Global Issues in Language Education Special Interest Group of JALT
Welcome
Welcome to the website of the Global Issues in Language Education Special Interest Group (GILE SIG) of the Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT). Our group works to promote global awareness, international understanding, social responsibility and action to solve world problems through content-based language teaching drawing on fields such as global education, peace education, environmental education and human rights education. Our GILE SIG produces a dynamic quarterly newsletter, organizes presentations for local, national and international conferences, and maintains contacts with organizations ranging from UNESCO and Amnesty International to Educators for Social Responsibility. Join us in teaching for a better world!
New Website
This re-designed GILE SIG website was launched in January 2007. We hope you enjoy the site, its new design and the many exciting features it offers. While the site is being updated, there may be occasional broken links and other technical issues. You can help us improve the site by sending your feedback or details of any problems you encounter to Albie Sharpe.
Special Features
As part of the site redesign, John Spiri has made a WIKI page, where Global Issues and Language teaching ideas can be exchanged. It's important for us all that this board is active, so please visit it post on it often! Other new pages include a multimedia page where videos and artwork can be displayed. Don't forget to check out the Peace One Day video that John has posted there.
Membership and Subscriptions
The Global Issues SIG warmly welcomes all those who wish to join our group. For JALT members, a one-year membership is 1500 yen. For non-JALT members, a one-year subscription to our quarterly newsletter is just 2000 yen. For details on membership and newsletter subscriptions, click here.
GILE Newsletter
The fall 2007 edition of our quarterly Global Issues in Language Education Newsletter includes reports on global education sessions at conferences in Japan (JALT, the JET Program) and Korea (KoTESOL). Featured articles introduce techniques for discussing global issues in EFL classrooms and a step-by-step guide on how to organize overseas eco-tours for Japanese college students. A special section profiles World Teachers' Day with quotes, books, videos and websites. Regular features include book reviews, news and announcements on global education events. To subscribe to the newsletter, click here. For back issues, click here.
Other news
PEACE AS A GLOBAL LANGUAGE CONFERENCE (PGL 2008)
This year's Peace as a Global Language conference will be held on the weekend of September 27 - 28 at Seisen University in Tokyo. The conference theme is " Imagining Ourselves in a World of Peace". The PGL committee welcomes presentations dealing with peace, the environment, human rights, intercultural communication, values, health, gender, media literacy, language education focusing on global issues and related topics. Take this chance to submit a proposal! Further information at: http://www.pgljapan.org
Deadline for submitting proposals: June 27, 2008
TEACHING ABOUT THE OLYMPICS
The 2008 Summer Olympic Games will take place August 8 - 24 in Beijing, China. Now is a perfect time to teach this topic in your language class to prepare your students for this special event. Our Global Issues SIG has prepared a rich variety of teaching activities on this theme, including Olympic readings, quotes, quizzes, games, discussions and more.
To access these activities, go to http://www.jalt.org/global/newsletter/53olympics.htm.
More activities can be found at http://www.jalt.org/global/newsletter/54index.htm.
To see our 2008 Beijing Olympic Student Worksheet, go to http://www.jalt.org/global/newsletter/54olympicws2.pdf.
JALT 2008 CONFERENCE (PAC 7)
JALT's fall 2008 international conference will be held Oct. 31 - Nov. 3 at the National Olympic Youth Center in Tokyo. This will be held on the theme of "Shared Identities: Our Interweaving Threads" as part of the seventh Pan-Asian Conference on Language Teaching (PAC 7). Further information at: http://jalt.org/conference.
ASIAN YOUTH FORUM (AYF)
A special Asian Youth Forum (AYF) will be held as part of the JALT 2008 / PAC 7 conference. This will bring together 100 college-age young people from Asia for seminars, workshops and events aimed at promoting international understanding, intercultural communication and leadership skills through the medium of English-as-an-international-language. Teachers who would like to help organize or support this event should contact Kip Cates at kcates@rstu.jp.
For further information, see the AYF Powerpoint at http://www.slideshare.net/steven.nishida/ayf-2008-intro/.