Date: Saturday, December 11th
**NOT** the 4th Saturday of the month!

Time: 12:30– [approximately] 1:45
Session I: 12:35–1:05
Session II: 1:05–1:35
Finish: 1:45

Venue: ZOOM
(Akita Chapter members have been sent a ZOOM link. Those wishing to join should email a request to akita (@) jalt.org. Please state your FULL NAME and affiliation if applicable.

ABOUT THE POSTER SESSION

This poster session will feature ten original classroom-based discourse analyses conducted by graduate students in the English Language Teaching Practices (ELT) program at Akita International University. In their final project for Foreign Language Acquisition class, students were required to collect authentic classroom discourse data, transcribe it using conversation analysis (CA) methodology, and provide an analysis of the discourse using what they have learned in the course. Finally, they were asked to provide a reflection about what they discovered in the process, and how their teaching will change as a result. This project is based on a framework designed by the course instructor in which student teachers learn the value of integrating action research with reflective practices (see Hale, Nanni & Hooper, 2018).

Session I: 12:35–1:05

Breakout room 1:
Advanced-level EAP Students’ Repair in Interaction (Haruka Fukuda, Akita International University)

Abstract: Using conversation analysis (CA) methods, this research presents analysis of learners’ use of repair methods while they have discussion in an EAP class. In the discussion, students use various repair methods to clarify their utterance.

Room 2:
Code Switching in EFL College Students’ Discussion (Rintaro Ikegami, Akita International University)

Abstract: This research presents analysis of advanced learners’ code switching in a group discussion from an EAP writing class. A participant oftentimes used Japanese as language “for” the task (as a metalanguage to talk about the task) whereas the others used Japanese to hold the floors as a compensatory strategy.

Room 3:
Working Through Student Language Difficulties (Futaba Nishimura, Akita International University)

Abstract: Focusing especially on repair practices and communication strategies, this research examines how three students in a group-work context dealt with language difficulties and helped one another to complete the task.

Room 4:
Teacher Talk and Teacher Silence (Nabila Nurdjaman, Akita International University)

This on-going research analyzes how teacher talk and teacher silence can facilitate student-to-students responses in terms of giving their opinions. The data was collected in three separate group discussions from an EAP speaking and listening class.

Room 5:
Beginner-level English Learner’s Repair in Teacher-student Interaction (Sora Ouchi, Akita International University)

This research presents an analysis of an interaction between a teacher of English and a 9th grader. The focus is on recasts the teacher mainly used and oral communicative strategies the teacher and the student use. The data was collected from a junior high school classroom in Japan.

Session II: 1:05 to 1:35

Room 1:
Conflict Avoidance in Group-work Contexts (David Shimamoto, Akita International University)

Abstract: This poster presentation employs conversation analysis (CA) to examine emerging conflict talk during a group discussion of advanced-level university students. Findings will demonstrate how students were able to use effective face-saving strategies to engage in disagreement while maintaining an air of amicability.

Room 2:
How Teacher Talk Activates Students’ Participation (Rio Tsuruta, Akita International University)

Abstract: This research presents how IRF (Initiation response feedback) sequences are started and closed focusing on teacher talk. It was found how successfully teachers’ questions and repetitions could contribute to extending IRF sequences and provoking students’ self-initiated participation. The data was collected from a college EAP classroom.

Room 3:
Examining Open-ended Questions and Students’ Silence (Miao Wang, Akita International University)

Abstract: This research presents an examination of students’ silence after being asked an open-ended question in an undergraduate EFL writing class talking about APA style. The students in this class shared different English proficiency and English learning experiences. The data was collected from a college EAP class.

Room 4:
“Please Interrupt Me”: Creating Anxiety-Free EFL Classrooms (Yuto Yokokura, Akita International University)

Abstract: In the class that I observed, a student interrupts the teacher by saying “wait.” Based on the data collected in the classroom with 25 second-year high school students, I would like to suggest that the use of “wait” could contribute to creating an anxiety-free classroom.

Room 5:
Confirmation Checks by Advanced-level EAP Students (Ying Zhou, Akita International University)

Abstract: This research presents analysis of learners’ use of confirmation checks in a group discussion about essay improvement in a college EAP class. It was found that confirmation checks didn’t help students overcome difficulty in understanding the thesis statements of their partners, which hindered the feedback process.

Reference
​​Hale, C. C., Nanni, A. & Hooper, D. (2018). Conversation analysis in language teacher education: An approach for reflection through action research. Hacettepe University Journal of Education, 33(Special Issue), 54-71. DOI: 10.16986/HUJE.2018038796