JALT West Tokyo Chapter
2007: Past Events
9
JALT Tokyo and West Tokyo Chapters, and TEVAL SIG are please to present
Micro-Conference #6:
The Ins & Outs of Language Testing
語学試験のあれこれ
Date: Sunday, December 16th, 2007
Time: 10:00 AM - 5:45 PM
Speakers: Terry Yearley, Gerry Lassche, Andy Boon, Kristie Sage & Jeff Hubbell
Fee:
JALT members and TKU faculty: free,
One-Day members (i.e. non-members): 2000 yen
Venue: Tokyo Keizai University, Daiichi Kenkyuu Center, Room 1310
Access from Kokubunji Station:
To open an access map, click here or here. (On these maps, "GS" = "gas station".)
To open a campus map, click here.
Contact: <westtokyojalt-owner@yahoogroups.com>, or 070-5572-2882 on the day
JALT(全国語学教育学会)西東京支部と語学試験研究会と評価研究会 が共同で開催する第6回マイクロ・コンフェランスのお知らせです。今回も一つの
トピックについて、複数のプレゼンターが発表を行います。12月のテーマは、
語学試験 を紹介します。
The Tokyo and West Tokyo Chapters of JALT (the Japan Association for Language Teaching), and the TEVAL SIG (Testing & Evaluation Special Interest Group) announce the sixth in a new series of micro-conferences, each featuring several presenters exploring a particular topic for a whole day. The theme of this conference is testing – both standardized tests, and the ones we make for our own classes.
10:00-12:00
A Course for the TOEFL iBT Independent Writing Task
Terry Yearley (TOFL Seminar)
In the first hour, the presenter will lead an interactive tour of a 6-week study course to prepare for the IWT (the 30-minute essay), showing how each element of essay structure is taught and practiced in the classroom. In the remaining time, participants will themselves attempt an IWT, under simulated test conditions.
12:00-13:00
Lunch
13:00-13:45
Assessing Young Learners’ Language (YLL)
Gerry Lassche (Miyagi Gakuin Women’s University)
Assessing L2 development and proficiency tends to be a complicated responsibility for teachers and unpleasant for learners. It is even more complicated in the case of young (pre-adult) L2 learners (YLL), whose L2 proficiency develops even as L1 proficiency is still maturing and the learner continues to develop emotionally, socially, cognitively. The presenter will discuss issues of psychological development as they relate to YLL assessment, comparing and contrasting with the case of adult learners; will suggest guidelines for responsible assessment of YLL; and will briefly present assessment portfolios as a possible solution to some of the issues raised.
14:00-14:45
Gambaro! Sustaining Student Motivation in TOEIC Classes
Andy Boon (Toyo Gakuen University)
Good motivation is vital for progress and success in L2 acquisition. And yet, in TOEIC preparation classes, where authentic test practice is often at a level higher than the students’ proficiency, it can be easy for the students to withdraw their energy investment, lose confidence in their ability and simply give up. The presenter will provide an overview of a 2nd-year university TOEIC course that he teaches and will describe a number of techniques for generating and sustaining student motivation.
15:00-15:45
Performance Testing Made More Objective by Utilising Test Specifications
Kristie Sage (Komazawa University)
Performance testing is widely regarded as subjective, but can probably be made more objective through the use of Test Specifications (TS). The presenter will first argue that TS can act as a blueprint to inform test development and, once made transparent, can be re-used by both their designer and others; and will then address how this transparency can be enhanced by making TS databases, linking video and other downloadable material to the TS, and setting standards.
16:00-17:30
The Quirky World of Multiple-Choice (MC) Item Writing
Jeff Hubbell (Hosei University)
MC test items may seem to use the target language artificially, but they are practical and well-accepted, so many EFL teachers are routinely called on to aid in the construction of MC items for large-scale, high-stakes L2 tests. Unfortunately, resources to establish the reliability of MC items or the validity of score interpretation generally fall far short of the piloting or other resources available to ETS or Cambridge. The presenter will offer examples and tips from the literature and from over 25 years of experience that should prove useful to those who find themselves involved in MC item writing; and will illustrate theoretical guidelines with concrete examples, some hands-on practice, and open and frank discussion of issues that ad hoc test developers may face.
8
Second JALT Joint Tokyo Conference:
Innovation in Language Teaching
Date: Sunday 14 Oct 2007
Time: 9:45-17:30
Venue: Toyo Gakuen University, Hongo Campus, Tokyo
Map: To open a map, click here.
Conference website: To open the conference website, click here.
