Osaka JALT Back to School 2021 Presenters

Welcome to Osaka JALT's Back to School Online Conference for 2021!

Below are this year's presenters along with their biographies, and their presentation titles and abstracts..

Zoe Barber         

Zoe Barber is from Australia, and currently attends Queensland University of Technology. She has taught at a variety of elementary and junior high schools in Osaka prefecture during her nine-year teaching career.   

Supporting young learners with ASD in the EFL classroom           

This presentation would give a brief introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorder and current research regarding L2 learners with ASD, an overview of Positive Behaviour Interventions and Supports (PBIS), and make recommendations for providing learning support for ES and JHS students with ASD in the English classroom using universal design for learning and PBIS.

Andrew Blaker & Timothy Ellsworth       

Adapting an Extensive Reading Program with Authentic Materials          

This presentation describes a trial to introduce authentic Materials into an Extensive Reading (ER) program. This was to overcome low student engagement with ER in previous semesters. Twenty-one second year university students were introduced to authentic materials via the instructor, then shown how to self-select for level-appropriate materials of interest. Student & teacher feedback suggests that the assignment improved student engagement, and ultimately provided a meaningful learning experience.

 John Carle          

John Carle is the author of The English Gym, written under the pen name, Jon Charles. He is currently working on his second book, The English Gym II. He teaches at Kansai University and Kindai University.    

Using Humor to Create Engaging Materials        

A lot of materials that we find in textbooks cover topics that may be of importance to our students but do so in a way that can be uninspiring, demotivating or simply boring. This can be especially true for complex societal issues such as: changes in Japan’s population, disaster preparedness, global warming and racial bias. In this presentation, participants will be exposed to ways in which to incorporate humor into materials creation.

 Gordon Carlson & Daniel H. Markarian

Gordon Carlson is an associate professor at Otemae University, where he teaches EFL and Global Japan Studies. His research includes CLIL, service learning, intercultural competency, and language retention through interactive activities.     

Daniel H. Markarian is a Social Studies teacher in Palm Beach County Schools, Adjunct Professor, and Dissertation Chair at Nova Southeastern University. He has expertise in cognition, neurodiversity, writing skills development, and financial literacy.

Using Economics/ Financial Literacy Skills to Improve Cultural Dimension and Intercultural Competence     

This presentation depicts a ten-week exchange between a Japanese university and an American high school through Internet-based mechanisms. Using technology such as online polls, video editing tools, social media, and webinars, learners from both sides used English as a medium to reflect on their own cultures and present them in creative ways. The presentation concludes by describing classroom experiences that can lead to meaningful collaboration, experiential learning, reflection on personal culture, and deeper intercultural understanding.

 Guy Cihi & Aaron Campbell          

Guy Cihi of Lexxica. Graduate of Harvard. Co-founder Endeavour College of Natural Medicine. Founder of several EdTech companies. Producer of Disney’s World of English, WordEngine, Words & Monsters, and the FREE Team Challenge Tournaments.  

Professor Aaron Campbell is the chair of Global Studies at Kyoto University of Foreign Studies. Aaron teaches digital communication, communication, academic writing, and extensive reading.

Motivate Your Students with a FREE Team Challenge Vocabulary Tournament  

Research shows that TGT Cooperative Learning fosters interpersonal relationships and lifelong social skills that motivate higher academic achievement regardless of the learners’ individual abilities and aptitudes. The presenters will introduce TGT Cooperative Learning and discuss the attributes and benefits of participating in a FREE Team Challenge Vocabulary Tournament. Invitations to the next free tournament will be available.

Neil Cowie         

Neil Cowie is an English teacher in the Department of Foreign Languages, Okayama University, Japan. His interests include teacher development, e-learning and making engaging online courses.               

Online assessment for language teaching             

Assessment is an integral part of language teaching. Traditional methods include various kinds of tests and exams, reports and the use of rubrics. The use of alternative types of assessment has been accelerated by the shift to online learning in 2020. In this presentation, various alternative options such as continuous and authentic assessment will be described and some of the online tools that can be used for such assessment will be introduced.

Andrew Decker

Andrew Decker is a specially appointed lecturer at Kansai University in Osaka. His research interests include project-based learning, student motivation and satisfaction, action research, teacher development, literature in language teaching, study abroad, and writing centers.              

Speaking without Reading with PechaKucha 20x20-style Presentations 

To change up presentations after midterm or next semester, PechaKucha, the karaoke of presentation styles, may be a welcome addition or alternative to more TED-style talks. Originating in Tokyo, PechaKucha presentations are limited to 20 slides, but more importantly, each slide advances automatically to the next every 20 seconds. Originally for chatty architects, this presentation will not only show how PechaKucha-style presentations can be used for English, but also include one for example.

