Osaka JALT Back to School 2022

Sunday, May 15, 2022 - 9:30am to 9:30pm

Back to School 2022 is Osaka JALT’s 12th annual spring conference aiming to share ideas on a wide range of topics related to language teaching and learning to help everyone in the new academic year. This year's conference will again be online, which, as in the past two years, has the benefit of allowing us to welcome presenters and participants from all around the world. To get a sense of what to expect, and to see some of what you might have missed last year, please see the schedule and some of the recorded sessions from last year's conference and the presenters' bios and abstracts.

 

Please click here to view the abstracts for the conference presentations.

Here is the schedule for the Back to School Conference, please click on the presentation names to watch the videos.

9:30	Coffee Time & Welcome		30min
10:00
10:00	Bob Sanderson	Welcome and Steve Cornwell tribute	15 min
10:15
10:15	Jennifer Yphantides	A grassroots effort to help Ukrainian refugees learn English	15 min
10:30
10:30	Lori Zenuk-Nishide	Model United Nations: Building English as a lingua franca and 21st century learning skills	25min
11:00
11:00	Paschal Orjika	Self-directed learning in the university classroom	25min
11:30
11:30	John Carle	How to create a digital workbook	25min
12:00
12:00		Breakout Rooms	30min
12:30
12:30	Lunch		30min
13:00
13:00	Wade Muncil	Starting a startup from the start	25min
13:30
13:30	Eucharia Donnery	The International Virtual Exchange (IVE) Project: Meeting low-level EFL learner needs	25min
14:00
14:00	Terry Tuttle	A how-to video activity sequence for Japanese high school EFL students	25min
14:30
14:30		Breakout rooms	30min
15:00
15:00	Paul Goldberg	Xreading: What’s new and what’s next	25min
15:30
15:30	Paul Mathieson & Claire Murray	The AWL Readers: An Academic Vocabulary Story	25min
16:00
16:00	Thomas Boutorwick	ESL Speed Readings, the free mobile app	25min
16:30
16:30		Breakout rooms	30min
17:00
17:00	Zoe Barber	(Un)willing to communicate?: Incorporating different modes of participation in the classroom	25min
17:30			PPT
17:30	Anthony Walsh	A step-by-step guide for speech contests	15min
17:45
17:45	Elizabeth Leigh	A tour of the “Zero-waste” town of Kamikatsu, Tokushima prefecture	15min
18:00
18:00		Breakout Rooms	30min
18:30
18:30		Dinner Break / Social
19:00
19:00	Eric Martin & Robert Kerrigan	Presentation and evaluation of an Extensive Listening program using Xreading	25min
19:30
19:30	Michael Herke	From the known to the new: Everyday creative arguments for language learning	25min
20:00
20:00	Matthew Wiegand	Re-evaluating expectations of camera use in online language classes	15min
20:15
20:15	Mehrasa Alizadeh	Professional development and distance learning with Gather.Town: A preliminary report	15min
20:30
20:30	Catriona Takeuchi & Bob Sanderson	Reflections on the day, more Steve Cornwell stories, & cocktail social	60min
21:30

Please click here to view the abstracts for today's presentations.

Jennifer Yphantides – A grassroots effort to help Ukrainian refugees learn English

Jennifer Yphantides is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Liberal Arts at Soka University in Tokyo.

Lori Zenuk-Nishide – Model United Nations: Building English as a lingua franca and 21st century learning skills

Lori Zenuk-Nishide is the Director of Model United Nations Programs at Kobe City University of Foreign Studies. She has taken delegations to over 60 conferences, and co-founded a high school and university conference since 1990.

Paschal Orjika – Self-directed learning in the university classroom

Paschal Orjika, is a graduate of Nanzan University, and currently teaches at Maple English School. He holds both a Bachelor's and a Master's degree. His area of specialization is self-directed learning, human resource development and adult education.

John Carle – How to create a digital workbook

John Carle is the author of The English Gym series, written under the pen name, Jon Charles. His books have been used at over twenty universities and language schools in Japan.

Wade Muncil – Starting a startup from the start

Wade Muncil holds a Master of Arts in Teaching from the School for International Training and 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 hiking, documenting and preserving the great cultures of our planet, and promoting service learning.

