2012 Akita-JALT Programs:

March 24th – JOIN US, Kenshushitsu-6 (3rd Floor), 1000-1200. – Click here for synopsis and photos

Title: Old English for Today

Speaker: Susumu Hiyama (Akita Prefectural University)

Summary: The term “Old English” (henceforth OE) refers to the English language from the eighth century to the eleventh century. “What are the fundamental differences and similarities between OE and Modern English?” “What do we gain from studying OE?” “What does it take to study OE?” Through my presentation and various activities, I hope to: (1) let the audience find their own answers to these questions, (2) show that studying OE can be fascinating in its own right, and (3) how it may enhance our understanding of Modern English.

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April 14th – JOIN US, Kenshushitsu-6 (3rd Floor), 1000-1200. – Click here for synopsis and photos

Title: Interwoven Stories Told by High School JTEs and ALTs

Speaker: Takaaki Hiratsuka (University of Auckland)

Summary: Japan has used team teaching by Japanese Teachers of English (JTEs) and Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs) in daily English lessons through the JET programme for more than two decades. The issue of teachers’ as well as students’ perceptions of their participation in this programme has begun to attract attention. This presentation will share stories from a four month research project that took place at two Akita high schools. Through this project I hope to make contributions particularly to the field of Second Language Teacher Education (SLTE) by sharing stories from the project and facilitating thoughtful discussions. Those attending this session are highly encouraged to participate in the discussion by sharing their classroom teaching stories.

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May 26th – JOIN US, Kenshushitsu-6 (3rd Floor), 1000-1200. – Click here for report and photos.

Speaker: Kim Horne (Kindergarten teacher) – Focus on young learners. Very interactive – games, chants, movements, etc.

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June 23rd, 2012 – Click here for synopsis and photos.

Renaud Davies will be presenting on technology in the classroom. Renaud is a program advisor for Akita JET ALTs. He uses an array of internet tools and other technology in his classrooms. More details about a specific topic is forthcoming.

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July 21st – JOIN US, Kenshushitsu-7 (3rd Floor), 1000-1200. – Click here for synopsis and photos.

Title: Motivating communities of practice for teachers

Speaker & Bio: Joe Falout, an assistant professor at Nihon University, researches, publishes, and presents internationally about teacher and learner motivation with regards to English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts.

Summary: Even the most motivated teachers can at some point feel exhausted, isolated, and ineffective—the classic symptoms of burnout. Avoiding burnout and maintaining motivation is important for feeling professional satisfaction and lasting through a full career of teaching. In this workshop we will focus on personalizing ways that participants can regain and maintain their motivation through three principles — managing emotions, joining communities, and boosting efficacy. The presenter will provide a theoretical base from social psychology, and use anecdotes to illustrate particular points. Workshop participants will be asked to explore their own pathways toward increasing their sense of control, autonomy, and relatedness within their work environments and professional communities of practice.

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August – NO PROGRAM

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September 29th – Kathy Kampa (Kids teacher) and Akita-JALT Annual General Meeting

Date: Saturday, September 29th, 2012

Title: The M&M’s of Teaching English to Young Learners

Time: 10:00AM-12:00PM

Place: JOIN US

Room: Kenshushitsu-7

Fee: Members and students – Free; Non-members – 500 yen

Preview: Discover the power of music, movement, and multiple intelligences (MI) to create a dynamic learning environment for your students. Music is celebrated in many cultures around the world. Its universality can be found in its shared structures. Music enhances memorization, a critical process in language acquisition. Movement invites students to learn by doing, a process that builds neural networks in the brain and throughout the body. However, are music and movement effective for all learners? Do we need more ways for students to learn? In this session, we’ll look at how music and movement can help young learners succeed in the EFL classroom. We’ll look at how multiple intelligences strategies can complement music and movement. We’ll explore ways in which these strategies can be used immediately in your classroom. Join us as we sing, move, and let all of our intelligences soar!

BIO: Kathleen Kampa has specialized in working with young learners. In her 30 years of experience in teaching children, she has created songs, chants, and movement activities targeted at young learners’ needs. Kathleen and her husband Charles Vilina are co-authors of Magic Time, a starter level English course for young learners published by Oxford University Press. She is also a co-author of Everybody Up, a new primary course published by OUP. Kathleen has written extensively on music, movement, and multiple intelligences, and has given numerous workshops in the US, Canada, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Finland, Holland, and Jamaica.

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October 5th – JALT Four Corners Speaker presents 2012 Balsamo Asian Scholar – Inggy Yuliani Pribady from Indonesia speaking about genre pedagogy and helping students to think critically and learn deeply.

October 12th – 15th – JALT National Conference in Hamamatsu

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November 24th – Cory Koby of Sendai Shirayuri Gakuen Jr./Sr. High School, and 2012 JALT Conference Review

Title: English Debate in Japanese High School

Time: 10:00AM – 12:00PM

Preview: Reflecting on his experience training and coaching teams twice in the All-Japan High School English Debate Tournament, Cory will present on the challenges and rewards of engaging Japanese high school students in English debate. Confidence building, communication skills development, leadership training, critical thinking, and time management are all highlighted as benefits of debate generally, and we will also explore additional benefits specific to language learners who debate in L2. Presentation attendees will walk away with a clear understanding of the process and procedures involved in debating.

Bio: Cory Koby is a tenured faculty member at Sendai Shirayuri Gakuen Jr./Sr. High School and serves as JALT Sendai’s English publicity officer. He is currently taking a MA in ELT from the University of East London. His research interests include L1 interference in SLA, and learner motivation.

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December 8th or 15th – Adrian Paterson of Akita University