ELT Calendar

Sunday, November 27th, 2011

2011 Conference of the JACET Kansai Chapter
Time: 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Speaker: Call for papers due September 15, 2011
Organization: Kansai Chapter of the Japan Association of College English Teachers
Location: Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture
Short description: The 2011 Conference of the JACET Kansai Chapter will be held at Mukogawa Women's University on Sunday, November 27. Members of the JACET Kansai Chapter are invited to present proposals for research papers, reports on classroom activities, poster sessions, workshops, and colloquia.

Learning World Intensive Workshop (Osaka)
Time: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Speaker: Matthew de Wilde, Hiromi Kawahara
Organization: Apricot Publishing
Location: Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture
Short description: Tricks and ideas that you can use in your lessons with any course book! Ideas to make a fun, supportive environment where your students flourish. The workshop will introduce tricks and ideas that you can use with the Learning World series.

Strategies for Generating Student Motivation
Time: 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Speaker: Andy Boon (Toyo Gakuen University)
Organization: Fukuoka Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching
Location: Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture
Short description: You walk into the classroom. The students are at the back chatting with friends, sitting in silence, checking their phones, or resting their heads on the desks.

Autonomy Mastery and Purpose
Time: 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Speaker: Tim Murphey
Organization: Shizuoka Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching
Location: Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture
Short description: Daniel Pink in his book DRIVE (2009) writes about how education and business have not kept up with research finding on motivation. Yes, we still sometimes are motivated by the old carrot and stick (positive reinforcement and threat of punishment) but more and more we are seeing people acting altruistically and irrationally refusing the carrots and not caring about the sticks.

How to Include Critical Thinking in the Classroom
Time: 2:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Speaker: Jennie Roloff Rothman
Organization: Gunma Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching
Location: Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture
Short description: Students today need to be both critical thinkers and global citizens; as such, their English education should reflect these goals. This presentation outlines an elective English course for university juniors and seniors entitled, Understanding World Politics (UWP) currently offered at Kanda University of International Studies.

More Learning with Less Teaching
Time: 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Speaker: Charles Adamson
Organization: Sendai Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching
Location: Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture
Short description: What is a teacher's most effective role in the classroom? Although the answer is complicated and many faceted, this presentation will address the question by describing various classes in which the teacher did not "teach" in the traditional sense and then evaluating the outcomes, compared to control classes where possible.

Innovation in Writing: Examining dialogues between instructors of English writing and Japanese learners of English
Time: 2:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Speaker: Marlen Elliot Harrison (University of Jyväskylä, Finland)
Organization: Nara Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching
Location: Nara City, Nara Prefecture
Short description: If innovation can be defined as a new method or idea, how do learners in the Japanese post-secondary classroom respond to innovations in writing curricula? Likewise, how do instructors develop and implement such innovations? Despite the plethora of studies documenting development of teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL), there has been little previous research in writing curricula investigated from two different perspectives such as the lived experiences of both learners AND instructors, or how the Japanese EFL writing context, itself, is a unique environment.

Redux: Fukuoka JALT Apple Store Workshop: iPad2
Time: 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Speaker: Apple Store
Organization: Fukuoka Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching
Location: Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture
Short description: In response to the overwhelming demand for the October workshop, the Apple Store have agreed to repeat this workshop for Fukuoka JALT, and this time, it's on a Sunday!This workshop will cover the basics of the iPad2 (also applicable to the iPad, for the most part).