Eucharia Donnery – The International Virtual Exchange (IVE) Project: Meeting low-level EFL learner needs

Eucharia Donnery works as a coordinator of communicative English at the World Language Center, Soka University, Tokyo.

Terry Tuttle – A how-to video activity sequence for Japanese high school EFL students

Terry R. Tuttle is an ALT for Higashiosaka City, an Osaka JALT Member-at-Large, and a GALE SIG Co-Coordinator. He is pursuing a M.S.Ed degree with a concentration in TESOL at Temple University, Japan Campus.

Paul Goldberg – Xreading: What’s new and what’s next

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.

Paul Mathieson & Claire Murray – The AWL Readers: An Academic Vocabulary Story

Paul Mathieson is an associate professor at Nara Medical University, where he teaches medical students and nursing students. He is also a PhD candidate at Kyoto University.

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

Thomas Boutorwick – ESL Speed Readings, the free mobile app

Thomas (TJ) Boutorwick received his PhD in Applied Linguistics from Victoria University of Wellington in 2017. His research focuses on vocabulary development through reading. He also develops educational software and currently resides in Hiroshima.

Zoe Barber – (Un)willing to communicate?: Incorporating different modes of participation in the classroom

Zoe Barber is from Australia and has taught English at various educational levels in Japan for 10 years. She is a graduate of the Queensland University of Technology and currently teaches at Konan University. 

Anthony Walsh – A step-by-step guide for speech contests

Anthony Walsh is from Melbourne, is a graduate of University of Southern Queensland and currently teaches at the University of Fukuchiyama. He is trying to stay healthy by learning to cook various dishes.

Elizabeth Leigh – A tour of the “Zero-waste” town of Kamikatsu, Tokushima prefecture

Elizabeth Leigh is from the UK, is a graduate of Manchester University, and is currently a Tokunin teacher at Osaka Metropolitan University. Her interests include hiking, swimming and scuba diving, as well as environmental issues.

Eric Martin & Robert Kerrigan – Presentation and evaluation of an Extensive Listening program using Xreading

Eric Shepherd Martin teaches at Momoyama Gakuin University and is a candidate for a Ph.D. in applied linguistics from Temple University. He can be reached at ericshepherdmartin@gmail.com.

Robert Kerrigan teaches at Shitennoji University and is pursuing a Ph.D. in applied linguistics from Temple University. He can be reached at kerrigan@shitennoji.ac.jp.

Michael Herke – From the known to the new: Everyday creative arguments for language learning

Michael Herke has been living in Kansai for over 20 years. He has taught in public and private institutions in Canada and Japan. He works in the Faculty of International Studies at Setsunan University in Osaka.

Matthew Wiegand – Re-evaluating expectations of camera use in online language classes

Matthew Wiegand: BA Cultural Anthropology, UC Santa Cruz, Global Japanese Studies, Meiji University. MA candidate at Waseda GSICCS. Teacher at University of Tsukuba Attached High School at Komaba, Sundai College of Business and Foreign Languages

Mehrasa Alizadeh – Professional development and distance learning with Gather.Town: A preliminary report

Mehrasa Alizadeh is an assistant professor at the International Professional University of Technology in Osaka, where she teaches EFL courses. Mehrasa's research interests include blended, mobile and immersive learning in second language education.

April 2022 SIETAR Kansai

Osaka JALT is proud to co-sponser, along with JALT Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Kobe:

April 2022 SIETAR Kansai: 

Biased Teaching, Biased Language, Marginalized Students

Speaker: Masaki C. Matsumoto (writer, speaker, YouTuber)

Date:   April 24, 2022 (Sunday)

Time:   14:00-17:00

Fee:     Free for all

Language: English (Q & A in English and Japanese)

ZOOM Online presentation *registration required*

Contact: fujimotodonna@gmail.com to get the Zoom link; for any questions.

Description: Students who come from minority backgrounds face obstacles that teachers, classmates and administrators may not be aware of. Subtle and not-so-subtle biases exist, and it is important to not only raise our awareness, but to also actively work on ways to combat any resulting negative effects. Biases exist not only in the ways that educators teach, but also in how language itself operates within the confines of social and cultural landscapes. The speaker will share examples of biased teaching and of biased language where students may feel ignored, left out, or forced to silence themselves in the classroom—and in some cases, they may even feel compelled to quit learning altogether. Be prepared to have your eyes opened!