Paul Goldberg  

Paul Goldberg has taught English for over 20 years, and is the founder of the online system, Xreading, which he developed to make extensive reading more accessible for students and easier for teachers to manage.  

Xreading: What’s New and What’s Next              

Xreading is an online library that gives students access to thousands of graded readers and allows instructors to track their students’ reading progress.  Since its launch in 2014, there have been many improvements, however, to help teachers deal effectively with remote teaching, more features than ever before were added over the past year. In this presentation, the founder of Xreading will explain the new features and improvements, and review what is planned for the future.

Takaaki Hiratsuka           

Takaaki Hiratsuka is an associate professor at Ryukoku University where he teaches a range of applied linguistics courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He received his PhD from the University of Auckland, New Zealand.  

Perceived, Projected, and Recognized Identities of Foreign Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs)  

This presentation introduces a study that explored, via narrative interviewing, the identities and their constructions of ALTs in the JET program. Findings revealed that ALT identity is comprised of two interconnected primary categories, foreigner identity and dabbler identity, as well as their accompanying sub-categories (e.g., sojourner identity and greenhorn identity). The presentation concludes with practical implications and empirical recommendations on teacher education and identity research.

Alison Kitzman 

Alison Kitzman has an MA TESOL from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She is currently Professor at Kindai University in the Department of Business.   

Classroom Management:Tricks from Start to Finish        

A disorganized class makes teaching and learning difficult for both teachers and students. Even experienced teachers can have trouble with a large or lively class. Good classroom management is not just about controlling students. First, this presentation will explain the basics of classroom management. Then it will show fun and easy ways to control a class from the time students walk in until they walk out.

Bethany Lacy    

Bethany Lacy worked at Hankuk University in South Korea teaching multimedia classes before moving to Japan. Her specialties are multimodal instruction and visual literacy. She currently lives in Kanagawa with her husband and two cats.        

Wonderstruck: An Analysis of the Impact of Think-Aloud Reading Strategies with Multimodal Text in an EFL Environment              

Instead of implementing a traditional grammar-based approach, this study delves into the benefits that Think-Aloud reading techniques and multimodal texts have on reading motivation. The six participants spent approximately 25 in-class hours reading the children’s multimodal novel Wonderstruck: A Novel in Words and Pictures. The participants responded to English reading motivation surveys before and after the course. The results suggest that their confidence and motivation to read English text improved.

Eric Martin        

Eric Martin lives with his family in Amagasaki, and currently works at Shitennoji University. He is a PhD candidate at Temple University, where he is researching L2 listening development and classroom motivation growth.

Building and Measuring Second Language (Listening) Self-Efficacy          

When acquiring a new skill, such as using a second language, learners who have high self-efficacy—who believe that they can complete the tasks necessary to achieve growth—are more likely to work hard to advance and overcome obstacles (Bandura, 1977). In this presentation the researcher discusses how learners' L2 self-efficacy can be promoted and measured, using ESL/EFL listening as an example.

Laura Martinez 

Laura Martinez is an assistant professor for the University of North Texas at Kansai Gaidai University. Her research interests include the use of CALL technology and its impact on student engagement.    

Jamming with Jamboard: Investigating Jamboard’s uses in the hybrid classroom             

In this presentation, viewers will be introduced to the basics of Jamboard, an interactive whiteboard designed by Google. Next, they will participate in three live demos that will illustrate how Jamboard can be used in icebreaker, pre-reading, and brainstorming activities. It is hoped that participants will come away with a greater awareness of how Jamboard can be used as an effective tool in the hybrid classroom. 

Navigating Nearpod: Ways to utilize its activities to increase student engagement         

As a result of the Corona pandemic, many teachers have been forced to find new methods of instruction. Nearpod, a synchronous, mobile- friendly learning platform, is one such solution. Attendees will come away from this presentation with a greater awareness of how Nearpod can be used to increase the interactive nature of lessons through a variety of activities including but not limited to interactive quizzes and games.

Stuart McLean 

Stuart McLean is interested in language assessment, research methods, reading, listening, and vocabulary. Recently, he is spending his time creating self-marking online form-recall and meaning-recall vocabulary tests available at vocableveltest.org.        

Self-marking online form-recall and meaning-recall vocabulary tests:    

At vocableveltest.org teachers can create online vocabulary tests based on various lists, word counting units, band sizes, and sampling ratios. Tests are form-recall (L2 to L1) or meaning-recall (L1 to L2) tests. Teachers can also create pre/post-tests from 7000 items. Learners receive feedback at the word and band level. Teachers can download automatically marked responses, typed responses, and the time taken to complete responses. A growing answer bank yields automatically-marked responses.

