ELT Calendar

Saturday, June 16th, 2012

SCBWI Translation Day 2012: Bringing Japanese Teen Literature to the World
Time: 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Speaker: Alexander Smith, Holly Thompson, Lynne E. Riggs, Avery Fischer Udagawa, Juliet Winters Carpenter, Deborah Iwabuchi, Sako Ikegami, Hart Larrabee
Organization: The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Japan
Location: Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture
Short description: A day of presentations, critiques, and conversation for published and pre-published translators of Japanese children's literature into English, with a focus on young adult (YA) literature.

The 11th Annual JALT Pan-SIG Conference 2012
Time: 10:00 AM - 7:30 PM
Speaker: Plenary speakers Thomas Cobb (University of Quebec in Montreal), Hiromi Nagao (Hiroshima Jogakuin University), Toshihiko Shiotsu (Kurume University)
Organization: JALT PanSIG Conference
Location: Higashihiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture
Short description: The 11th Annual the JALT Pan-SIG Conference will be held on Saturday and Sunday, June 16th and 17th, 2012 at Hiroshima University. The theme of the conference is "Literacy: SIGnals of emergence.

Teaching listening and communication
Time: 10:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Speaker: David Paul
Organization: Language Teaching Professionals
Location: Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis
Short description: How can we develop children's listening and communication ability? The ability to communicate includes a variety of elements. This session will look at how these can be scaffolded over a period of time.

Oxford All-Japan Summer Tour for Teachers 2012 (Hachinohe City, Aomori)
Time: 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Speaker: Muro Yoko (Sendai), Gregory Anthony (Hachinohe University)
Organization: Oxford University Press
Location: Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture
Short description: From mid-June to late-September, Oxford University Press will be holding a tour of 30 cities across the country. There will be presentations at each venue on teaching pre-schoolers and children up to the age of 12.

Oxford All-Japan Summer Tour for Teachers 2012 (Machida, Tokyo)
Time: 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Speaker: Ishii Yoko (Yoko Kids' Club), Aurora Dobashi (Saitama Board of Education)
Organization: Oxford University Press
Location: Machida City, Tokyo Metropolis
Short description: From mid-June to late-September, Oxford University Press will be holding a tour of 30 cities across the country. There will be presentations at each venue on teaching pre-schoolers and children up to the age of 12.

Moodle Workshop (from beginner to advanced)
Time: 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Speaker: Thom Rawson (University of Nagasaki, Sasebo)
Organization: Nagasaki Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching
Location: Sasebo City, Nagasaki Prefecture
Short description: Moodle is a popular LMS used around the world as a collaboration tool for educators and learners alike. Its aim is to use web-based technology as a framework for course and classroom management.

Teaching writing
Time: 2:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Speaker: David Paul
Organization: Language Teaching Professionals
Location: Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis
Short description: Writing is the most difficult of the four skills, but mastering writing greatly improves the children's ability to internalize language. This session will look at how to teach writing in an effective way.

Workshop on Applying Conversation Analysis to Language Learning Contexts
Time: 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Speaker: David Aline, Yuri Hosoda
Organization: Okinawa Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching
Location: Nago City, Okinawa Prefecture
Short description: In this meeting, we will present and discuss the application of Conversation Analysis (Sacks, Schegloff, & Jefferson, 1974) to language classroom practices.

Controversies over the Current Policy of English Education by the MEXT and the Possible Contributions of Native and Non-native English Teachers
Time: 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Speaker: Hidetami Nakai, Tenri University
Organization: Nara Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching
Location: Nara City, Nara Prefecture
Short description: With the ever increasing dominance of English as the primary global language world-wide, many diverse perspectives about the status of English have become established.

A Virtual Asian Textbook Tour
Time: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Speaker: Najma Janjua, Kagawa Prefectural University of Health Sciences
Organization: Gifu Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching
Location: Gifu City, Gifu Prefecture
Short description: Can textbooks tell why Japanese lag behind other Asian countries on standard tests of English proficiency? This workshop will take the audience on a virtual Asian textbook tour with stops in China, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Taiwan.