Presenter:

Masaki C. Matsumoto is originally from Tochigi prefecture and currently lives in Gunma prefecture, where he blogs, produces YouTubes and podcasts, while lecturing on topics that draw attention to issues that dispute heteropatriarchy—in particular, these include the LGBT movement, the history of social discourse on sexual desires, and the rights and dignity of sex workers.

For details, see https://medium.com/@MasakiCM 

ja.gimmeaqueereye.org

2022 Back to School Presentation Abstracts

Jennifer Yphantides – A grassroots effort to help Ukrainian refugees learn English

In this session, the presenter will discuss a grassroots effort she began with a former colleague to support refugees from Ukraine as they settle into their new lives in the UK. The session will cover how the initiative started, some of the successes, and a number of the practical challenges including checking teachers, finding appropriate materials, and supporting students with trauma.

Lori Zenuk-Nishide – Model United Nations: Building English as a lingua franca and 21st century learning skills

This presentation will introduce some insights drawn from research on ELF (English as a Lingua Franca) in MUN (Model United Nations) simulations and will summarize some of the best practices in MUN events and delegate preparation. Model United Nations (MUN) simulations are uniquely positioned to help students develop their language ability and their global competencies, as well as being ideal opportunities for participants to experience ELF in an intensely communicative context. 

Paschal Orjika – Self-directed learning in the university classroom

This presentation is a professional contribution to university research and learning. It presents the benefits of self-directed learning as a teaching method at universities. Self-directed learning is best introduced to students during the transition period from high school to the university (Van et al, 2015), and then reinforced throughout the university years. Interestingly, self-directed learning does not end within the university walls - it does exist beyond those walls.

John Carle – How to create a digital workbook

The presenter will detail how he was able to create a digital workbook on a publisher’s version of the ZenGengo platform and successfully bring it to market. He will share his knowledge and resources so that any educator can make their online vision a reality. Participants will learn how to create content that far surpasses Google Forms and other similar learning tools. Please join us and feel free to ask any questions.

Wade Muncil – Starting a startup from the start

In this presentation, Muncil provides an overview of the current situation with start-ups, then moves on to the relevance and application of start-ups in education. He offers a template for an assignment from Fall semester, 2021, along with a student-made video based on that assignment. Attendees are welcome to use the template to craft their own assignment related to their teaching context.

Eucharia Donnery – The International Virtual Exchange (IVE) Project: Meeting low-level EFL learner needs

After six years of accuracy-based English study at JHS and SHS, the International Virtual Exchange (IVE) Project offers an alternative for Japanese university students to meaningfully communicate with people THROUGH English. The (IVE) Project can provide low-level university learners with counterparts predominantly in Colombia, as well as other countries including Taiwan, Indonesia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Kenya among others. The presentation traces the journeys of three students over a two-semester period, and how their writing developed.

Terry Tuttle – A how-to video activity sequence for Japanese high school EFL students

Many conversation textbooks offer an insufficient volume of meaningful use for the language features they cover. This activity sequence uses real videos from TikTok and YouTube as authentic materials to supplement a textbook unit on using imperative form for instructions and advice. Students are guided through a modular activity set from listening comprehension exercises through guided practice, before finally scripting and filming their own instructional videos for evaluation.

Paul Goldberg – 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, the system is being continuously being updated and improved with new features and more books. In this presentation, the founder of Xreading will explain the new features and improvements, and review what is planned for the future.

Paul Mathieson & Claire Murray – The AWL Readers: An Academic Vocabulary Story

Authentic academic materials rarely have sufficient academic vocabulary range and frequency to facilitate meaningful academic vocabulary learning. Against this background, the presenter wrote a fictional graded reader series (‘The AWL Readers’). The AWL Readers follow the adventures (and misadventures) of a fictional university student and her unusual friend. They include all 570 AWL words, with spaced repetition.  This presentation will discuss how and why the AWL Readers were created and how they can be used.