Bertram Mullin

Bertram Allan Mullin is a member of JALT, MLA, and ETJ. He has a master's from the University of Southern California in TESOL and is a PhD candidate in applied linguistics at Temple University in Osaka.       

Unique Pronunciation Method 

A lot of EFL learners in Japan jump into the sound system of English without ever learning the sounds. There is a method to the sound system that is designed to help correct errors of pronunciation and I have noticed that although it is popular in western cultures that no one uses it in Japan. When I have used the pronunciation method, with students from k through adult age, pronunciation errors were corrected.

Wade Muncil    

Wade Muncil is presently teaching at Osaka Jogakuin University/College after spending nine years teaching in the Western Region of The United Arab Emirates. His interests are documenting and preserving the cultures of our planet. 

International Collaboration: It’s just a click away            

As our educational world turns more toward technology, usage of apps such as LINE and Zoom are becoming more prominent in education. This presentation shows how to utilize these apps to link students with institutions and guest speakers. Attendees will first learn about an eight-year collaboration between students in UAE and Japan, then follow a Guest Speaker Series in the Spring of 2020. Finally, a look back on what worked and suggestions for success.

Claire Murray, Paul Mathieson, & Francesco Bolstad      

Claire Murray has a French degree from McMaster University, Canada, and an MA in Applied Linguistics from the University of Birmingham, UK. She is currently an ESP lecturer at Nara Medical University.     

Paul Mathieson is an associate professor at Nara Medical University, where he is the co-ordinator of the nursing English programme. He has an MA in Applied Linguistics and TESOL from the University of Leicester, UK.

Francesco Bolstad is professor and head of the Department of Clinical English at Nara Medical University. He coordinates the CLIL clinical English courses and a diverse team of teachers dedicated to a collaborative teaching approach.

Foreign Language Learning as Professional Development            

Can learning a foreign language make you a better foreign language teacher? This presentation looks at the advantages and difficulties of EFL teachers learning beginner-level French as a foreign language (FFL) as a professional development opportunity. The presenters are the teacher, a student, and the class administrator. They examine the results of student questionnaires which highlight the successes and challenges the students reported from learning FFL, and they discuss how these challenges may be addressed.

Daniel Orozco   

Daniel Fernando Orozco is from the United States, graduated from Azusa Pacific University with a Master's in TESOL, taught in Korea for 10 years and currently teaching in Nishinomiya.               

How and When to Give Oral Corrective Feedback           

In this presentation, I will go over the various types of oral corrective feedback, the different timings for such feedback, and consider about what would be the best method.

Thi Minh Ngoc Phung   

Thi Minh Ngoc Phung holds a MA degree in TESOL from University of Southampton (UK), and currently works as a lecturer in Faculty of Language Teacher Education, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam.   

A comparison between two language teaching approaches: Audiolingualism versus Task-based Language Teaching           

Throughout the history of research in language teaching, different approaches have been introduced to assist the process of learners’ language acquisition. Implied behind each approach are distinctive paradigms of language and learning which reflect different views on such issues. Those perceptions have  direct influences on how language should be taught. In this presentation, the investigation focuses on Audiolingualism and Task-based Language Teaching as two orientations of language education.

Jason Pipe         

As an experienced university lecturer, Jason researches sociolinguistics, task-based learning, metacognitive learning, motivation and phonology. Present research focuses on development of teaching pronunciation and the measurement and development of speech fluency in language learning.      

The Application of Timed-Pair-Practice to improve the Suprasegmental Features of Pronunciation  

To improve fluency and pronunciation of two Japanese cohorts, it was necessary to introduce the framework, Timed-Pair-practice-Practice (TPP), to re-orientate students to tasks. By incorporating this additional tool, students can become more confident in their English communicative ability, more fluent in their conversation and thus more focused on their prosody. It is hoped that students could also improve their pronunciation at the suprasegmental level by focusing on duration, stress intensity, pitch and rhythm.

Christopher Prowant     

Christopher Prowant is an assistant professor of English at National Institute of Technology, Anan College.  He has a Masters degree in Writing from Southern New Hampshire University.  He lives in Tokushima.           

Classroom development with the aim of fostering English competence to maintain intrinsic motivation of freshmen students             

Developing classes that enhance the intrinsic motivation of freshmen in “English Communication Basic” (course).  Surveys from 2019/20 and 2009-11 showed 90% of freshmen realize English is necessary in the future.  But, 4th year students have a negative attitude toward learning English.  Maintaining motivation is difficult.  The goal is to change learner’s attitudes early on, developing their self-determination for using English verbally, without pressure, and creating a course that fosters such English ability.

