Event

JALT International Conference Preview

Sunday, October 8th, 2006, 2:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Speaker: Eric Skier, Masa Tsuneyasu, Kyoko Miyazato

Come watch previews of some presentations that will be given at the JALT International Conference in Kitakyushu.

What motivates older learners? (Eric Skier)
It can safely be argued that understanding the motivation of students to learn English may be the first step in planning curriculum, writing syllabi, deciding on which materials to use, and so on. For many English educators in Japan, this has often meant teaching for tests: entrance exams, TOEIC, TOEFL, and a myriad of others. However, what happens when your students have no interest in studying for exams? In fact, what happens when your students may be motivated to learn English for very unconventional reasons? The author will present a paper on the motivations of elderly learners at a culture center in Japan and how learning of those motivations affected the approach to teaching, the role of the teacher, and the decision on which materials to use. Participants, who currently are or may very well be teaching similar students that make up the fastest growing segment of Japanese society in the near future, will also have an opportunity to share their stories, observations, and classroom-proven practices.

Teaching Writing (Masa Tsuneyasu)
Even when advanced Japanese students have a good command of English grammar, they still have difficulty applying their ability in writing contexts. The majority of Japanese students have problems in organizing papers.

This writer, first, summarizes the major differences between the written rhetoric of the two languages (Japanese and English). Tsuneyasu then elaborates on the inclinations of how Japanese students write English papers based on the findings of a writing experiment. Finally, the author discusses some effective ways to teach writing papers in English for Japanese students.

Role and Power Sharing Between JTEs and AETs (Kyoko Miyazato)
This study investigates team-teaching (TT) relationships between JTEs (Japanese Teachers of English) and AETs (Assistant English Teachers) focusing on power-sharing between native-speaking (NS) and non-native-speaking (NNS) EFL teachers in Japanese high schools.

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

Cost: JALT Members: free
Non-members: 1000 yen

Venue: Sakuragi Kominkan 5F (near Omiya Station, west exit,see map).

Location: Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan

Contact Saitama JALT

JALT Saitama Contact