Thomas Boutorwick – ESL Speed Readings, the free mobile app

Speed reading, part of Nation's (2013) fluency strand, is an important language learning skill. This presentation introduces a free speed reading app which includes 120 graded stories. Each of these stories has a comprehension quiz consisting of 8-10 multiple-choice questions. The app manages the administrative tasks of speed reading, including automatic quiz scoring and data visualization. By doing so, learners can focus on increasing their reading speed and not worry about the details.

Zoe Barber – (Un)willing to communicate?: Incorporating different modes of participation in the classroom

The strong emphasis placed on oral production and willingness to communicate (WTC) in Japanese EFL contexts has led to the conflation of L2 oral production and active participation. This approach ignores other participation modes that contribute significantly to learners' L2 acquisition and active participation. By reconceptualizing classroom participation as “willingness to participate” (WTP), EFL teachers can accommodate multiple participation styles. This presentation will give suggestions for incorporating alternative and silent participation modes into classroom practice.

Anthony Walsh – A step-by-step guide for speech contests

This presentation will provide helpful recommendations in facilitating a speech contest. Setting up a well-structured event requires timeframes for contestants to transition smoothly. Therefore, it is imperative to design guidelines for judges to keep score. Incidentally, scoring mechanisms takes out all the disagreements on selecting a winner. Furthermore, having goals clearly outlined helps participants prepare for reading aloud whether that is online or in front of an audience. 

Elizabeth Leigh – A tour of the “Zero-waste” town of Kamikatsu, Tokushima prefecture

Kamikatsu’s residents sort waste into 45 types in 13 categories, and managed to recycle 81% of all their refuse in 2016. This presentation describes a recent tour of this town, which was the first municipality in Japan to put into effect a “Zero Waste” policy.

Eric Martin & Robert Kerrigan – Presentation and evaluation of an Extensive Listening program using Xreading

The researchers will describe an extensive listening, and an extensive listening with textual support, pilot program conducted in 2021 in which university ELF learners listened to graded readers independently over one semester. The researchers will also present the results of the study and suggestions for alterations to the program and future research. These include ideas for setting appropriate goals and for scaffolding learners away from textual support to focus on listening exclusively and successfully.

Michael Herke – From the known to the new: Everyday creative arguments for language learning

Arguments (minimally defined as a claim plus a reason to accept it) are not only ubiquitous in daily interactions, but are also an essential mechanism for creating new knowledge and, therefore, they should have a central place in 21st century classrooms. Participants will learn the core features of argument and their functions, what differentiates arguments, and, most importantly, meet a wide range of examples that can be easily imported into traditional language learning activities. 

Matthew Wiegand – Re-evaluating expectations of camera use in online language classes

Students and teachers have varying expectations about camera use during online language classes in platforms like Zoom. Furthermore teachers know of students' resistance to camera use. Some feel strongly and require that cameras should be turned on. However my research shows that students felt ambivalence - only 26% thought it was important to keep cameras on. My research shows there are many valid and interesting reasons for this. Perhaps it is time to reevaluate our expectations. 

Mehrasa Alizadeh – Professional development and distance learning with Gather.Town: A preliminary report

This show-and-tell presentation is a report on the experimental use of a Metaverse-like platform called Gather.Town in a JALT professional development (PD) event and at an elementary school and a university class. The presenter will talk about the features of the platform and make a comparison to Zoom and other teleconferencing tools. She will then showcase what went on at the PD event and the online classes in reference to transformative learning design.

Hanami!

Our first Hanami social since the start of the pandemic, in Osaka Castle Park!

Sunday, April 10, 2022 - 12:00pm to 5:00pm

NOTICE: Due to rain in the weather forecast for April 3rd, our hanami has been postponed until Sunday, APRIL 10th.

Fingers crossed the weather will be nice and there will still be some cherry blossoms on the trees!

Come join the Osaka JALT team for some friendly peer-, near-peer-, and community mentoring and networking at our first hanami event since before the start of the pandemic, in Osakajokoen (Osaka Castle Park)! This year will undoubtedly be more low-key than in more normal times, but it's a FREE event that's open to everyone, so please feel free to bring family, friends, colleagues, students, and anyone you like. Look for our blue JALT banner on the south side of the park, due south of the castle and north of the NTT Building, an easy walk from Morinomiya or Tanimachiyonchome metro stations. We'll have some snacks and drinks to share and plastic sheets to sit on, so stop by empty handed or bring something to eat and drink if you like, maybe an additional sheet to sit on, and most importantly a happy vibe to celebrate the cherry blossoms, the coming of spring, and the start of the new academic year (and hopefully a return to at least a semblance of more normal times)! Stop by when you can for as long or as short as you like.

