboration which will be full of activities and ideas with practical classroom application.
Kyoto JALT and the GALE-SIG are delighted to announce another one-day joint event scheduled for Sunday, October 30, 2011 from 10:00am at the Campus Plaza Kyoto. This event will be an opportunity to share your research as well as exchange ideas on gender and non- gender classroom activities. Abstracts for paper presentations are now being accepted. Please use the convenient online submission form.
Presentation practice session for JALT National . We will open up the floor for Kyoto members who are planning to present at the national conference in Tokyo. Join us in Kyoto for a sneak peak at what Kyoto members have in store!
Project based teaching has the potential for bringing the best out of students, both higher- and lower levels. It is an excellent way to get students motivated and work with their English in a productive and fun way. This presentation will bring together several teachers who practice project based teaching.
See http://www.kyotojalt.org/ for further details
In recent years, more and more research is being done examining the qualities of cognates in Japanese. While a handful of studies concentrate on the problems involved with cognate recognition, the majority of researchers view them as having a vast amount of potential in aiding language acquisition.
GALE will be holding a one day conference on May 28th at Kyoto University. This conference is an opportunity to share your research as well as exchange ideas on different aspects of gender and language education.
Inspire other teachers and help the victims of the Tohoku Earthquake
Kyoto JALT invites all members, friends and family to an informal hanami on the banks of the Kamogawa River (weather permitting) to share inspiration, food, and drink.
Do you have any books, websites, articles, podcasts, or teaching tips that has revolutionized your teaching? What has inspired your lately? Share some of your inspiration and passion for teaching!
If possible, bring your materials on this day and/or fill out this web form. Share your inspiration with other teachers!
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dDkzZEpmLVp2WDRyVmtTM0x...
Location: On the west bank of Kyoto's Kamogawa River. Take the Keihan Line to Demachiyanagi Staion (the last stop), exit towards the Eizan Train Line, cross the river and walk north on the west side of the river from the Demachiyanagi bridge until you see the Kyoto JALT sign. Call 080-3101-4595 (Bjorn) if you get lost or need directions.
What to bring: Kyoto JALT will supply some snacks and non-alcoholic drinks, plates, cups, chopsticks, and tarps to sit on. Please feel free to bring your own alcoholic beverages and food of your choice. Extra tarps are welcome!
Cancellation: In the event of rain or the very strong possibility of foul weather, the event will be cancelled. Check this site for status. Should the event be cancelled, the fundraiser will be held at the Kyoto JALT meeting on May 7th.
Cost: 1,000 yen suggested donation to the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami fund. The funds raised will be donated via NPO JALT National to be distributed on a proportional basis to approved Japan-based relief groups.
Time to get ready for the new academic year! Why not get some tips and ideas from fellow teachers? This Saturday we have an event open to all teachers, from experienced to newbie! It is an excellent opportunity for instructors to get some advice or offer suggestions on language teaching and learning. We have put together 3 excellent teachers who will share with you some of their experiences (see details below). Come and join, listen and learn and maybe you can share something with us as well.
Schedule:
11:15 Registration
11:30-12:00 John-Campbell Larsen: Strategy and discourse of questioning
12:10-12:40 Mizuka Tsukamoto: A cooperative reading activity
12:40-13:00 Break/Discussion
13:00-13:30 Richard Miller: Utilizing the Learning Portfolio in Classes
13:30- Closing remarks
John Campbell-Larsen
Momoyama Gakuin University
Strategy and discourse of questioning.
Asking questions to one’s interlocutor is a key part of any kind of naturalistic conversation. For many Japanese students of English, this area causes a multitude of problems. The grammar of question formation, lack of vocabulary and concerns about politeness and appropriateness often inhibit students in developing adequate questioning skills. Many students stick to well-rehearsed, generic questions that are basically transactional in nature, and the overall result is that many so-called ‘conversations’ more closely resemble interviews or interrogations. This presentation will detail ways in which students have been lead to a more naturalistic style of questioning through repeated practice of certain strategic and discourse patterns, such as strategizing around linguistic shortcomings by exemplification, signaling the phatic nature of the questions by personalizing and use of discourse markers. The presenter will detail classroom implementation of this approach, and provide handouts and worksheets as used in actual classes.
Mizuka Tsukamoto
Osaka Jogakuin College
A cooperative reading activity
Students find L2 reading materials difficult. Examples of the reasons are that they are unfamiliar with the topic and that the texts include too many words they do not know / understand. In the latter case, students spend a lot of time using their dictionary, word for word to check the meaning. This makes it difficult for them to grasp the ideas of the content. Covering the reading text in four stages and incorporating some pair work and group work, explained in this activity, enable students, especially in a class with both relatively weak and relatively strong, to grasp and to understand the content. The four stages include: context setting, pre-teaching vocabulary, skimming and reading for details. Students’ comprehensions of the reading are checked by comprehension questions within the activity.
Richard Miller
Kansai University
Utilizing The Learning Portfolio in Classes
Reflecting on what has been learned is an important and integral part of the learning process for several reasons. It allows the learner to reflect and to deepen the understanding of the skills and knowledge that they have acquired. In addition, the portfolio can become a record for the student to keep of what they have taken away from the class. For the instructor it can be a measure for the progress of the class and as a feedback tool to have the instructor understand what the learner thought was important. It can also be utilized as a testing device to test students speaking ability as well as a peer to peer reviewing exercise where students are able to compare and contrast with classmates. This presentation will explain how I successfully integrated this learning device in a communications course with students at Kansai University.
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