JALT 2022 Four Corners Tour in November – Yilin Sun

First Meeting: Aomori University of Health and Welfare 

C block, 2nd floor, room C204

Date: November 26, 2022, 2:00pm

Theme: Thinking with FIRE for 21st Century English Learners in Japan

Fee: Free for JALT members

        Free for non-members

Abstract: This workshop will focus on ways to foster students’ (especially young learners’) critical thinking skills as part of the 21st century learning. The speaker, who has extensive experience in classroom teaching and teacher education in both ESL and EFL settings, will share strategies to incorporate effective questioning techniques which can be adapted for all levels of learners. She’ll also discuss critical 21st century skills that EFL teachers can incorporate in their classes.

Second Meeting: AIINA Rm 806 

Date: November 27, 2022, 1:30pm

Theme: Workshop: Counter-Storytelling: A Critical Asset-based Pedagogical Framework

Fee: Free for JALT members

        Free for non-members

Abstract: The facilitator will use counter-storytelling as a theoretical underpinning and share “asset-based” Culturally Responsive Teaching activities that she and her colleagues have designed to engage participants in hands-on activities to examine the social context of our students’ personal and educational stories as well as our own. Powerful stories, arts, and poetic modes of expressions from students from systematically underserved and under-represented backgrounds will be shared.

Speaker Profile

Yilin Sun is a tenured professor (Emeritus Professor) who directed faculty development programs at the Seattle Colleges in Seattle, WA, U.S.A for the past three years before her retirement. She has served the field of TESOL for over 35 years as a classroom teacher, program leader, teacher educator, and researcher with many higher education institutions in China, Macau, Canada, and the USA. Dr. Sun is a former president of the TESOL International Association (2014-2015) and the founding president of Macau Association for Applied Linguistics (MAAL). In 2021, The English Language Specialist Program of U.S. Department of State recognized Dr. Sun as one of thirty specialists who have made a lasting impact on the TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) field since 1991. Dr. Sun is also serving as Chief Editor of the series Foreign Language Teacher Education and Development: Selected Works of Renowned TESOL Experts published by Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. Over the years, Dr Sun has given numerous keynote/plenary and featured presentations at international professional conferences. She has authored and coauthored books, book chapters, and journal articles. Her research interests include curriculum development, program assessment and evaluation, L2 reading, vocabulary learning, critical thinking, classroom-based action research, teacher education, ESP/EAP, Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT), and NNEST/bilingual/multilingual English speaking teachers in the ELT field.