Marieta Simeonova-Pissarro & Philip Riccobono             

Dr. Marieta Simeonova-Pissarro is the ESL Director at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and multilingual. Originally from Bulgaria, she holds a doctorate from the University of Cincinnati. Her research includes Teacher Talk and Teacher Attitudes.     

Philip Riccobono teaches at Himeji Dokkyo University. He holds a Ph.D. from Kyung Hee University where he focused on corpus-based technical vocabulary in English for Baseball Purposes. Philip recently authored a textbook entitled Baseball English.

Evaluation of Academic Word Acquisition: ESL vs. EFL   

Academic vocabulary (AV) acquisition represents a concern of ETL; a gap in research exists in rationales for variances of AV acquisition between ESL and EFL. This research examines differences in AV size between and within university-setting ELLs in Kobe, Japan and Las Vegas, USA. Employing the New Academic Word List Test as a pre-posttest-instrument, results indicate differences (p < .05) between and within cohorts. This presentation examines relationships between and within ESL-EFL cohort’s AV acquisition.

Oliver Rose        

Oliver Rose teaches EFL at Kwansei Gakuin University in Hyogo. His main research interests are in CALL/MALL, having developed several sites/apps for language learning.      Providing Sentence-Level

Practice with LingoLabOnline    

The LingoLab activity is a free multi-platform web app which allows engaging practice of sentences and multi-word units, from audio/picture/text prompts. The three sites that host the activity offer the following functions:

a) www.lingolab.co - for self-study with automated feedback & review, progress tracking & sharing.

b) www.lingolab.online - the teacher's site, for tracking student usage, making custom sets, and setting quizzes.

c) www.lingolab.live - a multiplayer real-time quiz game

Tomotaka Shiroyama    

Tomotaka Shiroyama is a University of Exeter MPhil student from Nagoya, and is in charge of a publicity position at JALT Toyohashi. He is currently teaching English for the nursing school at Nagoya Women’s University.               

Technology-Mediated Task-Based Language Teaching for College and University students.               

Today, technology-mediated task-based language teaching (TBLT) is a popular tool for enhancing learners’ communicative competence. Ahn and Lee (2016) suggest that this approach has huge merits for language pedagogy. However, there are limited studies in this field (Stockwell, 2010). This study investigated how online chats and discussion forums contributed to university and college students’ language production. The findings suggested different modes of language learning have the potential to develop different aspects of second language learning.

Gabriela Torregiani        

Gabby Torregiani (ESL Specialist and Teacherpreneur in BA) has more than 24 years' experience in TEFL, having worked as a classroom TEFL trainer for more than 16 years and as an online trainer for 14 years.    

How to become a Successful teacherpreneur with the power of self marketing

I will be sharing my story, offering tips and ideas. I will be talking about the benefits of becoming a freelancer, how to become one. I will also talk about social media and how to market ourselves. I will share key tips related to attitude.

Lindy Ledohowski & Tamanna Patel

Dr. Lindy Ledohowski (B.A., B.Ed., M.A., Ph.D.) was a former English teacher and then English professor in Canada before becoming an EdTech CEO for the academic writing software platform, EssayJack. She has won numerous awards.     

Tamanna Patel has been with EssayJack Inc., an education technology start-up that focuses on teaching writing, since 2018, and currently fills the role of marketing and client support. She graduated with a Magna Cum Laude with Honours in Economics and a minor in Management from Clark University in Massachusetts, United States.

Improving the Confidence of EFL Students Writing Skills Using Smart Templating Software              

Learning English essay writing as an EFL student can be challenging especially if the conventions of essay writing in the student’s native language, such as Japanese are different. EssayJack’s smart writing templates provide structure and delineate the conventions for English academic essay writing with options for educators to customise the templates to provide levels of guidance and instructions including choice of transition sentences, interrogative prompts, video, and audio files. Studies show that it increased writing confidence and reduced writing anxiety.

Gavin Young     

Gavin Young is a lecturer/researcher at Onomichi City University.  He received his Master's in TESOL from New York University.  In Japan, he's also worked at JICA as a language trainer and at Iwate University.

Create Interactive Projects in Hypertext with Twine, a Free Software     

Twine is free, open-source software for telling interactive stories that can directly be published to HTML. Twine allows users to create interactive PC/Smartphone projects that can include questions, images, and audio. As a tool to create games, Twine is intuitive for educators and students to learn, and gives educators the opportunity to engage students in active learning and to rethink the way they deliver content and create educational materials. Examples: https://gpjapan.itch.io/scavenger-hunt-campus-orientation, https://gpjapan.itch.io/flying-cars-esl-news, and https://gpjapan.itch.io/kimono-vocabulary-in-english