Cost:
JALT members: 2,000 yen (if pre-registered, 1,500 yen)
One-Day members: 3,000 yen
Pre-Registration:
To pre-register, email Andy Boon, Conference Co-Chair <andrew.boon@tyg.jp>
9:45-10:15
Onsite registration
10:15-11:00
Re-motivating the Demotivated
Joseph Falout
Research shows the strongest influence on learner motivation is the teacher, and learners subjected to demotivating factors early in their formal studies are less able to control their affective states years later. This presentation will provide an overview of learner demotivation, will offer examples of how demotivated learners became re-motivated, and will conclude with implications for teachers and learners.
Joseph Falout started his career teaching ESL and college composition in the Chicago area. Now he is an assistant professor at Nihon University. His research theme has been demotivation in EFL learners in Japan.
11:15-12:00
Corpus-Based Analysis of Learner Language
Yukio Tono
The presenter will argue that a learner corpus, a large collection of speech or writings by language learners, can contribute greatly towards improving various areas of language teaching; he will also introduce a corpus-building project called JEFLL to accumulate free compositions by 10,000 students, and will discuss implications.
Yukio Tono is Associate Professor at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. He received his PhD in Corpus Linguistics at Lancaster University. He is famous for his fully corpus-based TV English program on NHK 100 Go de Start Eikaiwa (scheduled to rerun from October 2007).
12:00-13:15
Lunch
13:15-14:00
Using Video iPods to Deliver Class Content
Bill Pellowe
The video iPod is actually an affordable alternative to other portable technologies such as laptop computers. The presenter will demonstrate how to use video, slides (similar to PowerPoint), photos and audio to better engage students, and will provide a detailed handout on software and web-based supplementary materials.
Bill Pellowe received his MA in TEFL with distinction from the University of Birmingham. He has been teaching in Japan since 1990. Bill runs ELT Calendar <www.eltcalendar.com>. His latest project is ELT Podcast <www.eltpodcast.com>.
14:15-15:00
Dictionary Instruction in the Classroom
Yuri Komuro
A "dictionary" means a hand-held electronic one, not a paper one any more, at least to many university students. Now they can access several dictionaries anytime, anywhere. However, do students make good use of them? This presentation will introduce some research that carries implications on more effective dictionary instruction and learning/teaching materials we could introduce into classrooms.
Yuri Komuro is an associate professor at Chuo University. Her specialty is English lexicography, and her main research interests focus on the development of collocational dictionaries.
15:15-16:00
Critical Thinking for Active Communication
Chuck Sandy
What is critical thinking and why is it essential for communication? In this interactive presentation, participants will explore these questions before being introduced to a variety of critical thinking activities appropriate for any classroom where the emphasis is on communication and where teachers wish to make learning more active.
Chuck Sandy is an ELT materials writer, teacher trainer, essayist, and poet and has most recently been working on the forthcoming Active Skills for Communication series (Heinle). He's a frequent presenter at conferences around the world where he passionately speaks about the joys of engaging students in project work and the need for materials and practices that promote critical thinking.
16:15-17:00
In honor of Wilga Rivers -
Hothousing Innovative Interactive Language Teaching: Dare to Imagine
Tim Murphey
We will look at what a hothouse class might look like, what would ideally help students learn more rapidly. We will look at how we can innovate with new and old ideas, thus having more resources and possibilities. In honor of Wilga Rivers, this presentation will be very interactive.
Tim Murphey (PhD Neuchatel, Switzerland), series editor for TESOL's Professional Development in Language Education, and co-author, with Zoltan Dornyei, of Group Dynamics in the Language Classroom, juggles, sings, and skis.
17:00-17:30
Coffee with the presenters
7
Micro-Conference No. 5
Exploring EFL Presentation Skills
JALT West Tokyo Chapter has pleasure in presenting the fifth in its series of micro-conferences.
Date: Sunday 30 Sep 2007
Time: 10:00-17:30; registration opens at 9:45
Venue: Tokyo Keizai University, Kokubunji Campus, Research Center No. 1 (第一研究センター）, Room 1310
Cost: Free to JALT members and TKU faculty; 1,000 yen for others
Access from Kokubunji Station:
To open an access map, click here or here. (On these maps, "GS" = "gas station".)
To open a campus map, click here.