Check back closer to the date for updates. In case of rain this event will be postponed until Sunday, April 10.

We will be here, just look for the Osaka JALT flag!

JALT 2022 in Fukuoka

Learning from Students, Educating Teachers—Research and Practice

Friday, November 11, 2022 to Monday, November 14, 2022 Fukuoka International Congress Center

48th Annual Conference on Language Teaching and Learning & Educational Materials Exhibition

On behalf of the JALT Conference Planning Team, and broader JALT community, I am delighted to announce that we will be returning to a face-to-face conference in Fukuoka City, Japan for JALT2022.

Recently, the renowned linguist Larry Selinker quoted the Talmud on his social media page when he posted the following: "Much I have learned from my teachers, even more I have learned from my colleagues, but from my students I have learned more than anyone else" (Ta'anit 7a). All of us who are language teachers will find ourselves quietly nodding in agreement as we think about the enduring truth of this statement. Even as students learn much from us during our language lessons, if we are open, intentional, and inquisitive, we find equally that our learners become our teachers. They help us to improve as we develop new practices and insights for teaching them and others later on. This idea is reflected in this year’s conference theme: Learning from Students, Educating Teachers—Research and Practice. During this conference, participants will be able to share classroom research on what they have learned from their learners, and in doing so, enrich all of us in the common goal of improving our students' second language learning experience. If you are a learner planning to attend, you will find a community open to your experiences and insights.

By evoking the word "experience," this implies that our pursuit takes place not within a closed circle, but also with administrators, publishers, and others who have chosen to partner with us in promoting language acquisition education. They are also invited to share what they have learned so that together, we can make a lasting impact in our language learners' lives.

To those ends, I hope that you'll make the journey to Fukuoka and share your experiences, research, and informed insights. As you prepare, here are some questions for reflecting not only on what you might have to share, but also what you might wish to explore:

• What was one of the most interesting things I learned this year as a language teacher?
• What is one of the biggest problems I have constantly faced in my current teaching environment? What have I done in response? What worked? What hasn't worked?
• What are the things that students do in my classes that help me to develop as a language teacher?
• What is one aspect of my teaching that I would like to improve?
• To what degree does what I do in the class match with what I believe is a teacher?
• In what way can my classroom research help improve the practices of other language teachers?

Many more questions of this sort could be asked, but even from this small sample, I think you will begin to see that the answers you have—as well as a realization that you may not have many answers, help form a foundational bridge-building with others that will lead to new discoveries. Your openness to searching for new answers to old question will help make your experience at JALT 2022 an even more meaningful one.

We will have a number of streams during this conference that will embody the spirit of this year's theme. Among these will be:

• Presentations and workshops for equipping you to conduct solid qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research.
• Sessions based on classroom research offering practical ideas, useful advice, and informed insights for how to enhance the effectiveness of your language lessons.
• Showcase presentations from students—both graduate and undergraduate—aimed at including their voices and lived experience to our expanding conversation on how to improve the quality of language acquisition education in Japan and beyond.

If you have ideas and suggestions for other types of sessions, do not hesitate to share them by sending a message to the Director of Program via our contact form.

One last, but very important point, as in years past, we will be offering three fee-waiver scholarships. These will cover the cost of registration for JALT2022. Full details will be on available here once the schedule has been determined. Bookmark the JALT site so you can easily keep up to date with announcements for the conference, subscribe to our newsletter, and follow us on social media.

As can be seen symbolically in this year's logo, JALT2022 is your chance to come together with other dynamic colleagues, and together share ideas, findings, and insights that might have once started out as a bit "fuzzy," but which during our shared discourse and interactions, become a clear contribution to the lives of others.

You are important, and as a professional teaching community, we need each other. Join us for JALT2022 in Fukuoka!

Gregory Hadley
JALT2022 Conference Chair