ELT Calendar

Sunday, June 24th, 2001

Teaching Culture Through Children's Literature
Time: 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Speaker: Susan Unher, Morioka University
Organization: Iwate-Aomori Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching
Location: Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture
Short description: Children's stories act as the stepping-stones into the realm of more sophisticated works to follow. Native speakers have this foundation of simplified but important humor, philosophy, and values of their society.

Pragmatics Miniconference
Time: 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Speaker: See the website for the list of speakers
Organization: Kobe Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching
Location: Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture
Short description: Kobe Chapter and Pragmatics SIG will sponsor a one-day mini-conference on pragmatics in language teaching. There will be a series of short presentations followed by a workshop on "The Contrast Culture Method.

Star Taxi
Time: 1:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Speaker: Marc Sheffner and Theo Steckler, DramaWorks
Organization: Nagoya and Gifu Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching
Location: Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture
Short description: Star Taxi is a fun new method and material for teaching English communication. It has an appealing quality that provides learners with practice in both linguistic and paralinguistic elements of communication and an enjoyable experience of learning.

English Teaching and Learning on the Internet - Current Status and Future Issues
Time: 1:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Speaker: Anthony Crooks, Miyagi Univeristy of Education
Organization: Sendai Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching
Location: Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture
Short description: Since the early 1990s, the Internet has become an increasingly viable venue for the teaching and learning of English. This communication system offers a treasure trove of materials and resources for students and teachers alike, and provides a wide variety of opportunities for English language practice and development.

What Do You Mean By "Native-like Pronunciation"?
Time: 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Speaker: Hayakawa Yasukiyo and Shibata Miki
Organization: Okinawa Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching
Location: Nishihara City, Okinawa Prefecture
Short description: The presenters will focus on how to develop Japanese ESL learners' pronunciation skills including voice production and stress, rhythm, and adjustments in connected speech.

Assessing Film Clips for Language Acquisition and Cultural Understanding
Time: 2:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Speaker: Steve Quasha, Gifu Shoutoku University
Organization: Gifu Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching
Location: Gifu City, Gifu Prefecture
Short description: In this workshop, participants will analyze and critique a variety of film clips for EFL class use. The presenter will demonstrate how movie segments can augment teaching interlanguage pragmatics to produce more natural L2 communication.