Contact: <westtokyojalt-owner@yahoogroups.com>, or 070-5572-2882 on the day
10:15-11:00
Teaching English Presentation Classes from a Speech Communication Perspective
Keiji Nomura
One of the most important objectives for Japanese university students learning English is to improve their communicative skills. Therefore, Tokyo Keizai University requires all freshmen to take a course in English presentation skills. Keiji Nomura is the coordinator of this course. He will discuss its instructional objectives and assessment procedures. He will also show samples of actual student presentations, and discuss successful learning activities, including instruction in the theory and practice of audience analysis, rhetoric, message construction, verbal and nonverbal expressions, and evaluating peers’ presentations.
11:15-12:00
Poster presentations from topic statements: a stimulating and engaging course for college students
Tim Knight
Tim Knight will outline a 9-week poster presentations project which he has used successfully with middle level students at several universities. Merging and refining ideas from two prior projects, he developed a 4-skills presentations course that is easy to run, requires hardly any photocopying or difficult administration, but which has proved to be popular, engaging and satisfying for students. It requires them to choose their own topic, to conduct interviews, discussions and research, to design a poster and to make a presentation – several times. The presenter will describe the course in detail and provide examples of students’ work.
12:00-13:00
Lunch
13.00-13.45
Presentations for LLEP university students
Peter Ross
Asking university students to give in-class presentations can be an excellent way to stimulate enthusiasm and generate meaningful discussion, leaving students with a feeling of success and accomplishment. However, asking students at a low level of English proficiency to present on topics that are too hard for them can accomplish just the opposite, leading to frustration for all concerned--the audience, the teacher, and the
presenters themselves. One solution is to steer LLEP students away from research-based presentations in favor of simple, non-academic topics, asking presenters to draw information from their own experience, expertise and imagination. Participants in this workshop will construct a sample non-academic presentation, and view videos of successful student performance.
14.00-15.30
Lessons learnt from designing and implementing a three-year undergraduate presentation course: student and teacher perspectives.
Simon Stevens and Naho Hashimoto
Much of the literature on course and syllabus design tends to describe the process as being systematic and linear rather than unpredictable, messy and challenging. This presentation will outline the reality: doubts, reflections and decisions of a teacher at a women's university in Tokyo and one of his students with respect to designing a new course; and the outcomes. Firstly, the teacher, Simon Stevens, will suggest a number of general principles that can be learnt from curricula innovation in a social science research-based course where the product is a student presentation. Secondly, a recent student and graduate, Naho Hashimoto, will reflect on what it was like to be a participant.
15.45-17.00
Getting up there and doing it
Andy Boon
(1) Tips on giving presentations at academic conferences
As a teacher researcher, presenting one's work at an academic conference can be a rewarding and enjoyable experience, facilitating valuable insights for both presenter and audience, and providing an essential means of professional self-development. This presentation will provide a number of tips for preparing and giving presentations at academic conferences / JALT chapter events with the aim of encouraging potential new
presenters to get up there and give it a go!
(2) Exploring EFL presentation skills - Sharing our ideas
Andy Boon will invite members of the audience up to the front to share their ideas on the theme of today's micro-conference:
(1) How do you/would you teach presentation classes in your particular context?
(2) How do you/would you go about assessing presentations?
(3) What topics do/would your students present on?
(4) How did/would you go about designing a presentation course?
(5) What problems have you experienced and overcome while teaching presentation skills?
(6) What experiences have you had giving presentations?
(7) What advice do you have for future presenters?
17.00-17:30
Closing remarks
6
TESOL Action Research Mini-Conference:
Astonishing Research: Opportunities, Discovery and Results
Date: Friday 27 Jul 2007
Time: 5:45 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Venue: British Council, Iidabashi, Tokyo
Cost: Free to all.
Pre-registration: For enquiries, or to pre-register to guarantee a seat, email Andy Boon at: <bromleycross@hotmail.com>
Map: To open a map, please click here.
Professional development for EFL teachers: Aston University, in collaboration with JALT West Tokyo Chapter, the British Council, and Oxford University Press, invites you to an evening of presentations exploring the topics of research, writing and distance learning.
17:45-18:00
Doors open
18:00-18:45
Distance learner support and discovery in an interactional online environment
Andy Boon (Toyo Gakuen University)
Andy Boon will first describe Instant Messenger Cooperative Development (IMCD) (Boon, 2005), an online facility founded on the MSN Instant Messenger service and Julian Edge’s (1992, 2002) Cooperative Development discourse framework for professional development; he will then explain how EFL professionals use IMCD to interact together in a mutually-supportive and non-judgmental spirit so as to gain new understandings about current thinking and to promote each other's research.
