Event
HomeJALT Omiya: April Presentations
Sunday, April 11th, 2010, 2:00 PM - 4:45 PM
Speaker: 1) Manfred Delano Cannegieter; 2) Jennifer Yphantides
1) Do You Wish You Had More Time and Energy?
Manfred Delano Cannegieter of Rikkyo University
During this workshop, the presenter will initiate an open dialogue regarding classroom management and time/energy saving strategies. Twelve minutes worth of movie clips demonstrating the effectiveness of student-centered projects will be shared with those in attendance.
Like many of the world's natural resources, time and energy is a limited commodity, not only for teachers but also for students. The presenter has found that having students present and videotape short 'How to' reports has actually a become useful classroom management tool. These reports include
* how to be a 'good' student,
* how to prepare for a presentation,
* how to be a good audience
These simple, short- and long-term projects did wonders for the classroom morale, which in turn had a positive effect on other more traditional classroom-based activities. It is the presenter's hope that these tutorial DVD projects, coupled with additional ideas from the audience, may help teachers and students to be more productive with their time Come on out on Sunday and share your ideas with us.
Manfred Delano holds an M.A. in TESOL from Columbia University and is currently a full-time lecturer at Rikkyo University. He is a full-time dad while taking short breaks for scuba diving, ice-skating and photography.
Teaching Awareness and The Use of Reading Strategies
Jennifer Yphantides of Kanda University of International Studies
A large body of research supports the notion that good readers are metacognitively aware of their reading process and use strategies. The presenter will outline a project which aimed at determining the reading strategies students already had at their disposal, raising students' awareness of reading strategies, and encouraging strategy use.
A brief survey of some of the most widely used intensive reading textbooks shows that the majority of them feature a range of reading strategies and a variety of exercises which aim at helping students employ those strategies. However, EFL/ESL students often tend to approach the text with trepidation and choose to tackle it word by word despite activities prompting them to do otherwise. Because the literature in this field clearly demonstrates that efficient readers are metacognitively aware of their reading process and are able to employ a range of strategies to aid them in the comprehension of the text, the presenter chose to carry out an action research project which attempted to determine the reading strategies students already had at their disposal, raise students' metacognitive awareness of strategies, and encourage their use.
The presenter will outline the methodology of the project, based on a similar piece of action research conducted by Auerbach and Paxton (1997), carried out in a medium sized Japanese university with two first year Reading classes acting as participants. Particular focus will be put on the learning outcomes of the students and how explicit strategy instruction and use improved their comprehension of texts and, perhaps more importantly, their enjoyment of reading.
Jennifer Yphantides is a lecturer at Kanda University of International Studies. She has been teaching ESL/EFL for the past 17 years and has enjoyed working in North America, Europe, The Middle East and Asia. Her current interests include Extensive Reading and Peace Education.
Organization: Saitama Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching (Saitama JALT)
Cost: JALT Members: free
Non-members: 1,000 yen (500 yen for students with student ID, and members of JET)
Venue: Sakaragi Kominkan, Centre Plaza 5th Floor (near Omiya Station west exit)
Location: Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan
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