Event

Gender Equality: Teaching Beyond Grammar

Saturday, May 10th, 2008, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Speaker: Stefanie Tacata

The inextricable link between language and culture is indisputable. ESL educators must understand that their responsibilities to their students are multi-faceted. They are not only teaching a language, but redefining their students' cultural paradigm. Their job reaches beyond grammar and vocabulary; manifesting into something much less tangible. Gender equality is a nuance of this manifestation, and therefore a significant component of teaching English. This presentation will provide a brief analysis of the international movement for gender equality, review current activities within the ESL and JALT communities that focus on gender equality, and provide examples of activities that might be useful within the classroom to promote gender equality awareness. The presentation will be based on scholarly articles, including many from JALT archives. Results of student surveys done at Baiko Gakuin University in Shimonoseki will also be presented. Although the control group is composed of university students, the presentation should speak to all educators, no matter what age or level they teach. As the world progresses into a more gender equalized sociopolitical era, so should our ideas of language and the way we teach it.

Stefanie Tacata is a full time lecturer at Baiko Gakuin University in Shimonoseki and a former lecturer of History at California State University, Fresno. She received both her BA and MA in History from California State University. She has presented research on twentieth century Cuban feminism at multiple conferences including the Graduate Symposium on Women and Gender at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, and the Women as Global Leaders conference in the U.A.E. Stefanie plans to continue her research on feminism and gender studies, and enter a PhD program for international/cross-cultural education.

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

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

Venue: Kitakyushu International Conference Center, room 31 (a 5-minute walk from the Kokura train station for shinkansen, JR train)

Location: Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan

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