18:45-19:00
Break
19:00-19:45:
Writing a dissertation
Simon Stevens (British Council)
In many MA programmes, students receive only some general guidelines on academic writing and little or no explicit teaching on this vital skill. Simon Stevens will give a practical account of the ins and outs of writing a dissertation and what he himself learned from the endeavour – with a view to supporting anyone currently writing, or planning to write a dissertation, or anyone interested in the research writing process in general.
19:45-20:00
Break
20:00-20:45
New technologies and distance learning
Dr. Urszula Clark (Aston University, UK)
In recent years there have been tremendous changes in the methods and technologies for distance learning – for example, the use of email, VLEs, electronic databases of books and journals, and corpora. Urszula Clark will explore these, focusing particularly on the Aston Corpus Network (ACORN) project, and will relate them to the learning experiences of present-day students.
20:45-21:00
Closing remarks
5
First Teaching Older Learners/Pragmatics SIG Mini-Conference:
Authentic English and Elderly Learners: A Day of Sharing Theory and Practice
Speakers
Curtis Kelly, Rieko Matsuoka, Eric Skier, Julia Harper-Tanaka, Naoko Yamaga, and Sayoko Yamashita
Date
Sunday 24 Jun 2007
Time
9:00-17:00
Venue
Sponsors
JALT West Tokyo Chapter & JALT Tokyo Chapter & Graduate College of Education, Temple University
Admission
JALT members & Temple U. students:
free with pre-registration; 1,000 yen onsite.
One-day members:
2,000 yen
Contact
Megumi Kawate-Mierzejewska <mierze@tuj.ac.jp>
Eric Skier <skier@ps.toyaku.ac.jp>
Program
Please click to open the flyer.
4
Annual Conference of the JALT CALL SIG:
JALTCALL 2007: CALL: Integration or Disintegration?
Date
1 Jun - 3 Jun 2007
Venue
Waseda University, Tokyo.
Keynote Speaker
Mike Levy
Associate Professor, School of Languages & Linguistics, Griffith University
Climate change in CALL: From realigning the goals and technological options to breaking the 'hype cycle'
Plenary Speaker
Yasunari Harada
Professor, Faculty of Law, Waseda University
Decentralization of communication channels in class: Using technology to facilitate student learning for themselves, by themselves and/or among themselves
Presentation Topics
- Description of projects including CALL as an integrated course component
- Description of projects implementing multiple modes of technology
- Innovative ways of integrating CALL in and out of the classroom
- Discussion of the future direction of CALL as an encompassing field
- New strands of technology-use in language learning environments
Contact
<jc2007@jaltcall.org>
Co-Sponsor
JALT West Tokyo Chapter
3
Presentation:
Boku as a pragmatic marker:
How did it develop as a first person term, and why is it a problem?
Speaker
Katsue Akiba-Reynolds, Ph.D.
Professor of East Asian Languages and Literature at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa
Date
Wednesday 25 April 2007
Time
18:30-20:00
Venue
(Near Tama Station on the Seibu Tamagawa Line)
TUFS Research Lecture Building, Language Laboratory (Room 419)
Sponsors
JALT West Tokyo Chapter & JALT Pragmatics SIG & JALT GALE SIG
Admission
JALT members, and TUFS students & faculty: free of charge;
One-day members (i.e. non-members): 500 yen
Contact
Sayoko Yamashita <yama@tmd.ac.jp> Tel/Fax: 03-5283-5861
As some critics (e.g. Takao Suzuki, 1972 & 1995) have pointed out, one of the incommensurables between Japanese and English is in self-referencing. Japanese has, according to a dictionary, more than one hundred forms corresponding to the English I. This gap presents a problem in many areas of practice, such as in translation and language teaching. The problem urgently needs the attention of researchers, in view of rapidly globalizing communication. Professor Akiba-Reynolds approaches the issue from the perspective of historical pragmatics, with particular focus on boku, attempting to better understand the nature of Japanese self-referencing. He will present data to show (a) that boku was pragmaticalized as an expression of modern self by intellectual leaders of the Meiji Restoration, and (b) that boku has become dysfunctional by taking on contradictory meanings in the process of standardization. In conclusion, he suggests that self-referencing in Japanese may be on its way to a new system, similar to that found in English. Bibliography
2
Micro-Conference #4
CALL: Get in the mood for Moodle
Date: Sat 31 Mar 2007
Speakers: Jason La Greca, Ted O’Neill, Peter Ruthven-Stuart, Kevin Ryan
Registration: from 9:45 a.m.
