West Tokyo JALT:

The JALT 3rd Annual Joint Tokyo Conference

Date: Sunday, October 5th, 2008 Time: 9:45 AM - 5:30 PM

Speaker: Rob Waring, Neil Cowie, Keiko Sakui, Kevin Ryan, Alastair Graham-Marr, Tomio Uchida, and Alan Bossaer

Description:
For the most recent information, be sure to check the Joint Tokyo Conference website.

Description: 9.45-10.15: Registration

10.15-11.00: Some ideas for blending technology into the ELT Classroom
Kevin Ryan (Showa Women's University)
Where exactly does technology meet with the traditional classroom interface to make the most of a blended learning program? What kind of considerations are important in choosing, adapting and using technology as part of a skills program? How will the recent innovations of Web 2.0 affect use of IT in language learning? Do teachers and students (want to) understand and harness technology for the classroom? We look at some typical language learning software to show examples of ways technology can fit and fill instead of fight and frustrate.

Kevin Ryan has taught in Barcelona, Chicago, Nanjing and Tokyo. He began teaching in language labs in the early 90's, and has since moved most of his materials and approaches online, but still values the personal interface, especially here in Japan. Past President of the CALL SIG (twice) and editor of the CALL newsletter, Kevin is now taking care of JALT's money until November. See kevinryan.com for more details.

11.15-12.00: Exploring how to use a corpus in oral communication courses
Tomio Uchida (Meisei University)
Making the best use of relatively challenging but interesting ELT course books, how can we effectively teach oral communication courses? Utilizing applied corpus linguistics, I will present some innovative ideas we can apply to listening/conversation lessons and demonstrate the use of corpus-driven learning/teaching materials. Through illustrating the pedagogical applicability of corpus linguistics methodology in preparing and teaching oral communication courses, I wish to clarify some practical benefits of corpus linguistics.

Tomio Uchida has been teaching at high schools and universities for over 20 years, and is currently a lecturer at Meisei University in Tokyo. His current research interest is in applied corpus linguistics and he has recently been working on learner corpora and corpus-based dictionary projects.

12.00-13.15: Lunch

13.15-14.00: Beyond motivation: Exploring group dynamics, investment and resistance in Japanese EFL students
Keiko Sakui (Kobe Shoin Women's University) and Neil Cowie (Okayama University)
Research on individual differences in student motivation often assumes that students are either motivated or not motivated, but this can cover up complex and evolving reasons for student behaviour. The two presenters critically examine student classroom behaviour from alternative perspectives to motivation including group dynamics, investment and resistance. Key patterns of student behaviour, the influence of social and cultural factors in explaining them, and implications for teaching and teacher development are outlined.

Keiko Sakui is Associate Professor at Kobe Shoin Women's University, Japan. Her research interests include learner and teacher beliefs about language learning. She is particularly interested in student resistance, learner motivation and classroom management from language teachers' perspectives. Neil Cowie teaches English in the Foreign Language Education Centre at Okayama University, Japan. He is especially interested in emotional aspects of studying and teaching foreign languages, and classroom applications of socio-cultural theories of language learning.

14.15-15.00: Building an interesting Extensive Reading library
Rob Waring (Notre Dame Seishin University)
This presentation will focus on ways to build variety into your extensive reading library by introducing both fiction and non-fiction materials as well as native materials suitable for your students. Ideas for student generated and student graded materials will also be presented. We will then discuss ways to present the library in such a way that would attract students to reading extensively.

Dr. Rob Waring is an acknowledged expert in Extensive Reading and second language vocabulary acquisition. He is Associate Professor at Notre Dame Seishin University in Okayama, Japan. Professor Waring is a board member of the Extensive Reading Foundation.

15.15-16.00: The benefits of output: an evolving understanding
Alastair Graham-Marr (Tokai University)
Does student output enhance language learning? Although most teachers would answer affirmatively, research results in support of output have not been unanimous. This talk will go over current and past teaching practices and look at how the related research in the field of Second Language Acquisition has evolved. This talk will examine how output not only aids fluency but also helps develop language accuracy.

Alastair Graham-Marr is a Junior Associate Professor at Tokai University. He holds a Masters in Applied Linguistics from Macquarie University and has presented extensively through Japan and abroad. His current research interests are communication strategies and output.

16.15-17.00: Do my students really know what I've just taught?
Alan Bossaer (Sapporo University)
Comprehension checking, by definition, is confirming a student's understanding or knowledge of a language item without asking, "Do you understand?" Instead, the teacher employs a variety of techniques, which induce students to produce evidence of this understanding. This presentation deals with the skill of comprehension checking as it relates to the teaching and learning of vocabulary. The presenter will provide teachers with a variety of useful comprehension checking devices they can use in the classroom.

Associate Professor at Sapporo University, Alan Bossaer serves as the English Department's e-learning program director as well as material development coordinator. He spends much of his time designing course books and e-Learning materials.

17.00-17.30: Coffee with the Presenters

To Pre-Register, email: Andy Boon (Conference Chair) andrew.boon@tyg.jp

Organization: West Tokyo Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching (West Tokyo JALT)

Cost: JALT Members: Pre-Registered - 1,500yen / Non-Registered 2,000yen
Non-members: Pre-Registered - 2,500yen / Non-Registered 3,000yen

Venue: Toyo Gakuen University, Hongo Campus, 1-26-3, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo - map

Location: Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis, Japan

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Website: www.westtokyojalt.com

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