ELT Calendar

Sunday, September 30th, 2007

IIEEC-Oxford University Press Teacher Training Certificate Program - Autumn Session (Workshop 3 and 4)
Time: 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Speaker: Qualified teacher-trainers from the IIEEC Teacher Training Center
Organization: Oxford University Press
Location: Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis
Short description: Workshop content has been developed by Ritsuko Nakata (co-author, Let's Go) in cooperation with Oxford University Press and is aimed at all teachers of young learners who wish to become more confident and effective teachers.

Exploring Presentation Skills
Time: 10:00 AM - 5:45 PM
Speaker: Keiji Nomura, Tim Knight, Peter Ross, Simon Stevens, Andy Boon
Organization: West Tokyo Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching
Location: Kokubunji City, Tokyo Metropolis
Short description: JALT West Tokyo Chapter in collaboration with Tokyo Keizai University announce the fifth in our series of micro-conferences, each featuring several presenters exploring a particular topic for a whole day.

Graphic Organizers for Content Learning
Time: 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Speaker: Heidi Evans
Organization: Toyohashi Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching
Location: Toyohashi City, Aichi Prefecture
Short description: Graphic organizers are instructional tools that help learners synthesize and organize new information in personalized, meaningful ways. In this workshop, participants will experience how concept maps, word webs, flowcharts, matrices, and Venn diagrams can be used to support vocabulary and content learning, as well as develop reading, writing, listening, speaking, and critical thinking skills.

Issues in the Teaching of Academic Writing
Time: 1:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Speaker: David Kluge
Organization: Nagoya and Gifu Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching
Location: Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture
Short description: The speaker will first describe some of the issues he has encountered in the teaching of research paper writing, like the teaching of academic writing conventions and the problems of translation and plagiarism.

Recipes for Success in Teaching Medical English
Time: 1:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Speaker: James Hobbs, Iwate Medical University
Organization: Iwate-Aomori Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching
Location: Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture
Short description: Authentic medical English is often assumed to be extremely difficult for the non-expert teacher to understand, let alone teach. The presenter will show that this is not in fact the case, and that a course that prepares learners to cope with complex technical terms and to identify the structure of and key information in authentic medical texts can be successfully taught by any experienced teacher willing to research the subject area beforehand.

Classroom Troubleshooting: A Diagnostic Approach
Time: 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Speaker: Cynthia Akazawa
Organization: ETJ Okayama (English Teachers in Japan)
Location: Okayama City, Okayama Prefecture
Short description: This workshop will deal with clarifying problematic situations in the classroom and devising action plans for effectively managing them. Sometimes a teacher may already understand problems that exist, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he or she has come up with a meaningful solution.

Students as Editors: Using Online Concordancers
Time: 2:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Speaker: Stephen Jennings
Organization: Gunma Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching
Location: Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture
Short description: This workshop will show how students are able to edit their written work after some language awareness activities and online concordance familiarity.

Is the controversial concept of the 'native speaker' relevant to the ELT classroom and profession?
Time: 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Speaker: Barry Kavanagh
Organization: Sendai Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching
Location: Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture
Short description: This research attempts to define the controversial concept of the 'native speaker' with a discussion of its varieties and the 'global norm,' and to investigate its validity within the ELT classroom and profession.

ETJ-Kobe Activity Jam and Thank You BBQ
Time: 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Speaker: Several local teachers
Organization: ETJ Kobe (English Teachers in Japan)
Location: Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture
Short description: Come on over to ETJ-Kobe on Sep 30 for our end of summer activity jam. We have several local teachers lined up to share with you their favorite warm-ups, fill-ins and/or adaptable activities for kid's classes.