Conference: 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Venue: Tokyo Keizai University, Building 3, 2nd Floor, LL2
Cost: Members and TKU faculty, free; non-members, ¥2000
Contact: <westtokyojalt-owner@yahoogroups.com> or 070-5572-2882 on the day
JALT(全国語学教育学会)西東京支部とCALLSIGが共同で開催する
第4回マイクロ・コンフェランスのお知らせです。今回も一つのトピックについて、
複数のプレゼンターが発表を行います。3月のテーマは、Moodleという無料で
利用できる優れた教材作成および教育支援 ソフトを紹介します。
JALT West Tokyo Chapter in collaboration with the CALL SIG announce the fourth in our series of micro-conferences, each featuring several presenters exploring a particular topic for a whole day. March's theme is all about Moodle, an easy-to-use, open-source CMS (Course Management System).
10:00
Moodle 101: Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Moodle
but Were Afraid to Ask!
Jason La Greca (Tokyo Keizai University)
After a short introduction, participants will be walked through each of the core
components in the latest version of Moodle (1.8), eventually creating their own online
course. Participants will learn to navigate Moodle’s menu systems, upload files, and
create links, text, and HTML pages; and will learn, at their own pace, to use the
Assignment, Chat, Choice, Quiz, Forum, Glossary, Wiki, and Workshop Modules in
Moodle, at a Moodle site developed specifically for this workshop. Participants will be
encouraged to explore and ask questions throughout the presentation, will be shown how
to find additional packages and help from the numerous Moodle forums, and will receive
a Moodle Video Guide on DVD, designed specifically for this presentation.
11:00
Grading and Quizzes in Moodle
Kevin Ryan (Showa Women's University)
Participants will learn how to set up assignments so that they can be graded easily and
quickly (for assessment) or so that detailed feedback can be provided (for teaching); how
to enter grades, and use shortcuts to provide comments more easily; how to make five
different kinds of quiz; how to enter quiz data directly or type up quizzes in a text editor;
how to have quizzes vary spontaneously so that students can't copy others or their own
previous effort; and how to share questions or complete quizzes with other teachers.
12:00
Lunch
13:00
Using the Feedback Module on Moodle
Ted O'Neill (Obirin University)
Moodle provides several useful tools for gathering feedback from students or teachers.
This presentation will demonstrate two: Choice and Feedback. The Choice Module is a
simple and direct resource which can be used quickly with minimal preparation. The
Feedback Module allows for a range of response types, including open-ended responses,
and also allows for more detailed analysis of responses. The presenter will explain, step
by step, how to use the Feedback Module for course evaluation: set-up, administration,
and data gathering; and will explain two actual examples, together with data and some
pitfalls to watch out for.
14:00
Blending Moodle into Language Courses
Peter Ruthven-Stuart (Future University - Hakodate)
The presenter will demonstrate how Moodle can be used to design effective language
learning tasks to blend with face-to-face classes, and will demonstrate some examples of
interactive tasks, explaining both their purpose and how they have been made.
Participants will receive a copy of the tasks, which they will be able to install into their
own Moodle course, so as to experiment with ready-made Moodle activities and
resources. In order to practice what they have learned, participants will be asked to
construct a few Moodle tasks to complement some commercially-produced language-
learning material. Finally, if time allows, the presenter will demonstrate some 'tips and
tricks' that will boost participants’ efficiency and enhance the effectiveness of the
Moodle tasks they create.
16:00
Moodle Case Study: Implementing Moodle as Part of the English Curriculum
Jason La Greca (Tokyo Keizai University)
Participants will learn the pedagogical theories behind Moodle, and how each site can be
customized to support student learning in an ESL/EFL context. The presenter will
provide examples from his own experience at TKU, and briefly demonstrate the
advanced features and capabilities of the current TKU Moodle. Questions and discussion
will be encouraged throughout the presentation.
16:50
Closing Remarks
1
The Kanto Junior/Senior High School English Teachers Seminars
Date: Sunday, January 21st, 2007
Sponsored by: West Tokyo JALT, Tokyo JALT, the JALT Junior and Senior High SIG, Cambridge University Press, University of Cambridge ESOL Foundation, and the
British Council.
Featured Speakers: Curtis Kelly, Martin Nuttall, Chuck Sandy, William Matheny, Roger Pattimore, John Letcher, Ivan Sorrentino, and Nick Kendall.
Time: 9:45 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Venue: British Council, Tokyo
Cost: Free
Contact: 03-3295-5875 or japanelt@cambridge.org
Abstract: The sponsors welcome you to the British Council for a full day of presentations on themes relevant to all involved in teaching at the high school level. This is a great opportunity to see prominent authors, find out about global exams, contact teacher organizations, and network with other professionals in the same line of work.
